Years ago a friend of mine switched a bunch of power cords for me on his Levinson power amp. The one that delivered the most dynamics was a stock Belden IEC line cord. The rest delivered more noise, less dynamics etc.etc. The rest of the line cords were the latest and greatest from the reviewers at the time.
Let's just say the experience did not enamor me to "exotic designer line cords", or the critics who wrote those glowing reviews.
d.b.
Why does this sound sooooooo familiar?
Actually, I have found one thing that does make a difference EVERY time, and EVERY time for the better (although not always in exactly the same way, or to exactly the same extent), and that is using monocrystal OFC power cables.
Again, this is no brainer, it has been known for say 30+ years that when molecules of ANY conductor are aligned, it will conduct better, meaning its internal impedance WILL decrease, and more often than not, its inductance and capacitance will also tend to decrease. And this is not the same thing as if using still fatter cable.
But one does not need to pay extravagant amounts for it. Taiwan's Neotech makes it at a reasonable (though not doughnut) price; I wish I could give you a link, but I buy mine from a local supplier.
It will deliver tighter and better controlled bass, with more weight, it will clean up the midrange and the treble, and it will afford you more speed, at least subjectively. I repeat, this happens EVERY time, but as ever, the absolute benefits are also influenced by the equipment itself.
And it will do this across the board, from a lowly Marantz integrated to an exalted Levinson. Not to even mention tubes.
But failing that, just buy some thick copper cable, MADE for passing all those amps through.
Cheers,
DVV
