NEW ZenWave PSR-14 UPOCC Silver Ribbon Power Cable

DaveC113 · « **Reply #40 on:** 19 Jul 2019, 06:35 am »

Good to hear!

I notice an increase in clarity by damping the locking barrel of the WBT plugs too. If you look at Furutech's lineup they have some connectors that are exactly the same with the exception of a brass vs stainless steel and carbon fiber body... the electrical contacts, or "guts" of the plug are the same. Examples are the FP-108 vs CF-102 RCA plugs and the FP vs CF series XLR plugs, then the FI-28 vs FI-50 AC plugs. In all cases the stainless/carbon version of the connector sounds clearer and more refined. While I can't machine a stainless steel locking barrel yet, adding the carbon fiber works well and looks cool. The standard WBT 0102 Ag is arguably the best RCA plug in the world, the carbon fiber damper makes it just a little better.

A_shah · « **Reply #41 on:** 21 Jul 2019, 05:30 am »

WOW !
just received the PS14 and connected it to my Tube pre-amp. For me the best time to listen is between 11 -am and 6 pm as my electricity is pretty clean ( sol;ar)my noises harvesters don't blink at all .

I alway believe in the first impression before I get confused with too many listening sessions . Any way I am very impressed with the Bass ! clean and very tight definitely lower noise floor ! the next impression I get is the mid's & the high's very detailed and sonically very pleasing , in most cases it is the small improvements that matter but with this PS-14 PC the improvements are very clear , the cable seems to be fast ? which is fine with me or maybe it is just my subjective impression
more to come later in a few days.

Update:
I had to send back the power cable to Dave as the ground pin was broken when I received it ,( although I used it with the ground broken ) Dave sent a another cable , which I believe is 2 meters long , The above impression still stands , the best bang for the buck I got was with my pre-amp and now followed by using it with my QuickSilver ( tube) HP amp which is basically made for Studio record monitoring . found more Bass , clean bass heard some thing on Quboz streaming I may have not picked up before but this time it was" in face "type listening very detailed crisp no distortion, I like the new Furutech NCF F1-50 AC connectors ( expensive !)I think they add value to this wire as well as listening experience

Asghar

DaveC113 · « **Reply #42 on:** 24 Jul 2019, 02:29 pm »

Thanks very much Asghar!

Yes, FI-50 NCF are pricey but a big part of a power cable, the NCF plugs are so much better vs anything else I think this cable needs them. Overall price on the PS14 is amazingly low compared to Siltech Triple Crown though! The same manufacturer makes the UPOCC silver wire and the plugs are exactly the same.

I also agree bass is a standout with this cable, as well as the new silver ribbon speaker cable. Bass and overall dynamics are awesome!

Cable will be going to pursuitofnow shortly.

pursuitofnow · « **Reply #43 on:** 25 Jul 2019, 02:13 pm »

I'm looking forward to trying out this power cable!

Did you say new silver ribbon speaker cables? Anymore info on these? How do they compare to your other offerings?

DaveC113 · « **Reply #44 on:** 26 Jul 2019, 12:26 am »

Quote from: pursuitofnow on 25 Jul 2019, 02:13 pm

I'm looking forward to trying out this power cable!

Did you say new silver ribbon speaker cables? Anymore info on these? How do they compare to your other offerings?

I look forward to see what you think!

And yes, the ribbon works really well as a speaker cable too. It's close to the same cable but the runs of ribbon are arranged a little differently to optimize the balance of capacitance and inductance. You can certainly hear some similarities in character between the power and speaker cable... fast, dynamic, great bass performance. In this area it's better than any other cable I've ever tested, including my own. Tone is slightly different, my preference varies from track to track. The ribbon is slightly more resolving, not a huge difference but it's a bit clearer. It's also just a bit less forgiving too, you can hear flaws that the silver/gold covers a little more. The overall "fast", unrestrained sound, dynamics and bass performance of the ribbon are better vs the silver/gold cable on every track... so with the exception of some acoustic/vocal tracks without much bass or demanding dynamics where I might enjoy the tone of the gold more, I prefer the ribbon and it's also much less expensive for the same gauge.

My silver/gold speaker cable is really labor intensive and expensive to make by hand out of small gauge round wire. The ribbon is less expensive to make in terms of both material and labor. The only downside is stripping the insulation off the ends of the ribbon is difficult, I'll have to make a custom tool for it eventually. ZenWave is all about offering top-end cables for at least semi-sane prices, and the ribbon power and speaker cables definitely fit in with that... The 14g ribbon SC will start under $2k, for those with amps next to speakers.

So what it's looking like going forward, my silver/gold speaker cables will only be made in 20g version for high efficiency single drivers and compression drivers. It works amazingly well for this application and in 20g isn't overly expensive. The ribbon will be offered in 14 and 11 gauge, It looks a lot like the power cable but is unshielded. It is covered with pure, unbleached cotton batting covered in teflon tape, then a layer of cotton techflex, then an outer jacket of regular techflex, the same used for the power cable. With the cotton under the outer jacket it's not as shiny as the power cable.

pursuitofnow · « **Reply #45 on:** 26 Jul 2019, 02:54 am »

Thanks so much for the information, Dave. Sounds like a great value. I'm between the SL, SMSG, and now these for my next upgrade. I have the SL (17g) and SMSG (20g) internally wired in my Omega Super 3 HO XRS.

Any chance you'll have some 8' silver speaker cables to try out?

dbeau · « **Reply #46 on:** 26 Jul 2019, 05:22 pm »

DAVE,
When will your website be updated to include/inform about these ribbons?

DaveC113 · « **Reply #47 on:** 26 Jul 2019, 05:36 pm »

Quote from: dbeau on 26 Jul 2019, 05:22 pm

DAVE,
When will your website be updated to include/inform about these ribbons?

I've given up on my current website... Some things never worked properly and last time I tried doing some updates it wouldn't allow me to modify a page, it erased the entire thing, probably because versions of plugins are out of date. I tried to update everything, but I've given up on it and hired someone else to make a website that works properly as far as ordering, handles international orders, displays pics properly, SEO, analytics, etc... none of that stuff works on my current site right now and the guy that built it did nothing last time I paid him... he's too busy with his own site and life to do what he agreed to do, and was paid to do.

I've started on the new site already, I've compiled a list of products and prices, I've taken a bunch of new pics, and hope to have it done in a couple months. Until then, I'll post info here and I have another subforum on another forum about to go live.

My current website is out of date on a lot of things, but money and effort are best put into a fresh start at this point.

pursuitofnow · « **Reply #48 on:** 28 Jul 2019, 10:50 pm »

First Impression with the PS14:

Wow this cable is pretty amazing! I've always been open to power cables making a difference and have a system that has allowed me to hear differences between stock pc's and good copper/teflon pc's but never experienced silver. This is like a component upgrade. I'm getting much better clarity and especially in the lower regions. Bass is much tighter and deeper. Overall the music is much more animated. Instruments coming out into the room even more.

I plan to try the PS14 in other components but the first place I started was with a Decware ZROCK 2 with 25th anniversary mods. The ZR2 is the stage right before my amps with the analog and digital sources feeding it. I was very surprised how a silver pc affected this line stage (eq).

After a few more days I plan to try it in the phono stage (Decware ZP3). I can already see wanting three of these cables, ZR2, ZP3, and the ZTPRE I have on order. Maybe even the 11ga for the monoblocks. Whew I’m definitely getting carried away… that’s like $7k in power cables. Based on what I’m hearing though, I know that will be the journey.

jmolsberg · « **Reply #49 on:** 29 Jul 2019, 02:05 am »

^ amazing. Can't wait for you to report back once you try it on the two pre's

DaveC113 · « **Reply #50 on:** 29 Jul 2019, 11:26 pm »

Thanks very much for your review, pursuitofnow!

I'm very happy the cable works as planned... or to be totally honest better than expected!

pursuitofnow · « **Reply #51 on:** 3 Aug 2019, 06:52 pm »

I finally convinced myself last night to pull the cable from the ZROCK2 and try it in the ZP3 phonostage. It was a hard thing to do because it sounds so good in that stage and has both digital and analog paths going through it.

This cable (and maybe other silver PCs, I don't know haven't tried) just sounds amazing and adds level of clarity, quietness, and detail that has to be experienced. I truly encourage anyone skeptical of power cables making a difference to try this cable. What do you have to lose? Well, ok maybe a few thousand dollars. Because I'm willing to bet after hearing it, you like me can't imagine not having at least one of these cables in the system. I get it, it is a lot of money, but this cable has me figuring out ways to gather the dough.

With the PS14 in the ZP3 phonostage, I heard extended low and top end, more clarity, tighter bass, wider and deeper sound stage. Pretty much all the things that I heard in the ZROCK2 but with more presence. As if I moved closer to the stage or musicians.

I'm really impressed and again would recommend anyone skeptical to just try it

DaveC113 · « **Reply #52 on:** 13 Aug 2019, 12:45 am »

Thanks very much for your review, pursuitofnow!

I just got a note back from Jay at Audiobacon, his views are similar to most here and he's been working on a big power cable review, which will include the PSR-14.

Oh yeah, the name of the silver ribbon power cable is now PSR-14 with a PSR-11 11 gauge cable to come. The speaker cables will be SSR-14 and SSR-11, and interconnect will be DSR.

And, the demo is on it's way to Ernie, then Burt is up next. Please let me know if anyone else would like to demo the cable!

Ern Dog · « **Reply #53 on:** 14 Aug 2019, 01:06 am »

Haha Ernie and Burt are next!

DaveC113 · « **Reply #54 on:** 18 Aug 2019, 06:59 pm »

Quote from: Ern Dog on 14 Aug 2019, 01:06 am

Haha Ernie and Burt are next!

Now if we can just get the cookie monster to drop by...

The Audiobacon review is out and I'm happy to say the ZenWave PSR-14 won their Best In Class award!

https://audiobacon.net/2019/08/17/27-audiophile-power-cables-reviewed/21/

Ern Dog · « **Reply #55 on:** 28 Aug 2019, 04:35 am »

I’ve had the demo power cable for a little over a week and wanted to share a few thoughts about it as I shipped it out today to Burt. I currently use a full loom of Sablon audio gran corona power cables and they are fabulous, but the Zenwave pc was better in every way. I tried it on my Border Patrol SE dac, Don Sachs preamp, and then on my Uberbuss power conditioner. I liked it on the power conditioner best then the dac second best. I found that it lowered the noise floor, more extension in highs and lows, very resolving and holographic. Ultimately it made the music sound more realistic and more enjoyable to listen to. Music sounded spooky real and live!

Kudos to you Dave on this design. Thank you for setting up this demo. It has sparked my interest in further exploring Zenwave products. I see some D5 IC’s in my future, speaker cables, and this PC. The whole friggen enchilada! Not all at once but slowly over time.

jmolsberg · « **Reply #56 on:** 28 Aug 2019, 07:20 pm »

^ Another fine review for the Zenwave PSR-14 UPOCC. Enjoy your time with it Burt.
Well done Dave!

Ern Dog · « **Reply #57 on:** 29 Aug 2019, 05:08 am »

Quote from: DaveC113 on 13 Aug 2019, 12:45 am

Thanks very much for your review, pursuitofnow!

I just got a note back from Jay at Audiobacon, his views are similar to most here and he's been working on a big power cable review, which will include the PSR-14.

Oh yeah, the name of the silver ribbon power cable is now PSR-14 with a PSR-11 11 gauge cable to come. The speaker cables will be SSR-14 and SSR-11, and interconnect will be DSR.

And, the demo is on it's way to Ernie, then Burt is up next. Please let me know if anyone else would like to demo the cable!

Dave- How will the new DSR interconnects compare with D4 and D5’s? Any chance you will be offering a demo for Them?

DaveC113 · « **Reply #58 on:** 29 Aug 2019, 07:26 pm »

Quote from: Ern Dog on 29 Aug 2019, 05:08 am

Dave- How will the new DSR interconnects compare with D4 and D5’s? Any chance you will be offering a demo for Them?

Interestingly enough, the D4 and DSR arrive at nearly the same place via different routes, the D4 with gold and the DSR with the ribbon wire shape as well as heavy gauge. DSR is a 17g UPOCC silver interconnect cable! This is the same gauge of UPOCC silver used by Siltech and Wireworld in their top end IC cables, and made by the same company. My cables have better connectors though, the WBT 0102 Ag with carbon fiber dampers added. Certainly, part of the appeal of offering DSR is to offer folks who are considering those brands a MUCH less expensive, yet superior option.

Both D4 and DSR probably wouldn't be able to be identified as silver cables by sound, they are simply clear and neutral. However, the gold in the D4 creates a slightly different tone, and it works really well for making vocals and strings sound more fleshed out and full. This is a subtle difference though, unless you compare the DSR to the D5, then the effect the gold has on the sound is far more obvious as the D5 is a slightly warm sounding cable with much more gold vs the D4. The D4 uses gold to achieve a more neutral tone, without gold the D4 would sound a little thin tonally. So I'd suggest the D4 for folks who want a slight touch of warmth/enhancement and the DSR for those who want no embellishment, with the caveat some would consider DSR slightly dry. If you already have a warm system or tubes then the DSR is a nice option.

I will announce the new DSR IC and SSR-14/11 SC and have demos available soon.

Delta77 · « **Reply #59 on:** 30 Aug 2019, 01:05 am »

Okay guys she’s made it to my system, Woohoo..!!
It’s the perfect length for my preamp, so that’s where she is going to start her journey through my system..
First thoughts:
More focus, between the speakers..
Nice holographic presentation..
More palatable, (less harshness)..
More extension beyond the outside the speakers..