Speaker Cables & IC for ARC REF. 6 & CD8

default -- Sun, 08/16/2009 - 13:38

Hi all. I'm currently looking for some (1) speaker cable & interconnects and (2) power conditioners & power cords, and was hoping if you could give me some insight and advice as to which would best match my system:

- PASSLAB X350.5
- ARC REF.5
- ARC REF.CD8
- B&W 803D

Thank you so much in advance; any help at all would be much appreciated!!

nazo (not verified) -- Mon, 08/17/2009 - 15:24

depends on your budget but here is my findings about the ARC gear...

i have the ref8 initially with the shunyata anaconda vx power cord and v-ray power conditioner...it was okish...the reason i say is that shunyata tends to be a little "forward" playing...in otherwords the depth of the sound stage isnt there....and i found the ref8 to play a little faster than usual, creating a miss on the bottom octaves especially after ref7....but then i changed my power cord from shunyata to Transparents power link mm...oh boy...first the player slowed down to normal levels hence the bottom octaves were back in..second the depth of the soundstage...it is as if there is another 5meters behind the stage...i used transparents power conditioner for the ref8 and ref3 (soon to be ref5).,...its amazing...u must hear it to believe it...

ref5 i again had the same findings..transparent way better than shunyata...

i also have to note that i have also tried the nordost valhalla power cords with their power conditioner and i havent heard any difference from the stock cord that came with the gear...

speaker cables and interconnects is tricky...as they can range from 1000 to 30k...i am lucky to own opus mm2s in my system through out...cant recommend it highly but they are second mortgage...

Thimios (not verified) -- Tue, 08/18/2009 - 11:44

Re speaker cables depends on speakers used. With MY ARC Ref3/ Lamm M1.2 Ref / Peak Consult gear I use Stereovox Ref with excellent results. It is midpoint between Valhalla (lean) & Nirvana (lush) that I have tried extensively.

For power cables try the Essence Reference line. Excellent value for money and dead neutral.

Audiophiliac007 (thread starter) (not verified) -- Wed, 08/19/2009 - 07:10

Thank you all very much for your replies; they've all been extremely helpful!
I'll look more into the brands that you've listed while I make my decision. :)

Cemil Gandur -- Wed, 08/26/2009 - 10:10

Interestingly, I use Valhalla power cords (no conditioner) with my ARC Ref 3 and 610T and they made a large positive difference over the stock power cord - the total opposite of nazo's experience.
I wonder if this is house wiring related? I am taking a separate direct line from the local distribution transformer to feed the hifi; it is completely separate from the one coming to feed the rest of the house. Internal earthing arrangements might also effect power cords/conditioners.
My advice would be to borrow and try at home, in your own system.

nazo (not verified) -- Thu, 08/27/2009 - 05:53

hi zeb

my electrical system is dedicated to home theater and hifi...seperate from the house..earthing is via 5 solid copper rods burried into the ground..
EACH wall socket has seperate line, neutral and earting going into them from the dedicated line...home theater and hifi line and neutral are also seperate from the distribution transformer...
the earthing cable is shielded ..... all the wall sockets are furutech sws ft golds...
it took me 4 months to complete the electric lay out of my listening room...the walls at one stage was like coming down as i was drilling the walls to wire to different positions of the wall sockets seperately from each other..in other words suppose there are 4 wall sockets on the left front corner of the room...4 seperate line is wired from 4 seperate parts of the wall...it wud have been easier to get one drilling line and get the 4 dedicated line cables go from the same path...but it creates a magnetic field and hence i wired them all isolated from each other....

i dont think there will be a better lay out anywhere in town as we speak...

i think you and i live very close to each other in istanbul...you are more than welcome to come and listen any time it suits you...

regards

oz

Cemil Gandur -- Fri, 08/28/2009 - 02:55

Hi Oz,
Noted your extensive electrical works. That's not what I meant however. I was trying to guess why you didn't hear any differences with the Valhalla power cords when myself and a bunch of us did in my house. As the equipment is the same (Ref3/610T), and since my house wiring is different from yours, I am wondering if that is the reason. Which goes back to having to try this stuff at home.
Thanks for the invite. We'll come over soon I hope.