Do these really make a difference.....

[no6thgear]

-upgraded Power cord on a receiver
-Different spikes, or speaker outrigger
-Deflex panel ( http://www.oregondv.com/Spectra_Dynamics_Deflex_Panel.htm )

My system: (I know not the perfect amp for the mains, forgive me until i get a more deserving amp.)

Power: Monster Hts 3500 mk2
Receiver: Yamaha htr-5890
sacd/dvd-a/dvd: Pioneer Elite dv-46av (soon)
Sony 400 disc cd changer(current)
Xbox 360 w/Hd-dvd player
Stereo: MartinLogan Montage
Center: Infinity IL25c(current)
Center: ML Fresco (soon)
Sub: Velodyne ct-150
Surround: Klipsch s-2(current)
Surround: ML Vignette(soon)
Monster M990 interconnect stereo and M550 for surround channels for sacd
and M series cables all around for any other cables i didnt mention.
Im wondering if a new power cable for the receiver would make a noticable difference in sound quality/imaging, same with diff. speaker spikes or outrigger than is supplied by Logan with the Montage. I read about outrigger on subs also. Is this only to protect from hardwood floor? Sorry for newbie questions i searched a bit couldnt find much else only little bit on spikes. Thanks!

 

[JohnP]

Hi no6thgear,
Sounds like you got a pretty good start going there. I tell ya, I think you would be better off changing out those Monster cables and here's why; This last week I've been messing around with my system/room quite a bit and I didn't even realize that I had a pair of their(Monsters) $200(don't know the model #) IC's going from my cd to pre/pro. Decided to change em out with a pair that I make out of Belden cable with a Canare 75 ohm connector and whoa. There was a bit of a spankin on the playground! I was surprised as I thought the Monster would at least be on par with the DIY's I made but alas, poor ole Monster got his butt kicked. I bet if you got yourself a nice set of Silver Sonics off of Audiogon or ebay you might be pleasantly surprised. Well just my two pennies.

John

 

[no6thgear]

Yeah ive thought for a while that monster is partly hype. Magnolia used to carry audioquest, but carry monster now. They still have panamax power conditioners though. Anyways i may try that.

 

[DTB300]

I bet if you got yourself a nice set of Silver Sonics off of Audiogon or ebay you might be pleasantly surprised. Well just my two pennies.
John

DH Lab (www.silversonic.com) is a nice upgrade from DIY or the Monster stuff and at a reasonable price for cables. IMO, I believe you will get more bang for the buck with the IC and Speaker Cables than the PC for the Receiver.

Yeah ive thought for a while that monster is partly hype. Magnolia used to carry audioquest, but carry monster now. They still have panamax power conditioners though. Anyways i may try that.

From what I have heard, the Panamax and Monster will sound the same in terms of power conditioning. The name escapes me now on the conditioners Cherian (member here) recommended - if you want to upgrade.

Dan

 

[Tj Bassi]

Monster = mass marketed junk

Tj

 

[JohnP]

Monster = mass marketed junk

Well I don't know that I'd go as far as calling it "junk" but there is better stuff out there. Overpriced? Absolutely. I have to admit though, I do have the Monster AVS 2000 as well as the HTPS 7500 and both of them were a very noticeable improvement. Their cables, not so good, better than the crap that comes in the box with a DVD player but that's about it.

John

 

[JohnP]

no6thgear,
Ya know 6th gear, if you do a little bit of reading and put your mind to it you would be shocked what you could get out of your system the way it stands. One thing you might seriously consider is some DIY room treatments. You can find tons of good info on how to make them(most all of what you need is as close as your local home depot) and how/where to install them on audioasylum and Ethan Winers website. Secondly, you can quite easily make some DIY cables that will spank those Monster cables like a red headed step child. Some of the best DIY cables I have found are just about the easiest on enjoythemusic.com. I hope this helps you some.

John

Here's a link to Ethans website, jpoke around in there and you'll find some good info:
http://www.ethanwiner.com/basstrap.html

And here's a link to the DIY page on enjoy the music. The coax cable is very smooth and clean sounding, only cost you a few bucks for each cable. Here it is:
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/doityour.htm

 

[Cherian]

I am an engineer for a power conditioner company. The only thing I suggest is get a power conditioner with a very low impedance (large) Isolation transformer and good filtering on the secondary of the transformer. Something from Oneac, Teal or Powervar is best. I have done testing 10 ways to Sunday on Power conditioners and noting beats an Isolation transformer with good matched filtering. A good power conditioner will have a filter curve as follows: At 1 kHZ roll off starts 90 kHz –70 to –80 db of attenuation. This is measured between line and neutral of the secondary. Because of the isolation transformer the secondary neutral of the transformer should be bonded to ground making a virtual Kelvin bond. This means –100 db of attenuation between neutral and ground from 60 Hz to over 5 MHz.

These can be found for a steal on ebay. Buy the largest one you can get your hands on. 7 amps to 12 amps should more than meet your needs.

 

[Pcar928fan]

I am an engineer for a power conditioner company. The only thing I suggest is get a power conditioner with a very low impedance (large) Isolation transformer and good filtering on the secondary of the transformer. Something from Oneac, Teal or Powervar is best. I have done testing 10 ways to Sunday on Power conditioners and noting beats an Isolation transformer with good matched filtering.

That sounds kind of like the same stuff that I have read about Richard Gray Power Company stuff am I right there or is that another overpriced bunch of crap too? I changed everything at once so I did not stage stuff in to see what changes one thing or another made. I would say the difference was minimal though. If I get some good surge protection then I am happy w/ that.

 

[tonyc]

That sounds kind of like the same stuff that I have read about Richard Gray Power Company stuff am I right there or is that another overpriced bunch of crap too? I changed everything at once so I did not stage stuff in to see what changes one thing or another made. I would say the difference was minimal though. If I get some good surge protection then I am happy w/ that.

I think my Richard Gray (the smallest one) is more transparent than either of the two Monsters I own (HTPS 7000 and 5100). That said I received some kind of power surge the other day which scrambled both my Ayre and my SF DAC. I initially thought my DAC was trashed, but after I realized that my Ayre wasn't correctly switching between formats (ie, CD to SACD) I unplugged both for a minute then restarted them and they now work fine. So while I feel good about the sound, I feel less confident about the efficacy with respect to surge protection. The rest of my electronics were apparently unaffected. Go figure!

 

[jjqiv]

I am an engineer for a power conditioner company. The only thing I suggest is get a power conditioner with a very low impedance (large) Isolation transformer and good filtering on the secondary of the transformer. Something from Oneac, Teal or Powervar is best. I have done testing 10 ways to Sunday on Power conditioners and noting beats an Isolation transformer with good matched filtering. A good power conditioner will have a filter curve as follows: At 1 kHZ roll off starts 90 kHz –70 to –80 db of attenuation. This is measured between line and neutral of the secondary. Because of the isolation transformer the secondary neutral of the transformer should be bonded to ground making a virtual Kelvin bond. This means –100 db of attenuation between neutral and ground from 60 Hz to over 5 MHz.

These can be found for a steal on ebay. Buy the largest one you can get your hands on. 7 amps to 12 amps should more than meet your needs.

If you do a search on Audio Asylum, most do not hold the Powervar's with any esteem unless they are modified, most importantly with upgraded cap's. The cosensus favorate seems to be the Shunyata Hydra's. They are expensive for what's inside. I made a variant for very little $$$'s from this link:

http://www.10audio.com/diy_power_conditioner.htm

I measured the output with my ears and am estatic with the sound

 

[twich54]

If you do a search on Audio Asylum, most do not hold the Powervar's with any esteem QUOTE]


There is a reason why it's called the "asylum" !! A trully large number of certifiable whackoo's !!!!!

I still love the site though !! better entertainment than what's on TV most nites.