Pass amps + Power Cords ??

I had a power cord competition last night and the wrong cable won. I took on loan some PS Audio cables from a dealer, the AC10 and a AC5. They took up residence where my DIY Furutech's and Oyanide Acrolinks were. The first competition I had placed the PS Audio's dead last. That was a relief as I rather liked my DIYers since I use to grade cable and connectors. But knowing the cables were new I had to admit that it wasn't even close to a fair test so I let the PS's sit in the system and cook for a week.

So last night with 4 sets of good ears I played swap the cables, generally between amp and wall but a few hits at the Power Plant Premier.

The judges were not aware what I was plugging in at any point. I did not tell them what was being used when they gave a thumbs up or down. One thing was clear after I practically wore out my Furutech wall receptacle not to mention the power button on the amp.

The winner is?

PS Audio AC10. What was noted was "realness", "3D image" and dynamics. 2 people I would consider audiophile, 1 was not which I thought was a good thing. I did not include myself although I am biased towards my own DIY but had to admit the PS Audio clearly outperformed my own.

The loser? Me cause it's a cable I don't own and $600 more dollars out of my dwindled account.

Desalvo55, kudos to you for conducting an audition which attempted to make the process as neutral as possible. IMO, you did about as much to guarantee the neutrality as can be reasonably expected.

The person who was "neutral" as in, not an audio geek questioned the difference in power cables. "How can that be?". "Why were they so different in sound".

Anyone care to answer that?

There's a loaded question..

That question has been the basis of many a troll through the years here. It can't be answered, and it inevitably leads to heated arguments.

Desalvo: i'm using PSA power cords and can also give them a big thumbs up. got 2 ac-10's and 3 ac-5 along with 1 ac-3. can't say i tried anything else as my man Ron at liquid hi-fi recommended them to me when i went to upgrade oem pc's. there was an odvious improvement in sound from day one over oem cords. even more obvious after break in.

use the ac-10's for my quintete and ml 432 amp. ac-5's power my perfect wave dac, transport and pass x1 preamp. ac-3 for my dd-12 sub.

can't comment on what sound better regarding other aftermarket pc's but can tell you the ac-5 sounds great with my pass x1 pre. it's the only aftermarket pc i've had used but have no desire to look further. everything sounds just right as is.

btw....drop Ron a line if don't want to spend anything close to $600 for the ac-10's or other psa cords. he'll help you out. (in no way affiliated, just a happy long term customer).

cheers
Lev