Power cable, DAC or AMP first?

[Dominatrice]

If you had only 1 good, well made power cable (Better then the stock ones) would you use it on a DAC or Amp?

Im thinking DAC, as my Amp (HR millett) is using the Astrodyne PS, which prob will not benefit from the cable.

I dunno, im new to the whole AC power cable, so i bought a starter (Virtual Dynamic basic) for one of my devices, just dont know which.

[Voltron]

I predict you catch shit for your choice of cable, but put it on the DAC. Are you using the Lavry? Grawk isn't quite ready for it.

[Dominatrice]

Is the cable not better then stock?

It was cheap, so i thought it was worth it over the stock for the DAC.

Im using the Lavry connected to the WA6 and the HR connected to my Zhaolu.

I know Grawk wasnt ready for it yet...he said he would get in touch with me when he was ready, although its screaming to stay home with me hahah a =) Just let me know if you want me to send it to you or wait for him big Al.

[Dominatrice]

Well, kinda want to test it between a stock and this...my power in my house is ok, no hum thank god. I just saw it and thought i would give it a try.

[Dominatrice]

hmm, thats a thought....are there any decent cheap ones? I know its a longshot question ehehe....

[Dominatrice]

thats not to bad, might be able to find something used.

I noticed no hum at all in my power in my house. im using a surge protector right now since the power has been popping on and off the past few days. I turn it off at night (the surge protector) just in case something happens. So i was thinking it would be a useless purchase since the wiring and the power is clean for the most part.

This brought me to thinking about either saving for a HR DPS (God i wish there was a DPS that was better then the Astrodyne and cheaper then the DPS) and a power cord for that when or if i do it.

[Dominatrice]

No, i bought a Virtual Dynamics basic power cord.

I want to buy the DPS for my millett =) however wish it wasnt 400$ ehehe.

[Dominatrice]

that's what i'm saying, DIY a power supply, or have someone else DIT one for you.

Hmmmmm, wow, never thought that was possible ehe.

[n_maher]

Hmmmmm, wow, never thought that was possible ehe.

It's perfectly possible, although still not really cheap since your best option is a sigma22 and I'd expect to pay ~$200+ to have a suitable one built. There are other options but I'm not sure I'd bother w/ something like twin TREADS or something like that.

I'm w/ Reks, fancy power cords seem to me to be a waste of time. If I couldn't build my own I'd still be using the same Volex already mentioned.

And I'd always go w/ a better source before upgrading anything else.

[swt61]

Just want to say that even with the bad rap on the parts in some of the VD cables, the VD Power Three that they gave away on a limited run is not a bad cable at all. I don't really care if it is stuffed with peanut M&Ms, as long as it sounds good.

Would I pay $300.00 for it...no! But it's on par with some of my other decent aftermarket power cables.

My favorite is a Grand Enigma cable that I bought from a HFer at a reasonable price.

I don't like to pay more than $50.00 for a power cable, and I don't think it's necessary either.

Warrior05 built me several of them at less than $40.00 ea. (almost entirely parts cost), and they sound every bit as good as the VD.

That being said the VD and all of my other power cables do sound noticeably better than your average stock cable.

[Beefy]

Colour me a skeptic...... but how the fuck could a boutique mains power cable improve sound? Considering solid state amps, it is pre-switch, pre-fuse, pre-transformer, pre-rectifier, pre-reservoir capacitor, and pre-regulator in the power supply alone - let alone all of the decoupling caps in the amp circuit.

What gremlin hiding in a 'bad' power cable could possibly survive passing through all of that, and still present a significant problem?

Seriously, I'd love to know!

[Knuckledragger]

I got a bunch of Quail hospital grade power cords, from their "dentist" line (the only differences are cosmetic, the dentist cords are an unattractive putty color and lack transparent connectors.) The average price was about $7 each. I have been highly pleased with them. That said, I'll freely admit, I have done exactly zero A/B comparisons between them and the stock cords. In every instance, the Quails are between a power conditioner and the component, where they theoretically do the most good. The only caveat is that Quail has a minimum purchase of $50, which can translate to a lot of cords.

[grawk]

I have about 90 power cables from IBM servers that I like because they're rated for 15 amps. I figure that's the only thing that really matters for power. They're nice and beefy.

[jp11801]

Dom I would focus on better PS for an amp or source where possible over the cable. The PS Nate made me for the apogee mini dac did improve the sound over the wall wart. As long as the cord is decent ala quail or volex you should be fine another thing is to look at the wall socket and think about upgrading that to a hospital grade they grip better and you can't believe how shitty the cheap $2.50 wall sockets most builders use are.

[Dusty Chalk]

Hirsch to the white courtesy telephone please. Paging Dr. Hirsch, white courtesy telephone immediately, you are needed in HSC...

[guzziguy]

Dom, the answer is easy. Listen to your setup both ways and see if it sounds different and,. if so, what sounds better to you. I'll be surprised if you hear a difference but you might.

Dom I would focus on better PS for an amp or source where possible over the cable. The PS Nate made me for the apogee mini dac did improve the sound over the wall wart. As long as the cord is decent ala quail or volex you should be fine another thing is to look at the wall socket and think about upgrading that to a hospital grade they grip better and you can't believe how shitty the cheap $2.50 wall sockets most builders use are.

All "hospital grade" means is that it won't spark when plugs are inserted or remove. I do agree that the sockets usually used are not of great quality.

[Dominatrice]

hmmm, my zhaolu seems like a pretty nice sounding DAC, even compared to the Lavry it holds its own. However, some spots where the lavry shines, like classical music.

I guess i can just troll the boards in hopes someone sells a DPS for cheap ehhe. Maybe find someone selling a used DIY and maybe have it wired for my HR Millett.

I ended up getting that power cord...it was only 45$ so i figured it was worth a try.

[postjack]

I concur with everything Reks said. Brickwall + Volex. Brickwall wiped away the final piece of my vinyl rig hum.

[Dominatrice]

will it make a difference if there is no hum in my AC power?

[postjack]

will it make a difference if there is no hum in my AC power?

when it comes to power and power conditioners its hard to say. The Brickwall made me a believer that a solid surge protector could reduce noise floor and provide a blacker background. You might try it and feel completely differently. But the Brickwall at least to me and my admittedly unscientific brain makes sense, unlike a lot of PS Audio gobble-dee-gook.

I'm just not a big fancy power cable believer, but I've never tried anything but Volex and no name power cords in my rig. I have a box of Volex 17604s out in my garage. Might be time to re-up, I should go check.

[Beefy]

will it make a difference if there is no hum in my AC power?

In my albeit limited experience, hum is almost always a grounding issue or EMI from transformers. Any 'hum' coming in through AC shouldn't make it into the signal path unless it is crappy equipment with an under-engineered power supply.

IMHO, a power conditioner is useful for surge suppression and protection from very short brownouts, but it probably won't do much else.

[jp11801]

Dom, the answer is easy. Listen to your setup both ways and see if it sounds different and,. if so, what sounds better to you. I'll be surprised if you hear a difference but you might.

All "hospital grade" means is that it won't spark when plugs are inserted or remove. I do agree that the sockets usually used are not of great quality.

hospital grade also grip better than the limp dick grip the ones in my apt do atm.

[Fungi]

hospital grade also grip better than the limp dick grip the ones in my apt do atm.

Trying to get the Quail cord into the Quail splitter was like wrestling a gorilla.

[Beefy]

i don't think my Odyssey Stratos has a crappy, under-engineered power supply, and it's definitely quieter (dead quiet) when running from the Brickwall.

I'd put my money on improved earthing, rather than the cleaner AC supply.

[Spiug31]

In my albeit limited experience, hum is almost always a grounding issue or EMI from transformers. Any 'hum' coming in through AC shouldn't make it into the signal path unless it is crappy equipment with an under-engineered power supply.

IMHO, a power conditioner is useful for surge suppression and protection from very short brownouts, but it probably won't do much else.

a multi socket power conditioner should also have benefit that all connected components will link to the same wall socket so differing ground values shouldn't be a problem.