Best power cord for amp??

Chucky: I use a Cardas Golden Power Cord (which I purchased thru Audiogon from a dealer in New Jersey-mint demo-he gave me a great price-same as or less than used Goldens) which I use on my integrated amp (all these posters are super high-end guys so I'd be embarrased to say what it is!). My amp has a reputation for being a little on the analytical side and I believe the Cardas has fleshed it out a bit and the improvement has definitely been worthwhile-more info, very musical, much more bass extension etc. The dealer I bought from also suggested I "float the ground" so I removed the ground prong and this did indeed improve the sound further. I have been very happy with the cord. One drawback to the Golden is that it is very stiff. Something else you (or anyone) might consider are the BMI cords being sold on Audiogon auction-I recently purchased two of the "Edge" cords (got them for $50 each-I know-everyone's laughing!). These are outstanding cords for the money, and the guy that's selling them has a new upgraded cord out that is supposedly even better going at still fabulous prices. I put the two cords I bought onto my CD player and line conditioner and the improvement was phenomenal-I would place it in the same category as a major component upgrade, and if I wanted to buy another power cord, I would probably buy his new model; if you don't like it, you can switch it to your TV to get a better picture and not feel like you've lost a fortune! He has a ton of positive feedback postings, and some of the buyers of these cords have posted that they have since sold their Magnan, Harmonic Tech etc. "high end" cords to use these budget wonders on equpipment much more expensive than mine. Anyway-if you want more info on the Cardas dealer with the hot deal (don't think he has any right now, but you might ask him to keep you posted) you can e-mail me and I'll let you know who it is. Blake (palmerblake@hotmail.com)

After reading Carl's post of 5/2/00 essentially "trashing" the Synergistic Research Master Coupler (SR-MC), I decided to critically listen last night for the negative characteristics he noted. I have the SR-MC on my Line 2 pre-amp. 1) too filtered (I took this to mean "veiled" as STPH and TAS use the term)-- not at all, in fact music quality/character was transparent, natural and inviting. 2) Too dark: slightly on the rich, mellow side of neutral (which I prefer, and my system presently needs) but certainly not too dark. 3) very tubby bass-- this was the most difficult criticism to assess. In certain rock, pop, and jazz songs where electric bass and kick drum reinforce each other, SOME songs on some CDs had bass that might be described as somewhat "tubby". But please note that both the electric bass and typical kick drum have "tubbiness" as an inherent musical characteristic-- IMHO, and I've had personal experience playing alongside both of these. But to really assess the bass of this power cord, I had to get into CDs with serious mid and upper bass. Both Enigma #1, and #4 CDS feature the mid-bass to upper bass with a variety of drums and other percussion instruments, and on both of these, bass was taut, articulate, and musical. I enjoyed both CDs a lot. The same with L. McKennitt's "Book of Secrets" which features a variety of percussive instruments on several of the tracks-- overall, very musical without a hint of "tubbiness". Conclusion: in my system, the SR-MC is an excellent performer, and I'm looking forward to getting the same cord for my amp-- it's on order. In the course of doing this testing, I periodically switched to the stock cord for comparison, and in the bass the two cords are similar. It's in the mid-range and above where the SR-MC is clearly superior. I rather did enjoy this challenge; it made me dig deeper, listen more carefully, and assess more rigorously. Thanks, Craig

I wasn't trying to challenge you, Craig. Different cords will work for different systems, but what I heard in mine, is what I heard. And that was comparing six different cords (all with healthy break-in and settling time). Sam Tellig always says your mileage may vary, and I should have said that. I wasn't out to diminish anyone else's experience.

Hi Garfish. This may be bad news, but then again it may be helpful. When running a dedicated AC, it is useful to have first identified which direction of the AC feed sounds best. I discovered this the hard way. I ran the dedicated AC and got a mixture of good and bad. Specifically, there was a brightness that was difficult to deal with. Then I was told about the directionality of the TPC AC feeder. To check, I just ran another AC link through the house to the stereo (ie. not putting it in the wall), but with the direction reversed. This proved Murphy's Law once again and I had to redo the dedicated AC with the cable in the right direction. I hope there is some simpler explanation in your case, because I was not terribly pleased. But the removal of brightness was not the only benefit. Depth and bass punch were considerably improved.

Hi Redkiwi, and thanks for the input. In my professional career there was a saying a close friend used to use a lot that I think applies here; "I wish I understood all that I know about this". That said, what does TPC AC feeder mean? Are you referring to switching the power cable from the main supply panel to the sub-main end for end or side to side? To tell the truth, I was expecting nothing but good things with this dedicated power supply-- and it has dramatically lowered the noise floor, but as noted, the mid-range on up is overly bright, and I suspect it also has had an affect on the lower frequencies; it's just not as noticeable because I'm focused on the brightness. Would you mind if I email you privately-- through Audiogon to discuss this a bit more? As I don't suppose most are very interested in such a mundane topic. Thanks. Craig.