A Review of the Digital American Power Cord

ZLS · « **on:** 3 Oct 2014, 03:24 pm »

First the context;

I am a previous customer of Triode Wire Labs, and in fact was using one of their power cords on my Dac.
I was very pleased with the sound, along with the fact that it is always easy dealing with Pete, because he conducts his business in a very professional manner.
Therefor, I was favorably disposed to trying out Triode Wire Labs new Digital American Power Cord.
I contacted Pete, and once again he was a pleasure to deal with. Informative, Accommodating, and prompt in his delivery of the Cord.
Now to the sound.

Everything as advertised, and a little bit more.
What I hear is that my system seems to have increased it's frequency range, and the sound is much more dramatic.
If I was to choose one word, it would be vibrant.
What I look for in my system is for it to involve me emotionally, to play the music so that I feel the musicians intent.
I was not prepared for the Cord to make such a difference, but it has.
Put it into your system, and you will not take it out.

Jon L · « **Reply #1 on:** 3 Oct 2014, 04:50 pm »

Quote from: ZLS on 3 Oct 2014, 03:24 pm

First the context;

I am a previous customer of Triode Wire Labs, and in fact was using one of their power cords on my Dac.
I was very pleased with the sound, along with the fact that it is always easy dealing with Pete, because he conducts his business in a very professional manner.
Therefor, I was favorably disposed to trying out Triode Wire Labs new Digital American Power Cord.
I contacted Pete, and once again he was a pleasure to deal with. Informative, Accommodating, and prompt in his delivery of the Cord.
Now to the sound.

Everything as advertised, and a little bit more.
What I hear is that my system seems to have increased it's frequency range, and the sound is much more dramatic.
If I was to choose one word, it would be vibrant.
What I look for in my system is for it to involve me emotionally, to play the music so that I feel the musicians intent.
I was not prepared for the Cord to make such a difference, but it has.
Put it into your system, and you will not take it out.

Congratulations on the new cord. TWL cables always hit way above what the price would indicate IME

Which TWL cord did the digital cord replace?
What interests me is how you describe it as having more vibrance and "increased" frequency range because often times, a company's "digital" power cord tends to have tons more shielding, which if done incorrectly, can KILL off high frequency sparkle and air sounding too dark..

ZLS · « **Reply #2 on:** 5 Oct 2014, 08:12 pm »

"Which TWL cord did the digital cord replace?"

The Cord that the Digital American replaced was the 10+.

I want to reiterate that the sound with the 10+ was terrific.

It is just that the sound with the Digital American was something quite extraordinary.

Here is the difficulty, your Dac will sound good with any of the TWL Cords,

But it will sound great with the Digital American.

Take the leap of faith; you will not regret it.

Lissnr · « **Reply #3 on:** 11 Dec 2014, 03:34 am »

Another thumbs up for the Digital American! I have to agree with the previous posters about the benefits of this amazing cable. I too have been a long time user of Pete's fantastic power cord family. I have been using several of his earlier "8" series and have been so pleased with them that I never felt compelled to jump up the ladder until recently. Littered throughout my system including my Uber's and subs, I also have the "8"s on both my digital transport (Oppo BDP 105 used for its RCA Coax out) and my incredible Lampizator Big 7 Dac.
When I heard about some of the truly impressive feedback between the new TWL Digital American combined with the Lampizator Dacs (which makes perfect sense considering the "NATURAL Analog Character" of both company's products) I figured it was about time to take the upgrade plunge. The "8" was a consistently excellent performer when used with both my first two Lampizators: a Gen4 Level4, the sublime Gen4 Big6,and finally my current "Magical music maker" a full blown Gen5 Big7 that is just stomping over every music source I've ever heard... But when, 2 nights ago, I put my new Digital American into the Big 7 (I gave it 48 hrs to settle in before any serious auditioning), I simply couldn't believe my ears.
Here I was all along praising the virtues of each Lampizator and each, I'm sure, was appreciating the "8"s smooth, natural personality loaded with a unique combination of both unforced presence yet compelling sense of PRAT...
But the Big7 with the new Digital American? I truly wasn't expecting a whole lot more than what I had...after - all...they were both TWL's ... could a dedicated digital cable really live up to its promise? In a word: Ubetchurassbigfella!
Noisefloor? Where...? Between the notes...at every blank moment...Just dead silence...stillness..."open- black- space"...
The "Notes" themselves? Staccatos of pure energy piercing the stillness like shooting stars against pitch black space...or the languid slide of a 'lazy' one dripping off the blackness like a
sad tear on a velvet cheek...
Emotion.
Whatever you're listening too...will simply draw you in...
The best "Connection to my collection" is about the simplest way I can sum this up. The TWL cables have the most "likeable personalities" of any cable I have known. The Lampizator Dacs can be described exactly the same way. If your definition of that is similar to mine ...read: engaging, unforced and utterly natural...then you too have found new ingredients to make your system sing...In a nutshell: my Lampizator Big7 is superb with probably most "decent" powercords, but to hear it with a TWL Digital American it has truly met its match...and that's the biggest compliment I can make to both manufacturers.
Great job Pete. Great job Lukasz. Thank you both! Lissnr

Triode Pete · « **Reply #4 on:** 11 Dec 2014, 01:43 pm »

Quote from: Lissnr on 11 Dec 2014, 03:34 am

In a nutshell: my Lampizator Big7 is superb with probably most "decent" powercords, but to hear it with a TWL Digital American it has truly met its match...and that's the biggest compliment I can make to both manufacturers.
Great job Pete. Great job Lukasz. Thank you both! Lissnr

Must be "Polish Power"!

Remember Ivan Putski?

Thanks for the accolades, Lissnr!

Enjoy,
Pete

rpf · « **Reply #5 on:** 11 Dec 2014, 02:44 pm »

I also recently substituted a TWL Digital PC (a HC) for a TWL 8+. And while I don't think I can replicate Lissnr's poetry (

), I had a similar experience. I also wasn't expecting a huge improvement, just somewhat better along the same lines as the 8+. What I got was something far more.

The most noticeable difference was in the bringing out of inner lines, voices and instruments that were recessed or faint before. I thought Pete's other cords separated voices and instruments well (and they do) but the Digital PC surpasses them, creating much more three dimensional images and greater soundstage depth. Also very notable is the increased continuousness of the music. Rather than the tightness that so many other noise reducing products produce, the Digital PC actually increases the sense of flow and relaxing qualities of music. Finally, I noticed an increased sparkle on top; another quality - as noted above - usually missing from noise reduction.

So, all in all, another superb product from TWL. Congratulations again, Pete!

rollo · « **Reply #6 on:** 19 Dec 2014, 03:20 pm »

Yes right off the bat very good. However boys you have not heard its true sound yet. The PC will change over 200 hours. That is when the bass arrives in spades. Ya think it is tight now ? Wait.
I have broken in numerous and I mean numerous TWL cords. The hours required for any plus series is 400 hours. The Digital takes a little less around 250.
We have found that running 12 hours on and 12 hours off allows the dielectric to settle faster. It has to heat up and cool. The conductors burn in the path of least resistance in under 50 hours. It is the dielectric forming that takes the time. Heat it up cool it down. When off it is important to unplug from wall. Be careful not to move around to much and disturb the setting accomplished so far.
So the plus side to this is a much better linear sound. Nothing stands out all there in spades. You hear more decay of notes, depth in sound stage and those little cues not heard before. ENJOY !!

charles

Mike82 · « **Reply #7 on:** 27 Dec 2014, 01:33 am »

I wonder of the sonic improvement you hear is more a factor of the connectors rather than the cable geometry?

Triode Pete · « **Reply #8 on:** 27 Dec 2014, 04:07 am »

Quote from: Mike82 on 27 Dec 2014, 01:33 am

I wonder of the sonic improvement you hear is more a factor of the connectors rather than the cable geometry?

Hello Mike82,
It's a combination of several things; slightly different dielectric utilized, the use of the hi-tech shielding techniques (conductive mylar & conductive carbon-fiber sheathing), the carbon fiber connectors and the conductor metallurgy as well...

Everything masks a difference, some more, some less, but still perceivable differences...

My $0.02,
Pete

fridays · « **Reply #9 on:** 29 Dec 2014, 04:10 am »

I hope you guys are accurate on your reviews of the new digital pc
Just sold my 7+, and will be ordering the Digital high current PC in the morning
Using it on a Big 5 Lampi

rollo · « **Reply #10 on:** 5 Jan 2015, 03:47 pm »

Quote from: fridays on 29 Dec 2014, 04:10 am

I hope you guys are accurate on your reviews of the new digital pc
Just sold my 7+, and will be ordering the Digital high current PC in the morning
Using it on a Big 5 Lampi

Good move you will not be disappointed.

charles

fridays · « **Reply #11 on:** 7 Jan 2015, 03:10 am »

Well I got the power cord in -5 degree Iowa today, it must have set outside in the mailbox for a few hours, maybe a double dose of cryogenics

I'll wait a few days for it to settle in and warm up before attempting any kind of review

rollo · « **Reply #12 on:** 7 Jan 2015, 04:10 pm »

Quote from: Mike82 on 27 Dec 2014, 01:33 am

I wonder of the sonic improvement you hear is more a factor of the connectors rather than the cable geometry?

It is the complete design. The new shielding material as well as the plugs all contribute as one. I often laugh at the posts that say it is "A" or "B" of the design that makes it sound that way. No no no. It IS the entire design period.

charles

rollo · « **Reply #13 on:** 7 Jan 2015, 04:14 pm »

OK now that one has the Digital American PC try if you desire removing your digital from ANY power conditioner. We found the sound more open and transparent without any conditioning. Give it a try when you have 300 hours of use on the PC.
Let us know your findings.

charles

jimbones · « **Reply #14 on:** 8 Jan 2015, 05:39 pm »

I have the DA cord and my DAC like to go through a conditioner becasue of the ess sabre chip. I think it depends on the DAC that you are using. Some are probably better plugged right into the wall. But the DA was an improvement.

Triode Pete · « **Reply #15 on:** 21 Mar 2015, 03:33 pm »

I get a ton of feedback on my cable products and I never like to boast by posting (maybe poor marketing on my part

)...

I received the following feedback on my "Digital American" this morning and I shared it with my wife Erin... she thought I should share my customer's thoughts...

"Pete,
So I've been listening to both ac cables in my system for about a week now. Last night my wife and I were listening to a 'familiar' track. We both agreed that it was like we'd never heard it before! A couple days ago I was listening to a Leonard Cohen track I have heard many times before. I suddenly heard a kind of flutter sound (like a birds wings close up). I panicked and thought some sort of critter had gotten into the room, so I paused the music. No sound. I started the track again, and there it was several more times. It was on the track! NEVER heard that before. At the end of the track, Leonard sort of hums the melody as the song fades out; I had noticed him humming in the background before, but now it was right there, clear as day, not in the background. These are all just a couple examples of some of what has been happening. Overall the sound is so much more relaxed, unforced, natural.....it's just the way I like it to be. I can honestly say that since I got into this hobby in the mid 1970's, I have never experienced such a clear cut improvement to my system with any kind of change I made in all the various systems I have owned, other than maybe an actual speaker upgrade...but even those can sometimes present a downside. I just don't get it, though. Without giving away your secret with regard to how the cables are constructed, could you say in just a few words to a non-technician, why your ac cables could make such a significant difference in an audio system? One word I used last night with my wife was that I find the sound 'intoxicating'; she agreed. If you told me there was some secret elixir in the cables, I might almost believe you.....

Thanks!"

Thanks for looking!
Pete

Nick77 · « **Reply #16 on:** 21 Mar 2015, 06:10 pm »

I bet it might be a double hopped IPA or an good aged bourbon. What is it Pete, come clean.

Triode Pete · « **Reply #17 on:** 21 Mar 2015, 09:20 pm »

Quote from: Nick77 on 21 Mar 2015, 06:10 pm

I bet it might be a double hopped IPA or an good aged bourbon. What is it Pete, come clean.

K, K, you got me... An Elixir of both Angel's Envy Bourbon & a very special Dogfish Head 120 minute IPA...

Cheers,
Pete

Audioclyde · « **Reply #18 on:** 21 Mar 2015, 11:48 pm »

Man, I would have bet big $ it was a fine single malt scotch, maybe Knockando, cause the sound is so smoooooooooth!

Mike Long · « **Reply #19 on:** 12 Jun 2015, 05:42 pm »

You guys are about to cost me 500 bucks I wasn't planning to spend right now. Going to buy a digital for a recently acquired big 7. My wife is going to hit roof. Got any recos for socket type?

Mike