Posted by Albertporter on November 24, 2002 at 13:43:21:
In Reply to: Power Cords posted by Rick Gray on November 23, 2002 at 06:01:07:
Rick,
My experience is, every aftermarket power cord sounds different from the factory supplied cord on my U-1 Soundlab. Most proved to be superior in many ways.
So far I've experimented with premium shielded Belden, Electri-Cord Hospital grade, Tiffany TPC-60, Synergistic Research, Purist Proteus and Purist Dominus, Acrotec, TG labs, Music Meter, FIM, Audioquest, Tara Labs, and HMS.
If you want a quick peek at what premium power cords do, remove the stock one quarter amp fuse from the holder on your Soundlab back plate and drop in a 10 or 15 amp fast blow. You will hear an immediate improvement. Every Soundlab back plate I've ever owned has had the fuse holder direct bypassed with Cardas or Purist wire, and the hole (where fuse holder was) plugged with a plastic snap cover.
I ask Roger about this more than 10 years ago and he told me that Underwriters Laboratory requires the fuse. When I pressed about safety and performance he said the fuse was totally unnecessary and was there only to comply with regulations. I was therefore welcome to remove it, although he was not able to do so as a factory option.
There are 6 pair of Soundlab speakers in my group of listeners. All have the larger fuse or the holder removed completely. Combined, there is more than 90 years total operation on these speakers with no problems or failures due to fuse mods. Proving what is obvious, that Roger West was correct in his statement.
As for cables, once the fuse problem is dealt with, there should be no problem hearing the improvement provided by various power cords. No doubt there will be difference of opinion as to whether it is worth the investment for performance received.
My goal is to make my sound the best it can be. I choose Purist Dominus for my Soundlabs and consider it a requirement. If you make tests for yourself, please post results so others may benefit from the experience.