I spent several hours yesterday and several more over the weekend trying to make up my mind on an NBS Omega Extreme I power cord. I also had on loan a NBS Monitor III and some basic Vovox power cables. I was trying to decide if the Omega Extreme worked best on the amp (Ayon Crossfire III) or the DAC (Aries Cerat Kassandra Ref II) and in the end it is staying in the system on the DAC where it gave great resolution but did not impact the overall weight of the tonal balance. In the amp it was lightening things up in comparison to the Monitor III and the Vovox, which were surprisingly similar. The Omega had better resolution but a less solid bottom end. On the DAC this did not manifest itself so much and the tightness and drive to the bass as well as superb resoution and depth layering won the day.
What was challenging was that the budget (Element cable Red Storm, which is based off a very good shielded Belden cable) cable I was running from my Monarchy Power regenerator to my DAC was putting up a surprisingly good fight. In the end though it was the relative flatness of the soundstage (only relative as it is not really bad at this) and a bit of dynamic loss that convinced me to switch to the relatively pricey Omega. Also, the Monitor III is a beast in the bass but ultimately loses a bit of low level resolution and is slightly "darkish" in the upper ranges...not really but in comparison again. On the amp this was really good but on the DAC it served to veil things a bit and soften too much the overall picture.
On the amp it was really a toss up between the Monitor III or the Vovox. The Monitor had a bit more depth layer and more explosive dynamics, the Vovox a bit more extended on top...both have great bass punch and weight.
So for now, I will have the Omega on the DAC and either Vovox or Monitor on the amp...however, the Omega on the amp was also quite good IF the Monitor was on the DAC; however, the other way around seems to work a bit better.
Lots of permutations here because the Monitor on the amp and the cheap Element cable on the DAC was also superb...just losing out in the spatial aspects.
What was challenging was that the budget (Element cable Red Storm, which is based off a very good shielded Belden cable) cable I was running from my Monarchy Power regenerator to my DAC was putting up a surprisingly good fight. In the end though it was the relative flatness of the soundstage (only relative as it is not really bad at this) and a bit of dynamic loss that convinced me to switch to the relatively pricey Omega. Also, the Monitor III is a beast in the bass but ultimately loses a bit of low level resolution and is slightly "darkish" in the upper ranges...not really but in comparison again. On the amp this was really good but on the DAC it served to veil things a bit and soften too much the overall picture.
On the amp it was really a toss up between the Monitor III or the Vovox. The Monitor had a bit more depth layer and more explosive dynamics, the Vovox a bit more extended on top...both have great bass punch and weight.
So for now, I will have the Omega on the DAC and either Vovox or Monitor on the amp...however, the Omega on the amp was also quite good IF the Monitor was on the DAC; however, the other way around seems to work a bit better.
Lots of permutations here because the Monitor on the amp and the cheap Element cable on the DAC was also superb...just losing out in the spatial aspects.