Will the Cascade Digital Director or the Cascade Powerbase benefits more from a better power cord?

General
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Dear @Daniel_Gullman,
I have two different power cords of vastly different quality and grades for the Cascade DAC system. Please advise whether the Cascade DD or the DAC Powerbase will benefit more from the better power cord? Or in other words, is it better to use the better quality power cord on the Digital Director or the Powerbase to get the best overall sound quality/performance?
Thanks.

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The Analog Converter Powerbase is the one that should have the best possible and cleanest power.

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Thank you very much @Jonathan_Gullman. :blush:

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Thanks, @Jonathan_Gullman for your answer, that brings to mind some more questions about the 2 cables that are intended to feed both a PowerBase and a Digital Director (no matter if the Cascade or older models like the Reference):

  • How important is it that the 2 power cords are exactly the same length?
  • How important is it that the 2 power cords are also the same brand/model?
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The Digital Director and DAC powerbase power can be totally different with no performance penalty. I would concentrate on the power quality flowing to the DAC powerbase and then I would try to make the Digital Director power as isolated as possible from the Amp/DAC power circuit. Ideally it would be on a different circuit entirely. If you have the luxury of a separate circuit for the Digital Director I would also power any sources from that circuit as well (servers, streamers, switches or transports). Power cords for either can be totally mismatched if you wish, but I would concentrate on the DAC power as the main priority. The way I prefer our system here for best performance (when I want the best performance) is to run the DAC and AMP from our 240V transformer isolated circuit and the Digital Director and server from our non isolated 120V circuit.

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If you had a second 120v (or 240v) transformer isolated circuit available to you would you use that circuit for the DD?

Thanks,
Dan

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Yes, that would be an excellent setup. Here we only have one isolation transformer but a second one for your sources and Digital Director would be great.

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@Dustin_Symanski, thanks for all the great information for optimizing the Cascade DAC performance.
Would it be better to share a dedicated AC line for both the Cascade DD and Analog Converter Powerbase OR plug the DD separately into a different normal household AC circuit?

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@Dustin_Symanski,
Does the separate power circuit for the Digital Director (plus any sources like servers and streamers) need to be connected to the same electrical phase in the breaker panel as for the dedicated power circuit for the amplifier/DAC?
Another question/option: Is it advisable or better to power the Cascade DD (or any digital sources) on a different electrical phase than the electrical phase for the DAC/Amp’s power circuit in order to eliminate/reduce any digital noise from getting into the DAC/Amp?

According to @Vince_Galbo, the dedicated circuits for the amplifiers and for sources should be connected to the same phase in the breaker panel to reduce RF noises from antenna effects.
Is it a higher priority to reduce the effects of digital noises generated from digital devices and computers on the DAC/Amp than to reduce the effects of RF noises from power curcuits?

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Dustin,

  • since the dedicated circuits tie back to the same neutral buss bar in the MDP, won’t the noise from the DD eventually find its way onto the other isolated circuits?

  • are you using a power conditioner in your listening room? If so, wouldn’t a power conditioner effectively prevent the noise from the DD from polluting the power supplied to the DAC? I have 4 dedicated circuits in my listening room, however, I’d prefer not purchasing a second power conditioner only to power the DD under the assumption that the DD shouldn’t be plugged directly into the wall without a power conditioner in between. Please advise!

Thanks,
Blake

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Hi Dustin, just received my Cascade an hour ago and am about to unbox. Any chance you’d have a minute to answer the questions I posted sometime today? Your answers could influence my installation.

Thanks,
Blake

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Noise finds its way around, but the impedance of the power system decreases toward the source. So a two pronged approach works best. Keep the equipment that is most sensitive to nose, the analog electronics, behind a system that will attenuate noise. EG a isolation transformer, a filter etc… Then keep everything else off of that quiet power circuit.