Black Sand Silver Reference MKIII Power Cord

earlmarc · « **on:** 19 Feb 2006, 12:50 am »

I recently won a bid for the Black Sand Silver Reference power cord on audiogon. Paid 138.00 for 1.5M cord. Retails for $489.00. The fact that this company only manufactured power cords intrigued me; and, after researching customer feedback I decided to try them. www.blacksandcable.com
The cables arrived today. Upon unwrapping them I noticed the excellent craftmanship. These cables are well built and are semi-flexible. They are not as stiff as the Signal Magic cables I own nor as thick. I will be writing a review once my Cd player and amplifier returns from further mods.

Stay tuned.

earlmarc · « **Reply #1 on:** 21 Feb 2006, 03:28 am »

I've had some time to evaluate the Black Sand Silver Reference Power Cord. I'm in awe! Folks this is a great power cord. My Signal Cable Magic Power Cord can't compete with this cord. The Signal Cable Power Cord definately offers increased performance over standard power cords, however, the Black Sand Silver Reference is a significant upgrade like modifiying a worthy component. The most significant attribute of the Silver Reference is PRAT. I mean seriously intoxicating PRAT!!! The background is so black its totally absent. The cable flows naturally with increased clarity and offers up alot of details in tracks I've never noticed before. Its PRATTY nature is tonally correct, especially were bass is concerned. YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT IT DOES WITH BASS NOTES! Unbelievably real! The soundstage is more coherent with excellent spacial seperation. Depth of stage is more extended as well as mids and highs. Male and female voices give me goose bumps. Listening to various tracks on "KEM ALBUM II", I hear KEM taking breaths between notes as he harmonizing his Al Jarreau like romantic lyrics. I never heard those details prior to the Silver Ref. power cords. And when listening to Lizz Wright's "Dreaming Wide Awake", I was never as caputured by the seductiveness of her buttery voice. The Silver Reference MKIII Power cord gets my highest recommendation because it brings you much closer to the real thing. I can't imagine a better power cord. If they are still available on audiogon, I would run and try get them at reduced prices before its too late.

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #2 on:** 21 Feb 2006, 03:37 am »

earlmarc....

Quote

The cables arrived today...

[/list:u]

Chris[/list:u]

earlmarc · « **Reply #3 on:** 21 Feb 2006, 03:44 am »

Hi Lonewolf, I ordered three cables at the winning bid price of $138.00 for 1.5M. I tried the cables on the SAS 10A and Odyssey Khartago. Trust me on this one Lonewolf, you will want to try these power cords. They are additive.

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #4 on:** 21 Feb 2006, 03:52 am »

A few more questions....

zybar · « **Reply #5 on:** 21 Feb 2006, 04:02 am »

Quote from: lonewolfny42

A few more questions....
Besides the Signal cable, did you try any other power cords ?[/list:u]
When you inserted the cables, did you notice the better sound right away ?[/list:u]
Thanks.... [/list:u]

I would be more impressed if you have some other cords as a reference point. While I agree that the Signal Cable pc is better than a stock cord, I was less than impressed when I compared it to ther products from VH Audio, Bolder Cable, and Audience to name a few.

George

earlmarc · « **Reply #6 on:** 21 Feb 2006, 04:02 am »

Yes I have tried other power cords. I have tried Harmonic Technology Pro ASC 11, Foundation Research LC-1/LC-2, and Wasatch Cableworks PC-803 to name a few recently.

Yes, I noticed the difference immediately. The cables are burned-in before they are shipped. However, after about 48hrs the difference was more dramatic. If they get any better I'll

earlmarc · « **Reply #7 on:** 21 Feb 2006, 04:07 am »

Zybar, I have used the Bolder Nitro Cord. I am currently using a capurted cord of a Bolder Power Box. I have also used Audience cords in the past. I would say that the Black Sand Cable is a better cord in all respects to any of the power cords I tried in the past.

earlmarc · « **Reply #8 on:** 21 Feb 2006, 04:07 am »

Zybar, I have used the Bolder Nitro Cord. I am currently using a capurted cord on a Bolder Power Box. I have also used Audience cords in the past. I would say that the Black Sand Cable is a better cord in all respects to any of the power cords I tried in the past.[/quote]

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #9 on:** 21 Feb 2006, 04:08 am »

Thank you Marcus !! You got a good buy with that auction. On their site, they go for $489.00 for each 1.5M cable.

Chris[/list:u]

zybar · « **Reply #10 on:** 21 Feb 2006, 04:10 am »

Quote from: earlmarc

Zybar, I have used the Bolder Nitro Cord. I am currently using a capurted cord of a Bolder Power Box. I have also used Audience cords in the past. I would say that the Black Sand Cable is a better cord in all respects to any of the power cords I tried in the past.

Thanks for giving the additional data points.

My current reference is the VH Audio AirSine, which handily outperformed the Bolder and Audience products.

Comparing list prices it is almost double the Black Sand. At the price you paid, it sounds like you snagged a good deal - congrats!!

George

Jon L · « **Reply #11 on:** 21 Feb 2006, 04:32 am »

It's a good sign when power cords use anything Other than the ubiquitous Marinco Plugs; Furutech's in this case.

I can't seem to quite picture their construction from their description, though. They talk about Silver/copper "annealing" and silver/copper twisted core, etc. Do they feel like solid-core cables (stiff) or stranded cables?

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #12 on:** 21 Feb 2006, 04:41 am »

Jon L...I picked this up from their auction ad....

Quote

One final note….We get a lot of people asking us how flexible our cords are. All we can say is that they are a little stiffer then a stock cord that would come with a high current amp. To a certain degree, they have to be thick! We can’t possibly make a decent 12awg cord and achieve the level of shielding and current flow we have and then claim it’s incredibly flexible. Something would be wrong with that equation. Think about it. Does true heavy gauge, Teflon wrapped, well shielded wire and flexibility go together?

We don’t think so either!

[/list:u]

earlmarc · « **Reply #13 on:** 22 Feb 2006, 02:17 am »

John Cook is the designer behind Black Sand Cables and I invited him to join in on our discussions about his power cord. Here is what he said:

"We will watch the thread and if something comes up we need to answer, we will be there.

We normally try to stay out of threads as some people view it as trying to promote ourselves....and that is not what we are about. For the most part we are a word of mouth company.

It's funny however that in every one of these threads I've followed price comes up and we tend to be cheaper than alot of others. As you well know, I will put ANY of our cords up against anything out there regardless of price and feel real good about the end result. We have gone head to head with Shyunata, VH, Harmonic Technology, and a ton of others and have faired well each and every time. People don't always come away saying ours is the best, but we usually equal the high-priced stuff. When we are viewed as being as good as a $1500 power cord, we think we are on the right path. We could actually double the price of most of our cords overnight but again, that's not what we are about.

Great cord, fair price, and we actually offer customer service!

Cheers,

John"

gme109 · « **Reply #14 on:** 22 Feb 2006, 03:38 pm »

Quote from: earlmarc

The fact that this company only manufactured power cords intrigued me.

Stay tuned.

Saw this on they're feedback section, looks like they are selling ic's.

"I must admit that I was skeptical at replacing my $11,000 Transparent Reference XLR with one of your XLR's for considerably less money. I'm glad I did. I heard no audible difference between your XLR and the Transparent cable. If it was there, I would have heard it through my JM Lab speakers. Simply incredible if you ask me!"

BlackSandCable · « **Reply #15 on:** 27 Feb 2006, 06:11 am »

Quote

Saw this on they're feedback section, looks like they are selling ic's.!"

Evening all.

A long time ago we sold a full compliment of IC's, speaker cables, etc…………….basically we sold the full compliment of cables. However we always sold more power cords then anything else and as the market was becoming more and more convoluted with cable suppliers we decided to get out of the game and focus on what we considered to be our main strength………Power Cords!

That is now all we do. We still get requests on a daily basis for IC’s, speaker cables and almost everything else but we have stayed true to power cords and have no plans on going back to anything else.

Thanks

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #16 on:** 12 Mar 2006, 07:04 pm »

Quote from: zybar

Quote from: earlmarc
Zybar, I have used the Bolder Nitro Cord. I am currently using a capurted cord of a Bolder Power Box. I have also used Audience cords in the past. I would say that the Black Sand Cable is a better cord in all respects to any of the power cords I tried in the past.

Thanks for giving the additional data points.

My current reference is the VH Audio AirSine, which handily outperformed the Bolder and Audience products.

Comparing list prices it is almost double the Black Sand. At the price you paid, it sounds like you snagged a good deal - congrats!!

George

earlmarc did "snag" a good deal !!!

Works

real good with the Butler amp....

[/list:u]

Chris[/list:u]

Doublej · « **Reply #17 on:** 12 Mar 2006, 07:56 pm »

Are different models in their line designed for use with different components?

Anyone know how much duty and shipping to the US is ?

earlmarc · « **Reply #18 on:** 12 Mar 2006, 08:19 pm »

Doublej wrote:

Are different models in their line designed for use with different components?

Anyone know how much duty and shipping to the US is ?

I think any of their power-cords can be used for any source, however, the only one I'm aware of that has been specifically designed for source components and tube amplifiers is the "White Light v1 Power Cord". I have three Silver Ref. (amplifiers and power conditioner) and two White Light v1 (SAS 10A and APL HiFi SACD 1000).

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #19 on:** 13 Mar 2006, 01:47 am »

Quote from: earlmarc

I have three Silver Ref. (amplifiers and power conditioner) and two White Light v1 (SAS 10A and APL HiFi SACD 1000).

(maybe earlmarc won't miss this one...)