Has anyone had any experience with Pangea Cables?
More specifically, power cables and balanced interconnects?
I just purchased a Stellar Gain DAC, M700 mono blocks and Dectect power conditioner.
Thanks for any and all advise!
Congrats on the SGCD & M700’s. The only recommendation I have (regarding interconnect) is no matter what brand you end up choosing, get balanced (xlr) between the pre and power amps.
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Yes, AC9SE for the P3 and AC9 MKII for the M700’s, SGCD and SVS sub.
I used monoprice monolith xlr’s and am super happy with the results.
Sound is fantastic and could not be happier.
If you look at my profile you will notice I use Pangea for all of my power cables.
I personally think they sound great.
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I have used Pangea power cords in the past and while they are better than the black cords that came in the boxes there are other choices at similar price points. Cullen Cable is one and my favorite Audio Envy in Colorado. Call Cap and talk to him about what you need as his prices are fair and he has a 45 day trial period.
Now if you are looking at “Clearance” cables from AA then that is another story.
Also word of warning if you are looking at Pangea AC-9 cables you better have plenty of room as their bend radius is pretty big.
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I would recommend you look at ANTICABLES instead. They are similar in price but my ears think ANTICABLES punch well over their price point.
Shunyata are the hot ticket item in the power cable market at the moment. One of their entry level power cables might be a good match for your gear.
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Does power wire make a difference? Definitely, maybe, or not. I think there maybe a significant placebo effect going on. Still the thought that you are choking your precious gear weighs on the mind. I get little joy crawling behind my rack, changing cable, crawling back , letting equipment warm back up and assessing a change. Music Direct has Shunyata Venum V2 on sale as a five pack. I put these in and will move on to other improvements. Did they help? I really didn’t hear a significant difference but I did relax a bit.
I have 6 AC9MKII in my system for power distribution to thirsty components, I like them because of their gauge and quality. I am not going to claim they change the sound-stage, I don’t believe a power cable has that ability; they are more akin to audio jewelry in my opinion.
FYI they are larger than a garden hose, heavy and not very pliable. You may need a paperweight to hold your M700 down with them connected to it. Similarly at the outlet end, they tend to sag as well due to the weight. I shim them up with a wedge.
I also run AC14XL MKII for my source components, a nice cable as well.
-Tony
I have heard a difference in power cables at a demonstration at a stereo event, but I have not changed/upgraded my power cables at home. Moving to xlr cables between the PS Audio pre and power amps made a significant difference in my system.
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Pangea cables are nice quality cables.
I’ll “second” the Cullen Cables; excellent quality and very pliable.
I just bought a few sets of Audio Envy O’nestian 4:4; but I haven’t gotten the chance to install them.
Check out Ice Age Audio, too. They’ve got some really nice cables, at a great value too.
If you want real Audio bargains NRG Custom cables. I use 4 custom lengths of .5 version and I replaced AC12’s. The .1 version is a real bargain. Beware they sound horrible for 2-3 days while breaking in.
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I’ve been looking at those myself. I was initially thinking about the Pangea AC cords, but the NRG seem better built with larger guage wire and still easily bendable.
I do have the Pangea USB cable. Excellent build cable with separate power and signal cables.
Keep in mind the Pangea AC-9SE MKII is actually not 9 gauge but is instead 7 gauge with three shields.
https://www.pangeaaudio.com/Pangea-AC-9SE-MKII-Power-Cable-with-20-Amp-Plug
It’s a great cable imo once you have it bent in the orientation you want it…for about $100-150. The AC-9SE MKII can be a bear to get in place(as RsZK said), it’s a very thick cable.
I wish I was content to be a doubter, but I was not.
I dare you to say placebo effect to me in person. (Kidding)
To those who choose to believe a power cable cannot be heard I strongly encourage you to stay with that belief and tell you to not test it ever, because it is very easily proven incorrect and at great expense.
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Why is this? (How horrible? Like, worse than the cheap stock cables that come with the gear?)
I don’t own them or anything, just very curious what might make a power cable sound horrible.
The Pangea AC9MKII’s are excellent cords. Don’t let their price fool you. They can really compete with the big boys. I’m using them on my digital front ends and they sound fabulous. They add some much needed warmth and fullness to the sound without sounding dull. I actually like them more than some of my more expensive cords powering the DS, DMP and server.
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It’s well know that some cables need extra break in time. They sounded coarse for lack of a better adjective. But they get better quickly.
Totally get the break-in thing. But I didn’t think if it started out “bad” it would become “good.”
In the case of NRG Custom Cables, yes. I’ve had nice audio systems for 40 years. This was a first. But even from morning to afternoon, it sounded better.