Power Cord brands mixing. "Your Opinions"

I have to agree with Doug here, pretty strongly too. I've done quite a bit of messing around with power products over the years and admit to that factor being the most challenging for me in system design. One thing I understand from all of that experience is that each brand seems to have it's own character. I know exactly what a Shunyata cable will sound like in my system regardless of which one, same with Nordost, Tara, Acoustic Revive, MIT, Isoclean...so on and so on. Most of those brands are very different in voice and to my ears tend to sound mucked up when mixed in a system. I hear much more coherence from one "voice" throughout vs the mixing of those voices. I suppose it depends on an individuals goals when building their system, mine involve bringing a true to the source end result so the more coherence the better.

Regarding the comments that suggest a power cord/brand will sound very different depending on the gear it is connected to, from my experience this is not accurate. I'd guess many reasons for this, some beyond my knowledge base some I think I get. Many cords use different methods to provide clean, ample current...including the use of elements (ie Tara or Acoustic Revive and some Shunyata) or even the winding techniques but these bring a specific sound with them in most cases. That sound or voice is pretty consistent. Acoustic Revive uses Tourmaline in many of their products and the reaction of Tourmaline and an electrical signal is audible hence most of their products have the same overall character. I'd say this is also true of filter techniques...ie MIT...that have a character in the sonic outcome. Mixing these "voices" has not given me positive results in achieving my system goals.

I realize some of this is redundant but was trying to illustrate why I held this opinion.

Sell your rig and buy a one box system. Voila...problem solved.

whiole empirical experience can build confidence, there is no logical basis or necessary condition which makes one brand of cables throughout a stereo system superior to multiple brands.

how do you prove this ?

remember, the goal is to enjoy the music.

i suspect that there are so many variables that there is no validity to the assertion that one brand is superior to mix and match as far as cables are concerned, when the goal is optimizing the sound of a stereo system to suit your taste.

I have now listened a while to my one cable brand system and yes, it is better IN MY SYSTEM than my mix was. While all cables vary on different components it seems logical to assume that the same brand will vary to a lesser degree than several brands. This is what my system sounds as if it is doing, fewer sharp edges in the sound if you will; more "organic" in character. HIFICRITIC noted the same thing in the current issue; saying that to get the full benefit of cables staying with the same brand is best. THIS IS NOT TO SAY that you may not like the sound of a mix better, just that the same brand route is a little easier to travel. Also not to tout the superiority of Transparent, I noted the same thing when I kept increasing the number of PS cables in my system. If I had gotten an equivalent deal on PS I might have gone that way. Also my speaker cables are Cardas GR and my ICs VDH TFUs, although my digital cable is also Transparent. I would have no objection to going all Transparent save the expense; the speaker cable and ICs are not cheap. I think the mix route makes more sense on different functions than at the same level anyway. Let us not get carried away; you say po-ta -to and I say po-tot-o etc. If it sounds good listen to it.

Mrtennis, briefly the logical basis resides in cables having a sonic character due to construction and materials. If you have never compared sets of cables I don't expect you to agree with that statement.

As you suspect there are too many variables, again the key is the sonic character of cables which is consistent no matter which components they are used with; that addresses the suspected myriad of variables you allude to. Consequently with unified sets the individual can pursue whichever attributes they desire in a set of cables, versus guesswork with a mixed set.