PANGEA AC-14SE MkII
Power cables
The Pangea cables look and feel very professional. They are not stiff and it is a delight to work with them. During dozens of reconnections that I performed with them during this review I had to appreciate smart connectors that were easy to grip and push and pull, thanks to how the sturdy pieces are shaped.
Function and form
The Pangea Audio's AC-14SE MkII uses three conductor groups consisting of a combination of solid and Litz conductors. The large-gauge center conductor is made of solid high-purity copper. Surrounding this conductor are six cores consisting of one medium-gauge solid OFC copper conductor, which in turn is surrounded by six Litz conductors. Every conductor is individually insulated. The braided shield is made of silver-plated copper.
The main difference between the original AC-14SE and the new MkII version is the upgrade from PCOCC copper of the center conductor to the Cardas Grade One Copper, which George Cardas calls "the most amazing audio conductor I have ever experienced" and for sure he experienced more copper cables than all of us together.
Bass management
I did not intend to review the Pangea power cord – it was added to another reviewed component by the local distributor. So I used the opportunity and gave it a listen, and another, and another – and it worked better than well. The bass of the Pangea AC-14SE MkII is resolved, far from low-frequency humming that is often the case with stock power cords. I was wondering how did it come that at such a price the bass is so deep and contoured. For example, the bass guitar in Wishing Well (Michael Ruff, Reference Recordings) had round firmness and although it did not have quite the power of many times more expensive cables I could not complain.
Clarity & delicacy
I was surprised by the amount of air and ambient detail that I could hear with the Pangea AC-14SE MkII. It is not a result of sole upper frequency elevation (read further) as much of the ambience is really low in frequency, mere a mass of air travelling to a microphone.
Tonal accuracy
If you visualize a frequency curve then the Pangea AC-14SE MkII would show a slight shelf in the presence region where mids meet highs. It delivers spark and brilliance which I heard. However, the Pangea is a very clean cable so any highlight remained perfectly articulated – no smear, no haze – and very dynamic.
Spatial resolution
If I apply a “cost no object” view than the MkII is better in soundstaging macros than in soundstaging micros. What I mean by this? The lateral soundstage is as wide as with any other cable, but the invisible glue that exists e.g. between the players of a symphonic orchestra is suppressed and spatial micro-resolution is more sketchy. Still one can easily hear an improvement over stock cables that are very fuzzy.
The Pangea AC-14SE MkII is one of those products that boast of amazing price-to-performance ratio. It is so cheap and so good that one has no excuse to buy a few – it will be an essential and instant improvement.
Recommended resellers
Hifi studio MeLissa, Brno, tel. +420 777 041 313
Manufacturer's website: http://www.pangeaaudio.com
Associated components
- Sources: Accuphase DP-720, SPL Q2048 Mastering Equalizer
- Amplifiers: TAD-M2500 MkII
- Interconnects and speaker cables: Audioquest Redwood, Audioquest Wild Blue Yonder, Ansuz C2, Ansuz D2, Tellurium Q Silver Diamond, Vovox Sonorus XL, Nordost Valhalla V2
- Loudspeakers: TAD Evolution One E1
- Power conditioning: Shunyata Research Denali, Nordost Valhalla, Ansuz C2, Pangea AC-9SEMKII, Roth Audio Orfeo + několik dalších prototypů, Synergistic Research Atmosphere Level 2, Synergistic Research Euphoria Level 3, Synergistic Research Galileo SX, AudioQuest Hurricane
Gallery
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