Power Cord Flavors

John, this hobby never stops confounding and amazing me. A perfect example is how we can each have completely different opinions about the sonic flavor of the Shunyata Anaconda Vx. That's why it's so important to try these things in one's own system.

I have found the Cardas quadlink PC to be on the warmer fuller side of neutral and a good match for shriller digital sources. The signal cable PC is a good budget cable. However for the price, my favorite PC is the Van Den Hul mainstream hybrid. It is neutral and quiet with excellent dynamics and works well on amps and digital sources. It so far has been the best bang for the buck in terms of PCs in my system.

Hi,thanks to the Cable Company and some friends, I have had the opportunity to audition the following cords in my system. All of these are good cords in their own right, each with their pros and cons and represent a wide range of prices. Based on what I heard in my system, this is how I would place these cords in the thread's suggested categories(in no particular order):

Warm and Full bodied=
Tara Labs The One (very full bodied, very rich midrange, but perhaps a little loose in the bass)
Elrod Signature 3
Elrod Statement (compared to the Taras Labs - more neutral and extended with deeper/tighter bass)
Cardas Golden Reference
PS Audio Xtreme Stmt (more dark than warm compared to the others and closed in on top)

Neutral, Clear and Extended=
AQ NRG-5 (neutral yes, but with some grain on mids and upper frequencies)
Electraglide Epiphany (as open and neutral as I have heard)
Synergistic Research Resolution Reference Active
Shunyata Python Alpha
Shunyata Anaconda Alpha (to my ears, richer sounding with a slight mid-range bloom compared to the other cords in this category but without loss of detail)
Purist Audio Venustas
Tara Labs RSC Air (similiar in sound to the AQ NRG-5)
Virtual Dynamics Nite II (a little closed in on top compared to the others)
Nordost Valhalla (very open, detailed and beautifully extended on top, but relatively thin in the mid-range compared to the others in this category)
Kimber Palladian PK10

Tvad, agreed. It is indeed a strange hobby. IME, the Anaconda Vx was more neutral than the King Cobra series, but I still wouldn't put it in the neutral category.
The Anaconda Alpha is even more neutral yet, and I feel safe placing it in the neutral category.

There are varying degrees of warmth, just as though there are varying degrees of neutrality. I would say the Cardas Golden Reference and the King Cobra V1 are the warmest cords I've heard. The Anaconda Vx is probably the most neutral cable that I placed in the warm camp. The VH Flavor 4 Gold is probably the warmest cable in my neutral camp.

Of course equipment can change any of these I guess.

Cheers,
John

This is a nice thread. I have been contemplating trying out some aftermarket PC's in my system (right now all stock). This gives me a good reference.

Thanks guys'

Chris