Nordost Vishnu or Shunyata Copperhead Power Cord

A Vishnu loom improved bass in my system by adding weight, refinement and speed. I've never tried Shunyata though.

Vishnu's strengths really come out when used with other Nordost power cords (they call this a loom). Shunyata also recommends using all the same brand for best results. So I think you might be better off sticking with the same brand that you use elsewhere - assuming of course that you have been sticking with just one brand.

Hi Kennyb, Thanks for responding. I've merely ordered both power cords four days ago. I'm aware of the importance of the cabling loom as I'm a firm believer in what Roy Gregory of HiFi + has been talking about for over 8 years now. Yet I've been told in some cases it's okay to alter the loom if one power cord from a certain company is better at producing bass whereas some aren't!, Synergy is a means of canceling out the negatives or weaknesses in ones system which enhancing or building on its strengths - and I'm a believer in the basic concept of purity of notes for the sake of musicality. Yet in the same breath I just can't justify spending $1.800 on any bodies power cord!, now maybe between $700 - $1.000 is where I'd tap out. Thanks again, Oscar

What improved bass more than anything in my system was swapping the Nordost Vishnu used at the wall with a single Nordost Brahma.  The first power cord really sets the tone for what will follow.  But, I imagine this might not be as effective when not using cords from the same manufacturer.

Mixing and matching may give you a short term gain.  But where do you go from there?  Another benefit of using cords from the same manufacturer is you gain a predictable upgrade path.  I have a half dozen friends who started with Nordost Magus and moved on from there.  There has been tremendous consistency in our findings as we've upgraded.  

When I added the Brahma to my Vishnu loom as described above, my results *exactly* matched the results a friend got when he did this same thing.  And I know exactly what to expect when I add a Valhalla power cord at some future point.  (That's my next move actually.   I will use a singe Valhalla at the wall.  This will then be followed by a Brahma used between my QX4 and QB8.  Then Vishnu cords will run from the QB8 to all my components.)

Lastly, I should mention that prior to using Nordost power cords, I used a mix of Lessloss, ESP, and PS Audio cords.  Those cords retailed for between $600 and $750 each.  A complete loom of the $180 Magus humiliated the mix of much more expensive cords.  Magus was a huge upgrade and confirmed for me that the loom theory is correct.

Ken

Hi Ken, I'm sorry to have missed your last response, I've just been out doing last second shopping with the wife. Yet I've taken your recommendation for the Brahma into account and shall in fact pursue one after the Holidays. I see that you're also a believer of Roy Gregory's Concept of Building a Foundation - which starts at the AC Outlet and works upwards from that point ending with the final interconnect or phono-cable as a means to voice ones system according to taste. Yet there're time when one can make one exception to the cabling loom theory and that's with a different favor in regards to that lone power cord on occasion - there're cases where certain cords produce slightly better performance then one it might've replaced. I'm not much into mixing cables either, yet there have been times where one has to address the strengths and weaknesses of ones system without feeling the need to trash it and start anew. Hence the logic that so many so-called music lovers find themselves replacing this or that comonents every other month or so, due to their lack of knowing the proper means of voicing it. Hence the term Synergy which goes hand in hand with tweaking in my mind. As someone whom uses and believes in devices like Shun Mook and Yamamoto Sound Craft Ebony Isolation Devices along with ASI Resonators and Sugar Cubes within my system and/or room. I understand to some it might be weird science and all, but how does the old addage go - hearing is beliving. Once again Thanks for sharing your insight, I know what has to be done. Regards, Oscar

I expect my cables and power cords to do just one thing: get the heck out of the way so I can hear the gear that I paid for. I think that's why I'm not too keen on mixing and matching power cords. I think the goal should be find the power cord that best gets out of the way - and use that cord throughout your system.

I'm not totally following Roy's loom theory right now because I'm using a loom of MIT signal cables with a loom of Nordost power cords. My Spectral gear requires that I use MIT speaker cables, but I'm free to use any brand of interconnect. I settled on MIT because I thought their cables did a better job of getting out of the way than the Nordost interconnects I tried. I suspect the Nordost signal cables were put at a disadvantage because they were paired with MIT speaker cables. I ended up with a hybrid that played to neither cable's strengths.

I ended up going with Nordost power cords as by sheer luck Roy/Nordost sent me and a few local friends a bunch of Nordost power cords to support a weekend event we had at my house involving some members of the Phonogram mailing list. We were sent enough power cords to complete two looms: one of Magus and one of Vishnu. We tried these in two different system and the results were consistent. This won me over to Roy's loom theory.

I believe that synergy comes when a system performs at a level that's greater than the sum of the parts. I certainly get this when using a full loom of MIT signal cables - not surprising since my gear was designed with this cable in mind. And I'd imagine I'd have even greater synergy if I also used MIT power cords. But given how well the Nordost cords have worked out, I'm not that interested in trying them.

I'm not sure it's correct to use the term synergy to describe the net effect of mixing and matching to achieve a certain voicing or a certain sound. In this case you are counteracting one cable with another so neither performs greater than it can on its own. But I totally understand where you are coming from. The only thing that I know about the Shun Mook products, is that those who have tried them find that they really like them. I should try some of their stuff one day.

Thanks for sharing your insight as well Oscar. Have a happy holiday!

Ken