So are you using the standard power cables that come with your equipment?
yes, ‘dCS’ power cables both on my dCS 905 ADC and Scarlatti DAC 
Its interesting that some find little or no difference with power cables and others find very notable differences. I plugged my Bartok straight in with a RA Evolution Powerkord that i already had. Not expensive as cables go, but not a standard cable either.
I will have to check my box and try the stock cable. I also have the entry level Chord C-Power cable somewhere.
Quiet day tomorrow, so will experiment with standard cables.
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Massimo, that’s hilarious. And while I think cables can matter, I am not the least bit bothered by a humorous cartoon like this. If we can’t laugh at ourselves in this hobby, what’s the world come to?
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My new amplifier came with a pretty good power cable by Tellerium Q, they use Furutech connections, to be honest I thought it would be stright on ebay.
To my amazment the cable connected to either the Bartok or the amp makes a noticable difference in clarity, in addition it makes the sound slighly warmer on the amp but doesn’t do this on the Bartok, just adds detail and clarity.
I blind tested the fancy lead against a stadard IEC with a couple of friends and they seperatly confirmed that it is a significant improvement.
The flat here is very badly wired, a spur, on a spur on a spur, which I think is frowned upon. On the advice of others on the forum I will install a dedicated line from the electrical board to the Hifi area, thanks for the tip, I’m hoping this may further imrove the setup.
The great thing about this forum is the exchange of differing views and perceptions and the healthy debate. Until this year I was a complete sceptic about power cables and whether or not ‘upgrades’ made any difference and was totally convinced it was all snake oil. I already had a dedicated line for the system from the power box. Was it really worth doing anything else?
I started by way of an experiment adding two Shunyata cables to my two Naim power amplifiers and was totally shocked by the improvement from their standard (now pretty old) cables. Subsequently I have had a Shunyata Hydra A10 power conditioner and a number of their alpha EF cables on demo. The sonic improvement was very surprising I must say. I spent considerable time trying to work out if it was ‘better’ or simply ‘different’ and it didn’t take me long to realise that it gave me a significantly preferable sound uplift and in answer to this specific topic, without doubt on my Bartok. I have noticed a less significant effect on the analogue (LP12) side of my set up. So I have done a full 180 on power cables and I’m convinced that they have given me more enjoyable and involving music listening - at least when listening digitally.
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If you guys have ever pulled the top or bottom cover of a dCS product or other HiFi products and got some electric background, you will understand that your Blue Jeans to ultra expensive power cable will not do anything for your product if it is just connected to your wall outlet. Inside you will see ordinary 0.75 mm2 lamp cable going through switches and relays before it connects to the transformer, so the small effect the power cables can filter out goes up to dust inside the product to 100%.
If you got a power re-generator this method make more scene to use.
Then there is more questionable design flaws inside, like from the signal inputs on the back side, there is a 25cm data PATA cable running from the back to the main board that will also reduce the significant gain from your expensive AES/EBU / Spdif / clock cables make. Another PATA is used from the main board to the analog output section =)
Another example is on the dCS U-Clock where dCS have huge amount of space to place inside the small boards inside the cabinet in a more effective way, but they have placed the internal power cable underneath the word clock outlets section and the USB board ?=)
So there is many things that can be more effectively dun on the design on the products itself.
So even if cables does an effect in the theory and in real life, the signal will be chopped up like a fish on an Taiwanese restaurant.
You can value this info when you are out on the hunt for expensive cables=)
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Fix the power at the source/breaker box/wall. And then just use well-designed cables that meet or exceed spec. Purely from my POV, YMMV, IMHO, cables matter, but often not for the reasons people believe.
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Yes, cables could make an even better effect if the internal design of the products where designed more like High End in mind, with less compromising, than a common PC design =)
The internals is a like 100% more noisy environment, than you got outside in the room or in the wall outlet, so a power re-generator or a dedicated power line can make some difference.
Power input:
Earth cable disconnected temporary when installing Dual Transformers for separate power for the digital and analog side and a more complex power circuit opens up, so now the paganini dac got the same SQ spec as an Scarlatti DAC and power design like Vivaldi with dual transformers.
230 / 115 v switch and a Shaffner shunt filter, that could have been deleted for better performance. PATA cables from the digital inputs and analog outputs, that could have been deleted in the design if you hade turned the main board 90 degrees for example
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I agree.
I just upgraded my home breaker box to a Eaton 100 A and new cables from street to home, with 2 dedicated 20A cables to my audio room.
Once settled in, with Oyaide R-1 duplex outlets; I had clarity and calm on the new power lines.
After 4 months, I was amazed at how different my power cables sounded and switched around for optimal location.
Then, tried some Nordost valhalla 2 and one or two Odins from a demo dealer who was moving a room….wow…they turned up my system…open and airy with pleasing musicality.
All but one piece was upgraded…my Rossini DAC…partly as I am now waiting Apex upgrade this fall.
Well, since the DAC has been ignored, I found a lovely French Audio Store, with Phillipe as the owner…we insanely bonded.
With My good friend Philippe at PHPAudio in France, this is what he had this to say;
‘’….the DCS Rossini is indeed the heart of your system, with the PF Streamer. It’s absolutely mandatory to have the best reading and decoding system.
I cannot be sure at 100% that PRANAWIRE ARHAT will be better on Pink FAUN or dcs ROSSINI. You may try both, but from my experience, please begin with the DAC because it has digital stages and analog stages.
So, awaiting the Pranawire Silver ribbon Arhat Power cable for the dcs Rossini from PHAudio.
Should be here this week.
That after months of looking and reading and listening…it seemed the dcs needed something special…the Pranawire Arhat power cable ….we will see!
https://www.phpaudio.fr/demos-cables-et-accessoires
Betsy
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@JonD Sorry for the late reply. Last year I auditioned various power cables for my Rossini DAC/Streamer. I’m a fan of Shunyata so I tried various Shunyata cables including the Alpha v2 NR, the Sigma v2 NR and their highest model Omega QR-s. I heard obvious improvements as I proceeded up the various models and decided on the Omega QR-s and am very happy with the decision.
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I too am a big proponent of Shunyata cables. And I too agree with Philippe that the DAC, especially if you’re only using digital sources, is the key component in the system. As Brian did, I put in an Omega QR-s cable, despite the expense, and it does in fact really make a difference. Seems to be quite a bit of work and technology that goes into the Omega series of power and digital cabling. But it does pay off. However, based on the system you’re using it may be warranted to evaluate where best to allocate your funds, even if you’re lucky to have “cost no object” proclivities. Work with Philippe or another trustworthy dealer to recommend a power cable. Even better see if TheCableCompany, which has a loaner program, might offer options for you.
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I have also had good luck with the Shunyata Omega and Sigma level power cables. I have also had good luck with Delta and Venom on the more affordable side.
I posted in the dCS Clock cable blog that high end power and clock cables didn’t seem to make a difference for my Rossini Clock. I auditioned many different 75 ohm clock cables including the Black Cat Mini Tron, Shunyata Omega, Shunyata Alpha v2, Wireworld Starlight Gold 7 and didn’t detect any improvement vs. the $40 pair of Van Damme cables often suggested on this site. I opted to go with the Shunyata Alpha v2 NR power cable mainly because I got a good deal on a demo cable, otherwise a Shunyata Delta v2 or Shunyata Venom would likely suffice.
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My experiences with Shunyata are also very positive. Applied my last update a few weeks ago. The Shunyata Alpha v2 NR Power Cords for the Vivaldi DAC and Clock and also for my Auralic Aries G2.1 transport/streamer. These 3 cables are connected to the Shunyata Denali 6000S V2 Power distributor where an Alpha v2 XC Power Cord is connected to the socket. What a control and clean sound, I hear much more details and space reproduction, unbelievable. Besides the power cables I also use the Alpha v2 Clock-75 cables, Alpha speaker cables and the Omega USB cable. I would say try it yourself. Because someone just wrote to hear no difference. Then I immediately think, there must be something very wrong. It only remains for me to tell you that this was a long road for me too. From homemade cables to Siltech (in the early days), then Melody Cables (no longer exists) to the Shunyata Venom Series and now the Alpha v2 series. What a ridiculous hobby we have. If a neutral person reads this they will immediately send you to a doctor, ha ha. But this is all to make your favorite music sound so optimal and have been trying to do that for 50 years. I’m digressing a bit I see…
Hi @ruudvde , thank you for these details.
I am presently considering the same power set-up to the DAC:
Socket → Alpha XC → Denali
Denali → Alpha NR → DAC
I’d like to ask your thoughts on something maybe controversial: if the Denali is so good, why is there a need for expensive power cable to the DAC?
I.e., if the Denali cleans up the power, and the run to the DAC is only 1-3 feet, why not use any well-made copper cable?
Yours and the thoughts of others are very welcome. Thx!
I also use the Alpha V2 clock cables. My previous were Blue Jeans cables. The BJCs were very good, while the AV2s had a slight, and I mean only slight, bit more of everything – except for the bass, which was immediately evident as more focused and visceral. Power cables are a mix of Shunyata, Kimber Palladians, and Audioquest Dragon…all with good results.
Yes, I’ve wondered this question too, but that was a long time ago. I have also made the step from the Denali v1 to the Denali v2. That was also clearly an improvement. I then had Delta power cables connected to all devices. The comparison of the old Delta with the old Alpha was clear, but I didn’t think it was worth the extra cost at the time. But then… Shunyata came out with the v2 series and I don’t know what he did but that was a huge improvement. I borrowed the cable from a friend who already had the Alpha NR v2 and I was shocked by the improvement. How is that possible? So saving was the only option for me. (not really). That friend uses it with the Rossini DAC and Clock and pointed out the huge improvement to me and he was right. You can try connecting another normal cable, but I think this will only be a disappointment. Every step gave me a clear improvement and I hope it works out the same for you. I don’t want to convince you, you have to test it yourself in your set. Actually it is very simple, connect, listen and judge whether you think what you hear is worth it. What I do want to say, Shunyata clearly has its own philosophy on how to connect something. Try to stick to that so that everything is optimal. Only then can you judge whether they are right or not.
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That about cables is always an interesting debate. I would like to hear what you think of the following:
- many cables (power, interconnect, speakers, digital) make a difference
- “different” is often understood as “better”, when most times it’s just “different”
- It may be so different that it significantly alters the sound meant by the producer
- Our notion of “better” is oversimplified: sound quality is terribly multidimensional, it can’t be put on a line (in my language, it’s not a totally ordered set)
- Sometimes a new cable will give you an improvement here, a loss there. But some people won’t even notice them, and will think that the cable is a scam. Many of the differences we hear are not directly related to electrical measurements; nevertheless they are there. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence,
- Sound reproduction is not music. It’s a representation of music. No money will give us the real thing: for that we need to buy a ticket and go to a concert.
- An well known musician visited my house a few years ago, and I made him listen to his music through my set. We both found the experience interesting, because he was listening to his own music in a different way. He cared for different things, and at a certain point he told me two fundamental things:
a) let’s face it, he said: I have to pay my bills, so the production is done to sell, and today you sell with some instruments in good evidence, thinking about smartphone reproduction, compressed files, earbuds and so on. Too bad if audiophiles find it “boomy”
b) melody, harmony, and rhythm, are what people know and hear; things like soundstage, depth, width, timing, speed, and whatnot are nice-to-haves, but not must-haves. Sorry.
I have in mind what a neurologist (and audiophile) told me: our mind is very good at focusing on one particular aspect of perception. One at a time. But in doing so, we lose the great picture. So, I am afraid that behind the so called “critical listening” there may be “selective listening”. We want to love the new cable to the point that we selectively focus on some aspects and forget the others.
Based on this, I developed a different notion of “critical listening”. In brief, how the doctor said: “if the music comes to you and you are compelled to leave the other things you were doing and listen in awe, then there is something interesting going on. If this goes on for hours without fatigue, and you want to hear more and different tracks, then ok. Otherwise, do not even bother: if you have to dig in order to find differences, they are probably not worth your time and money”.
Sorry for the long post, but the subject is indeed complex
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