Black Sand Silver Reference MKIII Power Cord

carusoracer · « **Reply #60 on:** 8 May 2006, 12:46 pm »

Quote from: mdconnelly

Just gotta add a few more comments to this thread... I've now had the Silver Reference PCs for nearly 3 weeks. It seems clear to me that these PCs truely enable a very realistic dynamic and initial transient response yet follow it through with an incredibly natural and well defined harmonic decay as well. This has held consistently true on all types of music I've listen to, but particularly so on a well recorded piano.

Listening to Chris Anderson on Love Locked Out (Mapleshade) put Chris and his ...

Would you say that the Top end shimmer is now close to the the VH or has the transient reponse and leading edge of notes simply become faster as the cable settles in?

I have noticed the same thing with VH Flavor 4 in the cymbal's and upper frequency bells,etc. I tend to favor the sound. I'm curious as to the comparison...

avahifi · « **Reply #61 on:** 8 May 2006, 01:12 pm »

Lets think about the facts.

Your power cord is simply a series extension of the miles and miles of wiring and whatever between your component and the power plant.

Your power cord is simply an extension of the primary transformer wiring in your equipment.

Pray tell me how spending big bucks on 3 to 6 feet of power cord can possibly make up for the miles and miles of mundane wiring ahead of it, and hundreds of feet of crummy little copper wires inside the transformer after the AC power cable?

This is a series circuit. Tell me objectively (not "I just think it sounds wonderful") what the expensive power cord could possibly be doing to make any difference in the sound of your system, assuming that a plain old 16 gauge AC cord has more current capacity than your system can ever possibly demand.

Frank Van Alstine

carusoracer · « **Reply #62 on:** 8 May 2006, 01:32 pm »

Well stated. I wish I could profess to that knowledge or subscribe to some theory and provide a short dissertion to explain the facts.

I can not. I can only go by what my ears tell me and what various pieces of equipment have, altered or provided more clarity to my liking, in my system as to what I believe is as truthful to the recording.

I suppose we all could benefit from blind testing

mdconnelly · « **Reply #63 on:** 8 May 2006, 02:28 pm »

Frank,

Your question is certainly one I cannot answer, but it has been asked many, many times by many people on the various boards and rarely seems to end in enlightening discourse.

But look, I'm an engineer by training and a skeptic by nature. I also question the need for and value of megabuck power cords. But... I hear what I hear. Never big differences, but subtle and occasionally significant. So when I find a cable that does make a positive difference (in my system to my ears) and it's priced well below the mega-buck stuff, I'm eager to share the experience. And, more importantly, am very thankful for others that do the same (such as earlmarc did in starting this thread).

Mike

mdconnelly · « **Reply #64 on:** 8 May 2006, 02:59 pm »

Quote from: carusoracer

Would you say that the Top end shimmer is now close to the the VH or has the transient reponse and leading edge of notes simply become faster as the cable settles in?

Overall, I think the top end is close. For example, the tonal quality/shimmer of a cymbal seems quite similar although I'd give the Silver Ref a slight edge in terms of the naturalness of the harmonic decay. But, the leading edge is different (to me ;-). The Silver Reference seems to bring out the stick on the cymbal more, or the initial strike of a piano note or pluck of a bass string. I think it is definitely faster, but it may also be a frequency response thing. I do think that the blacker blacks afforded by the Silver Reference as indicated by several here may also be contributing to highlighting this as well.

Of course, all this is just my best guess as to what I'm hearing. It's subtle and likely very system dependent. But, hey, it's working for me.

Mike

tdangelo · « **Reply #65 on:** 12 May 2006, 08:45 pm »

I'm trying some of the Mark IV on my Butlers. I needed shorter cords than my JP Cables so I got 2 of these. So far they seem nice - only about 20 hrs connected and 3 playing music...

zybar · « **Reply #66 on:** 14 May 2006, 01:02 am »

Quote from: tdangelo

I'm trying some of the Mark IV on my Butlers. I needed shorter cords than my JP Cables so I got 2 of these. So far they seem nice - only about 20 hrs connected and 3 playing music...

Get more hours on them and they will go form nice to excellent!

George

denjo · « **Reply #67 on:** 16 May 2006, 04:18 am »

Earlmarc, thanks for your reommendation of the Black Sand Silver Ref PC. Based very much on your high praise of the PC, I bought a pair to power my CIAudio D200 Monos and hooked them up last night! Whoa! Complete transformation! You were right in saying that the difference was like adding a new component! The bass heft was the first thing that struck me. It had slam and whack (something I always felt my Thiel CS2.4 were lacking!). It was as if I had added a subwoofer to my system! The background silence was also remarkable (dead quiet - you can more easily hear the vocalist or instrumentalist take a breath between passages!) and made subtle musical cues - hitherto missing in my system - audible, adding better balance and greater texture to the music. John of Black Sand Cable was a joy to deal with! Thanks very much for a product that deserves high praise and commendation! I cannot wait to swop all my other cables with Black Sand PC!

In an earlier thread Mr Van Alstine could not see the sense and meaning of 6 feet of wire in a system when hundreds of miles of wire were of pedestrian quality. I am not an engineer or a technically minded person, but IT DEFINITELY DID MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE TO ME (and to others in this thread)! I can only invite Mr Van Alstine to keep an open mind and to try the Black Sand cables for himself! If he does not hear any difference, this affirms his view! But if he does hear an improvement, it might be his first step to greater musical enjoyment!

gme109 · « **Reply #68 on:** 17 May 2006, 02:58 am »

Quote from: avahifi

Lets think about the facts.

Your power cord is simply a series extension of the miles and miles of wiring and whatever between your component and the power plant.

Your power cord is simply an extension of the primary transformer wiring in your equipment.

Pray tell me how spending big bucks on 3 to 6 feet of power cord can possibly make up for the miles and miles of mundane wiring ahead of it, and hundreds of feet of crummy little copper wires inside the transformer after the AC power cable?

This ...

Nothing like admitting on a public forum that you don't trust your own ears. That's going to leave a mark. There is more to power cords than delivering current. Filtering out RFI and EMI for one.

Inscrutable · « **Reply #69 on:** 17 May 2006, 02:58 am »

i was reading this thread while the white light auction ended, and below the bid i was going to enter. quick, somebody dope slap me.

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #70 on:** 22 May 2006, 03:46 am »

Quote from: zybar

Ok, here are some initial impressions after letting the cord get a few days in the system:

- Music is fast, powerful, and dynamic
- BIG presentation
- Nice black backgrond that music emerges from
- Lots of detail, don't have to strain to hear subtle cues and nueances
- Just a little bit lacking in top end sparkle and overall dimensionality (but it is getting better in this area)

Overall I would say if it keeps improving it will wind up being in the same class as the very, very, good VH Audio AirSine.

Great job John!

Good call Marcus!

George

Any further comments George....thanks !!

Chris[/list:u]

zybar · « **Reply #71 on:** 22 May 2006, 10:19 am »

More to come this week.

I will say that I am going to be buying some of John's power cords.

George

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #72 on:** 23 May 2006, 10:41 am »

Quote from: zybar

More to come this week.

I will say that I am going to be buying some of John's power cords.

George

Good

....thanks George !!!

Chris[/list:u]

Inscrutable · « **Reply #73 on:** 23 May 2006, 10:51 am »

Woo hoo! Looks like I will be joining the ranks of Silver Ref owners. As I told John, if it does for me what it seems to be doing for you guys, it won't be leaving home unless it unplugs itself and runs away.

tdangelo · « **Reply #74 on:** 26 May 2006, 02:51 am »

well, I've had the Silver Ref Wattgate Mark IV's in my system for a little over 2 weeks now and they are definitely staying put. These cables have taken my system to a higher level. I'm using them on my Butler amps. When I first put'em in my system I wasn't overly thrilled compared to my reference cables. The Silver's sounded a little lean and closed in with less bass than my reference. I spoke to John and he encouraged me to give them some time - he even got me in touch with another Butler amp owner(Monad's) that felt similar to myself upon first hearing. I patiently waited and played the system as much as I could (when I was gone it played pretty loud)... Today I put my old cables back in for just a few min. and immediatly noticed a difference for the worse - enough for me to keep the Black Sands. My system now sounds so much more organic - the soundstage which was already good has much more depth - at night with the lights out I feel like I can reach out and touch the instruments - very 3d - the sound just kind of coddles you. I attribute most of this to the fact that the xovers in my RAW Apex II are finally breaking in but the combination of the amps - cables and speakers will keep me happy for quite some time

Bass is now much faster and deeper - highs just right. I'm very glad it took the recommendations of others on this thread

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #75 on:** 26 May 2006, 03:02 am »

Quote from: tdangelo

My system now sounds so much more organic - the soundstage which was already good has much more depth - at night with the lights out I feel like I can reach out and touch the instruments - very 3d - the sound just kind of coddles you. I attribute most of this to the fact that the xovers in my RAW Apex II are finally breaking in but the combination of the amps - cables and speakers will keep me happy for quite some time Bass is now much faster and deeper - highs just right. I'm very glad it took the recommendations of others on this thread...

What makes this cable so special ? (meaning...why does it work so well?)

brj · « **Reply #76 on:** 26 May 2006, 03:05 am »

Are the various Black Sand cables aimed at different price points, or are they intended for different uses? For example, is one cord aimed at high current amps, while another is aimed at digital sources?

Thanks!

tdangelo · « **Reply #77 on:** 26 May 2006, 03:07 am »

Quote from: lonewolfny42

What makes this cable so special ? (meaning...why does it work so well?)

hehe, you should know

your using them with your amps right? I just like the synergy they have with the Butlers. My reference cables bested several other's I had in the past - several of which were much more costly. I was really suprised the Black Sands would work better at an affordable price. The Black Sands just make the Butlers more holographic - bass is deeper and cleaner - I hear into the soundstage more deeply - dynamics are incredible etc... Just mo better

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #78 on:** 26 May 2006, 03:13 am »

Quote from: tdangelo

Quote from: lonewolfny42
What makes this cable so special ? (meaning...why does it work so well?)

hehe, you should know your using them with your amps right? I just like the synergy it has with the Butlers. My reference cables bested several other's I had in the past - several of which were much more costly. I was really suprised the Black Sands would work better at an affordable price. The Black Sands just make the Butlers more holographic - bass is deeper and cleaner - I hear into the soundstage more deeply - dynamics are incredible etc... Just mo better

Your right Tony....since the one's I tried first had some time on them, the bass jumped right up....thats what sold me !! And comparing them to other cables...none came close. So....I have two Silver Max's for the amps, and two White Light's for a dac and preamp....but I don't have them now....their on loan.

Chris[/list:u]

zybar · « **Reply #79 on:** 27 May 2006, 12:18 pm »

Quote from: tdangelo

Quote from: lonewolfny42
What makes this cable so special ? (meaning...why does it work so well?)

hehe, you should know your using them with your amps right? I just like the synergy they have with the Butlers. My reference cables bested several other's I had in the past - several of which were much more costly. I was really suprised the Black Sands would work better at an affordable price. The Black Sands just make the Butlers more holographic - bass is deeper and cleaner - I hear into the soundstage more deeply - dynamics are incredible etc... Just mo better

Chris has been his usual very generous self and I think the power cords have spent more time outside his house than in - thanks Chris!

George