ZenWave Power Tour: SurgeX and PL Power Cables

DaveC113 · « **Reply #20 on:** 11 Apr 2015, 04:00 pm »

Thanks for the thorough review and pics beowulf!

That Chipotle IPA looks interesting... speaking of drinks I had Cap Rock's pear brandy for dessert last night, wow! Going to be looking for that one at the store... Cap Rock is a local distillery so I'm not sure how wide their distribution is at this point.

beowulf · « **Reply #21 on:** 12 Apr 2015, 04:42 am »

Quote from: ACHiPo on 11 Apr 2015, 03:13 pm

But the caps are still on?

That was the before picture ...

ACHiPo · « **Reply #22 on:** 12 Apr 2015, 06:13 am »

Quote from: beowulf on 12 Apr 2015, 04:42 am

That was the before picture ...

beowulf · « **Reply #23 on:** 13 Apr 2015, 04:58 am »

Quote from: DaveC113 on 11 Apr 2015, 04:00 pm

Thanks for the thorough review and pics beowulf!

That Chipotle IPA looks interesting... speaking of drinks I had Cap Rock's pear brandy for dessert last night, wow! Going to be looking for that one at the store... Cap Rock is a local distillery so I'm not sure how wide their distribution is at this point.

My pleasure Dave, the SurgeX and Cables are definitely worth talking.

Cap Rock's sounds pretty tasty!

All of the beers in the pic are from local micro breweries throughout San Diego county (which has been dubbed the micro-brewery capital of the world ... seriously we have a lot of breweries and it seems like a new one pops up every month). The Aztec Chipotle has got a good smoky flavor with just a hint of heat and hops at the finish. Another favorite is the 3rd from the right which is Belching Beaver's Peanut Butter Milk Stout, absolutely delicious and the last one in the pic is Ballast Point's Indra Kunindra is just about one of the more exotic beers I have tasted with hints of clove, coconut, slight dried fruit notes, mixed in an Indian spice of cumin, cardamom, curry.

aldcoll · « **Reply #24 on:** 14 Apr 2015, 06:13 pm »

Okay the SurgeX has moved 22 miles south. And since I needed to do some cable work I might as well break it all down and oil some wood.

Step 1: Break the seal.

Sterp 2: Employ use of finger loop on glass container

mresseguie · « **Reply #25 on:** 14 Apr 2015, 06:27 pm »

SNAKES!!!....Those aren't Indian Pythons, are they?

beowulf · « **Reply #26 on:** 15 Apr 2015, 07:14 am »

Quote from: aldcoll on 14 Apr 2015, 06:13 pm

Okay the SurgeX has moved 22 miles south. And since I needed to do some cable work I might as well break it all down and oil some wood.

Step 1: Break the seal.

Sterp 2: Employ use of finger loop on glass container

Starting off right! Beer and power cables ... this is such a guys thread!

DaveC113 · « **Reply #27 on:** 15 Apr 2015, 04:12 pm »

Quote from: beowulf on 15 Apr 2015, 07:14 am

Starting off right! Beer and power cables ... this is such a guys thread!

Yup, looks good!

aldcoll · « **Reply #28 on:** 16 Apr 2015, 10:34 pm »

Thought I would let everybody know I am having fun and things are sounding better then before. I am fairly new to my current system and I find this a perfect time to get things lined out. When I got the SurgeX and Power Cables I also snagged a set of Dave's D-4 IC's from mresseguie.

I started out like the picture showed I took all equipment out of it holes and moved it to accommodate the new Amp and Preamp configuration I have moved to from my receiver based setup.

I swapped the SurgeX for my Furman 20 Elite 20PFi
Dave's cables replaced Wywires Juice II Blue Feeding the Gill Alana Preamp and a Audiopath PC-2 Feeding the Modwright KWA 150 SE.

And just to spice it up Dave's D-4 IC is linking the Gill and MW. Speaker Wires are Boulder/Daedalus feeding Daedalus Pan's.

I also spent a fair amount of time routing all cables this time. Nothing is on the floor and nothing is touching or crossing.

That was for me a major undertaking as the wife has set some guidelines that I have to work in. It all stuffed behind a modest TV stand.

Any way how does it sound: I feel the sound is light and nimble and a major part of that was all the cable routing. I did a short test yesterday where I pulled my DIY stands (ain't no pictures gonna happen yet) and made a quick rats nest. and the Mudddddd was back.

I am actually working on Speaker palcement now as the sound stage has changed. Speakers are about 2 ft from the wall and 11 ft apart with a 11-12 listening spot. This is our front room and I need to get back and work with the setup. My wife has some meetings this evening

As I prepare to box the SuegeX up in a day or two I will go back and add my cables on or two at a time and see where thing end up.

Right now I need to hit the Growler Station

aldcoll · « **Reply #29 on:** 17 Apr 2015, 06:01 pm »

We have the TV right there with the audio equipment. I have in the past plugged into a circuit away from the audio.

So I thought I would do a VISIBLE test. I am using a 6 year old Panasonic Plasma that is connected to Xfinity Cable Digital with the MORN150NR cable box (No X1).

I selected a no HD channel thinking it would show a higher level of improvement and selected a on demand show. I left the cable box on the house power and TV on SurgeX for test 1.

And Presto Yes there is a minor clearing of the picture and some degree of sharpness. Step 2 moved the cable box to the SurgeX and probably a still sharper picture.

For my test video I used the CBS National News from Tuesday evening as Scott Pelley's suit had a plaid that played havoc to us when we watched the news.

And I had my wife with me for the test. And we both could see a improvement

DaveC113 · « **Reply #30 on:** 17 Apr 2015, 06:08 pm »

Thanks for the report!

I had not thought to test the TV picture, I have a 58" Panny Plasma that's probably 4 years old now and DirectTV HiDef DVR, I do plug them into my SurgeX for the protection but have not done an A/B test. One thing to try is to use one of the PL power cables on your TV, there's a good chance that will provide a further improvement.

Good job on the cable routing too.

Tomy2Tone · « **Reply #31 on:** 17 Apr 2015, 09:09 pm »

Quote from: DaveC113 on 17 Apr 2015, 06:08 pm

One thing to try is to use one of the PL power cables on your TV, there's a good chance that will provide a further improvement.

Yep, I made the mistake, I mean decision, to try one of Daves PL11 cables hooked up to my Panny VT60 and saw such clarity and detail with vibrant colors and deep blacks that it was hard to go back to any other power cable so I ordered one just for the TV.

aldcoll · « **Reply #32 on:** 17 Apr 2015, 10:11 pm »

This is the first test I have come across that YOU CAN SEE THE DIFFERENCE

There are so many things is this Audio stuff that are subject to one's opinion. But I can HEAR the difference of the Power cables and the SurgeX.

I will be busy Saturday as there is some event at the Vinyl Store

Sunday I will revert to my old house brand and see where I am at

aldcoll · « **Reply #33 on:** 21 Apr 2015, 11:33 pm »

The Tour has left Oregon and is headed for Chicago.

I completely enjoyed my time with the SurgeX. And at this time I will mention the one draw back I had and that is the rubber feet on the SurgeX. For reasons beyond me the four feet put a lip lock on the oak shelf while it was at my house for six days.
The feet were actually about half height when I went to remove the unit (there are VERE SOFT) and left a minor mark on the shelf. The mark was removed with with some wiping.

But back to the experience: As I mentioned in a prior post doing the TV test will present a no brainier that there is something good about these products and you can see the difference.

And yes I could hear a improved and broader sound stage. Some of that is the fact that I was using four quality Power Cords instead of my current two.

I finally settled on the PL-11 as my preferred cable for my DAC (Parasound Z Dac). All in all I loved the warmth and synergy I have been looking for.

So Bigger sound stage and what I can only describe as my setup was lite on it feet and ready to go to the dance.

Equiptment
Parasound Z Dac
Gill Alana Preamp
Modwright KWA150SE
Squeezebox Touch w/ Boulder Mods and power ( Surgex and my cable)

mresseguie · « **Reply #34 on:** 22 Apr 2015, 01:36 am »

I love those feet. I want some...twelve at least.

I didn't try using the SurgeX for video. I wish I had.

DaveC113 · « **Reply #35 on:** 22 Apr 2015, 05:48 pm »

Thanks for the report aldcoll!

Results from using the SurgeX have been very consistent, with the degree of improvement depending on the quality of the incoming power and the specific system that is plugged into the SurgeX.

The PL11 vs PL14 power cables you used on your DAC sound different mostly because of the plugs... the PL11 has the Furutech FI-50 plugs which are a big step up vs the Neotech plugs. The rhodium plating works very well in conjunction with the damping provided by the stainless steel and carbon fiber housing. These plugs are copied by a couple others so be careful what you buy!

On the feet, I supply the SurgeX with Sorbothane low durometer feet sized to work with the weight of the SurgeX. They almost do too good of a job with damping and I encourage folks to try using other footers as well as they will make a difference! Wood blocks also work well and sound more vibrant while the Sorbothane sounds very quiet and refined... maybe even a touch dark. The Sorbothane also does stick to whatever surface you put it on, but I have not noticed any residue left behind... maybe best to put coasters or something between the feet and shelf if it's a concern. I'd also recommend Herbie's products, either the Tenderfeet or iso-ball setup would work well, I'd go with the iso-balls because you can use different balls to tune the sound to work best with your system.

The SurgeX and PL power cables are on the way to ZLS now!

RDavidson · « **Reply #36 on:** 22 Apr 2015, 07:23 pm »

Yes, be careful with sorbothane. Here's a quote from Isolate It:

"Raw Sorbothane has a great natural 'Stickiness' but be careful because it does contain 'Plasticizer' which can stain raw wood. The Urethane coating on the other hand does eliminate the natural 'Stickiness' of the Sorbothane but it also offers a protective layer to protect raw wood from being stained by the plasticizer."

Dave, do your sorbo feet have a urethane coating? I think these types of products normally do, but I recall Audioquest selling sorbo feet that apparently didn't have a protective coating, as they supplied little plastic coasters for the feet to sit on. So I guess it is possible that manufacturers produce sorbo feet with and without urethane coating. Just need to know one way or another.

DaveC113 · « **Reply #37 on:** 22 Apr 2015, 07:40 pm »

The Sorbothane feet I use are NOT urethane coated as urethane is only available in harder durometers. So yes, be careful with unfinished wood shelving... it should not stain finished wood but using some sort of coaster between the feet and shelf is not a bad idea if there is any concern. If the SurgeX were heavier the higher durometer feet with urethane would be more practical but the SurgeX is not that heavy.

I have used the same feet for my preamp and my own SurgeX for quite a long time now (years) and have placed it on many different surfaces without any issues, so I doubt it'll be a problem but please do use "coasters" of some sort if you wish. Or just get a set of Herbie's iso-ball footers...

ACHiPo · « **Reply #38 on:** 23 Apr 2015, 03:46 am »

I'm a huge fan of Sorbothane from my days in a lab with lasers and vibrating vacuum pumps. It does, however, leave a residue. I've heard that a bit of wax paper or similar treatment between the Sorbothane and shelf, etc. works wonders. I haven't tried it myself, so your mileage may vary.

DaveC113 · « **Reply #39 on:** 9 May 2015, 06:17 pm »

Update:

The tour package is moving from ZLS to mdfoy as we speak.

econalan is added to the tour as well, welcome!

And thanks to everyone who has participated thus far.