which pangea for center channel amp

[lomarica]

I thought I would start this new thread.

I got the AC-9 and wow what a nice thick power cord. I played around a little with it and it does provide a bit better bass that was very evident. I am using a Parasound 220w amp for left and right speakers. Not sure about other improvements yet as I need to live with it for a bit longer.

I also tried it on my Parasound 5 ch 100w amp I use for my center channel (bi-amped) and surrounds. However the cable is so big and heavy I am concerned about the connection to the amp and it seems like a bit of overkill. Also I did not notice an improvement but I only tried on bluray Stop Making Sense with only the center channel on. Does anyone suggest one of the other "lesser" power cords for this application. How about for the processor also?

One suggestion I got the 6 ft length, do not go too short as the cable is so thick a longer length is easier to hook up.

Finally, should the power cord be connected directly to the wall socket (I have a dedicated circut) or is it better to go to a surge protector.
thanks

[atomicAdam]

Hi lomarica -

Couple things though I'm not sure I can answer all your Qs.

Power cable are basically antenna. The longer the more chance for something to interfere or for it to interfere. Also coiled power cables cause more issue than straight ones.

Wall socket or surge protector depends on the surge protector. The issue there is that some will restrain the electricity needed to rapidly supply the amplifier with juice and will cause staging or compression issues during complex music/sound tracks. If the amp can't refill as needed the audio suffers. I can't say if that is an issue, you'll have to try for yourself to figure that out.

Not all amplifier also benefit from after market cables. I had an Onkyo M282 (or something - $300) and I tried out a $700 power cable, $1000 ICs, $1000 speaker cables, and $2400 CDP and $2400 speakers on it, and the sound sounded like utter ****. Stage was all over the place, highs there thin and piercing, mids were blurry and bass was soggy slow. A turd is a turd no matter the bow wrapping it up. Conversely, I've also tried some expensive after market cables on a $6k tube amplifier and the results were so minimal between a $700 cable, a $100 cable, and $250 cable. It really all depends on what you hear.

Good luck.

[Fred70433]

I also have the AC9. It is a fat sucker to be sure. And very stiff. I also use the AC14SE with my phono stage. It seems to be about half the diameter of the AC9 and has more flexibility. Seems to do a good job also.