Trapping noise with a/c cords but not at the expense of killing dynamics

Gene 15352

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Feb 18, 2013
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Hopefully this question is posted in the most appropriate forum. We all know that power cords that have built-in filters trap noise effectively but can kill dynamics when used on preamps and amps. I'm currently using an older Foundation Research power cord on my streamer. Thinking about changing to an AQ Hurricane Source PC. Can you really kill dynamics on a streamer with the device I'm using? Will the AQ sound more musical but offer less noise cancellation? Any opinions would be appreciated. What would you do? Save the money and put somewhere else in your system? Btw, I wouldn't be auditioning the AQ before time of purchase.
 

GSOphile

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Sep 3, 2017
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I have a AQ Hurricane Source PC from my AQ Niagara 5000 conditioner to my Esoteric K-03X SACD/CD Player. (I bought this based on good experience with Hurricanes elsewhere in my system.) Immediately noticeable change to my ears were marked increase in clarity and dynamics over the stock cord. Not having heard your Foundation Research PC (what does the LC1 black box do?), I have no basis for comparison, but I'd be surprised if you didn't hear an improvement. As I'm sure you know, an in-home audition (of perhaps several options) is the safest way to go. If you're in the US and your dealer can't provide, consider contacting The Cable Company. Interested in how this works out for you.
 
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Gene 15352

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Feb 18, 2013
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Technical Information
The LC1 and LC2 are bi-directional line filtration systems that serve two functions:
  • Filters the noise in the incoming ac line going to the treated component
  • Inhibits noise from being injected back into the ac power line from the treated component
 

Folsom

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To be honest I'm still waiting for the day where I hear a powercord hurt dynamics. I've heard a lot that make stereos sound bizarre, and harsh, warping the sound so one thing sounds like another... But I haven't heard any personally, where I could swap them, where one actually saturated enough to change the dynamics. I'm starting to wonder if people just mean it made it not sound ear piercing so it wasn't as dynamic. I have younger ears, may play a factor.

But if there's a way to actually saturate a filter on the line, it isn't hard to do assuming there's something more than wires. It happens a lot (in power conditioners), few people seem to understand what is actually making it happen so they can't do anything about it.
 
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MTB Vince

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May 11, 2019
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Foundation Research remain my favorite reasonably priced power conditioners. The LC-1 offered sufficient current capacity to filter small power amps. It won't present any current limiting to a front-end component. I wouldn't be two quick to sell of my LC-1s and LC-2s if I were you Gene 15352. Not unless I was trading up to LC-10s or LC-100s...
 

stehno

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Jul 5, 2014
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A truly passive line conditioner like the Foundation Research LC-1 or LC-2 should never rob a component of its dynamics since a truly passive LC draws no current to itself. I'm only aware of one potential opportunity where a FR LC might rob some dynamics and that's if you exceed its current rating. Like connecting the LC-1 (10 amp current capable) to a higher-powered higher-current-drawing amplifier that exceeds 10 amps.

The LC-1 as I recall was a 10 amp current capable unit intended for front-end components like a CDP or pre-amp and the LC-2 was a 20 amp current capable unit for most amplifiers. At one point in time I owned a McCormick DNA-2 Limited Anniversary Edition amp and then a McCormick DNA-2 Revision A amp both of which were plugged into an LC-2 via a 20-amp IEC connector. These are 20 amp amplifiers were rated at 350wpc into 8 ohm loads or 1200wpc into 2ohm loads and dynamics never suffered so long as they had their own dedicated circuit / line from the service panel. Their replacement models, the LC-10 and LC-100 were 10 amp and 100 amp current capable where the LC-100 at least in theory was intended for use with the largest current drawing amplifiers in the world.

Foundation Research makes superior line conditioners in a world where inferior line conditioners that either do nothing or worse induce their own sonic harm reign supreme. As stated by a few others Foundation Research line conditioners are passive, dedicated, and bi-directional filtering. Oh, and they do what few other line conditioners can do, which is actually cleanse, purify, filter, and/or condition the universally noisy AC coming in from the street.

To the best of my knowledge every reviewer I'm aware of that auditioned the LC-1's and LC-2's purchased the review samples. Again, to the best of my knowledge, for years the only line conditioners superior to the LC-1's and 2's were the LC-10's and LC-100's of which I also owned. How much better? I'd estimate 2 to 3 times better than the LC-1's and 2's.

Foundation Research went out of business about 6 years ago, maybe more. I finally off-loaded my last Foundation Research LC a little more than 2 years ago because I had a chance to audition the Jena Labs THE Two line conditioners and they are a bit more musical than the Foundation Research LC's.

I'm unaware of any power cable that can come close to providing the potential leap in musicality that the Foundation Research units can provide.

In fact, you may only be hearing a small percentage of what the Foundation Research unit is capable of. At the FR LC's AC plug try opening up the AC plug and disengage the grounding wire and you just might hear quite a leap in its performance. If per chance you have one of my old LC-1's, then perhaps the ground has already been lifted. Yeah, I know what I'm suggesting. I've owned the Foundation Research LC's for 16 years - one for every component in my playback system and for 16 years all my FR LC's were ungrounded and for good performance reasons. Moreover, after taking possession of my LC-10's and LC-100's their performance literally doubled when I swapped in cryogenically-treated fuses, Furutech (also cryo-treated by Furutech) AC plugs ($45 each) and IEC connectors ($35 each). Replaced all these items at the same time and the improvement was fabulous after these items fully burned in at the same time with 4 FR line conditioners.

So with your existing FR LC-1, I see you may be lacking performance for several reasons:

1. Most likely your LC-1 is still grounded.
2. To really reap the full benefits of the FR LC's, you really need to have one FR LC for each component.
3. If your LC-1 is stock, then you should consider installing a cryo-treated fuse and replace the AC plug and IEC connector with Furutech models (all Furutech electrical products are cryo-treated).

Another thing you might try is if you have several analog front-end components say a turntable, a phono amp, and a pre-amp, you could connect your LC-1 to a power center or power strip and then plug in multiple front-end analog source components so that they all receive the same / similar sonic benefits from a single LC-1. You could connect a digital source into the power strip also but you may notice a bit of digital glaze being being shared with the other components sharing the same power strip plugged into the LC-1.

Anyway, you've got yourself a little treasure in the LC-1 even though its technology is perhaps 20 years or older now. If you cannot find a suitable replacement, you should definitely keep it because again, I'm unaware of any power cable able to match the musicality of a superior line conditioner of which the LC-1 is.
 
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Gene 15352

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Feb 18, 2013
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Thank you so much for your replies, MTB Vince & stehno. So appreciative! My system is undergoing major changes at the moment. Just ordered a Torus RM20, AQ Hurricane pc, and Isoacoustics Gaii ii for my speakers. I'm thinking about just using the LC2 for my Aurender as it has more filtering built in which is not a bad thing for a streamer and putting aside the LC1. I'm using high quality AudioSensibilty power cords with NCF connectors for both pre and dac. Looking forward to when things get "dialed in".
 

Rocoa

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Oct 17, 2018
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Hello,

I've made 3 Furutech DPS 4.1 power cords with FI50 NCF plugs and after burn-in 5 days in my Audiodharma Cable Cooker I plug them in my system. After one week plugged they are stabilized and the sound is very good.
No dynamics restriction in spite of it is screened and excellent timbre and soundstage.


IMG_9435.JPG
 

MTB Vince

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May 11, 2019
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Dundas, ON Canada
Hello,

I've made 3 Furutech DPS 4.1 power cords with FI50 NCF plugs and after burn-in 5 days in my Audiodharma Cable Cooker I plug them in my system. After one week plugged they are stabilized and the sound is very good.
No dynamics restriction in spite of it is screened and excellent timbre and soundstage.


View attachment 54263
Hey Rocoa your new power cords are simply screened. There is no inline filters so there is no possibility of current restriction. However there is also no ingoing or outgoing power filtration either. The Foundation Research units are AC power filtration devices with captive power cords. What makes them special is that provided you choose the correctly rated model from amongst the LC-1, LC-2, LC-10, or LC-100- you can have effective passive power filtration with no current restriction.
 

RogerD

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I have tried different power cords and the main difference is the width of the soundstage and whether the music moved forward. Actually the dynamics improved and especially lower frequencies. It is all tied together, total SQ will improve. Overall depth will not change or be distorted ,but many things will improve...especially clarity and lack of stress or compression. There are other ways to improve dynamics and reduce noise.
 

Rocoa

Well-Known Member
Oct 17, 2018
118
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Spain
Hey Rocoa your new power cords are simply screened. There is no inline filters so there is no possibility of current restriction. However there is also no ingoing or outgoing power filtration either. The Foundation Research units are AC power filtration devices with captive power cords. What makes them special is that provided you choose the correctly rated model from amongst the LC-1, LC-2, LC-10, or LC-100- you can have effective passive power filtration with no current restriction.

:) Thank you for your explanation.
I only post to point out that I'm pleasantly surprised with this power cords. I have dozens of power cord of many brands and I didn't expect this from a Furutech PC.
 

Hieukm

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Oct 2, 2016
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If you think there is no restriction with Furutech DPS you should not try higher end power cords. It makes the DPS 4.1 sound like child toy in comparison.
 

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