Going to dip my toes in the Power Cord abyss

Did Audio Advisor have a sale on those?
The Pangea cables are always on sale, so to say and AA. The PS Audio Cable was full price at $129 for 1M, but I will end up with a 1.5M cord for the same price.

I didn't want to break the bank with this experiment, but I think it has proved very positive in my system and I am now a believer in After Market PCs.

I don't suggest that everyone will get the same results and I am sure it depends on your gear, house wiring, the circuit your gear is on, how many other PCs are nearby and so on. I would say if your system is not revealing enough to observe differences in ICs, it may not display any obvious benefits with PCs.
 
I have an AC-5 at the moment, and got a killer deal on a used one from someone I knew. ($125. ;) ) AA is a good company though. At $129, that is only a little more than what I would spend on quality wiring, sheathing and connectors to make my own.

I won't buy power cables on eBay since there are now so many counterfeits out there. An AC-12, even "pre-owned," does not sell for under $200 only from China, Hong Kong, etc..
 
Good to know. I was looking at ebay, but AA has the nice 30 day return. I was actually prepared to eat the return shipping out of this experiment from the start, but I am keeping them. Hopefully the PS delivers the same.
 
No worries about PS Audio--they've been around for over 40 years, and know their stuff. A lot of what they sell is way beyond my reach, but there is sound engineering behind it all.
 
One thing that power cables address is shielding, keeping bad noises from passing out of, or into, the power cable when it is so near to the components.

The approach I would take is to shield the signal input cables, and fit a passive EMC/EMI clamp on the power cable, or a filtered IEC power socket.

These are standard techniques for ensuring compliance with conducted and radiated emissions/susceptibility standards.


If your equipment is in a metal box, with well-bonded, conductive contact between the panels of all sides, the radiated susceptibility should be fairly good (we have a Faraday cage); hence the need for shielding of the input cables that are outside the box, and are nice antennas...

If the panels aren't conductively connected, or only connected sparsely, the gap will form a slot antenna, allowing signals of a certain bandwidth to enter.

Conducted susceptibility is likely to be the biggest problem, since it's directly coupled into the equipment via the power supply. Hence the suggested input filter.
 
The PS Audio AC3 arrived yesterday. They were back ordered for the 1M so they sent me a 1.5M cable for same price. Beefy yet flexible and very nice connectors.

Swapped out the cord to my Amp, but at the moment connected to my APC H15 and not directly to a dedicated outlet.

After system warmed up, I played the same tracks as I played when swapping in the first 2 cables. Very noticeable change once again. My amp now has more grip on everything and bass got even more detailed and correct sounding.

Besides rolling tubes, this has been the best $230 I have spent on this hobby. In the right setup with the right gear, these power cords do something for sure.
 
so true people who g spent big dollars on ac need to think in terms of percent difference made any longer me cable no matter how good is a meter Long now go in the wall to repair he breaker box and up the ole time to the nearest transfomer minimum 100 ‘ as much as mile 5280 ‘ so let’s say 2,500 ‘ adverige so do the math let the cable you youse be 5’ that’s .005 percent different so 14 gage stranded is fine current wise now voltage and THD of the line is different and really matters no a ACTIVE ac condishoner is a different as it makes up for any problems in the AC filter caps charge up to the he peak value of the line this will directly affect output in less it has a reulated power supply but very few do on the main supply so nice cables are pretty and after someone spend the money they hear a improvement because they want to !

Since you either
A- do not have gear revealing enough to let you hear differences
B- have never done the experiment in your house with gear that meets A

Feel free to stop by sometime when you are in the neighborhood.
 
Since I ran my own dedicated line, box, outlets, and breaker, I know I don't have a bunch of loose wires

I know; you are an example to us all. I have no idea of the state of my house wiring...

My comment was addressing the general topic of the thread, not a specific reply to you.
 
I know; you are an example to us all. I have no idea of the state of my house wiring...

My comment was addressing the general topic of the thread, not a specific reply to you.

Well, the general topic of the thread is about trying after market PCs in a known good setup with gear that is revealing. I get your point tho, wiring is always suspect in old house or new. Anyone serious about this hobby should run one or have a dedicated line installed. The noise and volume interference I used to get when on the same line as my kitchen, fridge and florescent lighting, were sound killers. I got a good improvement with just a dedicated 20amp line.

The Power cables are icing on the cake for me.
 
If this weren't a rental, I would have installed a dedicated line by now. (Not that the owner would mind, but I'd rather not lose out on the cost, plus I don't think there are any spare breaker locations in the panel.) It's easy here. I'd just run a 10 gauge outside from the basement, run the conduit to the family room about 15-20 feet at the most, and punch it through the wall. I just realized now that I could also do it near the cold air return, but it is nowhere near my system. It's tempting though, especially if I decided to rearrange the room. I could it with a hospital grade plug and be done with it. (I'd rather not leave a PS Audio Power Port in the house when I move. ;) )

After system warmed up, I played the same tracks as I played when swapping in the first 2 cables. Very noticeable change once again. My amp now has more grip on everything and bass got even more detailed and correct sounding.
As fate worked out, I managed to find two used AC-3s over the past couple of days, and they are headed to me now. Now I just need another AC-5, and to find someone who an put an IEC jack into my power amp without harming anything. (C-J can do it for like $300 or something, but that doesn't include shipping both ways.)

I would say that the weakest link is the $10 breaker.
I am waiting for someone to develop audiophile circuit breakers. It's inevitable. :D
 
Enjoy your evaluations. I specified dedicated lines for the basement listening room when we built our previous house twenty years ago. Soon after I moved to my current house, I had two 20A lines added to the music room. I puchased my first aftermarket cord after a reviewer friend lent me three of his Kimber Palladians to audition over a weekend. I was quite surprised they could have such an audible effect.

I just have to smile every time I read speculative ramblings (especially semi-coherent ones) about distance from transformers and sub stations when these individuals don’t understand the villains live in our homes. They’re not miles away. Unfortunately, there are now legions of switch mode power supplies used by all manner of modern devices that happily spew RFI grunge back into the AC. Virtually every digital component also radiates noise which can be readily picked up by amplification devices. Even heroic sized power supplies require some active filtration.
 
There are "noise harvesters" that will suck up some of that grunge from the lines. It has me thinking that I could put a few in strategic places around the house, like on the same outlet as my power brick where I charge everything.

I just have to smile every time I read speculative ramblings (especially semi-coherent ones) about distance from transformers and sub stations when these individuals don’t understand the villains live in our homes.
Our homes, and also the homes around us, and anything along the line. That incoming power is cruddy, and our homes only crud it up more. :D

I likely will have some sort of power regenerator in the future but not for a few years. I have other things to upgrade first.
 
There are "noise harvesters" that will suck up some of that grunge from the lines. It has me thinking that I could put a few in strategic places around the house, like on the same outlet as my power brick where I charge everything.
I tried a couple of them and found little benefit.

I prefer direct approaches such as avoiding devices that pollute the line (switch mode power supplies) and use conditioners for sources and shielded cords for amplification devices.
 
I prefer direct approaches such as avoiding devices that pollute the line (switch mode power supplies) and use conditioners for sources and shielded cords for amplification devices.
Definitely the better way to go if it's possible. So I'm already set on the shielding and conditioning. (Sounds like an ad for hair care products. :D )

I know how harvesters work, and know of a few who have tried them with a noticeable effect (I won't say perfect effect though, as I've seen they always want to add more and more harvesters...and that's a rabbit hole!) but for sure, it's an indirect approach that can never be as good as direct.
 
The PS Audio AC3 arrived yesterday. They were back ordered for the 1M so they sent me a 1.5M cable for same price. Beefy yet flexible and very nice connectors.

Swapped out the cord to my Amp, but at the moment connected to my APC H15 and not directly to a dedicated outlet.

After system warmed up, I played the same tracks as I played when swapping in the first 2 cables. Very noticeable change once again. My amp now has more grip on everything and bass got even more detailed and correct sounding.

Besides rolling tubes, this has been the best $230 I have spent on this hobby. In the right setup with the right gear, these power cords do something for sure.
Both of my AC3s have arrived--great deals on both, and one was even still new in the factory box. The used cable looked like new. The only change I had to make in my rack was to swap the preamp and the Oppo, since the preamp was on the top shelf and the IEC outlet on the opposite end from where I have the conditioner beside the rack. It was only like three inches short. Once I can rearrange the room and get the Dectet behind the rack rather than alongside it, then I will have an easier time routing the cords. All I have left is to get another AC5 to use on the power amp (once I get the IEC connector installed).

I haven't had much chance to compare cords yet, however. I did not notice an immediate difference, but I did notice on a track I have listened to a lot lately that the percussion seemed to be more "sorted," if that makes sense--I was listening as background while working, and it made me stop and take notice that I was hearing individual percussion instruments better than I had before. Highs also seem slightly smoother than they did previously, and I find I am turning up the system just a little bit more now since it sounds so good. ;)
 
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