Reggy sorry iam late answering your question, with Ares the better the power cord , the better it will sound, When Iam using my audio magic $49 pc it did sound good, when I tried Kimber Pk 10 And Marigo ultrA I was shocked it sounded almost very very close to Terminator I listen at Axpona, the smoothness, the black background , 3D , slam, palpability all showed up.My guest Audioquest NRG model will make this Dac even sound better, It’s worth spending to get good pc for the Ares...you will be surprise ,how good this DAC with good pc...