[mcbuddah]

I bought a used pair of 6.1s in January and have spent the last 3 months working towards getting the best sound possible. I have made many changes to the whole system as these extremely revealing speakers
ruthlessly point out new areas of attention upstream, and when those are resolved, just reveal others. At this stage, I am nearly done with a room remodeling project that will allow me to stretch them out along the 30' wall in the living room formerly taken by the TV/HT system. As soon as the carpet is laid next week, I will be installing the components on a new super-wide rack from Steve Blinn and the speakers can have a lot of freedom of movement to discover their optimum room placement. While this change is likely to put the system over the top sonically, there are a few things I know that I will need, just to take advantage of the available space to place the speakers. I will need at least 2 new power cords at least 5' in length to power the 'electronics package' in the speakers and I may need to upgrade the TWL 10+ cords currently powering the 500w class D amps and the servo mechanism for the twin woofers. The mids and highs are powered from a pair of  Class D D-Sonic 600w monoblocks. The amps now sit up right behind the speakers, each on a custom amp stand.  I want to move them to the new rack. This change will make it impossible to use the high current Custom Power Cord Co. Top Guns that are plugged directly into the wall but will be too short in the new configuration.  The rest of my system consists of a VPI belt-drive SSM Reference, Thor 3000 phono stage, and an OPPO 95 for CDs. 

I am really looking for some advice about which TWL power cords would be best on the amps and the woofer electronics in the speakers. When the Digital American first came out, Pete's posting here indicates that it could be used on class d amps as well as DACs, cd players, etc. Now that the HC model is available, would that be a better match? The amps are rated for 24amp peak output, but with 91db efficient speakers and amps capable of 600watts @ 8ohms, they don't seem to be a heavy load at my listening level, so I hope that the 10ga cables may be OK. Does anyone have experience with TWL cables on servo-controlled woofers? I need to decide by next week if I will need two or four new cords just to get the system set up again.

[ACHiPo]

I bought a used pair of 6.1s in January and have spent the last 3 months working towards getting the best sound possible. I have made many changes to the whole system as these extremely revealing speakers
ruthlessly point out new areas of attention upstream, and when those are resolved, just reveal others. At this stage, I am nearly done with a room remodeling project that will allow me to stretch them out along the 30' wall in the living room formerly taken by the TV/HT system. As soon as the carpet is laid next week, I will be installing the components on a new super-wide rack from Steve Blinn and the speakers can have a lot of freedom of movement to discover their optimum room placement. While this change is likely to put the system over the top sonically, there are a few things I know that I will need, just to take advantage of the available space to place the speakers. I will need at least 2 new power cords at least 5' in length to power the 'electronics package' in the speakers and I may need to upgrade the TWL 10+ cords currently powering the 500w class D amps and the servo mechanism for the twin woofers. The mids and highs are powered from a pair of  Class D D-Sonic 600w monoblocks. The amps now sit up right behind the speakers, each on a custom amp stand.  I want to move them to the new rack. This change will make it impossible to use the high current Custom Power Cord Co. Top Guns that are plugged directly into the wall but will be too short in the new configuration.  The rest of my system consists of a VPI belt-drive SSM Reference, Thor 3000 phono stage, and an OPPO 95 for CDs. 

I am really looking for some advice about which TWL power cords would be best on the amps and the woofer electronics in the speakers. When the Digital American first came out, Pete's posting here indicates that it could be used on class d amps as well as DACs, cd players, etc. Now that the HC model is available, would that be a better match? The amps are rated for 24amp peak output, but with 91db efficient speakers and amps capable of 600watts @ 8ohms, they don't seem to be a heavy load at my listening level, so I hope that the 10ga cables may be OK. Does anyone have experience with TWL cables on servo-controlled woofers? I need to decide by next week if I will need two or four new cords just to get the system set up again.

Mac,
I was wondering how you were getting along with your new toys.  I figured no news was good news, and it sounds like you've been having fun building a new nest for them.

[mcbuddah]

I got the speakers early this year and have tried to be thorough about the most important part of the project - I need to educate myself as much as possible about speaker placement in general and with beauties in particular. I used to develop and install software before retiring and developed a temperament for making small adjustments and long testing sessions. These speakers offer so many adjustment and tweaking options that it could take years to get them set up properly. I look forward to many long 'testing' sessions to figure out myself what even small changes in settings for the various drivers sound like. All this adventure is promised all over the document library on Genesis' website. Their top guy, Gary Koh, writes well and likes to share. There is even a white paper that instructs how to adjust every dimension of speaker placement, with 10 chapters describing exactly what to expect from changes to each possible adjustment in speaker geometry. Each chapter links to a single musical piece that the Genesis team uses to rapidly install their more expensive offerings. They need to get them installed in a couple of days. I'm hoping that I will be able to get mine setup in less than a year. I plan to acquire all ten pieces and to try them all.

I did manage to negotiate a deal with my very understanding wife that has me nearing the end of a swap of the HT system's current home along a really nice 28' wall with the crowded alcove that, until recently, held my stereo gear. The system is stored away in closets until she gets her end of the deal - a total redecorating of the living room AND the kitchen thrown in. The painting is nearly done and the carpet goes in next week. As soon as the carpet installers are gone, I will begin the adventure (promised on the web by some whiny previous customers) of building a new Steve Blinn double-wide three shelf rack.  Apparently, they are hard for some to level. Egad!

I did spend two full months trying to get the best sound possible with these mighty speakers in an 8' x 10' dining room tacked on to the short end of living room. I thought about that time, knowing full well they had to get a better location, this was a good opportunity to make a project out of getting the best I could in the worst possible location for a speaker that can go to 16hz. I had many revelations along the way and learned to respect Gary Koh for his writing and insight as well as his speakers. If anyone wants me to ramble on about this experience, and comparison to the venerable Snell B-types they replaced in the same space, or the story about how I finally found an answer to an old nagging question, "Why do they even bother to make bass level controls that go down to 2?", I'll be glad to if someone wants to hear it. In the meantime, I'm trying to get ready for next week when I can put my whole system together in a great new spot, and I need some help deciding which power cords and how many I will need to power everything. I want to bring it back up with TWL power cords on the amps and speakers, it's just a matter of getting the right ones first.



 

[mdconnelly]

I've been a long-time user of Triode Pete's TWL+ cords and had used a 7+ on my McCormack amp with great success.   When Pete first came out with his American Digital (the original was the low power version), I wanted to give it a try.   About the same time I took a different path with my components and replaced the McCormack with a NAD M2 integrated (an excellent class D amp inside an innovative integrated).   While the regular American Digital worked extremely well on my CD transport, I felt it was perhaps holding back a bit on the NAD M2.   Well then, along comes Pete's high-powered version of the Digital American and that just nailed it.  Dynamics and bass punch were exactly where I wanted them.  And while the NAD M2 is certainly one of the far better class D amps, the Digital American HC pushed it further toward what I think of as a more natural, highly musical analog sound.   Neither PC went back.  The HC version stayed on the NAD M2 and the low-powered version is doing time on my CD transport.

Interestingly, a few months later I had the great opportunity to babysit a Devialet 120 for a few weeks and used the high-powered Digital American with it. Wow! 

I've heard great things about the D-Sonic amps but never have had a chance to hear them.   But if your looking for great power cords at a reasonable price, the TWL Digital Americans should definitely be on the list.  Pete's 30 day trial period makes it a no-brainer.   Drop him a note and I'm certain he can set you up.

 

[Triode Pete]

Hey Mac,
As mdconnelly has stated, the original design of the "Digital American" was for low power digital sources, CD-SACD-DVD players, DAC's, transports, audio/video servers, etc. The High Power version of the "Digital American", somewhat similar to the "Seven Plus" in girth, was designed for higher power sources and appears to work great in all applications, including power conditioners...

For your high power / high current amps, I believe the High Power version would serve you very well (or your money back)...

My $0.02,
Pete