2. cables
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Monstrous power cables

Why?

I’m sitting in my listening chair looking at the over $1K power cable that came with my Running Springs Audio Maxim power conditioner.  The guy I bought the unit from said he auditioned three cables all costing over a grand and liked these the best.

The cables are about the diameter of the cardboard center of paper towels (maybe even thicker) and weighs about five pounds.  It’s absolutely monstrous!  I’ve got a piece of wood supporting it under the receptacle and use other items to support it under the Maxim.

The electricity is carried through my house probably using 14 gauge wire.  What’s the logic using more than that going from the outlet to any component?

I’ve got quite a few power cables of various diameters, the thickest (other than the one connected to the Maxim) being the AC9 s from Pangea.  And to be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever AB’d power cables, having just assumed they do make (at least) some difference.

 

 

128x128audiodwebe
buellrider97
386 posts
 

  I have aftermarket cables. For the sake of this conversation, I changed the stock power cable on my Richard Gray power filter to a Shunyata Venom 20 amp and I could immediately tell a difference ( an improvement ). I’ll stay with my black leather jacket as it has a pocket for my Colt 45.  

ghdprentice
6,949 posts
 

Power cords make a big difference in sound… that is the why. It is best to think about plugging into your outlet as plugging lake, as opposed to plugging into a 14 gauge “hose”. I think the founder of Shunyata uses this analogy. Power does not work like a hose.

Various companies use combinations of insulators and conductors… of various size and composition. Over my 50 years of pursuing high end audio I have had a number of jaw dropping experiences with digital interconnects, speaker cables and power cords.
 

The most recent when I changed my the cord on my amplifier from an expensive Cardas to a AudioQuest Hurricane. The difference was profound. It did exactly what I needed to the overall tonal balance. The stock cord was well balanced but not as quiet and hindered the dynamics of the music, the Cardas really improved the midrange and bass… but did not improve the details as much… basically tilting the sound towards the too warm side (in most systems this is great). But the Audio Quest equally improved the details… so maintained the balance. The Hurricane was only $1,700… honestly the improvement in my system would have been worth $5K… a good value… as it should be. So, when I can I will be upgrading to the Dragon… I think $5K. I suspect it will be worth the improvement… but I’ll see. Will not happen this year.

erik_squires
16,040 posts
 

I'm not a big believer in that.  Some common sense precautions are all I really can justify.

 

 

 

 

havocman
350 posts
 

Jasonbourne52,

you have absolutely no idea what you're talking about, obviously you have a pretty crappy system because power cords do make a difference, before you flap your gums maybe you should do some research so you'll know what you're talking about because you don't have a clue.

geof3
1,129 posts
 

No need for hostilities… the reality is, everything matters. Cables DO make a difference, no question. Where that sits relative to price is up to the individual. Lamp cord works, so does a 20k cable, as well as everything in between. It doesn’t matter what it costs, if it suits your needs… so be it. Regarding the diameter of the OP’s cable, the majority of that is shielding and other “fillers/isolators” the actual wire is most likely 10 or 12 gauge wrapped within.

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