I learned something new 
1 Like
Thanks Nick!
Darrell (Vmax) knows his stuff. A PowerPlant at least where ground is concerned is an effective āstar groundā for the system. Forget about current to and from the PP and your devices via live and neutral for a moment ā the ground should and can be the path where RF collected from inside and outside the faraday cages of your devices flows to earth. When your PP has an excellent power cable with a ground that presents as a low impedance path to earth at RF then RF will drain rather than look for other low impedance places to go.
On our podcast, weāve talked about how ultra high frequencies, i.e. RF, do not āseeā audio circuits like our 60Hz or 20-20KHz frequencies do. Audio circuits guide and work with audio frequencies in predictable ways, but RF can be very unpredictable when infiltrating the same circuits. The path to best sound that I have found is to have all power cables contain excellent low impedance pathways to ground, to have interconnects - depending on the circuit - allow easy and obvious pathways for RF to flow between faraday cages (chassis) which will then subsequently find the chassis-ground doorway out to earth in each thanks to the excellent power cables, and to offer a low impedance, easy exit for all the RF to exit via the wall. Star grounding using low impedance connections between and to earth is a great approach. This assumes your wall outlet ground is of a lower impedance than the ground of the āstarā device. But most are. If youāre read Fremerās writeup about his power woes, youāve seen some discussion about this, where he was able to improve the impedance of his ground.
Impedance is tricky to talk about because it is resistance versus frequency. You should always ask āimpedance at what frequency?ā ā¦ RF is so incredibly vast that most approaches only tackle segments of the spectrum. But we do the best we can. Iām not a believer in shielding from RF in a power cable, but a huge believer in figuring out how to move it.
Bottom line: Best power cable from wall to PP, like most here have said.
4 Likes
Science and logic huh?
Wall to regenerator, for sure. Several cable manufacturers also offer designs specifically for regenerator use, like Shunyata. This type does not have noise reduction if I remember. In any case, this version sounds best. Choose wisely.
2 Likes
Itās a conspiracy propagated by a cabal of cable manufacturers who are taking advantage of our gullible natures.
3 Likes
Why did you let the cat out of the bag? 
That was such a well kept secretā¦
Vkennedyā¦having all the goodies our systems benefit from
makes me smile ā¦and all the more when met with the disapproval
of othersā¦
Some folk just like to disruptā¦having nothing better to doā¦
Best wishes
1 Like
Last night, as a test of my sanity, I swapped out my AudioQuest Tornado ($1,700) power cord feeding my P20, with an AudioQuest NRG-Z ($330) cable. The difference was astounding. Disturbing actually. It made me question whether I should replace every NRG-Z cable with something better. The sound with the NRG-Z cable started to loose its structure. It sounded less real, almost a disfigured image.
Iām sure someone could explain, at least part of the science, as to why the last few feet of electrical cable matter (Iāve seen great explanations) and why the cable before the P20 matters. But I am also starting to think that the measurement/engineering types arenāt looking in the right place. They arenāt measuring the correct parameters to see why cables 100% matter. Iāve heard the difference over and over. This is not snake oil. I donāt need a measurement to tell me what I already know, but Iām still curious. Perhaps the answers we seek, about HiFi audio, exists in the quantum realm.
1 Like
Well csr78ā¦
As we all know music is highly dynamic and places quite
a demand on power supplies ā¦varying from the very quiet
subtle to instant orchestral FFF with as fast attenuation
of the signal or any other type of musicā¦Telarcās Time
Warp with itās extemes in dynamics or Wislon Audioās
Center Stageā¦
In order to cope with this pretty massive dynamic current draw
the better a cable allows these massive shifts in power demand
to flow to our gear the better our gear will performā¦
Best wishes
IMO, an excellent power cable has:
Complete current delivery and retrieval (minimal proximity effect, low strand effect, low dielectric loss)
Low impedance at RF on the ground and its terminations (minimal skin effect, low dielectric loss)
Geometry which encourages not impedes electromagnetic fields (right angle crossings)
Low impedance termination (cold weld, pressure [crimp] + quality solder)
High quality connectors with plating that minimizes impedance at the socket (rhodium, gold)
thatās kind of it. you can get into the weeds with each element but itās not rocket science. Mfrs do ātierā up their product lines so the business can sell to more people. Not surprising your Tornado blew away the NRG.
Try having someone else switch them for you so you donāt know which is hooked up. Iām curious what you think of the differences then.
Iāve done blind testing previously for other cables. I was easily able to tell the difference, know when it was a repeated cable, and pick out my favorite. Unfortunately, my favorite was the more expensive cable, every time, with one exception. I did a blind speaker cable test once and the Townshend Isolda smoked an AudioQuest cable that was 4 times the price.
1 Like
We do blind testing frequently here at home. It keeps me honest. Especially since I build many of my own cables. Connectors, cabling, and other components really add up. Itās not uncommon to have $1K+ invested in the cord/cables under review. Itās nice to have an impartial opinion. I always mix in a stock OEM cord/cable during the test. In over 10 years the OEM has never been first choice.
2 Likes
@vkennedy61 But you were using your amateur ears, not standing on the same spot, not using a tripod, not using expensive testing equipment. Yikes!
2 Likes
Youāre wrong. He puts his head in a vise, with test alligator clips on his
2 Likes
ā¦ used elsewhere 
1 Like
The vise for sure, but Iām betting expanding bananas!
1 Like