Rick,

No surprises here. I expected as much. And yes, Anthem gave us a very thorough and enthusiastic first hand account. I never doubted what he was telling us and your testimony just adds to the case for the Anti-Cables. I look forward to hearing back on the level 1 and 2 cables. Hopefully they can capture most of the magic for less cost.

They're a little rich for my blood right now. I've read several reviews on the Pangeas that their sound changes over time. Not sure I buy it but I'll sit on things for a while. Too many other goodies to buy to drop $400 per cable on several cables. My wonderful wife surprised me with a turntable for my birthday. Since this is my first venture into vinyl, I have a lot of stuff to purchase. I will be upgrading the power cable and analog interconnects to milk the best sound out of the turntable as possible. I can't wait to,listen to some classic albums in analog!

Thanks for all the feedback. I'm glad Amazon and the USPS have you all squared away now. I look forward to your reactions once you are able to watch all of Rogue Nation! Enjoy!

Cheers,

T Cobe

Hi, T Cobe

Enjoy your new turntable! What a great birthday gift! I haven't had a chance to listen to good vinyl recordings in years, and never on good gear.

Enjoy!

Rick

Re the gauge and assorted issues discussed earlier, I got a return call from Paul Speltz of AntiCables this afternoon.

I asked him about the relevance of gauge size of their power cords vs. current draw of the component they're attached to, and design differences between the Level 1, 2 and 3 power cords.

Re design differences, he said the only difference is the amount of strands/cords... the level 2 has twice the number of the 1's, and the 3 has twice the number of the 2's.

Re gauge size vs. current draw, he said in their view, that isn't the primary variable they design around. For them, the critical variable is the amount of digital processing a component is doing (and hence the amount of digital noise it is producing), and the extra strands/cords aren't to support uncommonly huge current draws, but to maximize noise suppression, some from the incoming current, but mostly the digital noise produced by the component itself (he's not a big fan of plugging the cords into power conditioners, because the conditioners can reduce the effectiveness of the cord. OOPS! I had the source power cords plugged into a power conditioner, but not the Triton towers. I've just moved the source power cords to a non conditioned outlet to test for awhile). SO, in his view, the best cord to use for SQ on any component would be the one with the most strands/cords, and that is the Level 3 Reference cord, and he recommends trying them on various components, starting with the components doing the most digital processing, the sources. He also said that budget considerations play a role in what level one should try. I asked about large power components like amps and subs, and he recommends trying them on those also. I.E. see which components in your system benefit most.

When I said that the cords made my system sound more natural, he laughed and said "Good, that's what we strive for, no coloration, just remove all the digital noise that reduces SQ. It should sound like a better DAC is processing the sound".

He did say that anyone who signs up on their web site (anticables.com) to get their newsletter sent to them via e mail will also get, about every two weeks, a list of equipment turned in through their trade up program, for discounted prices. I signed up and will look at what gets offered.. I presume Level 1 and 2 stuff traded in for higher level gear.

He also said he's planning to send via that newsletter in about 2 weeks a summary of what their products do, how they work, their design direction, etc. I'll post that if it seem relevant.

As I continue listening, I am really liking the combo I have in place now with Level 3 Anti-Cables on the OPPO and Marantz sources, Venom 3's on the T2's, and the newly added Pangea AC-14SE on the NAD amp. The Pangea is definitely giving a boost to the sound stage produced by the NAD/T1's. As much as I like Anti-Cables on the source components, each of the power cords is making a difference.

Frankly, on reflection, I would have to say that the SQ I can get now is VERY satisfying, and it would probably be more cost effective for me to now be looking at upgrading some room acoustic issues. T Cobe, imahawki, Wayne and others are right in pointing out that there's a lot to be gained by doing this. I've begun talking with some folks about some aesthetic treatment options for several first reflection areas. Am I done thinking about power cords? Probably not, but I sure can't complain about the contribution each one I have is making.


Happy listening!

Rick

Bro Rick wrote:
to maximize noise suppression, some from the incoming current, but mostly the digital noise produced by the component itself (he's not a big fan of plugging the cords into power conditioners, because the conditioners can reduce the effectiveness of the cord. OOPS! I had the source power cords plugged into a power conditioner, but not the Triton towers. I've just moved the source power cords to a non conditioned outlet to test for awhile)

Hey Rick, thanks for following up on this and keeping the reports coming.
I read the above though that power conditioners are doing their jobs and so the cables cannot do, will not do so much BECAUSE there
is really not that much left to do!!!! That may be wrong, don't know of course, do you think there is any way to determine that?
I guess that is one of the reasons why I am such a doubter--not of what you guys are finding out, but of what effect the new cords might be able to do in my system. I have a GOOD power conditioner, coming off my dedicated home theater circuit, with after market power cords the size of water hoses--just not the fancy names or prices.
So it is a little hard for me to believe I will get such a noticeable improvement, in fact, my system sounds so great, I frankly find it VERY hard to believe I would hear ANY difference. (I have admitted before, my ears are not that great).
But I always enjoy reading what you guys report.
Happy listening and testing.
Enjoy the music, God Bless,
Wayne

Wayne,

I'm sure your setup sounds great and with the cables and power conditioners you have, it's hard to say for sure that you would hear any improvement. I know where you're coming from with your skepticism on the power cables. A year ago, I thought they were the biggest scam and a complete waste of money. It wasn't until the issue of noise filtering came up that any of it made any sense. After trying it first hand, I am sold on the improvement over stock cables. Since you already have upgraded cables, your improvements may be even less than I obtained. It's one of those you never know until you try situations.

I read on a few sights that Signal Cable makes some great power cords for the money as well. I immediately thought of you since I thought I remembered them being your go to source for interconnects. If you've received good customer service from them in the past, that may be an option for you as well. Everyone seems to be concluding that the source is a noticeable upgrade. If you are interested, trying one cable on you Oppo may be a good first experiment. If you're not interested, keep on enjoying those T2s and Vincent monoblocks with extreme confidence that you have a great system! I'd love to hear those Vincents. I don't believe I have a dealer anywhere near me.

Cheers,

T Cobe

Hi, Wayne

Good question re power conditioners and whether they are pre doing some (or all) of the job a power cord would otherwise do. Re incoming noise, they certainly must be, though Paul Speltz talked about how the cords had a somewhat harder time filtering when attached to the "spongy floor"a power conditioner provides vs. the somewhat harder current of unconditioned power (don't know if I'm describing those statements accurately) . All I know is that I had been testing and running both the Anti-Cables and the Pangea with them plugged into a power conditioner, and got very noticeable improvements nonetheless (maybe because most of my noise was coming from the digital noise made by the components, not the a/c line itself?). Don't know. Any improvement I have heard via the Venom 3's with the T2's has been with the cords plugged directly into a wall socket, no conditioner. When I plugged the Anti-Cables and Pangea last night into an unconditioned circuit, I can't say as any noticeable difference in the amount of SQ improvement jumped out at me, they still sounded great. If I can't hear a difference after some more listening, I'll plug them back into the conditioner/protector, for the added line protection I'd prefer to have.

Paul did say that while they do use instruments to try to measure all this stuff, what power cords are doing electronically, even for the designers, it comes down to listening as the final judge of whether any design changes are in the right direction. And all I really know is that I am enjoying listening to my system more with the power cords plugged in, including plugged into a conditioner.

Hope this helps. And I agree with T Cobe. You have great gear. I still believe that for any system, and they're all some different, only trying/listening will determine what a particular power cord will do for that particular system, and for that particular listener's listening preferences.

Happy listening!

Rick