65 London soars with Marigo Power Cord!!!

[57gold]

New 65 Amp for my birthday...a head that I play through either an old, smooth tolex Vox 2X12 with orig. cone Blues or an Avatar 2X12 with open back port and Red Fangs.

Liking the Avatar better with 65!

Stock tubes sounded very good...a little buzzines when pushed hard...NOS Mullards EL84s and 12AX& with a Brimar CV4004 and a Philips made in UK (Mullard) in P/I...clearer, less chimey, more sustain and smoother breakup...gotta love the click channel...AC 30 on steroids!!!!

Now, switched out stock power cord...kinda thin and wimpy piece of cable...used a Marigo cable with heavy duty connectors and solid core wire with damping and shielding...same cable reccommended by all tube stereo preamp to the stars...$8K for a volume control, a switch and some gain...preamp maker says cord gets cleanest, 3d images, sweeter highs and more controlled lows...

Like adding 15-20% more of everything...low end more powerful and less loose, mids more prominent, highs clearer and louder but less grain...at lower, clean volume level you can hear more string to string definition...more of the guitar's acoustic sound...more wood...played my 1959 ES335 and 1957 Strat and heard more of what I paid for...very similar results with this power cord and Komet 60 #8...I guessing that the power cord impacts the power supply of the amp in a way that makes it deliver cleaner power...its not subtle!!!

[flume]

ahem...

it's late...and I've had a few Stella Artois....

but...

did you just say $8k for a power cord?

{insert sound of kettle drum here___}

[sparkle**]

What is the tube layout for the 65 amp?

[Dave LaP]

Originally posted by flume
ahem...

it's late...and I've had a few Stella Artois....

but...

did you just say $8k for a power cord?

{insert sound of kettle drum here___}

LOL.

[Dave LaP]

Originally posted by 57gold
New 65 Amp for my birthday...a head that I play through either an old, smooth tolex Vox 2X12 with orig. cone Blues or an Avatar 2X12 with open back port and Red Fangs.

Liking the Avatar better with 65!

Stock tubes sounded very good...a little buzzines when pushed hard...NOS Mullards EL84s and 12AX& with a Brimar CV4004 and a Philips made in UK (Mullard) in P/I...clearer, less chimey, more sustain and smoother breakup...gotta love the click channel...AC 30 on steroids!!!!

Now, switched out stock power cord...kinda thin and wimpy piece of cable...used a Marigo cable with heavy duty connectors and solid core wire with damping and shielding...same cable reccommended by all tube stereo preamp to the stars...$8K for a volume control, a switch and some gain...preamp maker says cord gets cleanest, 3d images, sweeter highs and more controlled lows...

Like adding 15-20% more of everything...low end more powerful and less loose, mids more prominent, highs clearer and louder but less grain...at lower, clean volume level you can hear more string to string definition...more of the guitar's acoustic sound...more wood...played my 1959 ES335 and 1957 Strat and heard more of what I paid for...very similar results with this power cord and Komet 60 #8...I guessing that the power cord impacts the power supply of the amp in a way that makes it deliver cleaner power...its not subtle!!!

I'll try to keep an open mind on this. My mind at first rebels.....

[57gold]

flume: very late, $8+K for the SOTA tube preamp!

sparkle**: Power - Matched Premium EL84's.
· Preamp - Premium EF86 & 12AX7.
· Phase inverter - Premium 12AX7.
· Sovtek 6CA4/EZ81.

Echoplex: Already owned the cord, available for $150 used. Would I spend $150, the price of a mid priced effect, to make a $2,100 amp with $250 of NOS tubes perform in an improved fashion as I have described; yup!

I think any idiot with ears and a job would, once hearing the improvement, get on audiogon.com and buy one. The addition of this tool fundamentally enhances the tonality, responsiveness and the depth and complexity of this great tone machine. More of all of the good stuff!

[Dave LaP]

57,

I went to some reviews of the marigold power cord and the reviews were positive for stereo equipment.

I read over it quickly and it sounds like the idea behind the cord is to filter out the "garbage" inherent in most power through cord design.

Just out of curiosity, do you know if they offer a return on the cord if you don't like it? That would make the decision to buy one pretty simple. A/B it with your current cord and voila.....a decision.

Glad your enjoying your 65. It's a great amp.

[flume]

The clarity of morning has lifted my brainfog and your reply is illuminating.

No criticism intended of the power cord--just wanted to know the details. If it yields tone benefits, by all means, I'm for it.

And now....

...coma relapse.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

[Mr.Hanky]

Snif........Snif........

Uh oh, I smell another sh*tstorm a brewin.

[57gold]

http://www.fatwyre.com/ the cable co. has used cables and a lending library for trial....that's how I bought my cables for hi fi.

Marigo, also ships and gives trials.

Audiogon.com , sometimes the seller will give a 48 hour approval.

Local stereo shops have demos, sometimes.

Another cable that does good things for tube guitar amps is the Synergistic Master Coupler...I lent one to a friend with a Univalve and he was floored by the increase in perceived power, control, clarity and overall sweetness of tone versus stock cable.

I can hear the squacking, already....how can 6" of heavy wire and well built plugs make ant difference?....miles of cable comes to your house, yards inside your house...as long as the cable is adequate....it brings the juice to the amp....blah...blah...blah...

I have great, simple music system at home: cd player; mono tube amps (250 watts w/8 KT88s and 6 drivers 6922s per side) into full range speakers. Tried 8 power cords on amps...17 year old son with great ears and I could describe the changes from model to model...each altered the frequency response...some more bass...some made cymbals sound more like real cymbals....some made the sound more dynamic whilst others softened impacts of drums and other percussion....got $5K retail in 3 power cords for cd player and amps; paid half used....this isn't subtle.

Halcro, the maker of the most technologically advanced, low distortion solid state amps for hi fi ($25,000 a pair) recommends a specific maker's power cords to get the most from their equipment...same cord used by recording studios, movie studios...oh, yeah they all blow $$$ because they are neurotic!!!

Suckers, right!!!

The world is flat...because that's what my experience tells me...

[pureoldsound]

Are these any of the cables you are using?

http://marigoaudio.com/powercables.htm

[Ogre]

I use a big heavy gauge power cord(and speaker cable) on my Alessandro Redbone Coonhound. I can tell the difference. It was only $25. Evidence makes power cables(as well as speaker and guitar cables) that received positive reviews in Tonequest. If you can hear a difference, and tone is important to you, quest on.

[KLB]

Don't forget to call the power company and get them to replace the wiring in your walls, to the telephone pole, etc.

These and many other kinds of "audio-perfection devices" consistently fail double-blind (ABX) tests where neither the person conducting the test or the listener knows which cable is used.

Expectations can and will override objectivity.

I used to sell high end audio and this is what we found over and over again.

[57gold]

KLB: so Halcro, Lamm Industries, Wilson, BAT, Edge Electronics, Verity, ART Audio and Musical Fidelity use, endorse a brand of specialty cables because they are deluded into thinking that they sound better???

It's a plot...all audio people are in on it...make up products to swindle stupid audiophile nerds...

[Scott Peterson]

What I would like to hear is how the higher end power cables A/B against a Filtered Power Regulator.

It just seems to me if you clean up the source you make the cable redundent.

Now saying that, if the $250 power cable does what my Furman AR-1215/Furman PL-8 does (the combo of both Furman pieces for appx. $400 used) then it is indeed a savings; but does it protect against spikes and brownouts?

Keeping in mind the AR-1215 is not totally top notch at its game (+/- 5v to get it to kick in).

Not a flame, just a legitimate question that has *always* struck me when this topic hits.

[DestroyAllGuitars]

The best fix, would be to buy a decent power conditioner
and then, multiple amps will get the benefit of clean, balanced
power. These units will outperform any cable by a long long
ways. I have built several studios from the ground up, and yes,
believe it or not there are certainly cables that are better than others but if you really want to hear a dramatic improvement
in your amps sound, a good balanced power conditioner can't
be beat. The best are Equitech (pro and industrial grade) &
Furman (consumer grade). You can't go wrong either way.
For 500 dollars will get a lot more benefit and sound improvement
with a conditioner. You will want to use a standard AC cord
with these units as anything in the path that tries to filter
or rebalance the power will undo the work that the initial
conditioner has done.

[Scott Peterson]

CliffC,

Beat you by a minute. :D

[DestroyAllGuitars]

Scott,

Great minds think alike, so can anyone explain what happend here?

[trisonic]

I need some power conditioning help......here's an example.
My Boogie is always plugged into the same outlet in my music room. The cleans started to get noisy - I ran thru all the usual checks and balances to no avail. I took it to Jimmy Somma who did a very thorough check (the amp's about 13 years old) absolutely nothing wrong with the amp, he just cleaned one volume control and tightened up an input. Played it, sounded great. Took it home - same issues. Plugged it into different circuit, perfect.

So what do I need?

Best, Pete.

[Dave LaP]

Originally posted by Scott Peterson
What I would like to hear is how the higher end power cables A/B against a Filtered Power Regulator.

It just seems to me if you clean up the source you make the cable redundent.

Now saying that, if the $250 power cable does what my Furman AR-1215/Furman PL-8 does (the combo of both Furman pieces for appx. $400 used) then it is indeed a savings; but does it protect against spikes and brownouts?

Keeping in mind the AR-1215 is not totally top notch at its game (+/- 5v to get it to kick in).

Not a flame, just a legitimate question that has *always* struck me when this topic hits.

I was wondering the same thing....

[hasserl]

Originally posted by 57gold
KLB: so Halcro, Lamm Industries, Wilson, BAT, Edge Electronics, Verity, ART Audio and Musical Fidelity use, endorse a brand of specialty cables because they are deluded into thinking that they sound better???

It's a plot...all audio people are in on it...make up products to swindle stupid audiophile nerds...

Is it a stretch to think that maybe these compaines have a vested interest in promoting items like this? That by convincing consumers that there really is an audible difference between such things it helps to promote their own premium products?

No need to get offended. If you're happy and like the effect, that's all that matters.

But I would like to see the results of a double blind test. That would be interesting.

[DestroyAllGuitars]

Trisonic,

The circuit that is causing your amp to make noise, most likely
has some lighting wiring passing through it. That is the
most common cause of this problem. The other circuit is most
likely isolated from the lighting, hence no hum or noise. Again,
a good power conditioner could help solve this. The best solution,
which may be overkill for you, would be to have all lighting
on a seperate dedicated line and also use a balanced, power
conditioner for the line that will be feeding your amps.

[trisonic]

Thanks, any specific model # recommendations?

Btw I just checked the circuit and I think my idiot electrician put the tumble dryer on the same one!

Cheers, Pete.

[DestroyAllGuitars]

Check Equitech's website and I'm sure you'll find a suitable
model for your needs. If your not sure, just give them a call
and you'll experience some of the best tech support and
help in existence. Calling them is also the better way to go
because they will not oversell you. They will tell you exactly
what you need and in most cases it will tend to be a simpler
model than the one you would think you need.

PS: The tumble dryer can definitely be the problem.

[trisonic]

Thanks, Cliff. Looks a cool site!

Best, Pete.

[57gold]

known to squeeze dynamics of power amps.

I've tried a few, less noise, less impact, less harmonic complexity of distortion...less colorful sums it up.

If you have a noise on the line issue that can only be fixed with a conditioner, then it makes perfect sense.

If you want smooth, controlled and maybe compressed tones, conditioners help.

Some power conditioners are just very good receptacles wired together with great care with very high quality wire and a fuse or some additional RF sheilding. A cheaper option, though not portable, is to replace the receptacle in your studio, music room or reheasal space with vey high quality, high copper content and cryo-treated ones from:http://www.audioexcellenceaz.com/acproducts.htm

I can't wait for the chorus of "expert" who haven't tried these parts.

My son and I took a duplex outlet and had 2 brands of receptacles installed; one had silver plated alloy and the other was cryoed, and of a much higher % of copper. We expected the latter to sound better with the CD player, but it made the unit sound warm, but less detailed, cymbals and percussion were recessed in the mix. The cheaper, but still good non-cryoed, plated one brought more detail and dynamics at the expense of some warmth, and depth.

When it comes to guitar amps the cryoed version rocks!!! Smoother, very colorful, notes are purer, the fundamental pitch is stronger with very complex harmonic complexity without shrillness!