MY Sidewinder AC cord progress:

On first listen, I do like it better on the CD50 than I did on the amp, and that's a first. Still pretty sure it's too bright, but will continue evaluating and comparing. On a side note, I'm also comparing Cardas Neutral Reference speaker cable with MIT Terminator 3, and the MIT is winning so far...in MY system context, anyway. Let's see, $90 versus $900; who'd a thunk it? The Black Mamba is staring at me, as if mocking me....

The best arrangement so far has been the Sidewinder on the CD player, and the Purist Audio Design Proteus cord on the power amp. This combo was only slightly bright in the top octave and a half, while being very neutral/detailed/high-rez/unfatigueing. Please note that I preferred the Proteus on the amp, INSTEAD of the Black Mamba, while the Sidewinder was on the CD player. With the Sidewinder on the CD player and Black Mamba on amp, the presence region was forward and analytical, bass pitch definition wasn't as good as with the Tiffany cord on amp, and Sidewinder on CD player (this combo is still the most neutral and features the best bass rhythm/snap/jump facor, but I very slightly preferred it less than the Proteus/Sidewinder combo).................The Black Mamba is now on the CD player, and the Proteus is on the amp.........(More on this combo after I've listened enough...BTW, I plug the CD player into a Chang Lightspeed 6400, and the power amp's cord into the wall; there's nothing special about my outlets, or circuits. We have only 200 amp service, and live 25 miles from the power plant, and about one mile from a "substation".)............I will then switch back to the Sidewinder on amp, and then lastly my current "reference" of MIT Z-Cord 2 on CD player, and Tiffany on amp.....................I think that next I'd like to try Synergistic Reference on amp, and ESP Essence on CD player.

Carl you've been busy, we need a scorecard to keep track of all the combinations, but very good post. As you know I have Powersnakes Sidewinder on my Musical Fidelity X-Ray CD player and was very pleased with improved sound. It is interesting how a AC cord can have different results depending what piece of equipment it is used for. For those who are interested, to give some perspective, here are some retail prices for cables Carl is testing, Powersnakes Sidewinder 5ft $280 & black mamba 6ft $695, MIT Z-cord 2 6ft $175, ESP essence 6ft $499, Synergistic ref 5ft $600, Purist Audio proteus 5ft $560, Tiffany ???? After a while it becomes too mind boggling between changing AC cords, interconnects, and speaker cables..... so many combinations

Thank you, Megasam.

The Tiffany Carl is speaking of is the TPC-60, long discontinued, but can sometime be found used at about $60.00 to $75.00. The Tiffany sold for a retail price of $179.00 when new. Although not the best AC cord available, it is nearly impossible to beat when considering purchase price. I keep several around for testing at my place, and I have mostly Purist Dominus everywhere in the system.