Nordost Vishnu or Shunyata Copperhead Power Cord

I hadn't seen Ken's system when I wrote this. I like his components and share a few of them: the Quantum units and, as previously mentioned have had the Vishnu power cord. My system is a First Sound Deluxe MK 1 1/2 (I haven't fully upgraded to a Mk II or MK III THIS time around (I had a Mk II before, but sold it), ASL Hurricanes, Odyssey Khartago amps, Shunyata Andromeda speaker cable (their first generation speaker cable), Alpha Core Goertz AG 2, Shunyata Gemini, and, until a year ago, Transparent Audio Ultra MM2 (also a killer speaker cable!), Shunyata Python CX power cords (4) and Black Mamba CX (1), Arcam FMJ 23 CD player, Sony DVS 9000 (with so many letters after it, I can't even recall them all) SACD player, JVC 1050 (still a phenomenal player and one that showed that the CLOCK in a CD player made all the difference and trust me, it can sound QUITE realistic for a $700 player), a Teres turntable (I think it's the 135, which they don't make anymore), Nordost Quattro Fil, Tyr and Valhalla interconnects, Shunyata Aries interconnects (with WBT connectors), Finite Elemente Spider equipment rack. Nordost Sort Kones....oh, right, speakers: Hales Revelation 3, Alon Viper Plus (alnico magnets on tweeter and mid drivers), Mirage 490s, Sequerra 7.7, Usher 718 (non-BE) and a few others, including Nola Thunderbolt subwoofers. And 6,000,000 tube traps. Only slightly joking here. The room is constructed with ASC's Iso-Wall Damp system throughout.
Heading over towards acquiring Magnepans if only because it would be great to have a non-cone speaker, and because the 1.7/3.7 are reference-quality speakers and they sound like the actual instruments as I hear them live. I think I can make them sound superior to what I've heard in dealer showrooms, but then I don't have to keep 8 difference sets of speakers in the same room (not good for the sound) and owned enough top-tiered stuff in the past (Watt/Puppies, Versa Dynamics 2.3 turntable, Goldmund Mimesis 9, to name a few) and wrote for a couple of mags (TAS briefly -- VERY briefly) Fi, and Ultra Audio, that I think I can reliably tell the difference between what sounds good to me (we can ALL be fooled by some aspect of sound dazzling us) and what sounds more real (meaning, has 7 out of 10 qualities that one experiences live as opposed to 4 out of 10 qualities one experiences live. (Especially bass "slam" which seems to knock some people out of the park so far that they ignore things like grain, and worst of all, assuming that fullness of tone is a "tubey sounding attribute. It is not, unless you don't hear instruments in person, only thru equipment)

Just getting back to this now as the holiday kept me otherwise occupied. Thanks for the compliments about my system guys.

In terms of the Vishnu being thin, I think it depends on which direction one is heading. If using cords at or below the Vishnu's retail price, I suspect one won't consider the Vishnu thin at all. The increase in low end weight was one of the improvements that most impressed me about the Vishnu. That quality improves dramatically as you move up to the Brahma, of course. I'd expect this would be true for just about any manufacturer's power cord when moving up to one that costs around twice as much.

Interesting comments about the Shunyata cords Gbmcleod. If I wasn't already so heavily invested in Nordost & Quantum products, Shunyata cords would be at the top of my list.

Gbmcleod mentioned the Magnepan 1.7/3.7. A friend upgraded from the 3.6 to the 3.7 not too long ago. The 3.7 was a huge upgrade from the 3.6. The 3.6 couldn't disappear - all too often the drivers would call attention to themselves. The 3.7 disappears completely. I'd say that the 3.7's greatest strength is treble and midrange purity. The treble in particular is excellent. Ultimately though, I could not live with the 3.7s due to how it performs in the lower frequencies - unless maybe I added a pair of subs. The 3.7 certainly lets you know low bass is present in recordings, but it does not deliver the weight I'd expect to hear in real life as very little air is moved. This may be partly due to my friend's electronics or cabling, or the fact that he tends to listen at moderate volume levels. I'm a drummer and get easily distracted when drums aren't properly reproduced. Bass drums just don't sound right to me from the 3.7s. I hear the frequencies that suggest a certain size bass drum, but the heft I'd expect to hear from that drum just doesn't follow. The beater hitting the head doesn't carry the weight I'd expect either, particularly at lower volume levels. I'm guessing a pair of subs would remedy this. Or maybe a full loom of Brahma. :-)

Speaking of the Nordost power cable loom effect....

Check this report from the Shanghai Audio society http://sashome.net/?p=132

Lars Kristensen himself was there giving a demo, he stated that using 1 Odin to the power distributor, with all Blue Heaven power cables (Magus rebadged), will outcompete an all Valhalla system.

So Kennyb it may be worth your while to downsize those Vishnu and Brahma eh?

I don't doubt Lars for a minute. The Brahma demonstrated to me how the power cord used at the wall sets the tone for the rest of the loom.

I won't be downsizing, but this finding did cause me to adjust my plans for upgrading. Normally I would have just continued replacing Vishnus with Brahmas. Instead I will leave my Vishnu loom in place and only upgrade the cord at the wall. So next I hope to replace the Brahma at the wall with a Valhalla. And following that at some future time I hope to be replace the Valhalla with an Odin.

I'm guessing that the ability to make these kinds of advances by only swapping the power cord at the wall point to another benefit of using the same brand of power cord throughout.

Ken

12-19-11: Kennyb
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.

This has been my experience to. Use your best cord first and try to stick to one manufacturer.