[Toka]

What "things" should they hear?


Anyway, if people are interested in a pre-made Belden power cable, Zebra offers one at a good price:

http://zebracables.com/pwr.html

[Gordy]

Where did you get the 6 pack?  Are they Volex or Belden 19364?

Hi Jon,

I purchased the 6' Volex's from C-B direct about 2 yrs. ago using the link Paul provided back then... http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=15325.0    The price went up soon after, though the 6 packs might still available at one of these links 

[reflex]

What "things" should they hear?


Anyway, if people are interested in a pre-made Belden power cable, Zebra offers one at a good price:

http://zebracables.com/pwr.html

Detail, dynamics, tonality, texture, image depth, width and height, body in the midrange and higher frequencies and not just the low end, tautness of low frequencies, pace...you want more?

[dorokusai]

I upgrade all my power cords because it's pretty cheap in the end. I haven't actually heard anything but low end response but I didn't do that in a lab. Hey, if a giant tube of copper delivers the power faster, and has a side effect benefit, I'm all for it  

When that data comes out, I'll say I was on the cutting edge years ago.

Mark

[AphileEarlyAdopter]

Have any of you tried the Black Sand Violet  - this is the power cord that all power cord non-believers should listen to. It is half-the price of the Silver reference, but very characteristic of the Black Sand sound , I think - detailed and dynamic, as mentioned in this shootout. I really dont know how they pull this feat off. If somebody cannot hear any difference with this cord, they should quit this hobby

[reflex]

Have any of you tried the Black Sand Violet  - this is the power cord that all power cord non-believers should listen to. It is half-the price of the Silver reference, but very characteristic of the Black Sand sound , I think - detailed and dynamic, as mentioned in this shootout. I really dont know how they pull this feat off. If somebody cannot hear any difference with this cord, they should quit this hobby

I got a Violet ZII just over a week ago (new version with some internal changes and new connectors) and have to save it's very, very good.  Still not totally broken in, but great nontheless.  I first put it on my CDP to allow for continuous use and the other night moved it to my integrated and felt it was even better there.  I've got a Z1 coming and will do a comparison when it gets here.

[BobC]

Please excuse my ignorance.

People are simply saying "volex".  Which number?  Are you refering to the 17604 or 17605 from the other thread?

Can someone please articulate the differences between Volex 17604 / 17605 and Belden 19364 / 83802?  Which is "best" for a simple DIY recipe?

I see that PartsExpress.com has the Benden 83802.  They market it as "audiophile".

Thanks!

[BobC]

Looks like the only difference between the Volex 17604 and 17605 is length.  '04 is a 7'-6" cable and the '05 is 9'-10".

[rlmacklin]

I e-mailed John Cook of Black Sand Cable yesterday to alert him to this

"power cord shootout" thread on Cable section of AudioCircle

 http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=50799.0

 and that in particular " BobM " liked the BS Silver Ref MkV the very best on various power amps and then tried it on some sources:

           " BS Silver Ref MkV was the polar opposite on sources than it was on the amps.  
             It has a nice rounded tone, but a bit polite and dark.  Not at all what I would have expected.
             Go figure!"

 ***************************************************************************

I remember running Black Sand Silver Ref MkV's on all components in my 2-channel system at one point (source, preamp and power amps) and I reported the sound as "too polite" and went back to standard Violet on the source and saw the "battleground" as which to use on the preamp (Modwright tubed linestage)....

Several months ago I sent two Violets back to John for re-termination with Oyaide P-004/C-004 and he chose to make me new Violets instead saying the conductivity would be better that way.
So my source (Denon 3930CI) and the Modwright tubed linestage have been powered by the Oyaide P-004/C-004 Violets for several months now and those have become my "reference standard."

Grover Huffman e-mailed me he wanted to send me his new Grover "SC" power cord, which incorporates "heavy carbon-nickel shielding."    He first used carbon-nickel shielding in his phono cables and it is now used in his Grover "SC" interconnects.
I received the Grover "SC" power cord which appeared to have the same Marinco/Wattgate plug/IEC as used on the standard BSC Violet.
I did not want to go back to standard Violets to compare to that Grover power cord,
so I ordered a set of Oyaide P-004/C-004 from Chris VenHaus of VH Audio and had them shipped to Grover Huffman.  I told Grover to go ahead and do some listening tests on the Oyaide Grover he made for me versus his standard Marinco/Wattgate model.

Grover e-mailed that the Oyaide Grover blew his mind and e-mailed later for me to "Send back the power cord with those horrible connectors and I'll switch it over."

I e-mailed to Grover:
"I am glad you could hear your power cord with the Oyaide terminations for yourself and before I did, so that whatever I might say about it didn't influence your reaction/response. Now I am fairly sure I want two of the 2-meter/6-foot Oyaide Grovers to test against the two Oyaide Violets that have been on my Denon 3930CI universal player and Modwright tubed linestage. "

I ordered a second set of -004s from Chris which are on the way to Grover, as is the Grover SC power cord with the Marinco/Wattgate plug/IEC.

John Cook of Black Sand Cable e-mailed me yesterday he has also become a fan of the VZ1/004 combo and that that combo is currently powering his own system.  I queried whether that included his power amps and he confirmed yes.  He did mention the Violet Z2 or ZII in development which will uses the Oyaide -004s.

So at some point in future I will have two Oyaide -004 terminated Grover power cords with the carbon-nickel shielding to compare to my two Oyaide -004 Violet power cords.

The standard Violet sounds excellent ...  aa

until one hears a Violet (or Grover "SC") with Oyaide P-004/C-004    

[BobM]

There may be more coming folks. I've been speaking with Steve Hallick of MAC (My Audio Cables), who I just learned lives and works about a mile away from me. Steve is going to loan me one or two of his most popular, not most expensive, cables to try out. Most of his stuff seems to be very affordable and he says he's up to his neck in orders (another good sign for his products). Here's his website:

www.myaudiocables.com

I will be bringing it to the NY Audio Rave this Saturday also (not that we plan a big cable swap out for this meeting - God forbid). 

Enjoy,
Bob

PS - I hope we can ge this thread back on track and avoid the trolling into subjective vs objective debate, which inevitably chases everyone away and never resolves itself. 

[BobC]

Thank you Bob.  I look forward to your posts.

[Big Red Machine]

Hey Bob, how about a DIY cable?  I made 4 for my rig - 2 are 10 ga and 2 are 8 ga for amps.  Only if you think interesting to compare.  No benefit to me other than your feedback is sought (I'm not going into the custom cable business).

[lonewolfny42]

BobM.....

If you need the power cords for more testing....no problem.....hold on to them.

                 Thanks.........

                                       Chris

Robin...

Lonewolf, of course, loaned out his Black Sands cords that I thought were so good with my Butlers that I almost made a move, til i tried out Kubala-Sosna Emotion poweer cords that gave me what i was looking for with my 2 Butler amps in my system, Chris felt differently tho when I let him try them out, go figure hea.

I enjoyed more detail and bass from the Black Sands....Robin thought it was a little too much...correct.
I do want a more forward sounding system...I want the snap....not looking for a laid back sound. Thanks again Robin for the loan....

[BobM]

BobM.....

If you need the power cords for more testing....no problem.....hold on to them.

                 Thanks.........

                                       Chris

Thanks Chris. I may hold on to one or two for comparison purposes, but I will return the rest (too many wires make me crazy ... aaaahhhhhhhh  )

Bob

John - Thanks for bringing this topic back on track - but are you going to move the rest of the disruptive posts also?

[Nick77]

I hope this isn't to off topic but I have a question about the Volex cords. I run these cords in my system with their stock plugs. The question is do these cables only become comparable to more expensive models by changing the plugs? Is the upgrade to better plugs a discernible difference and worthy of the expense?

[BobM]

I used them for quite some time with the stock IEC, only replacing the power plug end. There's lots of choices there, but I generally like the build quality of the Marinco plugs (available at www.partsconnexion.com and elsewhere). The AC plug ends are not overly expensive either and made a nice improvement over the stock power plugs.

I have upgraded the IEC ends over the years to several different ones. I like the Marinco IEC's best these days, but they have gotten expensive at about $17 each (some people may laugh at this, since some other IEC's sell for $80-90 or more). As you know, everything makes a difference. For the cost of decent plugs and the small amount of effort to upgrade these cords over buying multi-hundred dollar cords I think it's a no-brainer.

Enjoy,
Bob

[BobM]

I've updated the 1st page to include my impressions of a latecomer to the party ... My Audio Cables - MAC HC Sound Pipe. Here's the details on the amp and source components:

On the Amp:
MAC HC Sound Pipe is another very affordable and overachieving cable that I found to be very transparent to the source. It  has all of the attributes of the Volex Cord but was a little lighter sounding than the Tsunami Plus. It is very flexible, and, did I already say this is one great bargain for its price?

On the source components:
MAC HC Sound Pipe was even better on source components and would be my choice here but for the Volex Cord. It only lacked a little bloom and soundstage compared to the Volex cord. Overall a  very high achiever for the price, and a true bargain against the competition.

Thanks for letting me borrow these for a listen Steve.

Enjoy,
Bob

[Double Ugly]

Black Sand Silver Reference MK V was the polar opposite on sources than it was on the amps. It has a nice rounded tone, but a bit polite and dark. Not at all what I would have expected. Go figure!

Though Bob did a great job with the comparisons, I think it's worth a reminder that all his findings are subjective, and are based on using the cables in his system.

Case in point, attaching a Black Sand Silver Reference Mk.V to my source was anything *BUT* polite or dark.  In my system, I realized the same improvements as when they were connected to my amps.  Goodness², if you will.

FWIW, am in no way associated with Black Sand Cable, and I no longer own the Silver Reference Mk. Vs which performed so well for so long.  I've moved on to John's exceptional Statement One cables, and I'm using them with my amp and my source.

[BobM]

An excellent case in point. These findings are in my system with the amps and source components I had on hand. It is only a subjective impression ... my impression. As we all know, system synergy is the most important thing. I think the overall impression of the cables I looked at throws some light on their character to help others balance out their systems sound.

But just like tubes, each cable will sound different in each system with different components. I can definitely say that all of these made a definite improvement over a stock power cord though. I don't think too many (subjectivists) would argue with that (although the objectivists might).

Enjoy,
Bob

[sac8d4]

BobM,
i have found a pretty good link for some high quality IECs for about the same price as the marinco (but better materials). that is if you like to tinker with different reasonably priced IECs

http://www.vt4c.com/shop/program/main.php?cat_id=1015&group_id=3&hit_cat=