interconnects vs speaker cables vs power cords - which make the biggest difference?
Like the subject line says, I am curious what others think in terms of whether interconnects, speaker cable or power cords make the biggest difference when it comes to noticeable sound improvements, or are they all equally important? I am thinking of upgrading them all and am trying to decide how to allocate spending. Thanks in advance.
My two cents: Power cord....you must get the RFI/EFI right from the start otherwise noise will affect the chain of components to never return. I use Stage lll with a wonderful affect. Power supplies via manufacturer vary to a great degree so YMMV. Try on your TV to find out noise cancellation. The picture won't lie. Interconnects.....source to preamp. next preamp. to amp. Speaker Cable.....all to a varying degree but the least in my experience if the front end is taken care of. Everything lost in the chain will never return so it all matters. Gwalt
In my experience, it’s the power cable. I’ve had expensive cables ever since 1986. Started out with MIT, then when I became an audio writer, changed to Transparent. Also had XLO. Dropped out of audio for a while and came back in 2003. Saw a new name in the power cord/speaker cable field, Shunyata and was curious. Read a few reviews and thought, 'this sounds like something I'd like,' so I bought the speaker cable (Andromeda Constellations Series) and then the Aries interconnects, as well as Nordost Quattro Fils. Everything sounded nice, but not quite...what I was used to. (Turned out to be the Marsh amp. Too ’polite.’) Then I saw that Shunyata had power cords, read up on them and bought the Black Mamba (2003 version), Python and then The King Cobra V2 (2003 vintage, their first line of power cords). When I inserted the King Cobra into the system and placed it on my ASL Hurricanes, the system came alive in a rather spectacular way. Dynamic as hell, extremely strong mid-bass, imaged like nobody’s business. So, I’d say the power cords - with a caveat.
If you insert a speaker cable that is a better model than the power cords you have - and they are from the same manufacturer - the speaker cable will appear to be the most important. So, for example if you have Nordost Purple Flare power cords and have been using Red Dawn speaker cable - and then insert Frey 2 speaker cable, it will appear that the speaker cable was the big improvement. But lets say that you then (keeping the Frey 2 speaker cable in your system) then purchase a Nordost Try2 or Valhalla2 power cord, you might think the power cord suddenly "out-powered" the Frey 2 as the bigger improvement.
That said, I’ve found that all items in one’s system need to be equally good, but the power cord, given that it filter out impurities in the electricity in your system, will push the system higher.
I have found, over the years, that, in some manufacturer’s lines, one component compensates for the other. In the old Goldmund components, circa 1986, the Goldmund front end components ( The Goldmund Studio, for example) were just slightly dark (yin), but then, when they introduced a line of electronics (such as the Goldmund Mimesis 9, which I owned), the electronics were beautifully clear and transparent - and it was like you had inserted a 150 watt bulb in a lamp after living with a 75 watt bulb for so long, to the point of the sound being very close to Spectral electronics (slightly "yang" - sounding) speaking strictly of tonality here. But Put the turntable together with the amp (I was using a Convergent preamp, also of 1988 vintage, which is itself slightly "yang") and it was a match made in heaven. However, if you used the Goldmund electronics with other manufacturer’s components, you might well wonder what the fuss was about.
They all count but the power cable least I'm sorry but it is just my experience. Thinking about it, it wa the best cable that made the difference and they were interconnects at the time Cardas Gold Refs used .
Keith I agree with you, once the extension cord burn in ,as usual you get more improvement, you need to move cables to see which one work on every component. Be patient leave cables for at least six days.
My current system weighs a total of 12 ounces. Battery power, so no power cords, no AC power, no AC ground, no interconnects, no digital cable, no speaker cables. Also, no transformers and no fuses. But very low distortion and gobs of air.
I agree that ALL THINGS BEING EQUAL (ie all wires being of the same basic design/quality) the ic between the source and preamp is the one most likely to make the greatest impact on the sound of a system. EVERY cable (I've used top of the line Kimber, AQ, Stealth,Shunyata, M.I.T.,Tara and Nordost and mid level High Fidelity cables--off the top of my head) has different qualities which may or may not shine in a particular system. Oh yes, and what may shine for one listener, may not for another.
Everything is a tone control. Cables, capacitors, plugs, preamps, amps, speakers, sources, etc., etc., etc.
I have noted many times in the last couple of decades that a system component change may very well require some cable/cord changes.
No one seems to deny that cables/cords are system synergy and personal taste related. However, many talk about not using cables as tone controls. LOL! These same folks have no idea that their speakers are tone controls. They pick the ________ that sounds best to them, hence, it is a tone control.
Some choose to tune their system using cables, some choose to tune their system using components. Whatever floats your boat.
I normally do not reply to such topics, but I’ll live on the wild side a little.
I have never had any major improvements from power cords, but I still buy aftermarket PC’s because I want my gear supported properly due to all the money invested. My Dude preamp (up for sale) never responds to power cables. It does not care.
I agree with the Transparent designer - the most critical cable is from source to the preamp. I’ll get back to that.
With speaker cables I have experienced very nice results and today truly enjoy my Cerious SC’s that I cannot fathom ever taking them out.
So a little real-time info for you, since my Dude is for sale I have been bringing in other preamps of the passive style and have found one that is highly rated but the sound became bright and edgy immediately upon inserting it into the system. My present IC’s are Audio Magic Trinniums which are a hybrid ribbon cable and with the Dude were pretty darn good even though I knew from past experience that something a little more full-bodied should eventually be tested.
So I grabbed a pair of older Audioquest copper IC’s and changed out the preamp to source cable with this low priced parts-bin cable and immediately lost the brightness and added some bass because the cable shifted the frequency range by rolling off the top end, etc. which a non-silver content ribbon can do. So I proved to myself that I could perhaps live with this preamp but that really means I need to find a compatible IC. Is this tone control? Don’t really care cuz I trust my ears.
So I have a pair of Cerious graphene IC’s and a pair of Morrow MA-5’s coming to see how they do since that are about as far from a silver-infused ribbon cable you can get. I have owned Morrows before so have some familiarity. So stayed tuned.
This is the first time where I have deliberately selected cables to change the sound in order to keep a piece of electronics - or to put it another way, the preamp may be so revealing a "bright" cable is the wrong choice. In about a week I will know.
It makes no sense to me, but power cables have made the most difference in my system. Easily. Inner connects next, then speaker cables. This is the exact opposite of what I would expect, but there you are. And, power cables made much more difference I n my sources and preamp than in my amps themselves. This could be because I have class d mono blocks (bel canto). When I had other solid state amps, I never changed power cables because I couldn't imagine it would make any difference. Wrong.
The PC was from a Sony high end TV...does everything right and doesn't screw up the frequency balance or roll anything off!! Had lots of Transparent including Gen 5 Reference. Results were, how do I put this nicely...lackluster. Their best stuff was the XL TECHNOLOGY...open and spacious with crazy detail and liquidity.
if a manf. went to a lot of trouble to design a high cost component then it makes perfect sense that they would eff up the sound with a crummy cheap power cable, .... right???
if a double blind test shows significant differences from interconnects then somebody really effed up the design of your components
if a double blind test shows significant improvements from speaker cables then you most likely have a speaker with unusual impedance match requirements ("not that there is anything wrong with that")
if you like your speaker cables then you can keep your speaker cables
@dave_b Sure, it's the stock cord that came with your Krell.
Everyone, I heard an interesting presentation recently from Josh Clark -Lead Product Designer at Transparent Cable. An attendee asked "If I can't afford to add your cables to all my system at once, where is the first place in my system to invest?" The reply was the interconnect between source and preamp. I thought that was notable advice from an articulate and well informed source. Cheers, Spencer
Happened to come across what I believe to be the best power cord I've ever experienced...and it was free! It beat my $4k plus PC's I have on hand. Any guesses what it is??
I agree all make differences.good cables design to make the system to perform at its best potential, bad cables tend to change/ manipulate the sound.synergy betweens cables is very important and have to be choose carefully. Not always the expensive cables are better than the cheaper ones , demo is a must!
Perhaps/Maybe, depending on system components... 1) Power cords (NO conditioner and/or station) 2) Interconnects 3) Speaker cables or 1) Power cords (NO conditioner and/or station ) 2) Speaker cables 3) Interconnects
but they all make differences even when done individually and in varying order...
I must say however that the cable with the most impact on my system was the insertion of a pair Cardas Golden Reference, interconnects. The change was immediate and very profound so I agree in principle with speaker cable, but in practice the ICs made the biggest difference...
Before you mess with all that, make sure you’ve sorted out room treatment and speaker placement. I’ve had a-ha! moments with power cords, interconnects and speaker cables. But the biggest a-ha! was better speaker placement and decent room treatment. For me, it was more significant than any of the cable changes.
Also, before you dick around with power cables, do you have a dedicated line for your listening room? That can make more of a difference than any power cable..
LFD AUDIO: Phono stage; upgrade the power cord first or the interconnect?
Posted on 29th November 2016 by Howard Popeck
Hi Howard I just received the Power Cord as ordered plugged in to wall outlet already definite improvement over shunyata cord ,I was wondering if another Power Cord would benefit my lfd phonostage ? or should I look to upgrade my Interconnect from the Spirolink to the grainless first thanks again for your help.
You pose an interesting question. It depends in which direction you want to travel next.
In superficial terms, if there is a desire for greater bass 'heft' and 'slam' then the Power Cord is your next move.
If more detail, less sibilance on female vocals and a greater sense of 'sweetness' then the Grainless is the way to go.
WRT to Power cables - I have observed that the components in my system with the "lowest quality" power supplies tend to benefit more from a power cable upgrade than components having a higher quality power supply
e.g. - my Bifrost DAC performed noticeably better with a good power cord. - whereas my NAIM amp, although it improved, the improvements were more subtle.
- my Simaudio Moon Phono stage was somewhere between the two.
Also, If you have components with Wall-wart power supplies - find a quality replacement. with a quality power cable - It makes a huge difference
If I had to start again, I would start by upgrading the power cables first, because these allow the components to operate to their best abilities. Then followed by IC's and then speaker cables.
IMHO the speaker cables are the most critical. I'll throw in a plug for the brand I use, Jena Cable which are simply insulated braided copper. Then ICs, I have yet to hear a meaningful difference between power cords.
Factors that tend to increase the criticality of speaker cables:
-- Low speaker impedance. -- Long cable length.
Factors that tend to increase the criticality of line-level analog interconnect cables:
-- High output impedance of the component driving the cable. -- Use of unbalanced interconnections. -- Long cable length.
Factors that tend to increase the criticality of power cords:
-- The component being powered has an unregulated power supply and draws large amounts of current that fluctuate widely. Namely most power amplifiers and integrated amplifiers. -- The component being powered tends to generate significant amounts of electrical noise, that may couple via the power cord to other components. Namely power amplifiers, integrated amplifiers, and digital sources. -- AC line voltage at the particular location that is lower than nominal. ("Nominal" being 120 volts in the USA).
Phono cables and digital interconnect cables involve complex issues that I won’t address in this post, but their criticality will vary widely depending on the specific equipment that is involved.
Yep, Good quality Power Cables through some sort of Power conditioning 1st, then good quality interconnects 2nd. I just havn't been able to get big improvements with Speaker Cables so far, so a distant 3rd for me at this stage.
As others have mentioned, it's system dependent. With that said I'm going to answer your specific question and not get into other areas that you didn't ask about but others alluded to. Power cords, interconnects and speaker cables in my opinion carry a signal or current of some type and can be used to tune your system (sound wise) to your liking. I find all three equally important. If pressed to rank them in order, I'd agree with others that said: 1) Power cords 2) Interconnects 3) Speaker cables
I also agree that power cords make the most sonic difference, with or without a power conditioner. For the record, I use a SR Powercell 10UEF/FEQ and the power cord between it and the wall makes the most difference IME. Digital sources would be next.
what matters is whether the thing behind the cable can be affected by a cable with complex impedance, the current and voltage level of the signal, etc.
all of those point to speaker cables (kudos to the wag who pointed out that speaker placement was more important than any of the 3 choices)
speaker cables can especially affect the sound of certain speakers
Here is what to do re all cabling (and if you do not understand electronics or science, then it is my special magical secret advice):
rund digital as far as possible, then run balanced as far as possible, then use monoblock amps set as close to the speaker as possible and do not worry about the brand of the wire
speaker cables should be short and fairly thick (usually 16 AWG); use gold-plated interconnects and coat all connections with Caig products
make and break the connections every couple of years and if you are tempted to spend more than $200 on all cables combined (for a normal sized home) then just hit yourself in the head with a hammer
I’m surprised by the number of responses that place power cords first. Let’s further define that by asking with our without power conditioning of some type?
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