Thiel Owners

tomthiel,

Hope the Stellar Gain Cell DAC/Pre sounds great in your system. If you decide you want to try a low-cost power cord upgrade for the DAC/Pre, the Audience Forte F3 has worked out well for me. This cord is a relative bargain that was highly recommended by the guy who helped me at the Cable Company. They are offering B-stock at $149, and this cord is also available for $125 through Parts Connexion.

In my system, the Forte F3 made the sound smoother, with a lower noise floor and deeper, tighter bass. I noticed more effect when using the cord on the DAC/Pre than on my amps. It might be a worthwhile investment if you decide you want to try an inexpensive power cord upgrade.

SDL4 - Thanks for the tip. I have not gotten my mind around power cords except in one way. My Electromagnetic Field Meter registers large and variable EMF fields around all the equipment. It seems possible that shielding those fields via a shielded cord might clean up the supply signal. But I don't even know whether Audio Power Cords use a shield. So, I am ignorant of the power cord debate and don't have the mental resources to wade in; I'll stay with Prof on the sidelines. But, someday I'll give something a try, and that is likely to be your Forte F3. Thanks again.

tomthiel,

I completely understand your perspective on power cables. I've been a cable skeptic until recently and have mostly avoided diving down that deep black hole myself. And I don't want to get a big cable discussion going in this thread. But since you brought up the shielding issue in power cords, I'll just mention the limited info I've been told by cable advocates. What I've been told is that a shielded power cord is a good idea for DACs and other components that generate a lot of digital noise, but that shielding is not always necessary (and possibly not even desirable) for cords on power amps. The Forte F3 cords have some shielding, but Audience says it's designed to work well even on high-power amps. That claim may just be marketing, of course.

Maybe sometime, when your mind is calm and not overburdened with thoughts of too many other more important things, you'll borrow a low-cost high-value power cord like the Forte and give it a try on your DAC/Pre. For a guy who can hear differences between caps in a speaker crossover, a quality power cord may offer you a few interesting sonic surprises.

On a more important issue, I'm really looking forward to the point when your upgrade kit for the 2.2 is ready for distribution. Best of luck with that effort! 

Happy Friday! All