Venom V10 NR vs Zitron Cobra power cords
 

Hey there,

I’m currently using the Venom V10 NR cord to power my PS8 power line distributor to the wall outlet. I also have the Venom Defender plugged on the PS8. I’m also using the Audioquest Edison wall outlet recepticle.

I recently spotted a Zitron Cobra power cord offered for sale on eBay at a very good price and I’m thinking to get it to replace my Venom V10 NR cord for my PS8 distributor. Do you guys think the Zitron Cobra would be a step up from my Venom V10 NR for my PS8 distributor with Venom Defender?
Please advise. Thank you and much appreciated.

The rest of my power cables for all my equipments are mixed bags of the Shunyata Delta NR for my Cary CD 306 SACD player/DAC, Transparent Reference MM1 power cable (older model) for my Classe preamp, PS Audio PerfectWave AC5 power cord for my Classe Sigma power amp which will soon be replaced with either the Audioquest Blizzard PC or with another Shunyata Zitron Cobra PC.

Umm, no, not really. ;)

Here's why: In my experience, the Venom NRv10 is a notably better power cord. The Cobra Zitron is several generations old now, and Shunyata have made really significant developments and improvements in power cords since the old Zitron PCs. Most siginficant is that the NR v10 has noise reduction, which the old Cobra Zitron does not. This is a significant advantage for the Venom NR-series of PCs. Also, as you are using an NR V10 on your PS8, you can remove your Venom Defender to free up a receptacle if that is helpful.

The Zitron Cobra PC is almost 12 years old, and long discontinued, so for your power amp, I'd recommend a new Shunyata NR v2 power cord that fits in your budget. You'll obtain a notably more significant improvement in your system by replacing both PCs, for the Classe preamp and power amp, with Shunyata NR power cords. Because the Transparent and PS Audio PCs are not noise-reduction PCs, they are allowing a lot of noise and grunge from the full-wave bridge rectifiers inside the power supplies of these components to come back out of the component's power supply to contaminate the rest of your power distribution chain with all sorts of crap. Remember, this is alternating current, so the current goes...both ways. IN and OUT of the component. Except, when it comes back out, it's even "grungier" because of the component's internal power supply. And..you won't get this noise reduction with the AQ Blizzard PC.

From Caelin on this topic:
"A primary source of audible sonic degradation is caused by the power supplies in our audio/video components. Most components use FWBR (full wave bridge rectifier) power supplies that generate an incredible amount of transient noise when the rectifiers switch off. The design of a power cable can significantly affect the reactance of these signals within the power supply. The power cable is effectively part of the primary winding of the power transformer. The transition between the various metals used in a power cable and its connectors can cause electromagnetic reflections and diode-like rectification of the noise impulses as they propagate away from the power supply. If the power cable presents a high impedance to these signals they will be reflected back into the power supply where they will intermodulate, thus increasing the high frequency noise levels of the component. Most power supply filters are ineffective at blocking very high frequency noise components and much of it is passed through to the DC rails. The sonic effects of this include: high background noise levels, blurred or slurred transients and a general lack of clarity and purity of the sound or visual image.”

My recommendation would be to put Shunyata NR power cords on ALL your source and amplification components, even if this means using a lower specification (model) power Shunyata cord, than say, a higher spec NR PC on just a single component. Here's a an example: let's say you have a budget of $2200 for PCs, and your system has four devices that require a power cord: the power distributor (aka PD), the DAC, the preamp, and the amp. You would obtain notably better audio quality by putting 1 x $500 C19 Venom XC PC on the PD and 3 x $550 Venom NRv10 PCs on the DAC, preamp, and amp than spending...$2000 for one Alpha NRv2 PC on a single component.

That way the entire power distribution chain (where the AC is going in both directions) remains clean, and free from noise components that cause blur and slur. This will make a really notable improvement in the audio quality of your system. The system will sound more dynamic, with greater immediacy and dynamic slam and it will be a considerably quieter. You'll find the presentation more engaging and immersive as a result.

Hope that helps. Cheers.

Excellent advice that you really explained well. I particularly love the “blur and slur” comment. Unfortunately I do think some people actually look to have power cords add some of this as they see them as a tuning device. I’ve never been a fan of that approach. Far better to find power cords that only aim to deliver power cleanly.