Aftermarket power cords and speaker covers.

[Smp]

G'day, this is my first post since joining the MLC - I am here under slightly false pretences at the moment as I will only be taking delivery of my Summits (natural cherry) in about six weeks time. Apparently they are some where in a container wending their way to Oz.

I was somewhat surprised to note the almost negligible discussion at MLC regarding the use of aftermarket power cords - frankly I was so taken with listening to the Summits I didn't even notice the cords used by the dealer.I assume that the supplied cords are pretty reasonable but as a user of Shunyata Anacondas/Pythons and a Hydra 8, I was wondering what some of you were using and the gains the cords gave you if any? Also your general opinions on the supplied cords.

I am also interested in covers for the Summits as I have found the covers supplied with Sonus Faber speakers to be most worthwhile in maintaing them dust free and providing protection against scratches etc. I did see the thread on this topic and would support ML supplying same with the speakers - even at a small additional cost - has anyone had them custom made?

Look forward to you comments.

Smp

 

[TomDac]

Power cords with Logans have discussed before.. Please use the search function to find these discussions.

Of course you're getting Summits, so there's an amp in the unit, which kinda puts a new twist on our other discussions.

 

[twich54]

SMP, Hello, IMHO unless your system (componets, listen enviroment) are all near perfect your money can be better spent in those areas (room accoustics, DTB300 has had manny good threads on this subject). Large sums of money spent on power cords / duplex outlets, etc. is crazy.

I just recently chimed in on another forum where someone was touting about duplex outlets in the $75-100 range !!!! Now if anybody can show me where that kind of money is justified let alone "sonically" quantified / qualified.....well I'll sell you some beach front property outside of Mt McKinley !!

 

[Steve]

Let me start by saying, I have never experimented with aftermarket power cords, because I feel there are other aspects of my system where I could get much more bang for the buck. However, it still confuses me why they would make any difference at all. As long as the power cord is at least as good as the wires in the walls, I don't understand how the last few feet of cord between the walls and the speakers can make much difference. If the power is bad from the wall, no aftermarket cord is going to change that.

Now a power conditioner of some sort, I can understand that.

Just my opinion.

 

[Reverb2009]

Let me start by saying I have experimented with after market power cords and will never go back to a stocker. I did not find much of a difference with using an after market power cable from the component to the wall. But from the power conditioner to the component the results can be dramatic.

The purpose of a power conditioner is to clean and condition the power, to remove noise that can vale or get in the way of the sound and video picture. Most conditioners do a good job, but it doesn’t help if your power cords are unshielded and that air born noise is getting back into your system after your conditioner removed it.

I agree that there are better places you could spend your money on your system, but after you have upgraded all your components and picked out that special pair of speaker cables, and your looking for that one that extra tweak try a power cord or two and see what you think.

 

[Craig]

I agree with Zip3kx07 on his comments concerning power cords. I would also like to add that power cords for the Summit should be more significant since the Summits as well as Vantages are internally amped - 400w and 200w respectively. I plan to upgrade my stock cords on my Summits eventually. I also use power conditioning and recommend using at least a surge protector on these.

Speaker covers are a great idea and I wish ML made and sold them again. They quit doing covers a few years ago. They sell t-shirts and coffee mugs so why not covers. I had Cremonas before and it was real nice getting accesories including covers with a new pair. If you want covers you'll have to make your own or have them made. When you get your new speakers they will come with a set of covers made for shipping and they are made of Tyvek material. It's like tough water resistent paper. They're good for the short term use and don't through them out. They can be used as a pattern to have some quality covers made from whatever material you like.

 

[Webinattor]

I wish I would have had covers on my speakers about a week ago!

Short story...

Cleaning up around the house. Food Network show gives tip about cleaning your gas grill. Says put the grill grids in the oven and set the oven on "Clean."

I did this and then went outside to work in the yard. Wife comes home. "What's burning?" she yells. I run in kitchen. Tons of smoke spewing out of the vent in the stovetop. ML's are in the next room. I quickly covered the digital PJ, but didn't think about the Logan's. I'm pretty sure the panels/stators are now covered with sticky, smokey gas grill residue.

So, covers. Yes. A good thing to have.
Food Network? No.

 

[amey01]

Covers would be great!!

I've never even experimented with power cords - to me they're like connecting your speakers and amplifier with chicken wire, then adding 1/2 inch of pure silver on the end and saying that you have improved your sound quality! Mains cabling is dictated by the 100s of kilometers of crap out on the network between the power plant and your house - 1 metre of exotic cable surely can't have much impact! It may be a different story after a high-end power conditioner, but I don't have one.

 

[yogibear]

I have my Vantages plugged into a PS Audio P600. The improvement was considerable compared to the speakers plugged directly into the wall socket. When I used to own a pair of Quad 988 I noticed that they benefited from aftermarket power cords. With audiophile quality cords, the Vantage's bass became much more powerful. My brother, who was present, and I were surprised by how much more bass there was. Before, I had the bass control set to 0db. Now, I have it set at -3db. The overall sound also became much smoother and cleaner. I would say clean up your power first and then try different cords.

 

[Steve]

Very good point about the cords between the speaker and a good power conditioner, versus high end cords plugged into the wall. After you spend all the money to clean up the crappy signal in the wall, it makes sense to protect that clean power with good cords.