Where should one put their finest power cords in a dCS Vivaldi full stack? Where will the best cords have the most impact? Thanks, Franco
Buongiorno Franco
Based on my forum sleuthing, and now from personal experience, I have settled on the finest power cord on the Vivaldi Clock, next followed by the Vivaldi DAC.
As always your mileage may vary
Ciao
Gregg
NY e Pistoia
Thanks Gregg. I was thinking Upsampler, DAC and Clock in that order (?). What power cords are you using on your dCS?
I have a full loom of Transparent Audio Opus at the moment but after hearing what Schernzinger cables (RESOLUTION 5) did to my pre phono, I’m considering the possibility to change other power cords.
I have purchased other Schernzinger devices (Power Grid, EMI, Piccolo and Multi Guards) and I highly recommend them. In my system, they have improved dynamics (macro and micro), transparency, separation, and clarity quite a lot.
Ciao
Franco
My dealer who sold me my new Stenheim 5SE speakers is a big believer in Siltech. In his 40 years of the business he thinks they are amongst the best. They are one of the originals and the fact they have been around for more than 40 years is indicative they know what they are doing.
I have not gone “crazy” with their exorbitantly priced Crown series. Power cables for the Vivaldi stack and DarTZeel separates are from their relatively new Classic Legend collection. I am using 680 power cords on the dCS and an 880 on the DarTZeel amplifier. I also use an 880 between the wall and a Furutech distribution box. The difference between 680/880 is double the conductor width - the 680 recommended for digital and the 880 for high current amplifiers.
I am also using Siltech for my speaker cables and XLR interconnect between the DarTZeel pre and Vivaldi DAC. There I splurged and went for the 40th anniversary Ruby Crown XLR interconnect.
I have a pair of Siltech AES/EBU cables inbound as well as a pair of their clock cables to try out. If thei clock cable betters my Black Cat Mini Tron I will order a second pair.
If you hunt through the forum you will see a post where ANUP measured the impedance of a Crystal Cables clock cable (Crystal being the sister company to Siltech). He was impressed as their impedance was 75 ohms bang spot on. He commented that several other clock cables he tested did not measure as accurately.
Com’é il tempo la su? Qui si gela. Troppo freddo per me a NY - voglio tornare a Pistoia!
My Vivaldi DAC has the best power cord, followed by the Upsampler then the Clock. They are all connected to a Shunyata Everest which has a power cord the same as the DAC.
Thanks Gregg. Pls give these Scherzninger a try if you get a chance. I was blow away. I believe that there is a dealer in NYC by the name of Gideon.
Qui a Milano piove. I wish I was in NYC ahahah
Before I bought my power cords I experimented with a single cord substituted one by one through my Vivaldi system. I discovered something that seems counter intuitive but also complies with dCS’ comments ( I think that it was @James) . This was that, of all the units, in theory it is the wordclock that requires the most attention. I remember finding that both wordclock and DAC needed the best power cords, The nature of the improvement was not identical for the two boxes. Surprisingly changing cables for Upsampler and Transport did not make such a big difference.
Franco should ould try it and see what he finds as systems and listeners can be inconsistent. I ended up buying the same cords for everything. These are somewhat flexible and floppy and support the concept that increasing wire gauge is not what is required.
The same as I was saying, and discovered, in my previous post. A fellow forum member mentioned @James comments and, like you, I did the tests. I found my dCS boxes responded to better power cables (granted the bar was set rather low with the previous cables I was using), and I determined the Vivaldi Clock was the first place to place an upgraded cable.
For me, the greatest benefits come from Amplifier, followed by Clock, and then DAC.
I swapped my best to from the DaC to the clock, then a few hours later to the Upsampler. I prefer it on the DAC, so its back there.
The author of this thread specifically mentioned the placement of power cords in a Vivaldi stack.
With that said, in the context of the entire system (specifically my system), I agree the power cable on the amplifier is the most important. I say that because my preamplifier is battery powered.
I believe preamp before amp in order of efficiency. Would you agree?
Told you
Yes, or to put it another way, no .
Puting your preferred power cord to your preamp can be very effective. However, that preference ( unless you have a test lab), is likely to be subjective. Subjective opinions will vary from person to person, rig to rig etc.
The sole way to be sure the of what is the best order of a mixed collection of power cords for you and your circumstances is by listening and comparing.
Exactly as Pete said.
I tried to elucidate that in “my system” a “better” power cable is not required for my DarTZeel preamplifier as it is battery powered.
I ended up using a better power cable on my amplifier. Furthermore, I moved from having the amplifier plugged into a power distribution box to now having it plugged directly into the wall
When we starting talking amps and pre-amps versus digital front end then I have a different solution. I use Shunyata power cables on my Vivaldi gear which are plugged into an Everest. For my amps and pre-amp I use Transparent Opus. The amps are not plugged into the Everest.
I currently have a full loom of Trasparent Opus. I have tried the Schnerzinger cable in my phono preamp and it blew me away in terms of superior dynamics, clarity, separation. I now want to try it on other parts of my system.