I recently bought a used S300 on Audiogon for my secondary system, consisting of an RME DAC/Preamp & KEF LS50s. The amp does a lot of things really well, such as soundstage, imaging and space around the instruments. It also has great clarity & detail and excellent tight, defined powerful bass. However, the mids were a little thin sounding & edgy & overall lacked the richness/body I was getting from my old Aragon 8008BB.
Out of curiosity, I pulled my Audience Forte F3 power cord from my BHK 250 in my main system and tried it on the S300. I was surprised at the difference. The mids were fuller and it added some richness/musicality that was missing. It also tamed the edginess. What a nice improvement for a $150 cord. Since I still need another power cord for the BHK 250, I ordered an Audio Envy Ocean-Elite P3 for $200. I’ve read lots of reviews about these besting PCs costing 3 or 4 times more. Plus, they offer a full refund policy. It’s worth a shot, right?
Just wanted to share a great system tweak here with the PS Audio family.
I finally received the Audio Envy Ocean-Elite P3 power cable and have been burning it in for around 150 hours. The cable seems extremely well made, with beautiful, heavy duty plugs on both ends and is very flexible. So, after comparing the sound of the $179 Ocean-Elite with the $150 Forte F3 on the Stellar S300, I have to give the nod to the Forte. The Forte has a richness in the midrange that the Audio Envy doesn’t provide. Truth be told, I don’t hear much of an improvement between it and the factory cable that came with the amp other than a bit more tightness in the bass. For the synergy with my system, I’m sticking with the Forte. BTW…the Forte F3 is available from The Cable Company for $150 in a 6’ length. For the record, word has it that the Ocean-Elite P3 reaches it’s best performance after 200 hours of burn in, but I’m skeptical that another 50 hours is going to make a huge difference.