@hilde45 - good advice. I have ##2-4 covered, at least as far as my budget and desires are concerned (my new amp, e.g.). As for the room, I have it addressed it as well as I can; it’s not an ideal listening space in several regards, but the problem areas that exist are architectural ones I can’t change (like a large open archway). So now I’m down to #5.
Power cables and power conditioners
I've searched this topic, but didn't find any clear discussion of my question. If there is one, feel free to point me to it. Otherwise, I'm curious. Having just purchased a new amp and rearranged my cables, etc, I'm wondering if there is value in having a high end PC for my power conditioner(s). I have Ice Age Audio Frankencables for all my gear running from the power conditioners. Well, sort of. I have a PS Audio PowerPlant 12 and a Panamax M5300. My amps, streamer, preamp and sub are connected to the PowerPlant, while gear with wallworts or fixed plugs (MiniDSP EQs, cable box, old CD player) are connected to the Panamax.
In particular, I'm wondering is there a benefit to connecting the PS Audio PowerPlant to the wall with a high quality PC? As a 'regenorator' and not a power conditioner, it is converting my house current to DC and then back to AC.. It seems to me that doing would negate the usual benefit obtained from adding a high quality power cord (but I certainly could be wrong).
And on what I presume to be the opposite end of the spectrum, it seems to me that the gear attached to the Panamax with low quality power cords would negate any benefit (if there even is one) to having a high quality power cord from the wall to the Panamax. But, again, I could be looking at this all wrong.
Enlighten me. Thanks.
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Generally speaking, in high-end audio the more transparent the audio chain, the more high quality audio cables matters. Transparent components have lower noise floors which usually comes with a higher cost. Lower ambient noise helps as well. So a better PC would likely produce better Sonics, but no guarantee Maybe try a used PC then sell if Sonic uptick is lacking. |
+1 @carlsbad2 I have two PS Audio units (PP10 and PP12). I called tech support about the cable coming in from the wall and was told that at least 12 awg minimum. And if the wiring gauge in the wall is heavier, then match the power cord to that gauge. They also confirmed the key was amperage and not low noise, etc. so @mbarrett635 , your thought about not spending $$$ on high end power cable to the wall was correct. Paul McGowen confirmed this in one of the PS Audio forums as well. I'm using a couple of Pangea AC9's that I had purchased used years ago and they are working fine.
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As others have suggested, simply get an affordable 12awg or 10awg power cord to start. You’ll probably hear more improvement in SQ by replacing all of the wallwarts with LPS’s.* After that, start addressing other tweaks - incrementally. - - - * As your system improves, you’ll discover that even the quality of the DC umbilical from the LPS will affect the SQ. |
Every time I ask a question it costs me more money. LOL. Seriously, I’m not averse to spending money, but I try to spend it wisely. In that regard, I probably should explain a bit more. I have two systems that sit side by side. For music/2-channel, I have my Eversolo streamer/DAC/preamp > Parasound JC5 amp > Usher Mini 2 Diamonds and Monolith sub. Streamer, amp and sub are plugged into PS Audio PP12 using Ice Age Audio PCs, and are connected with Ice Age Audio interconnects and speaker cables. Home Theater is: Fios cable box > Marantz AV7706 > Deer Creek Audio 901 Platinum equalizers > Parasound A51 amp > Klipsch and Bose speakers and Monolith sub. The Marantz and Parasound are also plugged into the PP12, but the cable box and equalizers are plugged into the Panamax. Interconnects are also Ice Age Audio, as is the center channel speaker cable, but speaker wires to the Bose are just plain vanilla speaker wires. The cable box and equalizers currently have wallwart power supplies. I can swap those out for LPSs, but are there recommendations for moderately priced ones? Maybe in the $200-500 range (each)? My home theater setup isn’t intended to be really hi-fi; just looking for clear sound. I’m really happy with my ‘music system’ as it is
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