A certain online retailer asked me for a review of Pangea power cords..

What’s to say?

Elizabeth , great review. I tried the AC9SE cords in my system and heard the following:   Connected to my GE Triton Ref speakers, they gave great power delivery, could not find any faults.  Connected to my amp, preamp or any source components and it sucked all the life out of my system so I went back to the Shunyata cords I was using.   Stiill using the Pangea power cords with my speakers. 

I like the AC9SE mkII Signature on my Bryston BP-26 preamp. Better than the AC14 Se mkII Signature. Before I started using the Singnature series, I was using original AC9SE.The earliest AC9 and AC14, at this point in time, I can say they are really not very good. The ones I own sit in the closet... I would not sell to another audiophile. (Maybe the AC9 would be good for a 'steam punk' computer??) The original AC9SE, and AC14 SE, are 'OK' sounding, just a little duller, and WOULD be good to ameliorate an audio system's digital grunge, in general!, and I still use a few for like video and TV etc.So I can relate to someone saying the old Pangea they tried were not that great. (I liked them, as I had no other reference. (and actually as a fault, still have no other manufactured PC to compare to. Except 2 handmade Quad MilSpec 12 gauge silver plated Teflon with Furutech 28 Rhodium plugs, The same wire with basic Wattgate really are not very good sounding now, that I use Furutech duplex. The handmade PC are pretty good. and about equal to the Pangea, just a little different (mainly I think in the Rhodium plating).An aside. Like Bryston equipment, some folks diss' Pangea saying 'not enough' Yet with a bit of other 'massaging; they shine. Perhaps if I bought other products I would say wow better. But at he moment, I am with what I have. and it sounds pretty good to me.So I do have to say my 'expertise' is lacking comparisons to other powercords abilities. But I am also confident in that what i hear is pretty good.

I’m glad they work for you. I wish they worked for me as I could have saved a ton of money. 

Pangea AC14SE MKII

Pros: Low noise floor, build quality, price

Cons: rolled off highs, sounded veil, maybe because of the gold plating,
although YMMV

I agree with the option of Rhodium plated.

I love my AC-14SE.
Currently using on my DAC and I love how high freq above 2-ish kHz beautifully extended and not rolling off at all. 
Pangea’s upper versions are good. Patented, very well built. I hope they will not brutally hype up their prices (like Morrow Audio did)
I don’t recommend AC-14 and AC-9
(Listening to Jacques Loussier/ Plays Bach.)

Why would anything in the 2khz range be rolling off... 

@d2girls Because it could. Starting to rolling-off and cutting-off is 2 diff things.

Because either it was done intentionally for whatever reason or it is low quality. Or both. Pangea are budget cables.

"Pangea are budget cables" True. Not a problem.        
One of those situations where folks base notions on old data for the original AC9 and AC14, and prejudice about them being 'budget'. And think calling them 'budget' is an insult. LOL
                          
Plus I have to agree the original AC9SE and AC14SE do roll off the highs a little. More like muffle them and upper midrange just a little bit. And actually that makes them perfect for folks who have digital HF grunge annoying their ears.I usually go by what works. Some stuff I find I need expensive. some budget. No problem.

My problem with the pangeas I use with dac and pre-amp is getting them to fit firmly to my devices and maintain contact. They do not seem to fit firmly and the weight of the cord pulls on the connector. Its very hard to keep them seated right. But I make it work and endure because the sound results were clear and noticeable compared to stock cords on arc sp16 pre and mhdt Constantine dac.
 
Anyone else have this issue?  Is it inherent with any particular model?

Yup. I guess anyone that has a positive experience will be subject to a call from Pangea.

I bought the latest Hokum Skebeez power cables for my system. They’re the best thing ever. 44khz sampled cds instantly became 192khz, and my frequency response curve on my Glompum Smorgasbord is perfectly flat, +/- 0.001dB. 

Is "improved bass response" the most often perceived benefit from an upgraded power cord? Just curious if others perceive other benefits...perhaps improved (bigger) soundstage? 

Elizabeth, I never insult women with power cords. But I will insult you with this. Your system is not balanced, you need much better power cords and speaker cables. No way around it. I know that you know it.

First - blacker background, second - less distortion in sound that you both hear and feel, third - better balance, forth - improved soundstage, fifth - deeper, more tuneful and textured bass.

I've never had good luck with the Pangea power cords.

I balk at better power cords. I know maybe... But I just am too cheap.I did spend $1,100 a pop plus $3,200 for a 7m IC. Took me a very long time to get there. Right now I did the Furutech duplex, seemed the best way to go toward better power at the moment. Those really are still breaking in.  (And some days driving me crazy. Yesterday was another all lean all the time day. since I just the day before added two key Rhodium plugs... Sucked.)            
I think the one place I might 'try' a better power cord in a few months, is the amp. If I like one there, then a few others might be possible. I am pretty hesitant about big money and power cords. It is, after all, just a piece of wire, and a couple of plugs.        
The IC I can justify to my 'el cheapo' mind since they actually carry a complex signal... The power cord only has to carry 60Hz. (Or maybe an alternative 110Hz. But nothing complicated...  (though I have to confess with the Furutech duplex, and the various ways they affect the sound breaking in.. I am mystified and amazed at what trivial alterations to the AC can do to the actual sound.. So I am 'moving' toward the notion that power cables can matter more, than I previously thought.)

Power cables are a pursuit with binary results. If you previously had the el-cheapo 79 cent receptacle and 18AWG cord to your amps, they probably had significant I*R voltage drop when the amps called for more current during peaks. The law of diminishing returns applies here especially.

All you need to do is upgrade your receptacles to spec-grade or heavy duty at a minimum, and screw-wire them to your romex. The back-stab connections are notorious for making a very poor connection. Don’t forget to pigtail all of the other upstream connections in the branch circuit.

Similarly with the power cords on your amplifiers. If they are less than 14AWG, they are a weak link in the chain. You don’t need anything more than garden variety SJT extension cord wire that is sold at Home Depot and other home centres. 60Hz (or 110Hz or 400Hz for that matter) alternating current is not affected even remotely by the skin effect. Once inside your amplifiers, the path to optimize is through the power switch, which is often a weak point, and the rectifier diodes can be upgraded with ones that have faster switching and lower forward voltage drop, to make the filtering and regulation circuitry more effective.

These upgrades are all south of $5 each, and will strengthen the power delivery to your amplifiers much more than any $300 rhodium plated silver power cord could ever hope to.

Yes the alternate reality side of wires needs to be heard.
As is usually added into ANY high end wire discussion, and sleepwalker65 stepped up the the plate... To offer the alternate reality version of powercord heaven. I wonder if the high end wire fanatics bust in on all sorts of ’wire is wire’ threads? are there even any such animal? (I have never seen one???) or do only discussions of actual users of high(er than cheap) wire and power products ’get’ the influx of such wondrous homilies about how great ordinary wire can be??? I am surprised though sleepwalker decided to pop in on this thread about CHEAP as dirt powercords?? Maybe I missed his post where I discussed repeatedly and in depth about adding $5000 retail worth of Duplex and plugs on a whim??? I bet he saw those.. since why else add in the "" All you need to do is upgrade your receptacles to spec-grade or heavy duty at a minimum, and screw-wire them to your romex. The back-stab connections are notorious for making a very poor connection "" (Shows he really is one with the Dollar Store versions of duplex). how helpful too. "Back-stab". I wonder if that is really a metaphor???
What a nice guy to be sooooo helpful.
So you think he is telling me? or some other person who might get the notion to buy some fancy cords???
Kind of like the old hippie Hari Krishna a the airports, never know when he might find a convert.
Then I wonder do they think anyone is going to listen? Or are they just flapping their gums in the breeze for the hell of it. Guys like that MUST think their ’message’ has meaning and is ’reaching the masses’ gaining ground with every post... ??? Not in my Universe LOL

I think power cords, power conditioners, power outlets are going to become more and more important. Wall current is deteriorating, digital interference is getting worse by the day.
I cannot verify it because I have an integrated amp but most people reported that right power cord on preamp made the biggest difference. I can only say that it made big difference with integrated, bigger than with phono stage and bigger than from the wall to PS Audio regenerator. But that's in my case, experimenting with only four power cords. Best cord was best with everything as far as I could tell, Purist Dominus Rev B ferox. Good power cord should not make anything worse, and I don't try to 'tune' the system with cords.

elizabeth
Thank You for the review. Are you using both Kimber Kable and Pangea cabling/cords in your system?  Happy Listening!

Almost all Pangea, plus two home made cords with Furutech '28' Rhodium plugs. The IC mainly are Kimber KS1116 (XLR) and KS1016 (RCA)
With a few Cardas Pasec in lesser positions. Speaker cable Kimber 8TC, with a 1" cotton core.

I am suspect of some of the Pangea critics.  They are not cheap cords, They could sell for much more.  Pangea caught themselves in a Catch-22 by offering such quality  for not much money.  A good number of power cords that some may like were designed by the same person who designed the Pangea.  He contracts out and designed for them. The newest Pangea uses Cardas wire and also litz in their construction. Before Cardas, it was OHNO copper and litz. That is not cheap, just inexpensively priced in comparison... But,still  more expensive than typical power cords.. Not sure how much opinion here is due to audio snobbery.

I have Pangea and PS Audio for power cords and PS Audio easily sounds better to me. In a given system, I imagine, the Pangea could sound better. Plus, it is in the listener's ears IMHO.

They're not bad at all.  I have 9 devices in my system that use detachable PCs and bought a bunch of Pangeas to play with,  even to the extent of reterminating some AC14s with my favorite Furutech ends.  I stopped doing this when the AC14-SE came out and sounded as good to me as the reterminated AC14s.

So why don't I use them anymore, except for one AC14SE?  Because I found other PCs I like better.  That's better, not cheaper.  

One last thing.  My Pangeas were VERY much improved by burning them in on my Audiodharma Cable Cooker.3.5. Takes a good 5 days on the Cooker but well worth it.

Everything above is, of course, IMHO.

Application is also crucial.  I use the AC9SEMKII for my sub.  The control, definition, ease of amplification and tonal accuracy improvements are quite notable.

I use a pair of 14SE MKII for my Sony 65z9d television, and my cable box.  Wow what a picture difference, on what is arguably the best set on the mass market to begin with!  (Only downside was the 65z9d is hardwired, so I had to cut the female end off the pangea and strip it down to connect...but that is no fault of the pangea). 3d depth perception of the picture is enhanced significantly.  Smooth Color saturation is slightly  improved, and fluid motion is also improved.  At under $300 for 2 chords, my viewing experience on a $5k set is enhanced considerably.

Could one of the folks who endorse upgraded power cords please explain: how a 6ft “upgraded power cord” could best a run of the mill 14AWG or 12AWG power cord, when there is several dozen feet of pedestrian Romex wires through upstream 59 cent receptacles is in the path to the breaker panel? Power delivery is after all a chain which is limited to capacity of the weakest link. 

I'm happier to read about a female's nice audio system.  I'm not sure about the P C.  if I knew who builds the guts of the  PC
Cardas  Wire ? 

Power cords apparently 'condition' the AC in some way.  That is how six feet of cord changes what we hear. Or, the last six feet of cord destroys the AC entering into our equipment. Probably the best way is to have the solid core in the wall extend out into individual dedicated cords, and by pass the wall outlet all together. Not practical. Solid core copper is excellent... what happens after leaving the outlet changes what is entering your equipment.  And, one good cord for your system will exaggerate in another system... PS Audio and Pangea cords have the same designer. There are others too. 

An interesting comment about destroying (ruining..) the last few feet.I own a lot of Pangea, but do still use a few ordinary home made sets of power cords.
In my acquisition and installation of a pile of Furutech duplex, and a few Furutech plugs, I then realized the previous brass (Wattgate) plugs used on some powercords, if reinstalled, sounded terrible. The brass gave a sort of background velvet buzz in the upper midrange. Easy to spot once I noticed . With brass plugs, buzz, no brass plugs, no velvety buzz. (this with no brass in the duplex. Furutech is pure copper,the ones I bought plated with gold or rhodium, with springs for grip)
Another thing which reaffirms the idea of ’damaging the last few feet:
I use a pair of 32 ft long, and 41 ft long (I extended the prior 37ft) the 41 to a ’on floor’ twin duplex box for the amp, the 32 ft to another on floor twin duplex box for the two conditioners. The wire in those extension cords is a dual Quad of MilSpec 12 gauge silver plated Teflon 600v wire. As used for extension cords, they really do not affect the sound. (Though many say silver plated copper tends to a bright sound) BUT, big BUT, if (As I did try) to make cords TO THE EQUIPMENT of the same wire, using rhodium Furutech plugs. The wire DOES SOUND BRIGHT. I really just had to swap the plugs to some OFC wire I had designed for AC powercords and then the sound is great. (same Furutech plugs on OFC pure copper)
Wat this EXPERIMENT showed me is that the only part that really matters is the LAST FEW FEET.*(* aside from the usual need for large enough gauge wires prior, to allow current to pass easily)

sleepwalker65Could one of the folks who endorse upgraded power cords please explain: how a 6ft “upgraded power cord” could best a run of the mill 14AWG or 12AWG power cord, when there is several dozen feet of pedestrian Romex wires through upstream 59 cent receptacles is in the path to the breaker panel?

You're assuming facts not in evidence. I use 20A dedicated lines comprised of 10AWG NM wire. There's not a 59-cent receptacle anywhere in sight.

Can anyone explain to me how the last few feet of a power cord makes a difference when the rest of the house wiring is standard Romex copper wiring ?

Oh, silly, Reddi Killowatt believes size matters. 🐍💩

Here’s the thing about power cords and interconnects. Beyond a certain level of build and materials quality, they do not get better as you spend more and more. They just sound different. So if you’re assuming that a decent Pangea cord will get killed by say an Audioquest model that cost ten times as much-- sorry, you’ll just be hearing the differences based upon your unique setup and environment and nothing less or more than that. If you think those differences are worth it then great-- but to say the sound is better or worse is just an aesthetic judgement-- i.e., you like the change/differences.

A lot of the claims made by companies selling super expensive wire are pure hokum. You buy their cables, hook them up, and you get a "different" sound or sonic signature-- and you’re very much more likely to say that sound is "better" because you paid more. COnfirmation bias is a very real thing-- proven countless times in experiments.

If I were to create an experiment where we let a group of experienced audiophiles listen to tracks played on a very high-end analog or digital system, and then switch out the cables and repeat-- so long as the sets of cables we used ranged from very well built quality cables all the way up to insanely expensive cables-- I would bet that no one would be able to rank them from least to most costly based upon various sonic "improvements" made to the system (claims that many mfg’s make all of the time). Everyone would probably hear differences and have opinions about those differences-- but NO ONE would be able to tell a $300 cable from a $3000 cable and then rank them all based upon cost.

Often, changing cables is a give and take experience. Some elements of the sound recede while other characteristics become more dominant. You gained some AND you lost some. All that really matters is whether or not you like the change, and your opinion might change over time as you get used to the changes.

So just buy the best cables you can afford, quality materials and build matter a lot. Listen to them for a while, and if you like the change(s), keep them and enjoy them. Do not assume that by spending a LOT more you will get a "better" sound-- you’ll get a different sound-- that you may or may not like.

Try not to confuse different with better. A $500 bottle of Cabernet does not taste better than a $75 bottle-- both are probably going to be excellent-- and they will be different in character-- NOT better than or worse than. Spending beyond a certain point gets you to a level of quality where what you’re looking for are sound characteristics that you like-- nothing more. There’s a hell of a lot of snake oil out there-- and many times the claims made by some of the mfg’s are a sure sign of this. Try not to be taken in by their wild-ass unprovable claims and just enjoy the music.

The $500 bottle is better, but only to folks with exceptional tasting abilities. Same thing.

Yeah, this reminds me of an old joke. What do Budweiser beer and canoe have in common ? Both are f..... close to water.
The poster above can have the Bud. In my experience, without any exceptional tasting abilities, $500 or so French wine is vastly superior to $100. From the same region, not from the same vineyard, though. No , I don't buy such an expensive wine, those couple of bottles were gifts. 

Elizabeth, I of course was not talking about you but about someone with 13 posts and a lot of opinions.

So, the weight of an opinion is based on the number of posts?  Christ, Einstein has never posted here, so....🐍💩

Here and there people keep talking about ridiculously high priced cables can enhance sound quality. When seeing a 6-power cable is being priced as high as $3000, all I could was shaking my head! There are simple things that people just don't want to understand. Don't you think people at Pass Labs, McIntosh or Mark Levinson designed a $20,000 amp and included a power cable that would degrade the amp performance? Or as one asked earlier in this thread, "Can anyone explain to me how the last few feet of a power cord makes a difference when the rest of the house wiring is standard Romex copper wiring?" The answer is no difference, unless you switch from an Ikea extension cord. 

I bought the Pangea Audio Octet Premier XE for $150 on last year Black Friday. Instead of buying Pangea power cord, I built myself to avoid a dozen of 6ft-10ft power cord in a tight space using Wattgage connectors and Belden 19365 power cable. I ordered a couple of XLR cables from Blue Jeans Cable once then built them myself with the same material, Belden and Meutrik, and saved half of the the cost. My advice: If you love high end equipment, learn how to make your own cables with fine parts. Goldpoint SW2X-I is sold for $395. I made a box with exact parts for $50. The most expensive part was the Grayhill rotary switch for $15. the remaining were Neutrik connectors and silver soldering wire.

Having worked many years in the machine and tech end of a large, international, apparatus repair/manufacturing corporation, that manufactured and supplied everything from very large industrial machines and electrical components and supplies to residential electrical supplies - I can say for a fact that it's not sleepwalker's opinion that's fantasy.
While I do believe in quality hospital grade outlets, and good quality cables and cords - people who make wild claims about ridiculously priced outlets, cables and cords apparently know little or nothing about how electricity, from the grid to your component, actually works, or why and how components are designed and built to operate fully and properly on the standard household current of the country where they are to be used.
Companies who build $5k, $10k or 20k audio components, do not build them to sound bad with their supplied power cords, nor do they in any way imply the need of an expensive cord to make them sound better. If you buy a $10k amp and it doesn't sound absolutely glorious within the parameters it was designed to operate, I doubt that a $10k power cord or a $5k outlet will magically fix it. In that case, maybe you would be better off to just buy a $200.00 amp and put a $10k power cord and $5k outlet on that and save yourself a cool $4.8k...just sayn Jim

Ops make that - save yourself a cool $9.8k. Wow, you could buy another cord.

There are no $5Koutlets. One of the reasons I decided to upgrade outlets IS because even the very best are pretty cheap, compared to the high end powercords and IC. Sooner of later outlets WILL have versions that cost megabucks. The most expensive duplex (I thought was Furutech GTX NCF.. nooooo. There is some other 'blue that is retail over $400 now. Plus the Furutech are on sale at 20% to 50% off (but not everywhere)          
Back to PC.. I did decide to use some DH Labs AC wire with my Furutech plugs. It is breaking in, so not comments on sound. I may buy some Furutech wire too.. Thinking maybe try some.

As much as the build quality of the original ac9 impressed me, it did not match well with my Rowland Model 1.  The sound became very dull.  That said I have not heard the more recent iterations of this product.

So let me ask a question.

I am in the construction field, I notice sometimes that a 14 gauge SJ extension cord is not suitable for some heavy power tools, making the breaker trip. Why would we (audio enthusiasts) then plug 8 or 9 audio devices into one power conditioner/surge protector. To me this is like plugging 9 drills into one cord. That would never work. If we are worried about our amps getting the most voltage when it is needed, we would certainly not plug the amp into a multiple outlet device? Would we?

 I am not trying to down play the importance of an after maket power cord, I am willing to learn or at least listen to why we would do this. Is it that our audio equipment draws so little power that it is ok? And then it really does not matter?

 To me, this is a hobby, I take maybe to serious. When I hear music on the job site coming through a radio and then listen at home it brings a smile to my face. I just ordered a couple of moderately priced after market power cords for my tube Amp and tube Preamp. Even if I do not hear a difference (unless it is worse sounding) I will keep them. As I did measure there length to thread through my rack in a very neat and secure way. And mainly to keep the power cords on one side of the rack and the speaker and interconnects on the other side. I fell its always good to keep these far apart when you can.