is it worth changing the power cable to the 501's? If so, should i start with them or my c2300 or mht-200? what sets work well with them? and how much in a ball park are we talking?

thanks

is it worth changing the power cable to the 501's? If so, should i start with them or my c2300 or mht-200? what sets work well with them? and how much in a ball park are we talking?

thanks

I run a dedicated 20A line into a PS Audio outlet feeding a Furman IT Reference 15i....

I've personally tried mid level priced cords from Black Sand, PS Audio, Audio Power and Straight Wire as well as lower priced offerings by Jellyfish and Parasound and heard no difference over stock cords. I ended up keeping the Parasounds as they are 12 guage and cost only $29 a pop.

Everything else went bye-bye on Agon where at least I recovered 50% of money spent...

I don't want to discourage you from trying different cords in your system but I would be cautious if you're expecting to hear drastic improvements for the money spent vs. other things such as acoustic room treatments.

so its not really worth it? i plan on doing some kind of room treatment. not really sure how i would go about that either,

so its not really worth it? i plan on doing some kind of room treatment. not really sure how i would go about that either,

I can't guarentee it wouldn't be worth it for you in your system but I'd bet for equal money spent...depending on your listening room setup... you'll hear more dramatic and consistent difference with acoustic treatments.

Go to the ASC, GIK, RealTraps and RPG websites and peruse their writeups to gain more info on traditional approaches to room treatment.

There's also a wealth of DIY suppliers such as Ready Acoustics, ATS, etc... that offer build advice to those who want to save a few bucks.

I "tried" stuffing rockwool into premade bags and found it was not worth the money saved...probably should have gone with corning fiberglass instead

Nobody uses such a serious amp with a stock cord, nobody! It needs at least a $500-1000 cord like Fisch-3,5 or 7. It was night and day difference on my 6900, imagine how it would improve 501!:banana:

Nobody uses such a serious amp with a stock cord, nobody! It needs at least a $500-1000 cord like Fisch-3,5 or 7. It was night and day difference on my 6900, imagine how it would improve 501!:banana:

I do

Nobody uses such a serious amp with a stock cord, nobody! It needs at least a $500-1000 cord like Fisch-3,5 or 7. It was night and day difference on my 6900, imagine how it would improve 501!:banana:

Nobody? Night and Day difference? ...please tell me you're trolling!!! :D

I had a MA6900 for many years before my 501s and power cords didn't make a difference then either.

On a dollar per dollar basis, room treatments will give you more of an improvement than ANY difference in high end gear (aside from obvious differences in speaker choices) or any aftermarket accessory/tweak. Believe it! It is however difficult to treat a room on a power cord budget... Having said that, once the room is treated and if your gear is up to par, you WILL hear differences in power cables, IC's, tweaks, etc.. If treating a room is an option, it should be done first. :thmbsp: To answer the original question, YES, it is worth changing out the stock power cords on 501s. I did and the difference was audible instantly.

On a dollar per dollar basis, room treatments will give you more of an improvement than ANY difference in high end gear (aside from obvious differences in speaker choices) or any aftermarket accessory/tweak. Believe it! It is however difficult to treat a room on a power cord budget... Having said that, once the room is treated and if your gear is up to par, you WILL hear differences in power cables, IC's, tweaks, etc.. If treating a room is an option, it should be done first. :thmbsp: To answer the original question, YES, it is worth changing out the stock power cords on 501s. I did and the difference was audible instantly.

One can do a pretty good job on a small to medium sized room with GIK products with a budget of what you'd spend on purchasing two typical mid range Shunyata, Nordost, etc... crygogenically treated, flux capacitor induction shielded, garden hose diameter power cords.

BJC Rules!!! :D

One can do a pretty good job on a small to medium sized room with GIK products with a budget of what you'd spend on purchasing two typical mid range Shunyata, Nordost, etc... crygogenically treated, flux capacitor induction shielded, garden hose diameter power cords.

BJC Rules!!! :D
I am not a big supporter of very expensive power cords as my own theory tells me it is the simple shielding and an adequate guage combined with quality terminations that gets the job done. All my power cords are sub $300 variety. Not familiar with GIK products but if a room can be treated for the budget of say $600 of 2 power cords, then that should be a priority number 1.

Nobody? Night and Day difference? ...please tell me you're trolling!!! :D

I had a MA6900 for many years before my 501s and power cords didn't make a difference then either.

Not a single audiophile whom I know uses his equipment (be it CD, DVD players or amps) with stock cords. They throw them away immediately. The really good power cord gives you much better and deeper bass, much smoother and cleaner highs and imaging. The problem is that cheap $200-300 cords usualy sound only marginaly better (or not better at all) than stock cords thus giving aftermarket cords a bad name. The real stuff begins around $400-500 but these are worth their money. Here we have not a law of diminishing results but on the contrary a level beyond which power cords start to make serious difference.Of course after $1000 the law on diminishing results kicks in.

I've added some GIK products in both two channel rooms and have been happy with the results. For less than $600 you could get a pair of tri traps and a pair of their bass traps, which most rooms would see an improvement with.

As for power cords, i've tried a couple, Audio Quest/PS Audio, and have not noticed any difference with the stock cord. I'll probably keep searching, but it's not a real high priority.

Not a single audiophile whom I know uses his equipment (be it CD, DVD players or amps) with stock cords. They throw them away immediately. The really good power cord gives you much better and deeper bass, much smoother and cleaner highs and imaging. The problem is that cheap $200-300 cords usualy sound only marginaly better (or not better at all) than stock cords thus giving aftermarket cords a bad name. The real stuff begins around $400-500 but these are worth their money. Here we have not a law of diminishing results but on the contrary a level beyond which power cords start to make serious difference.Of course after $1000 the law on diminishing results kicks in.

That's because "Audiophiles" tend to be obcessed with tweaking and listening to the choir of marketing charlatans while blatantly ignoring principles that any student in their sophmore year of a EE/Physics curiculum would surely be able to identify as snake oil.

If "you" think power cords make a difference, it's your money...good for you, but I doubt you'd be able to tell a difference under blind testing criteria so why spend money (sometimes BIG money) on useless paraphenalia IF you have not already covered the basics....like room acoustics, better speakers, etc... things that can be proven to consistently make drastic differences in playback.

My precious cables!!! :D

I've added some GIK products in both two channel rooms and have been happy with the results. For less than $600 you could get a pair of tri traps and a pair of their bass traps, which most rooms would see an improvement with.

As for power cords, i've tried a couple, Audio Quest/PS Audio, and have not noticed any difference with the stock cord. I'll probably keep searching, but it's not a real high priority.

So far I've installed two GIK 244 bass traps on the rear walls, two DIY planter traps in the front wall corners, EchoBuster Corner traps in the upper tri corners, hung a wall tapestry and installed cellular blinds with heavy drapes.

WOW!!! Talk about removing a veil!!!

I've got two GIK Elite Pillar traps on the way to add to the front wall corners which the DIY planters will sit atop and a box of three 244 panels which I'm going to mount on the 1st reflection points on the ceiling.

This is a more dramatic BANG for the buck than ANY component upgrade I've ever made, including the 501s... to my ears anyway! :banana:

That's because "Audiophiles" tend to be obcessed with tweaking and listening to the choir of marketing charlatans while blatantly ignoring principles that any student in their sophmore year of a EE/Physics curiculum would surely be able to identify as snake oil.

If "you" think power cords make a difference, it's your money...good for you, but I doubt you'd be able to tell a difference under blind testing criteria so why spend money (sometimes BIG money) on useless paraphenalia IF you have not already covered the basics....like room acoustics, better speakers, etc... things that can be proven to consistently make drastic differences in playback.

My precious cables!!! :D



I can't answer for others but I'm not a millionaire and I don't blow hundreds of bucks on something that doesn't give very noticeble improvement in sound. I auditioned and compared at home in my own system before I bought. If it sounded the same or only marginally better I would never bought it. Using McIntosh with stock cords and cheap cables is like driving Ferrari on cheap gazoline.

Not a single audiophile whom I know uses his equipment (be it CD, DVD players or amps) with stock cords. They throw them away immediately. The really good power cord gives you much better and deeper bass, much smoother and cleaner highs and imaging. The problem is that cheap $200-300 cords usualy sound only marginaly better (or not better at all) than stock cords thus giving aftermarket cords a bad name. The real stuff begins around $400-500 but these are worth their money. Here we have not a law of diminishing results but on the contrary a level beyond which power cords start to make serious difference.Of course after $1000 the law on diminishing results kicks in.
I've compared power cables at 3x-4x the price of Guerrilla Audio, specifically from Shunyata, Nordost, JPS Labs and Purist Audio Design. Most were over the $1200 mark. Guess what? The GA are in my system. :thmbsp: The price difference is NOT an issue.

I can't answer for others but I'm not a millionaire and I don't blow hundreds of bucks on something that doesn't give very noticeble improvement in sound. I auditioned and compared at home in my own system before I bought. If it sounded the same or only marginally better I would never bought it. Using McIntosh with stock cords and cheap cables is like driving Ferrari on cheap gazoline.

If you hear a difference that is all that matters! :thmbsp:


but I would respectfully suggest your cheap gasoline analogy is flawed in that expensive cables are like people who run AV gas in their low compression engines THINKING they're getting more HP...faster acceleration, etc.... when the fact is that higher octane gas actually has less energy density than low octane due to the anti knock additives. Engines with high compression make more HP because they burn MORE gas, not because the fuel has a higher energy density.
Running a 8 guage wire to a component that only draws 6 amps RMS is pointless IMO as the difference in resistance is not going restrict current flow and result in a voltage drop that would translate to any audible differences. yada yada yada...

Guess my "Audiophile" card is going to be revoked. I'll probably never get over that.:D

Guess my "Audiophile" card is going to be revoked. I'll probably never get over that.:D

I guess you'll just have to be satisfied enjoying the music!!! :D :D :D

Not a single audiophile whom I know uses his equipment (be it CD, DVD players or amps) with stock cords. They throw them away immediately. The really good power cord gives you much better and deeper bass, much smoother and cleaner highs and imaging. The problem is that cheap $200-300 cords usualy sound only marginaly better (or not better at all) than stock cords thus giving aftermarket cords a bad name. The real stuff begins around $400-500 but these are worth their money. Here we have not a law of diminishing results but on the contrary a level beyond which power cords start to make serious difference.Of course after $1000 the law on diminishing results kicks in.

I'm sorry but this just sounds plain silly to put it nicely. These after market power cords are an exercise in pure marketing. If you have 4 components at $500 a cord you are talking $2000 for power cords. Your money would be better spent upgrading something else in your system. I resisted putting my 2 cents in and I don't mean to offend anyone but at first I thought this was just joke but now I see these posts are really serious. I am guilty of using the stock power cords which came with my Mcintosh equipment and I am proud to say it sounds excellent.

I'm sorry but this just sounds plain silly to put it nicely. These after market power cords are an exercise in pure marketing. If you have 4 components at $500 a cord you are talking $2000 for power cords. Your money would be better spent upgrading something else in your system. I resisted putting my 2 cents in and I don't mean to offend anyone but at first I thought this was just joke but now I see these posts are really serious. I am guilty of using the stock power cords which came with my Mcintosh equipment and I am proud to say it sounds excellent.


Should we expand to speaker wire and interconnects and start "Cable Armagedon" ???

:D:D:D

The reason people gravitate to McIntosh is they can be confident the design and engineering that goes into their products makes further ancillary upgrades unecessary! You bought the best, game over....so kick back and enjoy the music!!! :thmbsp:

Nobody uses such a serious amp with a stock cord, nobody! It needs at least a $500-1000 cord like Fisch-3,5 or 7. It was night and day difference on my 6900, imagine how it would improve 501!:banana:

I have three MC501's, all three still with stock power cords. I've read with interest recent posts concerning the difference an upgraded cord could make..but right now it's a matter of economics. In the meantime, I won't lose any sleep over it.

I do use audiophile grade cords (Audioquest Diamondback) in my signal path; as yet all my power cords are still stock.

I'm sure it's a popular move to upgrade the power cord; but I'm quite sure there are many other MC501 owners still using stock cords.

Pete

I have three MC501's, all three still with stock power cords. I've read with interest recent posts concerning the difference an upgraded cord could make..but right now it's a matter of economics. In the meantime, I won't lose any sleep over it.

I do use audiophile grade cords (Audioquest Diamondback) in my signal path; as yet all my power cords are still stock.

I'm sure it's a popular move to upgrade the power cord; but I'm quite sure there are many other MC501 owners still using stock cords.

Pete

Say it ain't so Pete. :no:

I've compared power cables at 3x-4x the price of Guerrilla Audio, specifically from Shunyata, Nordost, JPS Labs and Purist Audio Design. Most were over the $1200 mark. Guess what? The GA are in my system. :thmbsp: The price difference is NOT an issue.

No Wireworld demo's?

We need to talk... ;)

I have various Shunyata power cords for all of my devices and I have purchased every one of them used and at a steep discount. If I decide to migrate to something else I can easily sell them for what I purchased them for. I happen to have noticed a big jump in performance with the Shunyata cords though I have only tried three other brands prior.

No Wireworld demo's?

We need to talk... ;)

Been meaning to try them. The design philosophy sounds interesting but of course the "ear test" is the most important.

"Wireworld power cords are designed to solve a completely
different set of problems than audio and video cables. An
ideal audio or video cable would pass the entire frequency
range without alteration. However, an ideal power cord would
pass only the 50Hz or 60Hz AC power, while blocking all other
frequencies, to prevent power line noise and harmonics from
degrading the sound and imaging quality of the system.
Wireworld power cords feature a unique geometric structure and composite insulation materials to maximize inductive
and capacitive filtering, effectively absorbing power line noise and damping the electrical resonances that other cords
and power conditioners cannot tame. Among the innovations in this design are low-impedance balanced shields, which
are closely coupled to the conductors to cancel unwanted energy. "

I have three MC501's, all three still with stock power cords. I've read with interest recent posts concerning the difference an upgraded cord could make..but right now it's a matter of economics. In the meantime, I won't lose any sleep over it.

I do use audiophile grade cords (Audioquest Diamondback) in my signal path; as yet all my power cords are still stock.

I'm sure it's a popular move to upgrade the power cord; but I'm quite sure there are many other MC501 owners still using stock cords.

Pete

Say it ain't so Pete. :no:

Those poor 501's are gasping for air. :yes:

Say it ain't so Pete. :no:

Yes, I'm afraid it's so....funds are very limited. I haven't had work for over a year...I was lucky just to get the 501's, that deal had been on hold since late last year. But, I went ahead and took delivery on them in July.

I wish things were better, but they just ain't...:no:

Pete

Those poor 501's are gasping for air. :yes:

I think they'll survive!

Pete

don't mean to show my ignorance, but everyone here in the Mc forum gives McIntosh all the credit in the world for their design and amps, then turns around and thinks they would shortchange on the power cord...i seriously doubt they would, they don't cut corners elsewhere from all i read here..

I think they'll survive!

Pete

Your right they will survive. Food on the table is more important. Good luck.

John

Your right they will survive. Food on the table is more important. Good luck.

John

Thanks John,

Having stock MC501 power cords certainly isn't the end of the world, especially given the world's problems!

What's more, I'm quite certain that in my community of 170 homes, I am the ONLY kid on the block that has a system of this magnitude, or even close to it!

Pete

don't mean to show my ignorance, but everyone here in the Mc forum gives McIntosh all the credit in the world for their design and amps, then turns around and thinks they would shortchange on the power cord...i seriously doubt they would, they don't cut corners elsewhere from all i read here..

Most companies don't put a lot of money into power cables, ic etc... because they know their customers are going to replace them with their cable brand of choice i.e. wireworld shunyata etc...

I must agree with the tenor of the thread. After one half century of the finest engineering and manufacturing it is a wonder McIntosh just doesn't get with power cords. How can they not realize that the cords they supply are crippling their products? I hunger for the improved signal to noise, lower distortion, sound stage realism, and depth that only an aftermarket power cord can supply. In fact, I plan to swap out all the power cords on my household appliances for cleaner dishes, whiter laundry, more accurate clocks, and better tasting food.

don't mean to show my ignorance, but everyone here in the Mc forum gives McIntosh all the credit in the world for their design and amps, then turns around and thinks they would shortchange on the power cord...i seriously doubt they would, they don't cut corners elsewhere from all i read here..

Everyone here knows how much I love McIntosh, but the stock cord is $4.99 at best...

Use it on a $11K to $35K Amplifier, I think not.

How about a $30K pre-amp? not a chance.

For those of us that have tried different power cords and not noticed a difference are we suppose to pretend otherwise. I'll never state there can't be a difference in power cords, cables, IC's, whatever. But, my own experience has not shown, much, if any, difference in these things.

So, go on believing what you believe, but please don't begin to tell me what i'm not hearing, or that I must not want my system to sound better. My freaking IC's are $2,500 a pair, and they are not any better than my ones that cost $220.

don't mean to show my ignorance, but everyone here in the Mc forum gives McIntosh all the credit in the world for their design and amps, then turns around and thinks they would shortchange on the power cord...i seriously doubt they would, they don't cut corners elsewhere from all i read here..

Power cord is a freebie, that's all. Like stock ICs (remember them?) - you don't even pay for it. And you don't expect anything real good from a freebie unless it's a *******. :banana:The only company that recommends using stock ICs and power cords is Naim but these guys are weird.:D

For those of us that have tried different power cords and not noticed a difference are we suppose to pretend otherwise. I'll never state there can't be a difference in power cords, cables, IC's, whatever. But, my own experience has not shown, much, if any, difference in these things.

So, go on believing what you believe, but please don't begin to tell me what i'm not hearing, or that I must not want my system to sound better. My freaking IC's are $2,500 a pair, and they are not any better than my ones that cost $220.

It's incredible given the level of your system.:scratch2:

I wish I could hear a difference, and I won't stop trying, but I just haven't so far. Now, in the morning i'm heading to the airport to go hear SF Strads on some MC1.2KW's. I have a feeling i'll hear a difference from my Elipsa.:D

don't mean to show my ignorance, but everyone here in the Mc forum gives McIntosh all the credit in the world for their design and amps, then turns around and thinks they would shortchange on the power cord...i seriously doubt they would, they don't cut corners elsewhere from all i read here..

I don't think they are shortchanging us. All manufacturer's provide basically the same Chinese made power cords. I, for one, am glad that they do this and don't waste money on some cord which I wouldn't use anyway. I also think Ivan has waaaay overestimated the cost of one of these cords! :D

The power cord debate, IC debate will go on even after we have all moved on to other topics. This topic is like debating religion or politics, you have passionate opinions and everyone should just agree to disagree ie have there own opinion. For those who enjoy your stock power cords vs expensive ones enjoy !

I believe this subject has run its course. Some people like upgraded power cords, some people don't. Try them for yourself and decide which group you are in. I will leave this thread here for now, it will be gone when the server upgrade is done. http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=189406

A better place for cable debates is the Thinking Out Loud forum.

CLOSED