Power Cord Possibilities

[Samac]

Nice, prepress. Transparent cables have an excellent reputation. When they get settled in would you mind posting a few thoughts about the differences between WireWorld pcs and Transparent.

I'm running a Stratus 7 on my integrated amp. I use all WireWorld cabling in my system and I'm thinking of trying different pcs.

Cheers,

Scott

[prepress]

Originally Posted by Samac

Nice, prepress. Transparent cables have an excellent reputation. When they get settled in would you mind posting a few thoughts about the differences between WireWorld pcs and Transparent.

I'm running a Stratus 7 on my integrated amp. I use all WireWorld cabling in my system and I'm thinking of trying different pcs.

Cheers,

Scott

I haven't had a lot of chances to play the system lately, but I will say having the HPPCs on the power amps seems to have given a bit more impact to the bottom frequencies than the Electra 5.2s. I believe they need some more hours on them, as the one on my C2300 preamp suddenly sounded more open one day; things were smooth but open at the same time. The sound was a bit closed (muted?) when I first hooked the HPPC up. A nice change; that was when the Electras were on the amps. Brass opened up nicely. All this with a WW Stratus PC on my SACD player.

I'm still thinking I'll go to all HPPCs for sources and I'm eyeing the Kimber PK10 for the amps; the HPPCs on them now would move to sources. Transparent Premium is the next power cord up in their line, but since Transparent uses solid-core conductors, they're likely to be stiffer than I prefer. The Kimbers are said to be more flexible than even the Wireworld cords. Despite my issues with IEC connections and WW cords, I had no problem with the Electra's performance, and may want to put them back on the amps with all-HPPCs on sources for a while (well, maybe not on the laserdisc player, as I don't want a special C7 power cord for an extra $70 above the normal HPPC price that I couldn't use anywhere else if the player dies).

[Samac]

Originally Posted by prepress

I haven't had a lot of chances to play the system lately, but I will say having the HPPCs on the power amps seems to have given a bit more impact to the bottom frequencies than the Electra 5.2s. I believe they need some more hours on them, as the one on my C2300 preamp suddenly sounded more open one day; things were smooth but open at the same time. The sound was a bit closed (muted?) when I first hooked the HPPC up. A nice change; that was when the Electras were on the amps. Brass opened up nicely. All this with a WW Stratus PC on my SACD player.

I'm still thinking I'll go to all HPPCs for sources and I'm eyeing the Kimber PK10 for the amps; the HPPCs on them now would move to sources. Transparent Premium is the next power cord up in their line, but since Transparent uses solid-core conductors, they're likely to be stiffer than I prefer. The Kimbers are said to be more flexible than even the Wire-world cords. Despite my issues with IEC connections and WW cords, I had no problem with the Electra's performance, and may want to put them back on the amps with all-HPPCs on sources for a while (well, maybe not on the laserdisc player, as I don't want a special C7 power cord for an extra $70 above the normal HPPC price that I couldn't use anywhere else if the player dies).

Thanks for the reply, prepress. I'll watch this post to see what your impressions are after the HPPCs have settled in. It is very interesting how much cabling can effect your system.

Cheers,

Scott

[John49]

Originally Posted by Samac

Thanks for the reply, prepress. I'll watch this post to see what your impressions are after the HPPCs have settled in. It is very interesting how much cabling can affect your system.



Cheers,



Scott

Cabling... you can say that again. [emoji445]

[prepress]

I actually wonder if power cords don't do as much or more than interconnects. I remember when I put Transparent Plus ICs on my SACD player, how they "knocked down" the top end and helped mute some of the brightness of those '60s recordings I play. Then one day, the top end opened up. Not as up-front as the Kimber Hero there before, but the telling factor is the brass. It regained the crispness lost when the Plus was installed over the Hero. It was open but smooth. The same thing happened with the HPPC cord on the preamp, muted brass which suddenly one day sounded more open and crisp, as I think it should. The Atlanta Symphony's version of "Fanfare for the Common Man" is my go-to track for this type of evaluation.

I'm hoping to play the system more in the coming few days to move the break-in along. And using the HPPCs on the amps is the best way to do that; regardless of which source I use, the HPPCs will get work.

[prepress]

I haven't been on the forum in a while, except for an occasional lurk. Life stuff, I guess.

I'll say that about a week and a half ago, I pulled out ELP's The Return of the Manticore box set, and was inspired to play "Tarkus." It sounded good, and I was particularly pleased to hear details I hadn't heard before, notably the sizzle of the synths underlying the music. The harmonics(!) of them came through more, attack and decay, stuff like that. The sound was more like different musicians playing together rather than something homogenized. There were other bits of detail, like the drums sounding more like drums. And again, this is with the previously-mentioned Transparent HPPCs on the amps and preamp. I really think it's not necessary to "upgrade," as things sound pretty good. Plus, as life goes on my focus is shifting perhaps, to the point I'm not inclined to chase and obsess over sound so much; a good idea considering I'm not rich and can't afford to go after everything that catches my eye.

I still think about those Kimber PK10s, but not with the deep curiosity I once had. To rephrase a quote found in one of my theology books, "let your money sweat in your hand before you spend it." Any money I spend is money I won't have for something else, so I must decide if those Kimbers are a real need (of course, they're not). And since I may not be ready to retire when I first thought (6.5 years from now), discernment is in order for large unnecessary expenditures. That doesn't mean I won't get them; it means I'll have to think about it carefully, as that idea competes with the thought that my turntable and speakers are pretty old (though still working well, thank you very much) and perhaps a pre-emptive replacement is in order. The 'table is May 1992 vintage, the speakers February 1993. Still, power cords are the current fascination, so I'll stick with that for now if I can.

[prepress]

Ok. I've ordered two more 1m Transparent HPPCs, one for my BD player and the other for my phono preamp, assuming it stays in the system. They will replace WW Stratus cords. Things are beginning to move.

[jdandy]

Charles.......It will be interesting to discover the changes in sound between the Wireworld and the Transparent cables. Looking forward to reading your impressions.

[prepress]

Originally Posted by jdandy

Charles.......It will be interesting to discover the changes in sound between the Wireworld and the Transparent cables. Looking forward to reading your impressions.

I'd thought to just replace the source cords with HPPCs, and put the WW Electras back on the 501s and just get used to that for a while. But you've given me an idea to do something more akin to an actual evaluation. I think I'll get out one, or at most two, of my "reference tracks" to try. Using my SACD player, I'll try the tracks first with the previous setup (Electras on the 501s and HPPC on the 2300, with current JJ tubes) and then switch the Stratus on the SACD to a HPPC and see if I hear a difference. Since the HPPC used will be taken from the power amps, it's well broken in.

The question, I guess, is really whether I will stay with the Electras on the 501s or move to something else.

Update 7/8: the two HPPC 1M cords arrived today. Didn't expect them this fast. As for evaluations, I'll try getting to that in a day or two. There was a noticeable difference going from the WW Electra 7 to the HPPC on the C2300, particularly with the bottom end; that held true with the HPPCs on the amps as well, though not as dramatic. But sources could be another matter. I guess I'll see.

[prepress]

The test is done, and the result isn't a surprise, though a bit disappointing.

The SACD player has Transparent Plus IC going to the preamp, which has a previous-gen pair of same feeding the 501s. Speaker cable is Kimber 12TC. I used two tracks for the test: Yes' Close to the Edge and Fanfare for the Common Man with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. I am very familiar with these tracks.

First, I removed the Transparent HPPCs from my 501s and put the WW Electra 5.2s on them. I left the WW Stratus on the SACD in place. The result was a loss of weight and impact in the low frequencies. CTTE sounded flat, FFTCM lacked a bit of impact heard previously, though it still sounded pretty good.

Next, the Stratus came off the SACD and a HPPC was substituted. A good deal of the low frequency performance returned. CTTE had a fuller sound; there were a couple of instances where I heard a piece of detail I didn't before, but that could have been me not paying attention because I was concentrating on the low frequencies. FFTCM had more slam, if still not quite as much as before.

Time was spent with one of the new 1M HPPCs on my Pioneer Elite BDP-88FD blu-ray player also. The overall result was similar to test #2. Good sound, but still some low-frequency weight/impact missing from familiar DVDs.

Bottom line: I didn't notice much difference with the higher frequencies; they seemed about the same to me. But because of the low-level performance discrepancy the HPPCs need to go back on the 501s, or else I get something new such as the Kimber PK10 Ascent or the Transparent Premium to replace them. Demos at Transparent has suggested keeping everything HPPC, which is the less expensive option over a Premium ($320 vs. $600 for a 2M cord). Another factor I'd forgotten is that the Transparents are a bit stiff, and I had a small amount of trouble with putting the new HPPC on the 88FD, which sits on the shelf above my Furman. I'd imagine the 10AWG Premium would be stiffer than the 12AWG HPPC; I prefer flexibility, so it's either the HPPC or the PK10 Ascent, known for its low end and rich midrange. And according to a rep at the Cable Company, the Kimbers are more flexible than even WW cords (that would be a plus). I have some concern that the 6ft PK10 could be a bit too short; a 7-ft option is available for $476.

While I try to make my mind up on how to proceed, I can test the all-HPPC path with my 88FD. I will put the 2M ones back on the amps and do mostly video for a while. One Electra will go on the SACD rather than put the Stratus back. Though the Electra's a gen 5.2 and the Stratus is a gen 7, the Electra still represents an upgrade analogous to having an Aurora 7. Whether there's a discernible (to me) difference isn't a major concern right now.

So I get the HPPC or the PK10 eventually, and if things are too heavy-sounding, I can play with the tubes. There are certainly options here on that score.