I typically just accept what someone writes but seriously?  The power cable made a bigger impact than interconnects?  This stretches my credulity.  I'm not much of a cable guy, I guess.

My take on this is that when you have really good interconnects and these fantastic Decware components you can hear the changes that a power cord, and power treatment, and isolation make. Some are subtle, some are more than that. I've had a power cable make a really good impact on a component more than once. Most recently I got an Apple TV so that my wife can watch new HGTV shows. (Oh joy.) I have an excellent HDMI cable connecting it to other excellent HDMI cables that split the sound to the Universal Player and the TV. I liked the sound but decided to play around with the power cord feeding it and so I tried an Audioquest cord with a C7 connection. A slight improvement. Then I realized I had one cable that gave a warm and solid sound, an Anylisis Plus Oval Ten, and an IEC to C7 adaptor and hooked those up. BOOM. Using the DAC within the Universal Player and then to the Decware ZBIT, ZROCK2, pre and amp the sound improved considerably. The picture quality imroved a mite, but the sound was surprisingly transformed.

I've decided after a few decades of personal research Everything matters when you have these Decware components as the heartbeat of your system.

Update: The DHC3 running from the Puritan PSM 156 to the UFO25 now has a Furutech Gold F1 11 IEC and Gold F1 11 Plug instead of the F1 11 CU plug.  Immediate difference.  So much so that after the next hundred hours I'll order the Furutech F1 11R to see what difference it makes.  I have the Rhodium plug and IEC on the DHC3 running from the wall outlet (also Furutech Rhodium) to the Puritan PSM 156.

Something that I thought I would never do... roll connectors 😖.

It worked well.  In fact the difference that each connector made was immediate so much so that I found it necessary to adjust the position of the speakers.  Based on previous experience I use connectors with different plating on the opposite ends, eg; CU plug with a Gold IEC.  Next I'm going to try a Gold IEC/Rhodium plug configuration.  

A little more detail...
1. If you're going to attempt changing the connectors study how the shield and conductors are configured and terminated in the stock connectors and then terminate accordingly.

2. Cut away the sections that separate the three conductors.  This is also done with the stock connector.  

3. The cable uses double jackets.  Be careful to remove only the top or outer jacket.  Do not cut into the inner jacket.  I scored the outer jacket on its circumference until it would separate by "bending" the conductor.  Then score the outer jacket along the length that needs to be removed and separate the outer jacket along the scored length and remove.  When scoring you will have to judge how deep to score, do not cut into the inner jacket just deep enough to be able to separate the outer section that needs to be removed.

4. Pull back the braided shield and repeat the process.  The shield and conductors are then combined/twisted

If you're using 15A connectors keep the original connector housing.  The housing has an integral spline which aligns perfectly with the locating groove on the Furutech 15A connectors.  

For the supply cable from the outlet to the Puritan 156 I had to use a 20A IEC, Furutech FI-31G or 32R.  I also had to use the Furutech housing, and this will require some patience (in my case, helps to acquire patience) especially with the 20A IEC, but it is doable.  On this cable I used a Furutech angled plug, FI-12-MR, the housing on this connector is very well made and easier to work with.  I used the angled plug so it was easier to work with the short length of cable but it's not absolutely necessary.  

Which connectors you end up using will be dependant on your cable management.  If all you need are the 15A connectors, reuse the original connector housing.

Personally, I found the results well worth the effort.

Quote:


Correct.

JOMAN, thanks for your post comparing the DHC1 and DHC3. It motivated me to get my DHC3 fixed, as it has a loose ground plug that did not change after tightening a screw in its housing. As a result, I put it away. I bought it from another Decware owner, so it is not covered.

Question to whomever might know: Would it be best to send it back to Decware for a repair or have a local shop do the work?  Thanks.

In the process of changing the plugs I noticed that the conductors were inserted into the plugs in a manner that would allow them to come loose from the clamps if the cable was twisted or manipulated in a way that exerts pressure on the connection.  As noted these cables are not that pliable.  

But they are they ever worth the effort, much like the rest of this .... 🤔....obsession.

I've been very happy tube wise and haven't swapped a tube in months. This year I've been fiddling more with power more than any else. I was reading this thread last week and just yesterday I swapped the "Furutech" ends off my Piggy and put them on a DHC2. I found in my system that the DHC2 and/or DHC3 are much better sound wise than the Piggy. I've got three more DHC2's and one DHC3 to upgrade the connectors now. I really like the DHC3, but on my rack the wrestling/twisting/swearing with it just doesn't work well. It works great going from the wall outlet to SDFB, although the connection to the SDFB is a bit tricky and if it gets bumped the SDFB loses power. For now it's secure and working great.

I have to make a correction to my previous post.  I decided to pull the DHC3 that goes from the Puritan156 to the UFO25 to confirm the amount of Jacket that I removed to enhance the flexibility of the cable.  Turns out it was less than I thought.  I'll try to post some photos...

The first is the IEC showing only a 1/4" of the outer jacket removed.  This helped

This picture shows the final outcome with the IEC rotated 180* to the body of the DHC3...