Volex PC's

tianguis · « **on:** 1 Apr 2005, 01:04 am »

Occam:
After hearing you wax eloquent about these at the NY Audio Rave at John's I finally took the plunge and ordered five of the 14/3's from Carlton-Bates ($5.08 each). UPS just delivered them and I stuck one on my modded Panny XR50 with Furutech IEC receptacle. Holy cow!
The whole presentation has altered: more air, more black, more splash, more bass, more space. I had to change my room EQ. What did it replace? A VansEvers double Pandora, which wound up in that position after trying about six DIY and commercial products, including a VH cryoed Flavor 2. Now, I've got to change out the rest of the PC's. Thanks.

Regards,
Larry Welsh

ohenry · « **Reply #1 on:** 1 Apr 2005, 01:24 am »

I had the same revelation, but I didn't have the nice aftermarket cords for comparison. It really is hard to believe the things are that cheap AND good.

tianguis · « **Reply #2 on:** 1 Apr 2005, 01:34 am »

Occam:
After posting, I realized I should have added some additional detail.
I run a Transcendent Balanced Power Supply, to which I've added large Bybees on both output legs. I ditched the power strip it came with and replaced it with a Wiremold strip. The outlet on the BPS was replaced with a Hubbell 20A hospital-grade single receptacle and Hubbell 8215C on the Wiremold cable. My dedicated line uses a Hubbell cryoed 20A 8300 duplex. All of those changes were noticeable improvements, which got me thinking about the errors of my ways.
I just changed the PC on the CD Pro2M I recently built, replacing a VH with the Volex. Equally impressive. Detail I'd never heard and bass to waste. For the price, more bang-for-the-buck than I've experienced.
The ultimate PC? Maybe not, but I can't afford better, as it beats (where I've heard it so far) PC's costing umpteen times what I paid.

Regards,
Larry Welsh

tianguis · « **Reply #3 on:** 1 Apr 2005, 01:37 am »

ohenry:
Cheap? You have no idea what I've spent to arrive where I'm cheap! I'm even using magnet wire (unwound from an inductor) for speaker cables on my Lowther ML TL's, replacing kilobuck commercial offerings.

Regards,
Larry Welsh

JoshK · « **Reply #4 on:** 1 Apr 2005, 01:39 am »

I have went a few rounds with aftermarket cords up to about $200/cord. To me there might be better, I may be able to make better, but my current thesis is if it is so much better with a more expensive cord, and not just different, then the Volex is telling you that something else is wrong in your system and you are using an expensive bandaid to cover it up.

Occam · « **Reply #5 on:** 1 Apr 2005, 01:51 am »

Larry - Well dang! Dress me up and call me Sally!
While I think the Volex is the ultimate bang for the buck cord, I do think its gestahlt with your modded Panny is in the realm of fortuitous happenstance. But it goes to show that upgrades are quite system specific and they don't have to cost silly money.
Next Rave, remind me to bring an 'Asylum' cord for you to try. Its basically a Volex cord but with the molded connectors replaced with a P&S 5266 plug and a Schurter IEC. Those mods qintuple the cost, and add labor, but I'd be interested in your comparison.

Ohenry - Now, if you choose to evaluate more spendy or diy cords, you'll have a baseline that helps tell you what your incremental cost gets you. I'm not saying that more costly/sophisticated cords aren't worth it, just that 'worth' depends on your specific personal metrics.

Larry - I just read your addendum and I'm sorta dumbfounded. But your comments about the cummulative surfeit of bass seems reasonable. Though you can equalize some of this increase, you might ultimately find it a bit 'plummy'. I personally like a warm bass and the Volex consistently shows this characteristic from about 70-110hz. Its specifically the terminations, but whaddaya expect for $5? I do wonder if the spaced shield geometry works particularly well with balanced AC?

Carlman · « **Reply #6 on:** 1 Apr 2005, 02:28 am »

I've been using Volex cables a long time... I've yet to hear anything in the 150 or less range sound better. I always feel I'm the only one that doesn't hear 'big' differences in pc's.

I've made some Belden 83802 cables which made the midrange more pronounced compared to the stock PC... and the Volex sounds different but not better or worse...

Maybe the only differences in PC's is where there's a frequency bump... and what determines whether you like that cable is whether you like that frequency bumped?

tianguis · « **Reply #7 on:** 1 Apr 2005, 02:34 am »

Occam:
Good points, all. Happy happenstance has a lot to do with this sport. When things sound better, I keep them, add to the improvement, etc., etc. Yes, it's about synergy.
I've got five P&S 5266 plugs in transit and some Schurter IEC's in my "junk" box. I'm almost afraid to try and improve on what I'm hearing, but my lack of sense will prevail.
Yes, the bass I'm hearing is a bit "plummy", but at least it's there in spades. I just plugged one of these into my Hagerman Cornet phono pre and I'm hearing things I've never experienced with vinyl in my system (Teres/Redpoint/Galibier hybrid, Tri-Planar, Shelter 501/II, Discovery IC) and not just more bass. I'll give Bob Crump's recipe a try. Time to drag out my 300B boat anchor?

Regards,
Larry Welsh

Jay S · « **Reply #8 on:** 1 Apr 2005, 02:46 am »

I'd be happy to try the Volex cords in my tv room. System will be a JVC digital receiver fed by a Panny dvd recorder (with maybe a Scott Nixon dac in between) so it won't be the ultimate in hi-res. So, I am not inclined to spend $300 on 2 power cords at the onset.

I may already have a couple of Volex cords... need to check. Great find!

Occam · « **Reply #9 on:** 1 Apr 2005, 03:00 am »

Larry,

I'll pose an interesting 'thought experiment'. -
Would a Volex cord wired dircetly into your modded Panny sound 'better' than the same cord but with whatever IEC plug (moulded/Schurter/Ftech...) and mated to the Futurtech chassis inlet. Intellectually, I'd prefer to think that I'd immediately recognize that lifting of veils with the fewer intermediating connections, but I'm not so sure. Sadly, this DIYer rarely attempts to maintain that baseline component for comparison.

tianguis · « **Reply #10 on:** 1 Apr 2005, 03:12 am »

Occam:
My feeling is that the Volex wired directly to the PS board would result in a noticeable improvement. I think most of us are stuck at the point of manufacturers' ideas of what's saleable and not what sounds best, design-wise. Time to think outside the black box? After modding the chassis, buying the Furutech, installing the IEC, wiring to the PS, etc., I'd feel a bit stupid if that was all unnecessary. But, you're probably right. However, all my messing about with PC's (10 DIY, 4 commercial, before the Volex) yielded zip, so what have I got to lose?

Regards,
Larry Welsh

randytsuch · « **Reply #11 on:** 1 Apr 2005, 05:42 am »

What was the part number of the volex PC?

I was looking at the carlton website, but did not find a PC that was the exact price, not sure if the other volex's sound the same.

Randy

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #12 on:** 1 Apr 2005, 06:24 am »

Quote from: randytsuch

What was the part number of the volex PC?

I was looking at the carlton website, but did not find a PC that was the exact price, not sure if the other volex's sound the same.

Randy

This was posted as a sticky by Sally....errr, I mean Occam

(top thread in Lab Circle)... http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=15325

Al Garay · « **Reply #13 on:** 1 Apr 2005, 08:03 am »

Remember to check the savings for volume discount. Somehow it ends up being cheaper to buy 8 or 10 instead of 4. It's simple math.

Al

tianguis · « **Reply #14 on:** 1 Apr 2005, 01:08 pm »

Randy:
The 2 meter is Volex 17604. The price drops to $5.08 if you buy two. I bought five since they have a $25 minimum. Newark also carries them, but their prices aren't as good.

Regards,
Larry Welsh

ohenry · « **Reply #15 on:** 1 Apr 2005, 02:41 pm »

Quote from: tianguis

ohenry:
Cheap? You have no idea what I've spent to arrive where I'm cheap! I'm even using magnet wire (unwound from an inductor) for speaker cables on my Lowther ML TL's, replacing kilobuck commercial offerings.

Oh well, that's what the trading post is for, right?

You shouldn't feel too badly about cost cutting, that's more money to waste in other ways!

I, too, have single driver speakers and being relatively new to the high-efficiency world, I'm often surprised at the magnitude of change that results from what I once thought were very minor tweaks.

randytsuch · « **Reply #16 on:** 1 Apr 2005, 02:44 pm »

Thanks guys.

Randy

Occam · « **Reply #17 on:** 1 Apr 2005, 04:09 pm »

Larry,

A few questions and comments specific to your adding a grounded cord to a previosly ungrounded? component. I believe the Panasonic had a 2 prong cord originally. (Otherwise, like Emily LaTella, nevermind....)

How has the futuretech IEC inlet been implemented?
Is the inlets mains ground tied to the chassis, the powersupply ground, and/or the signal ground? Or is it simply left floating, unconnected at the component side, with the shielding on the Volex acting as a Faraday Cage around the cord?
My limited experience is that adding a mains earth connection to a heretofore ungrounded component, is an endeavor inspired by Satan. It always causes hum, for me. The modder who can easily do this, keep the noise down and not add hum, has my admiration. Thats why folks (sometimes very foolishly) float their grounds with cheater plugs, to eliminate ground loop hum.
BUT, you've addressed this(?) with your fancy pants, properly implemented balanced AC for your whole system . Shazaaam.

tianguis · « **Reply #18 on:** 1 Apr 2005, 05:11 pm »

Occam:
The ground prong of the Furutech IEC isn't connected to the chassis. The cord I was previously using had the shield connected at the plug end only.

Larry

tianguis · « **Reply #19 on:** 1 Apr 2005, 07:25 pm »

Occam, all:
I just received 6 P&S 5266XHG (Hospital Grade) plugs. Stuck one on a new Volex, drain wire to ground. It resulted in a huge gain in dynamics, top detail and tighter bass. While I was listening, I put one on the Volex I've been running for about 24 hours. As above, but much smoother sounding. Gotta get some more Schurter IEC's.

Larry