My apologies, but somehow my post from yesterday did not appear so I’ll post it again below:
Would the Rossini DAC or the Rossini clock benefit most from a power cord upgrade?
Thanks Bob
Probably help to know a bit about what you have now, e.g., power source, current cables (stock?), etc. Reliable clean power will do more for all your components than any individual AC cable upgrades.
I have 2 dedicated 20amp AC lines, one for my amps and the other for my preamp and source components, Shunyata Everest power conditioner for preamp and source components, Shunyata Omega QRs and Shunyata Sigma v2 power cords for Rossini DAC and Rossini Clock, Wireworld interconnects & speaker cables, Ayre MX-R 20 amps, Ayre KX-R 20 preamp, Sonus Faber Stradivari speakers.
Surprisingly, so far, to my ears it appears that the better power cord, the Omega benefits the Rossini clock more than the Rossini DAC, but not sure yet. More listening is needed, but I’m curious what others have found.
Thanks for that info. Interesting; I tried the two-separate-circuits thing and ended up preferring the sound of all components on one circuit. Sounds to me like you have your bases covered, though a system of the quality you have always causes me to ask this question: instead of expensive cables, that may improve the sound of your components, why not invest in upgrading the components? You’ve got $12.5k into those two power cables alone. Rossini is excellent, but no amount of Shunyata can make it a Vivaldi. (I realize that’s not what you asked.)
FWIW, I would put my best mains cable on the DAC. Before standardizing on my AC cables, that’s what I did. But, as you said, to your ears, that hasn’t been the case. Personally, I am dubious of the difference that over-built mains cables can make when one looks inside even expensive components like dCS or MSB and sees what happens to that power once it gets past the three prongs. The PSU inside is, IMHO, much more important, especially considering the puny internal wiring in most chassis. I’m not saying the quality of the mains cable doesn’t matter. Not at all. Just saying that the quality of the component comes first. Others here will no doubt have their own views. 
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Thanks for the reply.
As for power cords, I was naysayer for several years when I first got into high end audio many years ago until I tried an entry aftermarket power cord on my CD player as suggested by my then audio dealer. I was shocked, no pun intended, that it made such an improvement in the sound of my system as I wasn’t expecting anything. I can swap out power cords, have my non-audiophile wife sit down to listen, and she can hear a differences faster than I can. That being said, of course a speaker or component upgrade is obviously much more important than a cable. Indeed those power cords are expensive and I got great trade-ins for my old ones plus a generous discount, so I didn’t pay anything close to retail for them.
As for separate AC lines, I and others have found that having high powered amps on their own dedicated AC line makes an improvement in dynamics and bass.
I am a relatively new DCS owner, so the Rossini + it’s clock was an improvement over what I had before, so something like a Vivaldi stack is bit far off at this point.
Yeah, we all follow a different path. My wife has heard successive clock improvements with ample facility (and I am looking forward to the new clock’s arrival next week to keep testing that), but once we got power locked down, cables just about—almost, but not quite—evaporated from the equation. I’ve been running Class D amps for some time, so power draw for dynamic range has been a non-issue. I was actually shocked (likewise, no pun intended 
) when, even before Class D, I discovered how “not as high as I expected” the power draw was. Didn’t keep me from doubling up 20A circuits. But once installed, I just didn’t get the same result as you; my electrician, a bit of a music fan, actually asked me “are you sure you want to separate the signals across two circuits?”. Keeping amps and signal on same circuit has, for us, kept the apparent noise floor lower and seems to reduce the likelihood of ground loops. Different systems and components, different outcomes, I guess.
Good luck in your search!
P.S. Rossini plus Clock plus those power cords put you awful close to Vivaldi. 
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I can’t exactly replicate what you found as I am a Vivaldi user. However I too found the addition of a fancy power cord to the clock made a surprising difference to the resulting sound of the system. NB: I too was a naysayer about fancy power cables in general until I tried one that did what it claimed. Was it more important than its effect on the DAC? Having tried one at a time the improvements ( if one wishes to categorise them as such) were not in identical areas of the sound so I cannot easily place them in order of significance.
All systems are different as are our individual needs and expectations. So what you found is what you found and that is the way to go if you have to settle on one “best” cord. Had you found that the DAC seemed the more important recipient of it I would also have agreed with your finding 
.
However one of the engineers from dCS ( I think it was James) remarked in a response to a posting last year that theoretically a clock would benefit more from a better power cable as it could be more vulnerable to parasitic noise than a DAC.
Having said that and bearing in mind the great ( excessive?) cost associated with certain aftermarket cords I completely agree with Greg’s view on the actual components taking precedence in expenditure. However I appreciate that may not be immediately relevant to you having only recently bought your Rossini pair. In any case whatever you buy now will probably be just as suitable for use with any future component upgrade.
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Pete, thanks for that reminder. I shall have to at least give that possibility a go, perhaps after the new reference clock has been run in for a while.
P.S. Just for clarification, please note that I did not express skepticism about the effect that power cables can have. I once did, but that was quite literally decades ago. It’s just been my experience that high quality power for the entire system reduces the magnitude of the effect of an individual cable, and properly engineered AC cables, optimized for the competing design goals of power supply, are more likely to deliver that power without imparting SQ changes. I understand that some SQ changes might be deemed desirable by some. My goal is to remove SQ changes and only hear what the component can do untethered so to speak from the cables connected to it; same with analogue ICs. And in that realm, quality cables can make quite the difference. I do, however, remain very skeptical of the claims made for many “audiophile” digital cables; and I’ve tried quite a few, enough to conclude that the process was only a distraction from enjoyment of the music. Cheers! 
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Maybe you are referring to yourself? 
I certainly found the change of cords greater with the clock than anticipated. But it wasn’t me that came up with the potential reason wny. You know I am not that bright 
.
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This is what I found as to be a dCS statement on power cables:
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That’s very diplomatic.
I have Rossini DAC and Clock with Nordost power cables. Definitely put the better cord on the Clock. That has been my experience.
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How about this advice: put the best cord you can on all your components. And BTW, that most certainly doesn’t mean “most expensive.”
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Thank you for all the replies. It was not my intention to start an aftermarket power cord debate which I know can be a hot topic.
In summary, now that I’ve had more time to play with aftermarket power cords for my relatively new Rossini DAC + Clock, I’ve found that, at least in my system, that the best power cord be placed on the clock for the best sound, but that is just my finding and confirmed by my wife’s great ears.
Indeed, both the clock and DAC should be both powered by the best, but not necessarily the most expensive power cords available on hand. That being said, good, clean power to one’s system is the first essential building block for a recipe for a good sounding system. As one reviewer said many years ago, “One cannot make good lemonade from bad water.” Just my 2 cents.
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Bob, in this forum, a hot topic is an interesting item, and one that is conducted with mutual respect. It’s all good.
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Thanks Greg. I guess that I used the phase wrong. From what I’ve seen of the DCS forums so far, everyone treats each other with mutual respect which I highly appreciate. Bob
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I have switched over to Shunyata on my Vivaldi clock, upsampler and DAC but stayed with Transparent on my amps and pre-amp.
I am impressed with Shunyata’s latest offerings and the Everest.
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Jim. I too am impressed with the new Shunyata offerings. I was using
Sigma v1 power cords with some of my gear and my Sigma v2 is better performer That being said, the Omega is on a whole other level.
BTW, my local B&M dealer where I bought my DCS gear is also a Transparent dealer and often uses Transparent Speaker and interconnects in their best listening rooms. The Vivaldi stack is usually used in their best listening rooms and I imagine that the Vivaldi might also be driven by Transparent too, but I’ve never peeked back there.
Bob. I have swapped moved to the Sigma XC for my Everest and the Sigma v2 NR for my DAC. I took Shumyata’s suggestion and placed Delta NR v2 for the upsampler and moved a Alpha v1 NR for the clock. I drew a arbitrary line in the sand at Sigma and passed on Omega.
I am very happy with Transparent Opus on my amps and speakers.