Dennis Had Inspire Amps

[Musica Amantem]

Well, I was not aware of Rythmik's actual location. That is a consideration, but there's no rush, I can wait. Yes, it was Enrico who replied with his suggestion. As far as DIY, I really cannot consider that alternative, because here it is very different from the US. No craftsmanship at that level is available, everything tends to be imported and the like ... So, I would be getting these pre-built, even if I will be spending a fortune just in shipping. This is why I'll do this one at a time. Thanks for the valid suggestions, guys.

[Musica Amantem]

I confirmed my Velodyne is not broken, it just does not have enough juice to meet the mains. In the original placement, the bass was boomy because at the required volume it went into distortion ... Found a better location near a corner where the SUB sounds louder OTBE. Therefore, it does not go into distortion (booming) at the same modest SPL, which represents a temporary solution.

It is clear my setup requires at least another 100 watts of SUB power and a 12" driver rather than a single 8". Funny how one would think the flea-powered Inspire amp would be weaker than 160 watts RMS on the SUB, but given the sensitivity of the mains and the power-thirsty low frequencies, which are now totally the SUB's duty under 100 Hz, it is actually under-powered. With the SUB in the corner I have decent but weak bass, so at least one Rythmik L-12 is a must.

After reading about this topic, all references seem to agree a stereo SUB setup is much better sound-wise, so eventually I'll get a second L12.

[Bombadil]

Anyone here roll power cords with their Inspire? Don't know Dennis' opinions on this subject. Personally, I never hear any sound differences between power cords. Stock vs $1000 cord - sounds the same to me. I do tend to swap out puny stock cords for sturdier 14AWG cords, just because I like to do that, and 14AWG cords are still only about $5 to $9.

[Rosco65]

Originally Posted by Bombadil

Anyone here roll power cords with their Inspire? Don't know Dennis' opinions on this subject. Personally, I never hear any sound differences between power cords. Stock vs $1000 cord - sounds the same to me. I do tend to swap out puny stock cords for sturdier 14AWG cords, just because I like to do that, and 14AWG cords are still only about $5 to $9.

Using aftermarket power cords seems counterintuitive to me (the power has to go through numerous conductors connected by mechanical means, through at least two circuit breakers, and terminating at a wall socket before it can reach the power cord. The power then goes through a few hundred yards of fine wire in the power transformer.). However, there are some people selling them whose ears I respect and who try to put out a lot of high value products.

Both Bottlehead and Wolfear Audio sell a <$100 power cable/kit. Again, intuitively I would expect the difference between a $10 cable and a $100 cable to be greater than the sonic difference between a $100 cable and a $500 cable. However I have no rational reason for this belief (other than financial self-preservation). It could very well be that one needs to spend >$100 to make an appreciable difference, but that difference may be huge.

I have only heard high-dollar power cables in systems in which the all the cable have been upgraded. If I were going to invest in power cables (as opposed to room treatments) I would want to be sure that spend an extra $1,000 on my system will be worthwhile. If I could, I would want to demo different cables with similar equipment.

[Wgarcia]

Power cables, when suspended along walls in bunches, would work well as a room treatment. Win win.

[BearCityUSA]

I take old lamp chord,... you know, with cracked insulation. I wrap it exactly 4.5 times around an old b&w TV set. Then into the best possible ends. It makes my metal fillings taste funny and really colors the sound to my liking while under the influence.

[Bombadil]

Roscoe65, I ran some comparisons on my home equipment. I brought in a $200 power cord, a $500 one and a $1000 one. Compared them vs my Belden 14AWG shielded cable which I picked up for $8. Tried them on 4 power amps, two preamps, a DAC and a CD player. Couldn't hear any difference between any of them on any piece of gear.

But there are certainly people around who claim to hear significant differences and who have invested many thousands of dollars into them.

These Inspire SE amps throw up such a beautiful, open sound, that they would seem to be an amp which would benefit, if there actually is a difference.

A highly respected audio engineer, Dusty Vawter - who designed amps & DACs for Audio Alchemy, then more of the same for Channel Islands, and is now back with Audio Alchemy / Elac - once told me that if a power cord could make an audible difference on any of his gear then that would be proof that he hadn't done a good job designing the power supply. For he put extensive work into cleaning, regulating, and filtering the power in his systems.

[Musica Amantem]

I believe the best power cable should be used as closest to the source as possible, particularly in digital devices, like DACs. Everything after that requires basic, decently designed cables, nothing esoteric or fancy. Of course, I have never used high-dollar power cables, so I may be wrong, but my impression is digital signals are more vulnerable to cable construction, whereas the rest requires just good conduction and isolation capabilities. Powering a complex DAC circuit, for example, opens an opportunity to bring-in disturbances which those delicate circuits may not be indifferent to. On the other hand, good DACs and other similar digital devices tend to have very robust power management internal circuits, by default. I also believe there are more cost-effective ways to invest in our systems before fine-tuning with cables, unless one has cream-of-the-crop audio gear.

[Wgarcia]

I have bespoke (whatever THAT means) DC filtering power supplies for my DAC and phono preamp, my main preamp has a completely separate dual mono isolated section with the transformers and other noisy bits, and the HO is plugged into a PS Audio Humbuster gizmo that may not be doing anything but it looks cool (I had transformer hum in an SS amp that lives in the rack for aux speaker duty)…cables SCHMABLES. No hum allowed. Also, the HO is the quietest amp I've owned…amazingly since it seems to be working its butt off.

[Musica Amantem]

Next system upgrades:

1. Install 0.022 µF VCaps on Inspire KT88 HO-Triode amp (on hand since a couple months back )
2. Get Gen 5 USB input module EITR from Schiit (superseding current Gen 3 module on my Yggdrasil)
3. Install Fidelizer PRO / Audiophile Optimizer in my current laptop music server
4. Get the first Rythmik L12 SUB and use it along existing Velodyne SUB in a stereo configuration, with proper setup adjustments to balance both units' design discrepancies.

... and the beat goes on!