Arc and Power Cables

newmill

Well-Known Member
Jul 30, 2015
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Anyone have a lot of success with power cables on their ARC gear. Currently I have a Cardas Golden power cable on my Ref 75 SE. Thanks in advance for any replies.
 

Bobvin

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Jun 7, 2014
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Anyone have a lot of success with power cables on their ARC gear. Currently I have a Cardas Golden power cable on my Ref 75 SE. Thanks in advance for any replies.

I used to have Cardas Golden Ref on my ARC REF75, but when switched to Shunyata there was an immediate and noticable improvement in dynamics and reduction in noise. When I moved to Ztron Sigma Analog there was even more improvement. I found the Cardas, by comparison, slow and muddy.
 

brad225

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Nov 22, 2012
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Shunyata on my 610T's and 40th Anniversary. I have been using them for 10+ years on my ARC equipment.
 

newmill

Well-Known Member
Jul 30, 2015
75
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238
Thanks for the replies. Seems Shunyata is a preferred cable for ARC gear? My ARC Preamp is connected with a PS Audio power cable, but I am not sure that it (AC5) is a good cable.
 

number95

Well-Known Member
May 14, 2014
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Thanks for the replies. Seems Shunyata is a preferred cable for ARC gear? My ARC Preamp is connected with a PS Audio power cable, but I am not sure that it (AC5) is a good cable.

Shunyata is damn good with ARC gear. I have used various Shunyata power cords with my previous ARC including Ref3, Ph5, Ph7, Ref 2SE, Ref 610Ts. My current system has Ref 10 pre and Ref 10 phono, they have Stage III Kraken cords, I am very pleased with results.
 

Lee

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Feb 3, 2011
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Alpharetta, Georgia
I used to have Cardas Golden Ref on my ARC REF75, but when switched to Shunyata there was an immediate and noticable improvement in dynamics and reduction in noise. When I moved to Ztron Sigma Analog there was even more improvement. I found the Cardas, by comparison, slow and muddy.

I had the same experience on both my Ref 5SE and modded VT-100.
 

newmill

Well-Known Member
Jul 30, 2015
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238
Thanks for the info. Thinking about trying Shunyata power cables based on the feed back here. I don't have a local dealer here so I'd have to purchase something on line to try it out.
 

Lee

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Feb 3, 2011
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Shunyata is damn good with ARC gear. I have used various Shunyata power cords with my previous ARC including Ref3, Ph5, Ph7, Ref 2SE, Ref 610Ts. My current system has Ref 10 pre and Ref 10 phono, they have Stage III Kraken cords, I am very pleased with results.

I forgot to mention that a Shunyata cord worked very well on my Ref 3.
 

newmill

Well-Known Member
Jul 30, 2015
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238
A quick update. I borrowed two cables from a dealer. On the one it says Helix CX Black Mamba. The other one says ETRON Viper. Here are my initial thoughts with regards to these power cords, keeping in mind I probably don't have the ideal cable set up now. Meaning perhaps other cables could be influencing what I hear. When I inserted the Black Mambas into the system, (Audience conditioner to preamp), I was immediately shocked (no pun), as to the improvement in every regard that was achieved. Very happy. Later I swapped out the B.M. for the Viper. The presentation was different, but not quite as authoritative, and smooth. The mid bass was boomy. It seemed a little bright for my taste. I removed it after only about a half hour, and returned the BM. I again was rewarded with a nicer sound. I then moved the Viper to my BDP-1 media player, and I was surprised to hear that same brightness come through. I don't really understand this, but can't deny my ears. I couldn't try the BM or V on my ARC amp because it requires a 20 amp cable. Both these cables were demos removed from the floor, but I can't verify how much time is on either one and I didn't ask. Bottom line: the sound benefit achieved with the Shunyata BM is an amazing improvement over the cable it replaced (PS Audio AC5). I think I'll keep it. Anyone have any similar experiences? I'm just curious as to what will happen when I go up the Shunyata line, given my initial experience with the ETRON technology.
 

gwaaron

New Member
Apr 29, 2014
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Ravenel, SC
FWIW, I use cables from Sain Line Systems. Chris is great to deal with, and if I recall his cables were used by ARC in voicing the REF75 and 150, as well as with REF 5SE preamp. Once they were burned in they compared very favorably with some Shunyata Alpha cables I also had on hand at the time. I bought the Pure series. He also has a referents series.
 

tdh888

Well-Known Member
Nov 4, 2010
298
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935
Philippines
Anyone have a lot of success with power cables on their ARC gear. Currently I have a Cardas Golden power cable on my Ref 75 SE. Thanks in advance for any replies.

Am currently auditioning Synergistic Research Tesla Precision power cables w/ my REF 610T and they're way much better than the stock power cord that came w/ the amp . It looks fancy but they gave an improvement in the overall sound of the system .

tdh888
 

knghifi

Well-Known Member
Dec 6, 2014
255
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158
I'm using Furutech FP-S55N with Furutech NCF connectors on my REF 250. It replaced Shunyata Alpha HC and at one point, had a full loom of Shunyata of Sigma and Alpha but didn't like the HOUSE sound.

All my high price Shunyata, High Fidelity, HiDiamond ... PCs are replaced with bulk cables + NCF connectors except for 2 Core Power Technology Equi=Core 300 and better sound.
 

Priaptor

Member Sponsor
Jan 28, 2012
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I have used Sain and Nordost. IMHO there is nothing like using an Odin to any ARC amp. Sain's are an excellent alternative but I was floored when Carl from NOLA lent me his Odin V1 for a test with my then REF75. I'm now using the GS150 and would love to try the new ODIN V2 or for that matter the Valhalla V2. All my other cabling are Valhalla V2. Just my opinion but bang for the $ is on the amp.
 

newmill

Well-Known Member
Jul 30, 2015
75
10
238
Quick update. I now have the 20 amp Alpha HC power cable connected to my Ref75 SE, and an Alpha analogue connected to my LS27 pre. The Black Mamba is now powering the media player, and the JPS Labs Digital power cable is on the DAC. This seems to be a very pleasing upgrade for my system, but when I added the Furutech receptacles, I was shocked to find even more improvement. Thank you to everyone that added their opinions and experiences. This is what helped me find the Shunyata brand, and, what I believe to be a great synergy. I am now debating whether an upgrade to the Ref5 SE preamp is my next upgrade. This may be hard on the wallet, but might be worth it in the continuing quest for audio excellence. Any thoughts on this upgrade would be greatly appreciated.
 

hi5harry

Well-Known Member
Sep 11, 2011
63
62
950
Santa Cruz, Calif
A good friend changed out my chassis iec to the Furutech ncf 09 ( 15 amp) on my Anni 40. I am VERY happy with the Triode Wire Labs Obsession power cord feeding it. The new Obsession has the Furutech 50 NCF ends and I have all Furutech NCF wall receptacles. I'm guessing that NCF Rhodium connecting to NCF Rhodium connections adds a little to the cohesiveness of the sound.
 

murphys33

Well-Known Member
Sep 28, 2011
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I have read somewhere that arc uses shunyata power cords to voice their products and that explains the synergy between shunyata and arc.
 

Lee

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Feb 3, 2011
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Alpharetta, Georgia
Am currently auditioning Synergistic Research Tesla Precision power cables w/ my REF 610T and they're way much better than the stock power cord that came w/ the amp . It looks fancy but they gave an improvement in the overall sound of the system .

tdh888

Same here with the SR Level 4 UEF and Galileo cables on the Ref 5SE and Ref Phono 2.
 

tdh888

Well-Known Member
Nov 4, 2010
298
28
935
Philippines
Same here with the SR Level 4 UEF and Galileo cables on the Ref 5SE and Ref Phono 2.


I wish I could try Synergistic Research power cables on both my 5SE and Phono 2SE. Currently the SR Powercables are hooked to my REF610T monoblocks . Unfortunately my funds are currently being utilized for my my vintage sports cars. So stock power cables are being used for my linestage & phonostage.
 

Lee

Well-Known Member
Feb 3, 2011
3,186
1,717
1,260
Alpharetta, Georgia
I wish I could try Synergistic Research power cables on both my 5SE and Phono 2SE. Currently the SR Powercables are hooked to my REF610T monoblocks . Unfortunately my funds are currently being utilized for my my vintage sports cars. So stock power cables are being used for my linestage & phonostage.

One option is try the Venom high current cords from Shunyata. Tremendous value.
 

tdh888

Well-Known Member
Nov 4, 2010
298
28
935
Philippines
One option is try the Venom high current cords from Shunyata. Tremendous value.

Hi Lee ,

Thanks for the advice I was checking out preowned SR power cables or Cerius Technology cables , have you audition thess cable from Cerius ? Reasonably priced w/ Graphene same as what SR is using w/ their new cables

tdh888
 

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