Another power cable thread

breal74

Bump for an update. Thanks.

Clipdat

The Shunyata cables haven't shipped yet.

Clipdat

Update: Coincidentally, after I inquired last Thursday about why it's taken nearly three weeks to ship the order, my order shipped the next day, Friday.

First box arrived today, the rest is scheduled to show up tomorrow. Not sure how or why two boxes that are shipped out on the same day don't arrive on the same day, but you'd have to ask UPS that.

joecoulson

Update on the Tornado/Hurricane/Niagara combo I am running.

They sound phenomenal (at least on my setup) and could not be happier.

Clipdat

Check out the very specific instruction manual that comes with the cables and notice how it says "Wait 15 seconds between turn on of each component". Not sure I've ever seen that bit of advice/instruction before today.

Do I hook all this stuff (PS8, Defender, and three cables) up at once or one by one?

Joey_V

One by one

Clipdat

At the bare minimum, I would have to start with the Delta NR v2 cable plugged into the PS8, because it's the only 20a cable I have.

Clipdat

Hooked up the 20a Delta NR v2 cable from the wall to the PS8. Using generic 14ga on the integrated, and generic 18ga on the Auralic G1. Will listen like this for a few days and then add in the remaining two cables one by one.

Clipdat

As mentioned in the previous post, on Tuesday I connected the Delta NR v2 to the PS8 feeding the 140 and the G1. RCA cables are the WBC Mogami 2964 which is the same as what I was using previously.

Let me preface this by saying that I do not have my PMCs hooked up at the moment like I did with my previous AQ power cable tests.

Instead, I have a new pair of Falcon Acoustics LS3/5a MoFi edition speakers that are in for review which now have 100+ hours of time on them.

For the past three weeks I ran these with the Norma IPA-140 and Vega G1 plugged directly into the wall with their generic cords. I also utilized the vintage Sony tuner during this time to log break-in time on the speakers.

I listened to the system yesterday with the power setup as described above, and then again tonight to confirm what I heard.

Since these aren't my reference speakers, I will describe in more general terms about the changes I noticed.

First, and most dramatically, was the improved imaging performance. I originally picked up on the above average imaging performance of these speakers when I first connected them, but now it's been taken to another level. There's now abundant 3d imaging effects when appropriate to the song being played.

Instead of the speakers sounding "point source" and localized to the cabinets themselves, it now sounds like they're working in unison and throwing throwing an impressive soundstage.

The effect is so dramatic that on some songs it seems like the right speaker's tweeter is louder/prominent. I never noticed this previously when listening to these. I can only theorize this is because of the fact they're now actually projecting a soundstage, the sweet spot has shifted and/or the sound is now interacting with the room differently. If I move my head a little to the left, the effect subsides and the right tweeter no longer sounds as prominent. Perhaps this will go away with break-in time or when I add in the next two cables.

The other major difference is that the bass performance of the speakers have increased. These are only rated down to 70hz, and I definitely heard that when I first listened to them for several weeks. However now I swear they are digging deeper than that. I tried a bevy of rough and grimey drum n bass tracks with devastatingly deep basslines and they actually performed admirably. Of course, the response was pretty lean, but they were were actually responding and hitting the low notes which I thought was impressive and different versus how they sounded before.

In summary, already noticing some major differences in the system's performance with the first Delta NR v2 and PS8 connected. Next I will add in the Delta v2 XC on the integrated and then lastly the other NR v2 on the G1.

Clipdat

The difference of just the one Shunyata power cable feeding the distributor is greater than when I had all three of the previous AQ cables in play. Not trying to ruffle feathers or imply anything, just stating an observation.

BlueFox

I suspect the power cables will sonically improve as they get more hours of use.

Clipdat

I forgot to mention, the Delta NR v2 cable is so much more flexible and easy to work with vs. the AQ Tornado cable. It still does require some extra length to make bends, but wow it's a dream to route compared to the Tornado.

mhardy6647

lightman1 wrote: »

Wrap them in aluminum... or aluminium.. foil. Making sure the point of termination is pointing to magnetic North

I would just add that aluminium foil is absolutely de rigueur when used with British components and/or when listening to Beatles and Rolling Stones recordings.

erniejade

Thanks for the observations Drew. Shunyata is a brand I have wanted to check out but have not yet.

Clipdat

I was thinking of a better way to describe the audible change. It's literally a tangible/physical aural difference that your ears pick up on.

Before, it simply sounded like sound originating from two points, occasionally blending together and creating some center locked vocals or instruments.

Now, it's as if a "3D" or "holographic" button has been pressed, because the sound feels physically different as it reaches your ears. It's almost as dramatic as a "flange" type effect sometimes.

One time during my auditioning last night, I got up mid-song and walked out of the room. As I left the sweet spot/stereo image, I could physically feel my ears leaving it and then being around "normal" ambient sounds sounded strange for a moment. That's how cohesive and enveloping the sound was.

To an untrained listener they might think some artificial surround sound function or 3D processing had been switched on. They would probably not even believe you when you told them that the change you had made was the power cable and distributor!

Obviously with my experience at shows and in my own system, I can easily identify that what I'm hearing is simply what good stereo sound is capable of.

verb

Nice journey Drew! OMG I just looked up the prices! I'm just running Pangea's, baby step, but always room to upgrade!

joecoulson

Hope the new cables have lasting effect.

audioluvr

Clipdat wrote: »

One time during my auditioning last night, I got up mid-song and walked out of the room. As I left the sweet spot/stereo image, I could physically feel my ears leaving it and then being around "normal" ambient sounds sounded strange for a moment....

WOW! 8:32am is awfully early to be dipping into the psilocybins isn't it???

Clipdat

audioluvr wrote: »

Clipdat wrote: »

One time during my auditioning last night, I got up mid-song and walked out of the room. As I left the sweet spot/stereo image, I could physically feel my ears leaving it and then being around "normal" ambient sounds sounded strange for a moment....

WOW! 8:32am is awfully early to be dipping into the psilocybins isn't it???

I made the post at 8:32am but I was referring to the previous evening.

Also for the record I was completely sober, as I always am when critically listening to evaluate a component's performance.

Joey_V

Good read

Clipdat

I listened with the Delta v2 XC cable on the Norma IPA-140 on Friday and Saturday.

Similar to when I put the AQ power cable on the Norma, the differences were subtle instead of dramatic.

The best way to describe it would be to say that it slightly bolstered the things the IPA-140 already does very well. Namely the tonal accuracy, treble clarity, agile bass, and the overall musical & involving presentation were all highlighted.

Dynamic sounds that entered with a crash or burst, and then faded away seemed to have a longer and more subtle decay. I thought this increased subtlety was a pretty cool effect.

From top to bottom, the frequency response seemed very even and smooth with no frequencies being unnaturally accented or boosted. I will have to spend more time evaluating the performance of the system as a whole to determine if it's affecting something very specific about the house sound of the Norma IPA-140. Namely, this unique way it presents the inner details of the upper midrange/lower treble.

I can't quite put my finger on it, but it may have hardened or compressed the sound ever so slightly. I'm talking about a very subtle difference here, so much so that I'm finding it difficult to describe the change. It's not something that affected the soundstage width, imaging performance or anything like that. It's more like everything just became a tiny bit more polished. Again, longer time spent listening will be needed in order to determine exactly what's going on here. Maybe even swapping back to the generic 14ga cord on it to uncover potential differences.

Anyway, I just put in the last cable, the Delta v2 NR on the Vega G1, so I'll be listening with that in play today. Historically in my experience, it has seemed like the power cable on the source has a bigger impact than the power cable on the amp, so this should be interesting.

Clipdat

Clipdat wrote: »

The effect is so dramatic that on some songs it seems like the right speaker's tweeter is louder/prominent. I never noticed this previously when listening to these. I can only theorize this is because of the fact they're now actually projecting a soundstage, the sweet spot has shifted and/or the sound is now interacting with the room differently. If I move my head a little to the left, the effect subsides and the right tweeter no longer sounds as prominent. Perhaps this will go away with break-in time or when I add in the next two cables.

I'm going to refrain from posting full listening impressions until I've had a full two days to listen to the Delta v2 NR on the G1.

However, straight away I was able to immediately notice that the phenomenon I described in the quoted text above was no longer taking place. Even on treble-heavy tracks where high frequency energy would sound unbalanced previously. Now, when I played those same songs, I could move my head to the left or to the right the same amount and the treble energy didn't shift around.

Wider sweet spot? Or just a more cohesive and balanced presentation? Whatever the reason, the result is quite obvious. It reminded me of an experience I had back in June when I reviewed the Musica Pristina A Cappella III streaming transport. In that review, I described the sensation as follows:

"With the A Cappella III in my system, the first thing I noticed is that my “sweet spot” had gotten larger and more stable. I could move my head around several inches without the imaging wavering or shifting. This seamless soundstage meant I didn’t have to be in such an exact spot in order to obtain satisfying performance."

The effect here is similar, but specifically in regards to the treble energy/frequencies.

erniejade

How are the Shunyata settling in? From what I have been reading, some say around 250++ hours before they fully burn in.

Clipdat

Yeah, I have seen that as well. I'd say they are settling in nicely, I'm definitely not unhappy with their performance or searching for different power cables.

One thing that made a bigger difference than I expected it would was this bad boy: https://shunyata.com/products/power-distributors/venom-line-power-distributors/venom-defender/



In some ways, this made a bigger noticeable impact than the power cables which I was adding in incrementally. I would wholeheartedly recommend this product for anyone to try in their own system. The difference was obvious.

I did "break it in" by leaving it plugged in for a week or two in another room. Even so, after I plugged it into my stereo system, I noticed it took some time to "settle down". Along with it's performance change, it actually made the system sound a little fatiguing at first. But that went away after being plugged into the PS8's outlet for a few days and I was left with only the performance benefits.

It lowered the noise floor and made everything very expansive sounding. It just seemed like it let more of the musical information through and raised the overall performance of the system and everything plugged into it. It's hard to describe, but it's one of those things where once you hear it you immediately know it. Like I said though it did require some run-in time, so while it does let you know what it brings straight away, you'll want to leave it plugged into your system undisturbed for a few days before passing judgement.

At $225 it's not exactly cheap to just drop one in, but it's also not prohibitively expensive either, especially if you consider the performance benefits.

pitdogg2

I seen one of those for sale on a site for about 150. I seriously gave it some thought. It would have been plugged into my Hydra or outlet Hydra plugs into. Thankfully it was gone when I went back.

Clipdat

I think you already have what it does built into your Hydra unit.

I forgot to mention, I measured my system again with Dave's meter:



And with everything powered off it was reading at 29, with everything powered up it was reading 38. These are the lowest readings I've seen yet on the circuit with my system.

Jazzhead

The Venom Defender - I too was impressed with the obvious improvement I heard when adding it to the circuit. I didn't realize how much noise was there until the Defender cleaned it up. Mine is plugged into a Furutech e-TP80, fed by a 9 gauge, star quad, VH Audio Flavor 4 power cable. Having the surge protection is an added bonus. It does contribute to a quiet, detailed, and as you say "expansive" soundstage. Well worth the $$ if you have no other power conditioning.

Clipdat

Thank you for sharing your experience with it!

erniejade

I have something similar to the defender. MIT Predator noise trap from several years ago. https://youtube.com/watch?v=A-tArut8E_M

marvda1

Clipdat wrote: »

Yeah, I have seen that as well. I'd say they are settling in nicely, I'm definitely not unhappy with their performance or searching for different power cables.

One thing that made a bigger difference than I expected it would was this bad boy: https://shunyata.com/products/power-distributors/venom-line-power-distributors/venom-defender/



In some ways, this made a bigger noticeable impact than the power cables which I was adding in incrementally. I would wholeheartedly recommend this product for anyone to try in their own system. The difference was obvious.

I did "break it in" by leaving it plugged in for a week or two in another room. Even so, after I plugged it into my stereo system, I noticed it took some time to "settle down". Along with it's performance change, it actually made the system sound a little fatiguing at first. But that went away after being plugged into the PS8's outlet for a few days and I was left with only the performance benefits.

It lowered the noise floor and made everything very expansive sounding. It just seemed like it let more of the musical information through and raised the overall performance of the system and everything plugged into it. It's hard to describe, but it's one of those things where once you hear it you immediately know it. Like I said though it did require some run-in time, so while it does let you know what it brings straight away, you'll want to leave it plugged into your system undisturbed for a few days before passing judgement.

At $225 it's not exactly cheap to just drop one in, but it's also not prohibitively expensive either, especially if you consider the performance benefits.

has anyone compared the filters to non-audiophile (read much less expensive) filters?
https://www.amazon.com/Graham-Stetzer-2-Stezer-Filters/dp/B01M7M7ZO4/ref=sr_1_10?crid=2NTAJA698Y0FV&dchild=1&keywords=greenwave+emi+filter&qid=1609439206&sprefix=greenwave+emi+filters,aps,224&sr=8-10