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Dream system - but no aftermarket power cords

Hi,
after tweaking many other aspects of my system, I have had to deal with substantial noise from my Piega C10Ltd speakers recently.
This has led me to order a Synergistic Research Tesla PowerCell 10SE which should arrive later this week.

So, after getting into the "power" game and reading up on some PC reviews, I am still lost with regards to the baseline strategy to upgrade the stock cables on all components.
Here's my current setup for my 2 channel speaker system:
[Squeezebox Transporter] - [McIntosh MDA 1000] - [Piega P1 Mk ii active subwoofer (RCA loop-through and cut-off at 75Hz)] - [Marantz MA9-S2 mono amps (2x)] - [Piega C10Ltd]
All active components will be powered through the PowerCell.

So here are my preliminary thoughts, please feel free to comment:

1. Order of upgrades
1.1 Frequently, it's recommended to "upgrade the transport" first. In my case, would that be the Transporter (I guess? Or upgrade last because it's only feeding the DAC?) or the MDA-1000 (which is serving double duty as DAC and preamp, so could I double the impact from a better PC??)
1.2 The Marantz amps with their massive capacitors ought to be the least power sensitive piece of gear (??? not sure about that), so it would make sense to upgrade them last?

Of course the whole question about order of upgrades is related to
2. good-better-best strategy
2.1 what's considered a solid baseline for a highend system like mine, I don't have the money for (new) Valhalla everywhere (I need 5 PCs total)?
2.2 back to order of upgrades: looking at the individual pieces of equipment specifically, where do I get to the 95% point of diminishing returns? e.g. Synergistic apparently recommend Tesla T2 on sources and T3 on (pre)amps, is there a reasonable "segmentation" strategy?
2.3 how high should I value system synergies, specifically considering the fact that I will use a PowerCell; in other words, are there unwanted side effects from other cords (e.g. LossLess) trying to filter out stuff that the PowerCell has already taken care off and leading to a "lifeless" sound?

3. Looking at the list of components above, any recommendation about what you have found to work well with any one of the components listed above would be appreciated (e.g. Jerry Seigel recommended PS Audio PW 10 for the Marantz amps, I am reluctant to go there based on my general preference to avoid too much shielding)

Any help/suggestions much appreciated (I promise to report back my findings after trying out some of your recommendations in return!)
Thanks!
Jofte
jofte
jofte OP
6 posts
 
Thanks for your comments so far, this is already helpful in narrowing down choices!
@Klipschfan: I will seriously consider following your lead and trialing the Synergistic Cables, specifically for the MDA 1000 as you are happy with that in your system. Do you have a comparison for the MDA 1000 how well other cables would have worked? I guess part of this exercise is trying to avoid to "overspend" and just buy the most expensive cable (I am sure if money doesn't matter it's really easy to get great cables and be done with it; probably all cable manufacturers to some degree even depend on that convenience factor!).

To answer the question about what I am trying to achieve: I am calling the noise that I am getting as substantial because it is audible up to 2' from the speakers. It's some hum (constant, doesn't change with increase in volume, so it is a ground loop but too faint for a "straight" interference, if that makes sense -- so maybe just on the grid but not in proximity to the hifi) and a slight hiss, I will probably wait until I get the PowerCell to see how that is going to affect matters.

Now, to all of you who are purchasing any audio equipment that has a fan in it (I never do, as a rule), you might not be concerned about this as much as I am ;-) Let's say that this is what has gotten me started on thinking about improving power supply (cords and conditioner), not necessarily something that makes the system unusable.

One major change that has led to me noticing this noise is really the introduction of the Marantz mono amps (just bought them), previously I didn't notice hum or noise from a Denon AVC-A11XVA (230V) powered by a step up transformer/conditioner (again this leads me to believe that the issue is with getting clean power, of course without ground loops, into the components).

I have just gone ahead and bought 2 Black Sand Violet on Audiogon to be able to play around with "better than stock" aftermarket cables (they will be sold off or put into other systems if they are taking me in the right direction but not fully where I want to go).

Thanks for all your insights!
dorkwad
548 posts
 
Jofte,
If you want to spend a ton of money, buy the name brand power cords. If you want phenominal sound at a ridiculous price that upgrades all systems, contact GTT Audio in New York--very high end store. They researched making the best sounding PC for use in any system and came up with the Absolute Audio Power Cord II and are selling it for 49.95. No drawbacks except it's royal blue color. It will absolutely amaze you in all good ways--like cleaning your windows when they're dirty. Try one--I now have 4. Amp first, cd player and on you go. They use these in all their systems no matter the price. I really couldn't believe the change in my Edge M-6 amp--much better clarity, cleaned up the bottom end, and increased dynamics. A fellow Agoner turned me on to these. If it sounds too good to be true, spend the big money. You could do all 5 PC's for the price of 1 average cable that doesn't sound as good or is system dependent. For another cheap, but no compromise SC, the Speltz anticable outclassed 1300.00 Harmonic Technology Pro 9+ cables--although the Ht cables are very impressive looking at 1" diameter. The anticables are much more open, live sounding, fun, and if the price were the same, a much better buy--at 80.00 for an 8 ft. pair, it's not much of a contest. Again, they don't look like much, however. Do you want great sound or great looks? By the way, my system is very resolving and dynamic with upgraded VMPS 626R speakers, VMPS 215/VSS upgraded sub, Sony Modwright 9000es Signature cd/sacd, Audible Illusions 2-C preamp with upgraded ceramic sockets, Avid turntable with Origin Live Silver II arm, and the Edge amp.
jdub39
496 posts
 
Try the Perfectwave AC-10 or 12, I use the AC-10 and it,s a very balanced cable favoring no particular frequency, it's sheilding is less than the AC-12 and has a removable ground that may very well end your hum problem!
almarg's avatar
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almarg
9,670 posts
 
I agree with the several people who have suggested that the noise issue, which does indeed sound like ground loop noise, probably originates within the system. Ground loop issues are usually caused by interaction of three factors: Certain characteristics of the particular equipment (specifically low level leakage paths that may exist between ac and chassis, in the components' power transformers and associated circuits); how the equipment is interconnected (balanced or unbalanced, and interconnect cable shield resistance if unbalanced); and how ac power is distributed among the different components.

Looking at your system description, what primarily strikes me is "Piega P1 Mk ii active subwoofer (RCA loop-through and cut-off at 75Hz)." Unbalanced (rca) interconnections are inherently prone to ground loop issues. Does this statement mean that you are NOT using balanced connections to the power amps? If so, I suspect that the problem will go away if you connect the dac/preamp directly to the power amps via their xlr connectors (which you should be doing anyway with that equipment, for best sonics), and connect the sub to the power amp outputs via the high level inputs which the sub appears to have.

If I am not interpreting the setup correctly and you are presently connecting dac/preamp to power amps via balanced cabling, try changing the sub inputs from rca to hi-level anyway. ALTHOUGH WITH A FULLY BALANCED AMP, IF THE SUB'S HIGH LEVEL INPUTS ARE UNBALANCED YOU HAVE TO CONNECT BETWEEN THE AMP'S RED SPEAKER TERMINAL AND AMP OR PREAMP GROUND (CHASSIS), NOT BETWEEN THE AMP'S RED AND BLACK TERMINALS, OR YOU MAY DAMAGE THE AMP.

If none of that helps, or isn't applicable, temporarily eliminate the safety ground connection of the sub's ac power plug, using a cheater plug. If that solves the problem, consider getting an audio (not power) ground isolation transformer from Jensen Transformers to use in series with the rca cables to the sub. That would allow you to do away with the cheater plug, which as you probably realize creates a small but non-zero risk of electrical shock if an insulation fault were to develop in the sub.

Regards,
-- Al
jfz
570 posts
 
If you are thinking about adding high-end power cord(s), I suggest that you at least audition an Elrod Statment Gold.
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