Audio Quest Monsoon Power Cable vs AntiCables Level 3 Power Cord

I have been looking to upgrade from the stock cables on my SGCD/M700s/P3 from the stock cables.
I have come down to these two power cables:
Audio Quest Monsoon Power Cable
AntiCables Level 3 Power Cord
The price point is close with Audio Quest being a bit more.
Looking for a good opinion on power cables for the level of components I have.
Thanks!

I’ve really good luck with the power cables from Audio Envy a small internet direct company out of Fort Collins, Co. Cap has a 45 day return policy but I have never had the inclination to return anything. Probably own at least 8 of them through two systems. Give him a call as he’s easy to work with plus they are priced under the other two you are looking at.

Hi @THT_Jr

I have no experience with Anticables, but I have been using AQ Monsoon fitted with Mistral plugs. It was an upgrade from PS Audio AC 05 which was a bit cheaper. Monsoon works best with power regenerators and power amplifiers. It is solid core with rigid insulation, so managing it around gear could be tricky.

I have the same gear as you except an S300 vs your M700’s. I’m not familiar with Anticables but I use AQ Monsoon on my amp and AQ Blizzard on P3 to the outlet; love it. I switched one cord at a time separated by a few weeks, the audible change was noticed right away and it was an improvement. Hope that helps.

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Thank you for the suggestions! I have decided to try the Anticables based on reviews and reading more into past forums on this site. I will give my review after I try them.

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Good luck. I look forward to hearing your feedback.

Subbed for feedback!

I’m curious. I too have been looking at an upgrade in power cables. I have the SGCD/M700/P3 set up. I have the factory cables in place. I’m thinking of starting with the P3 first and was looking at the Monsoon based on PS recommendation on the website, but I’m open to other brands.

I would be interested in approximately the $3-400 range. also, based on your experiences, will I experience the greatest impact re-cabling the P3 or will I be better starting at the sources? I appreciate all of your viewpoints, trying to educate myself as much as possible before I pull the trigger.

I started with a Stellar Strata then I bought a GR Research B16 power cable - big improvement especially the sound stage becoming more holographic.

Then I bought the Stellar PP3 and an AQ Monsoon cable - the P3 arrived without the Monsoon (it was back ordered) so I used the GR Research B16 from the wall to the PP3 and the stock cable between the PP3 and the Strata. With the stock cable PP3>Strata the sound stage had little to no depth.
When the Monsoon arrived some of the depth returned but not quite as holographic.
So I went ahead and ordered another GR Research cable but this time I got their new B24 cable to go between the PP3>Strata - I like either/both of the GR Research power cables’ sound better than the Monsoon.

In my case the cable between the P3>source(s) has a greater impact than the power cable from the wall to your P3.

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It’s good that you found your optimal power cord. Given prices are fairly close, it’s very interesting to know GR B24 sounds better than AQ Monsoon. How may hours of burn-in did each need? (GR vs. AQ)?

Happy Cake Day!

Thank you :blush: Another reminder of how fast time goes by :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

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I could hear a sound stage depth difference immediately when changing the power cords. I had the AQ Monsoon cable in my system for three months (left system on most of the time so 1000+ hours).

It seemed that each cable took about 100-200 hours to break in. On my system the higher frequencies sounded more brittle/shrill with brand new power cords - after about a week of burn in I would only occasionally hear a “brittle” high note.

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Thank you for sharing your experience :+1:t2:

Would love to hear from THT about his experience with Anticables. We have the same gear and Anticables have always intrigued me.

I purchased the Anticables level 3 power cords for my SGCD/M700/P3 and level 2 power cord for my Maranatz CD Player(CD6004). Originally I purchased the P3 before the Anticables and noticed a distinct difference with the stock power cables in bass punch. Adding the Anticable power cords and breaking them in has added the same punch but more controlled…fast and tighter punch. I have tried them on a pair of Focal 1028Be and Klipsch Chorus II. The major difference were heard on the Klipsch speakers vs the Focals when it came to bass punch. The Klipcsh speakers had a great wide sound stage and sounded great …very live and absolutely amazed for their age since I originally bought pair in 1994. Bottom line the Anticables for the price point well worth the purchase in my system. $330 per 5ft cable.

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I’m sure it isn’t, but that AntiCable power cord looks like a rebranded Chinese cable I saw recently on eBay. Unrelated, but some years ago I tried the first version of their speaker cables, which I abandoned because they picked up too much 2-way radio chatter, and my engineering friend took one look at them and said, “Man, that’s just magnet wire!”.

Early on I tried Anticables level three speaker cables and I thought they were great. But then I tried SO MANY OTHER CABLES! Iconoclast cables really impressed me. But in the end it’s Stealth Audio for me. Iconoclast a close second. Inakustik also impresses me a great deal. Shunyata Sigma cables were it for a while.

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So far I am still enjoying my Anticable purchase. Interesting comment from jazzophile. Hopefully the power cords are not some rebranded cable. I would not think the guys from Minnesota that make Anticable would be doing such tricks. The Reference 3 speaker cables are graet but kinda a pain to work with since they are a solid core wire. No 2-way radio chatter yet but do understand that when current is ran through a wire it will create a magnetic field. So, well OK. I will say I have a pair of Ultra Speaker Cables from Signal Cable that purchased 13 years ago and they sound great for what I have in my modest system but in the end will probably still venture down the cable rabbit hole!

I have tried Anticables Level3 and AQ Thunder power cables for my P15 in the past. I think AQ matches PS Audio gears better. Both cables provided punching bass and great details. However, I felt Anticables PC sounded a bit bright compared to AQ in my system. But it does not mean it will not sound better in a different system.

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