Introducing ZenWave Audio Clear Bass Cables!

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DaveC113

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Introducing ZenWave Audio Clear Bass Cables!
« on: 19 Apr 2021, 07:30 pm »
ZenWave Audio Clear Bass Cables

Clear Bass cables offer stunning clarity, dynamics, and definition when used for woofer and subwoofer frequencies. They add less warmth and fullness than pure copper, which results in better resolution and sharper, more defined leading edges. These are a better match for high end systems than similarly priced pure copper cables as the character of the bass will match the mids and highs, without spending big $ on top-of-the-line cables, which are difficult to justify for subwoofer and bass use.

Clear Bass cables use silver-plated copper wire with teflon insulation in a very low-inductance geometry. The connectors used are high quality pro-audio units, such as Switchcraft RCA plugs and Neutrik silver-plated XLR plugs. The AC power cable plugs are Furutech FI-15(R)+ with rhodium plated copper contacts.

I have worked hard to make sure Clear Bass cables don’t add any undesirable artifacts such as brightness, splash, grain, or harshness. This can be an issue with silver plated copper, but it depends on the particular use and design. Clear Bass cables are only clear, no harsh, no splash!

Clear Bass cables are also a great choice for those looking for a very clear and neutral cable that isn’t excessively warm for a reasonable price. These cables are fantastically good for the price if your priority is clarity and resolution.

POWER CABLES

Clear Bass Power Cables are made using wire of excessive gauge for the application to ensure the fastest possible instantaneous current delivery. All three legs of the power cable are 9 gauge. The plugs used are genuine Furutech FI-15+ with copper contacts and rhodium plating.

These are fantastic power cables and I think some folks will prefer them over any pure copper cable, because they add less warmth, allowing the spatial cues to form a more immersive soundstage and the fine detail to produce a more realistic timbre. Out of the entire Clear Bass cable lineup these are exceptional cables for full-range use as well as subwoofer use.

These are very flexible cables that are thin and easy to handle.

Pricing is $299 for 1 meter length and $75/meter for additional length.

INTERCONNECT and REL CABLES

Clear Bass Interconnect Cables are made using 15 gauge legs, which is overkill, but this seems to work very well for line level and speaker level bass performance. There is a lot more energy in bass frequencies, and this applies to the electrical signal in cables as well as what you hear when the music is playing.

Cables are available in several configurations…

     - RCA cables using Switchcraft RCA plugs.
     - XLR cables using Neutrik silver-plated XLR plugs.
     - REL cables, intended for use with REL subwoofers. These are available in:
           - Spade to Speakon
           - Banana to Speakon
           - Speakon to Speakon

REL cables are made using gold plated spades and locking bananas from DH Labs, and high quality metal-body Speakon connectors, which cost 3-4x the plastic plugs REL uses for OEM cables.

The big difference with Clear Bass vs REL is less warmth and better definition. The bass won’t sound as full, but it’s more accurate and defined, with sharper leading edges. The OEM cables sound soft and full in comparison.

Pricing is $199/meter + $50/m for additional length for most cables.

REL cables add $20, Banana to Speakon add $50. Bananas are high quality locking plugs from DH Labs.

TO ORDER: Until the Clear Bass Cables get on the cart system please contact  dave@zenwaveaudio.com to place an order. Let us know what you want and we’ll get back to you with a paypal invoice. I can also take credit cards over the phone at 303-437-4581. If you have any questions or want to request a demo please send an email as well. Thanks!






jtcf

Re: Introducing ZenWave Audio Clear Bass Cables!
« Reply #1 on: 19 Apr 2021, 09:06 pm »
What timing, since I just bought two new subs.No doubt these would be several steps up from the generic wire on them now:-)

DaveC113

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Re: Introducing ZenWave Audio Clear Bass Cables!
« Reply #2 on: 19 Apr 2021, 09:26 pm »
There are A LOT of folks using really basic copper wire for sub hookup, and there's nothing wrong with that, Clear Bass cables are just another alternative.

I do think Clear Bass cables will help the subs match the mains better in a lot of systems. If you've gone out of your way to optimize your cabling, AC power, room acoustics, etc. these cables will help your subs keep up! They will sound faster and tighter with Clear Bass cables. They won't sound quite as full and rich though, but this same sound character is most often perceived negatively at higher frequencies, and once you're used to Clear Bass, it's hard to go back, the fullness sounds bloated. We get accustomed to what we are used to hearing, and not too many folks are used to hearing very clean, undistorted bass.

genjamon

Re: Introducing ZenWave Audio Clear Bass Cables!
« Reply #3 on: 19 Apr 2021, 10:47 pm »
Interesting stuff.

Will the power cables sound better on a subwoofer than one of your PL-11 cables?

DaveC113

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Re: Introducing ZenWave Audio Clear Bass Cables!
« Reply #4 on: 19 Apr 2021, 11:07 pm »
Interesting stuff.

Will the power cables sound better on a subwoofer than one of your PL-11 cables?

It's a close call, the PL is very clean and clear, much moreso than most pure copper PCs. My ribbon cables do have even lower inductance vs the PL or Clear Bass PC, and the ribbon cables are better all around, but so much of that is lost for subwoofer use I'd be hard pressed to say the difference is worth it for most systems. The bass quality of the silver ribbon cables is on another level vs anything else I've tried, but the price is also on another level.

For subwoofer use the Clear Bass cables get you much closer to the silver ribbon PC, for a reasonable price.

If your priorities are clarity and resolution, I think the Clear Bass PCs will beat a lot of higher end cables. The Furutech DPS-4 sounds kinda slow and congested in comparison, like a bottleneck was introduced... I think for many people looking at cables under a couple grand, this is going to also be the best FULL RANGE power cable option on the market. It's surprisingly good when used as a full-range PC and the cost is so reasonable, I think this is the best value cable ZenWave currently offers.

brj

Re: Introducing ZenWave Audio Clear Bass Cables!
« Reply #5 on: 20 Apr 2021, 06:04 am »
Hi Dave.  Would it be safe to assume that you could accommodate the 90 deg Neutrik XLRs as well?

I'm not sure if the value proposition makes sense, but could you put the 90 deg FI-12L and FI-12ML connectors on those power cords?

(I've had a few power cables made with those Furutech connectors, and I love what it does for my gear layout, as well as absolutely avoiding any cable "sag" when plugged into receptacles with less than an iron grip.  You have to think about cable orientation in advance, but for how much it's cleaned up my system, it's worth it.  I've been wanting to get my subs closer to the wall for a while now, and 90 deg connectors on XLRs and power are key to that.)

Thanks!

jtcf

Re: Introducing ZenWave Audio Clear Bass Cables!
« Reply #6 on: 20 Apr 2021, 01:35 pm »
Dave I was wondering if you had done any experimenting with the plated copper as regular speaker cable?Also what would be the first product to try if someone preferred to upgrade incrementally? My guess is the power cord would have the biggest impact.

RDavidson

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Re: Introducing ZenWave Audio Clear Bass Cables!
« Reply #7 on: 20 Apr 2021, 04:20 pm »
 :o The PC is a crusher on any competitor anywhere near the price and probably even beyond 3x the price. The materials and construction are far and away better than what I've seen anyone else sell for $300. Most in this price range are using basic molded plugs, non-descript "branded" plugs, or basic Marinco plugs. Dave uses all real, never ever fake, materials and connectors from the best, most trusted, sources. Not to mention, the cable material and gauge is beyond what anyone else offers at this price.

Dave, I think you're going to be very very busy with orders, man. I may have to get in line for this. :D

jtcf

Re: Introducing ZenWave Audio Clear Bass Cables!
« Reply #8 on: 20 Apr 2021, 04:43 pm »
@RDavidson you've tried the new Clear Bass products already? I agree that Dave's cables are excellent and already own several.

DaveC113

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Re: Introducing ZenWave Audio Clear Bass Cables!
« Reply #9 on: 20 Apr 2021, 04:49 pm »
Dave I was wondering if you had done any experimenting with the plated copper as regular speaker cable?Also what would be the first product to try if someone preferred to upgrade incrementally? My guess is the power cord would have the biggest impact.

Yes, it can work well full range but there can be some issues with splash in some systems. For subwoofer or woofer use it's great, I currently use it for internal wiring of my 15" woofers.

I may offer Clear Bass woofer cable, I am just not sure if there's any demand. It's exactly the same as the PC, just no ground leg. Their use actually overlaps, PC is a cable used to transmit a 60 Hz sine wave, which is exactly the same as running a 60 Hz test tone through your system. :)

DaveC113

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Re: Introducing ZenWave Audio Clear Bass Cables!
« Reply #10 on: 20 Apr 2021, 05:33 pm »
@RDavidson you've tried the new Clear Bass products already? I agree that Dave's cables are excellent and already own several.

Not yet, I'm sure his comments are about the parts used... The only way it's possible to offer these cables at an extremely low price is the wire used is mil-spec surplus, it's available for a fraction of what it would cost retail. Combine that with real Furutech plugs with rhodium plating and I think these cables are an exceptionally good value!

Also, I'm not saying these cables are better than top end copper cables like Furutech DPS-4, but they will be clearer and more dynamic. The electrical characteristics of these cables are far superior to the DPS-4 and other machine-made cables in terms of both noise rejection, lower inductance, and less coupling of hot and neutral to ground.

However, these cables are not very warm, they are a touch warm because they are copper, but the silver and rhodium plating keeps them from adding very much warmth. Some may prefer the warmer cable, for sure, but warm is easy. You can get warm cables everywhere. Clear, clean, resolving and affordable while not doing something horribly wrong is REALLY hard to find. These cables do that!

DaveC113

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Re: Introducing ZenWave Audio Clear Bass Cables!
« Reply #11 on: 20 Apr 2021, 05:40 pm »
Hi Dave.  Would it be safe to assume that you could accommodate the 90 deg Neutrik XLRs as well?

I'm not sure if the value proposition makes sense, but could you put the 90 deg FI-12L and FI-12ML connectors on those power cords?

(I've had a few power cables made with those Furutech connectors, and I love what it does for my gear layout, as well as absolutely avoiding any cable "sag" when plugged into receptacles with less than an iron grip.  You have to think about cable orientation in advance, but for how much it's cleaned up my system, it's worth it.  I've been wanting to get my subs closer to the wall for a while now, and 90 deg connectors on XLRs and power are key to that.)

Thanks!

Hi brj, Sure, I'd just charge the difference in cost which looks like $75 for the power cables and $10 for the XLR plugs. Shoot me an email or pm if you're interested, thanks!

DaveC113

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Re: Introducing ZenWave Audio Clear Bass Cables!
« Reply #12 on: 20 Apr 2021, 11:18 pm »
Here's a pic of some REL cables I made for a customer with multiple subs last year. Not the best pic, at the time they were not for sale publicly. I've been making Clear Bass cables for a long time for my customers.

The current cables would be a little thinner as they would use the fine mesh techflex as standard.

The top cable is the REL "Baseline Blue", which is a std 3-conductor pure copper cable with PVC insulation.