I spent a few weeks with a few different Black Sand Silver Reference power cords in my system with different connectors (Watt Gate Gold and Furutech Rhodium). The majority of the audition was against the VH Audio AirSine on a McCormack DNA-500. The connector was a 20 amp type as that is what the DNA-500 uses. To help put this review in a better context, I used the same songs from my review of the AirSine I posted months ago.
Before getting into the meat of the review, just wanted to say that John (Mr. Black Sand) has been a pleasure to deal with and communication has been excellent. I also need to thank Chris, Marcus, and Gordy for assisting me in getting the Black Sand power cords to try in my system.
So for those who like to jump to end and see what the conclusion is, I will spare you and move it up front - the Silver Reference power cord is outstanding and represents an excellent value!! I found it to be on par or better than the VH AUdio AirSine at about half the price!
Now on to some comments I jotted down while listening to some of my reference tracks:
Ben Harper – Fight For Your Mind* Track 4 opens with acoustic guitar and the Black Sand is a little faster with each string pluck and there is just a bit more detail. The notes linger just a tad longer and that helps create a little more air around the instrument. The AirSine was slightly more laid back (not in a bad way – just different) and not quite as engaging.
* Track 5 shows that the Black Sand produced bigger images and had greater weight than the AirSine. This track has a lot of cymbals, bells, and percussion instruments as well as a very strong baseline. The Black Sand is more solid in the bass and has slightly better detail. For both the bass line was solid and clearly defined, but I would say that I preferred the speed, weight, and detail of the Black Sand over the more textured and slightly rounded sound of the AirSine.
In terms of the treble, both were very good at presenting excellent shimmer and decay that a good system can produce. Both had lots of air around the instruments and no glare of grain. Flip a coin in this area…
* Track 6 starts with great bongos and bass guitar. The Black Sand gives a little greater attack and bite to each hit. The instruments also seem more fleshed out, bigger, and more three dimensional. Ben’s voice has a little more depth and weight to it with the Black Sand.
The Bad Plus – These Are The Vistas* Track 2 is quite simply bass to the right, piano to the left, and drums in the middle. The Black Sand continued to show off its better dynamic range. The piano had a weight and body to it that was just a little bit better than the AirSine. Again, these aren’t night and day differences, just enough to hear a difference if you really know your system.
Sam Cooke – Night Beat * Track 2 is Sam singing with a stand-up bass and simple drum kit. The Black Sand’s slightly blacker background allowed me to hear deeper into Sam’s voice. When combined with added weight, Sam had a stronger presence with the Black Sand. However, I still think the AirSine is able to portray better shadings and texture in Sam’s voice. The perfect cord would combine the two!
Natalie Merchant - Tigerlily* Track 5 opens with some great percussion and yet again the Black Sand was slightly ahead, At the end of the song, there is a horse clopping with people talking – I was able to hear things more clearly and easily with Black Sand due to its better detail and blacker background.
* Track 7 is a simple piano and female vocal and the results were pretty much the same as was written with Sam’s and Ben’s voices above. Natalie’s voice was a tad more holographic and 3-D like with the Black Sand, which really makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. The added weight, speed, and size helped make the piano a little more real as well.
The two power cords (Silver Reference and AirSine) were closer to each other in terms of performance than different. Both cords performed at a very high level and I think both would be a welcome addition to pretty much any system out there.
Hopefully this review as well as what others have written in other threads, has helped people to understand that the Black Sand Silver Reference is an excellent power cord and should be added to the list of possible products to audition. When you factor in price, I think that it should probably be moved up to near the top of your audition list.
As I had previously posted, I am going to buy some Silver Reference power cords and add them into the mix.
George
