[prepress]

Didn't bother to test the Electra on my SACD player, because two more HPPCs came today! I put one on the SACD and one on the tuner. The verdict? It's great!

I played the same two tunes as before, but the full CDs this time: Close to the Edge—Yes; and Copland: Appalacian Spring/Rodeo/Fanfare for the Common Man—Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. The top end was smoother w/o giving up any detail; in fact, the overall sound was that way. Brass still had the proper bite on Copland. The bottom was a bit stronger than before, and there was more detail; the big drums in Fanfare really kicked butt at times. And as for CTTE, I didn't know Siberian Khatru had an acoustic guitar in the mix until I heard it today. At one point Jon Anderson' s vocal jumped out of the mix and sounded more in the room. I even threw on some tracks from ELP's Trilogy, and was rewarded with more detail, especially on the synths, with the sizzle and decay of notes not heard in my previous setup. I could also pick up the bass in the mix a bit better. This is great! I have my sweet spot for power cords. I'm not planning to get another HPPC for the LD player still, and am exploring (casually) replacing the cord on the Furman VR with one having a 20A IEC.

But I'm pleased with the power cord setup, based on today's test. And since the 501s aren't power-hungry class A amps, the HPPCs on them are wholly appropriate; even Demos at Transparent thinks so.