No I didn’t. I didn’t hear anything i like better than what i currently have.
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I think the HIFI Rose may look good with the Levinson gear but it can be found for much less.
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That’s a great feeling.
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Care to share what you auditioned? It’s been a long time since I’ve wondered into Quintessence, hopefully Mick is doing well.
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If all that holds true for cables, what about fuses?.My master fuse must have fallen the equivalent of a 100 stories in transit. As for wanting to hear that, I was expecting a mountain plateau with bird, bees, butterflies and unicorns under a rainbow filled sky from the Master Fuse and the thread embellishing it received here. Instead I got a French crepe thin soundstage without fruit or whipped creme.
Tonight will be 200 hours. I have hated listening to music since the master was delivered giving me time for educational documentaries. Which sadly even the master fuse cannot make less exciting. Waiting and hour for the sound bite historical discovery that has changed how we know the world. Come to think of that, those and the hype you all gave the master fuse are appropriately dissatisfying in equivalence. All lead up with no substance.
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I can think of something even creepier…
multiple shelves of this guy… 
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I just returned a borrowed Shunyata Altaira chassis ground box.
It made an very modest improvement in airiness. So modest, however that now that it’s gone, I don’t hear it’s absence.
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Are you still trying it out? By now it is obvious your system hates it. 100 more hours later you will probably hate it even more.
On the other hand, I ran out of 3M 7050 to try out the new power cord (and I have one Dragon that is naked too). So, I order a sheet to see if it will make these cords sound even better.
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I decided to try the ZenWave silver ribbon power cords based on good reviews and forum member Stier2704’s recommendation. The PSR-14 and PSR-11 are their two top-of-the-line power cords. I received the PSR-14 demo and I want to see how it does with the Lumin U2 streamer. Dave, the designer, will also send me a PSR-11 to try on P15 later.
But first, I want to compare it to the AQ Dragon Source that I have been using for MK2 and BHK pre. According to Dave, many of his users prefer his to Dragon PC. DS MK2 is a good piece to try because I found it to be very sensitive to cable changes.
PSR-14 has been in the MK2 for two days, and it sounded even better yesterday than the first day. This power cord with its silver conductor, makes very high-caliber SQ to me. It is as speedy sounding as Dragon, and it is as detail revealing as Dragon. It also delivers in a neutral and cooler way. However, the similarity ends here. PSR-14 is unique because it sounded denser yet cooler, it radiates music notes with a realistic weight. It has a phenomenal bass that seems to give more bass energy than Dragon. Both cords are smooth sounding, but PSR-14 is more expressive than Dragon. Dragon gives a more layback presentation. The timbre of the two cables is different too. PSR-14 seems to give a bit “sweeter” flavor in mid-range than Dragon, and on some female vocals there is a slight nasal timbre presence. This characteristic only shows up in a side-by-side comparison. On its own PSR-14 sounded very neutral and lifelike.
So, do I like it in my system better than Dragon Source? AQ Dragon PC has always impressed me with its silky clean treble, fast speed, smoothness, and timbre accuracy. The greatest strength, however, is its ability to provide the blackest background in my system than any other PC, and with that it also reveals incredible detail and resolution. PSR-14 does not quite reach the pitch-black background that I was seeking. PSR-14 sounds greyer, but interestingly it does not smear any detail. The second characteristic of Dragon is its clean and silky treble. Some may say the treble sounded too clean and even “thin”. To me the treble sounding clean is simply from the fact that it has the lowest background noise at higher-high frequency. There is not another power cord (that I have heard) could achieve this. On the other hand, PSR-14 is sounding “sweeter”, which makes the treble sound a bit rolled-off in comparison.
However, if you are evaluating them for the first time, you may prefer PSR-14 over Dragon from its “sweeter” higher frequencies. Frankly, you will be happy with either one because sometime it comes down to system and personal taste.
I do prefer Dragon, but I have three Dragon PCs in the system already (plus another Dragon I2S), and I am not sure adding another Dragon is the best way to enhance my system. I am seeking a bit more sweetness and fuller sound. Zenwave PSR may add a bit of spark to my system.
Tomorrow, I will move PSR-14 to PST to compare with CC Magnum Opus3 (another silver cord with similar attributes to PSR-14), and then I will move it to Lumin U2 streamer. This is the location I am most interested in, and it is currently served by a free cord that came with the streamer. It has turned into a great sounding one, but I will find out how good it really is soon.
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What makes it even better is I’m doing at a much lower price! That’s probably an understatement on my part.
It is nice when one can pick-up lightly played items on the resale market. Your journey from McIntosh to PSA to Gryphon is an extraordinary move on up. Stumbling into that Gryphon was truly something special.
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My sheet is still in box waiting for transformers to arrive did your Dragon comparison to Zenwave include a tuning ring?
I told cable company I never had a fuse that had no redeeming quality out of the box. NI comparison to the pure silver ethernet cable it has some sound. similarity to master. Though master is worse. I still have no refund. The return address had a forwarding address so though shipping trace did not work after forwarding That was a total scam surely planned. So they claim never to receive it. Now I have to pursue the insurance.
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Sorry to hear that. I had returned two items in the past and I was able to receive refunds. There are many in Alexpress that are scamers for sure.
I do not have tuning ring on the 1 1/4 M Dragon for MK2, and if I received the sheet on time I will try it on both Dragon and Zenwave.
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Donald, you have been listening very carefully. I believe it was on the whatsbest forum. People there reported similar differences. The PSR should be as dynamic as the Dragon, but not thin or cold, with a sweeter and fuller sound than the Dragon. I don’t know what the price of your 1.5 meter Dragon compares to the PSR. I think if you exchange the standard cable from the streamer for the PSR, you enter a completely new world of sound.
Too bad the SR in your system is a disappointment. Either it really doesn’t fit into your system or something is wrong with the SR Master. I still think SR places more emphasis on creating a wide soundstage and AM places more emphasis on deep soundstage. Luca and Davida switched from M1 to Master. It seemed to work there. Maybe it’s better if for the money you send the master back and replace the tweeter capacitors. Or try the Duelund JDM 0.01uF as a bypass cap if you’re looking for further improvements. One consolation and one certainty is that then the M1 is the right choice for you.
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I will listen to PSR-14 in the coming days in both PST and the Streamer. It is a good idea to be familar with it because these top dogs are not day-and-night different from each other. The CC Magnum is sounding even more similar to PSR as I remember.
I have switched it with PSR-14 in PST for a couple of hours, and so far I could not tell much difference. This comparison may be even closer. But I am listening to new CDs to give it a warm up. More serious listen will come later.
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I look forward to your further reports. And considering the price differences, the PSR 14 seems like a cheap choice to climb into sonic heaven.
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The various fuse types have all proven their worth…with
the SR Master way ahead of the rest of them.
My thinking is that Vmax’s Sr Master was a dud that somehow
got past quality control…Sadly
In my ssytem the SR master yields a huge soundstage in all 3 axis.
Best wishes
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It seems I will receive both Zenwave PSR-11 and Furutech GTX-D NCF by tomorrow!
I will put the PSR-11 on the wine cellar to give it a “warming” welcome first. I need to finish evaluation PSR-14 on the streamer first, and put 11 right there later to see if they make any difference. Dave told me it is the same design but obviously it is a 11G vs. 14G.
After getting the Directstream II at the beginning of the year and then moving from the BHK 250 to the 300s a few months later, I had been debating whether or not to do something with the Nucleus; which I had been running directly into the Direcstream via usb. Was looking at the new Lumin and Pulsar streamers and some of the fancy (and relatively expensive) music servers. Would likely have picked up an Airlens had it been available, but with usb input on the D II being as good as the I2S, I didn’t see the point of waiting for the Airlens. Ended up going with a Baetis Revolution X4, with the upgraded SOtM usb and clock cards, HD-Plex linear power supply (which is due to arrive in August) and a 4TB SSD where my local music files now reside (the NAS I was using with the Nucleus is now relegated to backup duties).
I’ve had it now for about two weeks and, even without the linear power supply, and I’m quite pleased with it in the system. Easily as big a change in sound as going from the Directsream I to II, and maybe more. The noise floor has been noticeably lowered and that seems to make everything sound richer and more natural.
The system should be set now for at least a couple of weeks.
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