Quick Question About Power Cables
Hi All,
I recently bought a Bryston BDP 3 streamer/renderer and love how refined and relaxed it sounds. I would like it more if the bass was a bit more controlled and had a little more impact. A friend and Audiogon member suggested I try an Audio Sensability Statement Power Cable. He bought one for his tube DAC and said the bass got tighter an offered better slam. Anyway, for those who are PC savy, what are your thoughts on the matter? Thanks!
I have tried them. I trust my ears, which hear negligible improvement, if any, it might just be the placebo effect of justifying spending so much money and the cost/benefit ratio just does not justify it: I’ll sooner donate the $s to climate refugees. I will also never be inclined to waste my money on overpriced cables when I have a home audio engineer telling me that my system already sounds better than any he has heard save one, and that system cost $160,000. I spent $30,000. |
OP, I wouldn't go with Hurricane (too steep a loss in treble but I assume you know that) or Cardas Clear (too fuzzy, from choke I presume). I've heard Clear Beyond XL is better and it shoudl be. I agree amp has most effect, but my Aries is affected by PCs about as much as my DDC which is < DAC < amp. Since you say it was the Bryston that caused this change in sound, then I think fuse and PC are good to try. You can swap out one of your better cords elsewhere and then swap that onto the Bryston just to see for yourself what changes they would make with the streamer. Any decent repair place could replace the fuse for you, but would void any warranty. The newer v2 Shunyayta's might be good, and I was looking at Kubala, Audience, RSX and GR Research's 2 PC options which are also money back. I have an older The Statement PC too, and use it on my sub. It's better than stock or cheap PCs and has a nice tonal balance but it's downside is resolution. A little fuzzy but not as fuzzy as Cardas Clear. Hope this helps. Ignore the the Objectivists unless you want to encourage another debate on cables here. :) |
@nagel Glad you’ve used the Statement. I was hoping that it would be a better value given Audio Sensability isn’t exactly a household name. Also, my understanding is that front end components are less dependent on a good power cable than an amp and that I could keep the price point around or under $500.00. I’ll take a look at the Cardas Clear Beyond XL. Finding something used is a great incentive to make a purchase. |
There are some folks that cannot hear audio improvements that are very apparent to many of us. I don’t have an explanation for this. I guess, consider yourself lucky. You can enjoy music to a greater extent with a lessor investment. A lot has to do with the enjoyment one gets from greater fidelity. I for one gain great enjoyment from small improvements in fidelity. I would much rather drive an older car and use lower quality TP in order to enjoy the lower noise floor and neutral balance of my AQ Hurricane than that of the very heavy copper power cord provided by the manufacturer. To me, the $2K is soooo obvious and worth the cost it is a no brainer.
This is why everyone should audition high end audio components in their system. Only invest in the ones that are worth it to you. |
