Power Cable Shootout...

Foster_9:

I live in Canada, according to their site anyone outside of the US does not qulify for cable demo. :-(

Some good recommendations above. Some can be auditioned with a return privilege (TelWire for example).

IMO, it's best to stick with brands that have strong demand so re-sale is easier. Shunyata, Purist Audio, Transparent, Cardas, Audience, JPS Labs, Kimber, etc. (this list is not exhaustive by any means). Take a look at the classifieds and you'll see which brands have the most for sale.

6Sons Audio in Canada makes some good power cables. They might offer a home trial.

Popularity of an item is a good thing but it comes with a caveat. It means some greater degree of competition.... if there's a dozen of the same thing being sold which one sells first? Or at all? .. and then there's that Why is everyone selling? the latter I suppose is due to preffs.

Voodoo power cables list and sell near immediately. That says something I do believe.

Being popular oriented also diminishes one's list of items to be considered. contention that a certain price point will provide a certain result is sometimes just to fantastic... and again will eliminate some perhaps worthwhile entries of a bit less or more expensive tags.

Good luck

i hv done quite a number of power cord shootouts in my system (in the last 6 mths). these include - Acrolink Mexcel 7N 9100, DCCA, Elrod Sig.2, Harmonix Studio Master, Jena Labs Model 1, Jorma Super Power, Kondo KSL-ACz, Nordost Valhalla, Pranawire Samadhi, Pranawire Satori, Purist Audio Dominus (fluid & ferox), Shunyata Anaconda Helix (alpha & VX), Stealth Dream (source, power amp & preamp versions).

here are a few observations & suggestions:

a) there are no 'best' cables/cords.
a popular &/or more expansive cable does not necessarily mean it's going to be
better in your system. component-cable synergy is key;

b) some components are more sensitive to power cords changes than others.
if you're looking to replace power cords in a number of components, try to focus
on the component(s) that are most sensitive;

c) many cable brands make a range of cables & many of these cables will share the
same characteristics (but get better as you move up the line), start will lower priced
cables if you hv a limited budget. move up that particular manufacturer's line once
you've identified a cable/cord brand that's most synergistic;

d) i generally prefer to match a power cord to each component (vs. inserting a cord,
then assessing its impact on the overall system alone). although this is considerably
more tedious (& requires surplus components, cables, etc.), once a match has been
made, i can effectively take the cord-component pairing out of the equation (i.e. i'll
know the cord is not just patching up an up/downstream deficiency). furthermore,
any new cords introduced to the system will only need to beat the last favorite;

the general characteristics you should look out for (when trying new cords) include tonal balance, dynamic range, musical coherence (across the audio spectrum), resolution, pace, size/solidity & presentation of soundstage, etc. these are all highly subjective, so unless you know you hv a similar system & share similar preferences as someone else, don't waste your time reading how a particular cable (in someone else's system) brought tears to their eyes. you'll just be wasting yr time.

finally, hv fun...

Did a power cord shoot out as well which I posted on my system threads.
I bought the Aural Symphonics yesterday.
Alexsee has it pegged and agree with his process.
Any cable be it PC, speaker, interconnect or digital will have some sort of sonic signature. The signature they impart depends on components used, ac filtering, ac quality from the wall, and length of cables proximity to other cables and on and on...........
The best thing to do is get as many cables that you can and try them yourself. Only you can be the judge with what works in your system.

Re: The Cable Company
I also live in Canada. If you live near the border (who doesn't) then get em shipped to the closest US town. This way you get around the "only in the US".
Make sure you keep the receipts when you declare for customs, this way you will get back the pst and gst on the ones you return.
Good luck,