about to jump into the power cord foray

Let's keep our perspective on the subject of audio. It is suppose to be fun. But it has become many, many times more complex over the last 40 years. We did not have as many options in equipment and cables were not even on the radar scope for most of us. And, of course, the range in cost of equipment has widened significantly. There are certainly a lot more room for opinions. Not all of us are able to invest or want to invest that much in audio. There are other things in life.

That said, I think it is important to keep an open mind. Sometimes you don't know what you don't know. Sometimes the self-fulfilling prophecy plays into the equation - "It can't possibly work so I won't hear the difference" or "it is suppose to be better so I will hear improvements".

I think it is also important to appreciate other folks right to an opinion. And you never know what you might learn if you listen.

So combine the complexity of human beings with the complexity in today's audio world, you have the possibility of a lot of variance in opinions.

So if you are happy with what you have now - great! And if you want to improve your system, listen carefully to the different opinions and determine what makes the most sense to you and go with it. We are all giving our honest opinions.

Peace!

Iggyminn - I will interested to hear your opinion of the VD Power 3. Just remember that it will take 80 - 100 hours to break-in.

Jimyork,

I’ve put about 150 hours into the burn-in time on the cable now. Of course, I had to hook the cable up right out of the box. Even though it was a bit on the bright side, it was obvious it was much better than the stock cord. After having the cable burn in on my pc at home for about seven days, I plugged her into the IEC socket on my changer (soon to be replaced). I was nothing short of amazed with the Power 3’s impact on my mid-fi system. I noticed a significant increase in detail and clarity. While listening to Death Cab for Cutie’s Transatlanticism release, some of the notes on the track “Lightness” became more pronounced. Prior to installing the cable, they were greatly muffled or absent altogether. I also noticed the bass was tightened up a fair amount in the Dynaudio’s. About the only complaint I have at this time, is the cable is rather stiff. Of course I knew that going in, but it’s mostly a non-issue.

I also purchased a VH Audio Flavor 4, of which I have a couple more days of burn-in left. I noticed the VH came in brighter than the VD cable out of the box, but that should disappear after about 200 hours. The VH cable also demonstrated great clarity and speed. It'll be interesting to do a comparison between the two. It's also drawn an inquisitive look from my girlfriend as to why I keep replacing cables on the pc at home.

COngratulations on getting a few good cords and "hearing the difference".

At the risk of vastly oversimplifying the above discourse, it seems to me that the more resolving your system, the more you will hear sonic differences in ICs, PCs and SCs. The "non-believer" camp will usually have non-resolving gear, and thus ICs, Pcs, etc will all sound pretty much the same to them, thus perpetuating their "waste of money" diatribes and Home Depot power cords.

Those with more resolving gear usually CAN hear the differences, because their systems allow them to, plus at some point they have probably been guided as to how to "hear into" the music, which is where lots of the enjoyment lies.

In other words, each side's arguments become self-perpetuating due to their particular approaches to "putting together a system". Sometimes this might be a function of money spent, but not necessarily so. "Resolving" doesn't require lots of money, just a good synergy between components, in most cases. The best advice is to put the cord into your system and listen for yourself. IF you have a fairly resolving system and a good ear, you will probably hear a difference, either positive or negative. Just my $.02

Hi guys,

I have just changed my Nordost Valhalla power cords to a cord made by a lithuania company called lessloss and I want to tell you that the sound is now truly amazing yes right out of the box. More bass, more presance, bigger sound stage, more transparancy, more definition, I hear things that I did not hear before I am just so impressed and amazed
that I want to tell everyone -
Please do yourself the best thing you ever did and visit www.lessloss.com and write to Louis Mortek

many thanks

paul

The Nordost power cords start at $159.99 (Magus 1 meter) and boy oh boy do these cables make an audible difference! The Vishnu at $659.99 (2-meter) or $549.99 (1-meter) is the sweet spot in this line-up, in my biased opinion. Anyone with even average ears can hear the improvements in image width, depth and overall separation in just a matter of minutes. Even if you just use one going to your power distribution unit. I wouldn't have believed this 1 year ago but I do now. I say nix the SJ-type cable do-it-yourself route, however, since doing that myself for my Mac 30's made very little difference. I used high quality hospital grade male plugs, too. I don't think the SJ type cable is high quality enough plus it's stranded cable. Solid core seems to work better (like the Nordost cables, which also extrude silver over the copper solid wire). Try good power cords on loan from your local dealer over one weekend and you'll become a believer too. Amazing stuff!