I am of the camp that it all maters but clean power to start with is paramont over all,of it. I have a few p5/10,s. They realy do help . And if you want to see and not hear what they do try it on video. It’s amzing how much it improves . Now anyone here that uses there power cords on video and say they see the improvement ? I’ll bet no. If someone here can say it helps video then I’ll buy there cable but for a money back trial .
Now interconnects are a funny bread. They must be listened to for short while to hear or feel the improvement . Some sound like crap from the get go , but some take A little while to hear the change. Now that’s just me and how I feel about it.
Edor glad you,like the ps audio power stuff I have posted plenty about them but mostly get bulled back abou them.
The only way to try AC cables risk free is to wait for a used one to show up on Audiogon at a good price, and resell it with minimal or no loss if it does not work out. I do this all the time to try different stuff. With the new digital sigma being released chances are some used alpha digitals may hit the second hand market. Of course, you need to find someone willing to ship to Australia, so patience is be required.
I use shunyata digital cables. I used to run power from a P5 into the DS which sounded fine. I then drank a bit too much Shunyata kool-aid and replaced my P5 with a Shunyata Triton. This turned out to be a cash flow negative lateral move, so if you have a P5 I suggest you keep it, and ignore what the Shunyata fanboys will tell you. Stick with the excellent cables. I never tried running it straight from the wall.
Thanks edorr…when he told me the wall over the P5 I knew his next words would be, only a Shunyata conditioner would get the best out of the
Alpha Digital. Also in the pics of the alpha digital, the cables looks thick and I thinking difficult to fit.
alrainbow said
I am of the camp that it all maters but clean power to start with is paramont over all,of it. I have a few p5/10,s. They realy do help . And if you want to see and not hear what they do try it on video. It's amzing how much it improves . Now anyone here that uses there power cords on video and say they see the improvement ? I'll bet no. If someone here can say it helps video then I'll buy there cable but for a money back trial .
Now interconnects are a funny bread. They must be listened to for short while to hear or feel the improvement . Some sound like crap from the get go , but some take A little while to hear the change. Now that’s just me and how I feel about it.
Edor glad you,like the ps audio power stuff I have posted plenty about them but mostly get bulled back abou them.
Al
Shunyata has a religious following, and my assertion that P5 to Triton was a lateral move earned me much ridicule. I stick with what my ears are telling me. I also bought a full loom of Anaconda signal cables which I burned in and sold in a week because I preferred the incumbent Transparent Reference - oh well. There is now a Triton v2 upgrade in the works ($2,000 extra). It is a foregone conclusion the upgrade will be declared a paradigm shifting, jaw dropping improvement by Shunyata afficionados. I’m on the fence about either upgrading or going back to PS audio (get a pair of P10s). No rush deciding.
Another source is P.I. Audio, Dave specializes in power products, makes a great UBERBUSS conditioner and several power cords, I have one and four of his p cords, once compared with a Shunyata and liked his better ( don’t recall which cord it was). His prices are reasonable meaning a few hundred and offers a money back guarantee. A great guy to boot. He does custom stuff a lot, tell him what you are using it with and he’ll do his thing.
Our ears lead us to the truth. But our eyes lead us to pride of ownership tough competition the two bring. How many times do we go with pride only to lead to real despising ears.
Glad to read your comments it leads us to real answers
edorr said
The only way to try AC cables risk free is to wait for a used one to show up on Audiogon at a good price, and resell it with minimal or no loss if it does not work out. I do this all the time to try different stuff. With the new digital sigma being released chances are some used alpha digitals may hit the second hand market. Of course, you need to find someone willing to ship to Australia, so patience is be required.
I found on audiogn there's a dealer selling demos of the Alpha for US$700. Shipping (if they wil ship to OZ) cc 3% and the AUS dollar buys 80US cents. I don't think I will save much if any.
$700 USD = 875 AUS$. Throw in $75 for shipping and PP and you own the cable for AUS$ 950 instead of AUS$1,300. If it does not work out you can resell for say AUS$900 for a minimal loss (5%). If you buy new and resell, you’re out AUS $350 (30%). Easy call.
palladio said
I’m new to the DirectStream and after hearing Ted Smith’s emphasis on clean power, realize that I probably need to do something other than use a stock AC cable. (Sad to say, all of my AC cables are stock. My Krell pre-amp came with a "heavy" cable but it's still stock-ish.)
What are all of you using? I’m thinking of picking up one of the AC5s, as the price point is attractive… but thought that asking experienced users would use useful. All input would be most appreciated!
I use the Shunyata Alpha digital PC to great effect. It is one of a very small number of power cables that are specifically designed to deal with digital noise polution that is introduced by the DAC itself. You will occassionally see them used on Audiogon.
vhiner1…with the Shunyata Alpha digital on your DAC, what do you run it out of? The Shunyata rep, here in Australia, suggests I run it out of the wall instead of out of my P5. Downunder they are $1.3k. that’s last years price. Because of the low Aussie Dollar he will soon increase the prices but if I commit to buy this week I will ONLY pay last years price
Ross, I run my Alpha Digital from my Triton. The good thing about the Alpha is that is actually functions as its own power conditioner so you will get good results directly to the wall. I have no experience with the P5 or other conditioners and this cord so am unqualified to comment on using the Alpha with them. The Alpha is easier to dress than any previous Shunyata cord other than the Venom and old taipans and Diamondbacks. I’ve owned them all.
Btw, with respect to some other posts, I am not a member of any cable cult and have nothing to say about cords I have not used or things I have not heard. As Ted has said, any decent power cord will improve the DS’s performance. I define decent as anything produced by a reputable company with a proven customer satisfaction track record. Others are welcome to disagree.
alrainbow said
I am of the camp that it all maters but clean power to start with is paramont over all,of it. I have a few p5/10,s. They realy do help . And if you want to see and not hear what they do try it on video. It's amzing how much it improves . Now anyone here that uses there power cords on video and say they see the improvement ? I'll bet no. If someone here can say it helps video then I'll buy there cable but for a money back trial .
Al
Al, I’ve tried nearly the whole “PerfectWave” line of PS Audio power cords on my TV and DVR and Universal Player: AC-5, AC-10 and AC-12. I was hoping that AC-5s would “look” and sound the same as any of the others. But a few friends and I tried the AC-10s and AC-12s and darned if each didn’t improve over the AC-5 and the AC-12 was “clearly” best. Surprised me. Hurts the wallet, but we could “see” the difference.
Hahaha that is funny and I am glad it worked. Do you have a p5 or 10. I own a bunch of p12 , 10 and the like. I have not tried any on my video. But I do have two p 5,s standing guard on my two tv setups . Well worth the money and i use the original power cords with them. The improvement is intense and enough for the wife to notice and she hates the whole audio video thing. Now if I can get the cats to stop sniffing the display and shutting things down she will let them stay lol.
We actually conducted this experiment when I was using a Power Plant Premier. I now have a P5. Yes, the power plants themselves improve the video performance, and the PerfectWave cords further improve the video performance.
lonson said
Mine too. At great expense and possibly with not the greatest wisdom I have AC-12s on all the components on my main system from the wall to the P5 to the amp and all source components, even to all the PowerBases they rest on. The cumulative effect is really really good.
I did start out the sentence with “At great expense”. . . Yes, but the money is spent and I’m reaping the benefit. I shouldn’t have to buy another power cord for this system again if these hold up structurally as long as I think they will. I love the sound.
I’m getting great sound using Audience 24SE LP (low power) cable. It’s not shielded, but sounds superior to my home-built shielded Belden as well as a Virtual Dynamics Power3 cable i had around. At around $900 for a 6ft cable, it’s also a bargain as premium cables go.
After trying several brands, I’ve gone with HiDiamond power cords (P4, P3) almost across the board on my computer and TV systems, a DSD and PWD II, respectively, and been very happy. Check Audiogon forums for lots of user comments that swear by them. The P3 and sometimes P4 can be had inexpensively on the used market. Keep an eye on http://www.hifishark.com/ (put a space between i and D). The No. American distributor, Robert Neill (Ontario), often has some trade-ins and other used.
Yes, but the money is spent and I’m reaping the benefit. I shouldn’t have to buy another power cord for this system again if these hold up structurally as long as I think they will. I love the sound.