Awwww, c'mon... a power cord? YES.

D

dstrimbu

New member
OK, I'm sitting here "listening" to my just completed power cord, attached to the Crack, through the HD-600s.

I would have never believed this if I hadn't heard it myself.  It's more than a "tone control", Doc.  This power cord has made a marked difference in the Crack's soundstage - it's more forward.  It's a bit more open, it's brighter - but in a really good way. And if it's possible, the damned thing is quieter.  More solid. Wow!

I would have never dreamed... but I'm glad that I bought two kits.  :-)  The second one will go on my Musical Fidelity M1 DAC.

Bravo!  To whomever at Bottlehead mis-ordered that wire - I owe you a beer!

Thanks!

-don
 
Thanks so much for the kind words, it's great to find that others are hearing the same things we heard. I do want to mention here that we have only used the power cords on Bottlehead gear and that I didn't really intend to offer it as a universal power cord. So please to heed our conservative current rating if you try it with gear other than Bottlehead gear, i.e. if the DAC draws less than 3A you're probably OK. But don't try one on something like a Pass Labs amp!
 
Thanks Doc, I understand the design goal of the power cord - the M1 DAC draws 10 watts max @ 115 volts, so I think that we'll have a > 30x factor of safety or so in this application.  :-)

I'm just happy to actually own a system that allows me to hear the difference between power cords.  As an engineer, I've always been a bit skeptical of ultra-expensive interconnects - signal, speaker and especially AC cords.  But I do understand the relationship between current demand and rise time, and I've read some of the work that Shunyata has published lately concerning this parameter.

http://www.shunyata.com/Content/DTCD.html  And I think that Shunyata has really rocked the market by introducing the Venom 3 at $99.

More importantly - the concept of outbound radiation from each component's power supply, via the power cord, back into other components sharing the same power source.  It's clear that twisting and braiding the conductors gave me a lower noise floor.  Just amazing, in my opinion.

From an engineering POV, it makes sense. I'm not an EE, so I don't get it all... but it doesn't matter. I can hear it! 

-Don
 
dstrimbu said:
  .  .  .   As an engineer, I've always been a bit skeptical of ultra-expensive interconnects - signal, speaker and especially AC cords.  But I do understand the relationship between current demand and rise time, and I've read some of the work that Shunyata has published lately concerning this parameter.  .  .  .  
Click to expand...

I had problems with this concept as well.  However, early on I heard the first high end interconnect, Goldends (from Diskwasher).  They made a difference.  Better ones down the road made even more.

Kind of makes your head spin.  I have amazed some EE friends, I'm one too, with a simple swap in a "passive" piece in my system.
 
dstrimbu said:
I've read some of the work that Shunyata has published lately concerning this parameter.

http://www.shunyata.com/Content/DTCD.html  And I think that Shunyata has really rocked the market by introducing the Venom 3 at $99.

More importantly - the concept of outbound radiation from each component's power supply, via the power cord, back into other components sharing the same power source.  It's clear that twisting and braiding the conductors gave me a lower noise floor.  Just amazing, in my opinion.

From an engineering POV, it makes sense. I'm not an EE, so I don't get it all... but it doesn't matter. I can hear it! 

-Don
Click to expand...

The guys at Shunyata are friends, who work about 10 minutes from my house. Although it's easy to assume that these cable guys are all charlatans, I have found that Caelin is actually quite a practical and down to earth thinker. I also want to say that I have not measured the radiated field of our power cord, so I must stick with my initial comment that I don't have any solid evidence of what makes our stuff sound better with this cord than with a standard molded IEC cord. It is nice to think that some basic physics rules of thumb are involved and that twisting the wires does have some influence.
 
Grainger49 said:
I had problems with this concept as well.  However, early on I heard the first high end interconnect, Goldends (from Diskwasher).  They made a difference.  Better ones down the road made even more.

Kind of makes your head spin.  I have amazed some EE friends, I'm one too, with a simple swap in a "passive" piece in my system.
Click to expand...

Grainger,

I have three interconnects that I use - a bunch of AudioQuest ~2004-vintage Copperheads; several pair of AudioQuest BlackMamba IIs (from Audio Advisor in G. Rapids. MI) and a couple of lengths of Nordost Blue Heaven RCAs.

I drive the Crack from the tape outs of my McIntosh integrated... and what better way to test interconnect "voicing" than via a set of headphones?

Well, speaking of shocking revelations... this test is a killer. By simply swapping the input cable to the Crack, I hear...:
  • The AQ Copperheads have the most neutral sound, tonally - but they are a bit "pinched" in the midrange...
  • The AQ/AA Black Mamba IIs are more biased toward the low end, with quick, solid bass and a slightly restrained high end...
  • The Nordost Blue Heavens were almost un-listenable at first; tending to be thin and shrill in the upper midrange... but after several hundred hours, they have smoothed dramatically.  They tend toward the high end, for sure; I do believe that bass weight suffers a bit with these cables...

OK, I feel better now.  Both you and Doc are telling me that I'm not totally crazy...

Thanks, guys.  Enjoy your Sunday!

-don
 
I'm right there with you guys. I've noticed powercords make a notable difference, as well as interconnects. It usually depends on the gear, but I typically make ICs out of Cardas wire as it typically sounds a bit warmer than other cable. I think it may be attributable to the individually enamelled strands, so when you have say 50 strands of differing gauges all isolated from one another, the slight difference between the signal in all these strands over the length of the cable causes a slight smearing effect which the human ear may perceive as warmth. Just a guess on my part, but it seems logical :)
 
dstrimbu said:
Grainger,

I have three interconnects that I use - a bunch of AudioQuest ~2004-vintage Copperheads; several pair of AudioQuest BlackMamba IIs (from Audio Advisor in G. Rapids. MI) and a couple of lengths of Nordost Blue Heaven RCAs.

I drive the Crack from the tape outs of my McIntosh integrated... and what better way to test interconnect "voicing" than via a set of headphones?

Well, speaking of shocking revelations... this test is a killer. By simply swapping the input cable to the Crack, I hear...:
  • The AQ Copperheads have the most neutral sound, tonally - but they are a bit "pinched" in the midrange...
  • The AQ/AA Black Mamba IIs are more biased toward the low end, with quick, solid bass and a slightly restrained high end...
  • The Nordost Blue Heavens were almost un-listenable at first; tending to be thin and shrill in the upper midrange... but after several hundred hours, they have smoothed dramatically.  They tend toward the high end, for sure; I do believe that bass weight suffers a bit with these cables...

OK, I feel better now.  Both you and Doc are telling me that I'm not totally crazy...

Thanks, guys.  Enjoy your Sunday!

-don
Click to expand...

I have been using wires as a final tone balance control.  I find the tubes I like best first, then the caps that sound best with them and the wire that gives the last balance adjustment.  Well, that is my system anyway.
 
STURMJ said:
Have you found a source for right angle IEC plugs? It seem the way to go with the top mounted IEC plug.
Click to expand...

I did a search at Mouser.  I found three right angle, male IEC plugs.  The prices are $4.20 to $8.36 rated eitehr 10A or 16A.  They all have the cord exiting to the right if the ground is at the top and viewed as looking into the female on the amp.  I found them under the Power product category and went from there.

Here is one:

Female IEC

Hey!  That even opened up like I wanted it to. 
 
I believe!

There is a definite improvement with these power cords.  Music is more open and seems to be quieter.  using it on my Eros and Extended Foreplay III.  I just ordered another one for my DIY amp.

Thanks Bottlehead

Debra
 
I got on the power cable bandwagon long ago and never looked back.  Despite the controversy, they really can make an audible difference, so I'm not at all surprised to read about what the Bottlehead guys (and girl) have discovered with their extra wire.  

dstrimbu said:
  • The Nordost Blue Heavens were almost un-listenable at first; tending to be thin and shrill in the upper midrange... but after several hundred hours, they have smoothed dramatically.  They tend toward the high end, for sure; I do believe that bass weight suffers a bit with these cables...
Click to expand...

I've heard this a bunch of times before about Nordost.  This is why I got a Hagtech Frybaby a long time ago.  I know cable burn-in is even more controversial than the cable topic by itself, but what can I tell you...  And now that I'm building Bottlehead kits it sure is nice to have the Frybaby to hook up to various capacitor upgrades for a week or so prior to installation.  
 
Mr. Lin said:
I got on the power cable bandwagon long ago and never looked back.  Despite the controversy, they really can make an audible difference, so I'm not at all surprised to read about what the Bottlehead guys (and girl) have discovered with their extra wire.  

[Edited out quote]

I've heard this a bunch of times before about Nordost.  This is why I got a Hagtech Frybaby a long time ago.  I know cable burn-in is even more controversial than the cable topic by itself, but what can I tell you...  And now that I'm building Bottlehead kits it sure is nice to have the Frybaby to hook up to various capacitor upgrades for a week or so prior to installation.  
Click to expand...

See, we need smiley face icons here so I can put in the ROTFLAMO smiley in here.  Yes, I think that wire of any kind can set off all kinds of controversy.  But here you won't see flaming like in some other forums.  Friendliest forum out there!

Mr.Lin, do I recognize your moniker from AK?
 
I admit to being somewhat skeptical at first but now I am a convert. I just finished assembling three power cord kits and for comparisons sake I put one on my Paramount pair and left the other with the original power cord. I can't find the words to accurately describe what I am hearing, but the amp with the BH power cord definitely seems much improved. I tried several test recordings and switched the channels and the quality definitely stayed with the BH cord. I am sold, I will be buying new cords now with every kit I purchase this year.

Great result from a purchasing error!

Thanks Doc; for great products!


Cheers;

Mike

 
I just have to chime in here. It is true that all cables make a difference in a system(for better or worse). For whatever reason some cables sound better in some systems. Of course, there are a variety of reasons for this and I don't want to get into all of that now. Suffice it to say that what sounds best to you is ALWAYS the right choice. Being more of an experimenter than anything else, I tried a 'no no'. It is about 19ga. silver plated copper wire. There is a solid, small gauge speaker cable with really thin insulation that is remarkable. Because I am using balanced power, I am only asking it to handle 60V per conductor on a piece of equipment that draws less than 3 amps. Seem overboard to use more than this, but I never judge until I've tried something first. So far, I like it but am always open to suggestions.
 
I was sold on upgraded power cables when I made one out of Romex, as a experiment.  To my surprise, it made a big difference (mostly for the worse).  If your not convinced, try this cheap experiment.
 
I had wondered about Romex since it goes all around my house in the walls.  Thanks for the report.  I already believe in upgraded wires, you saved me from doing the experiment.
 
Actually that was not the result I expected, being that solid core wire is generally preferred in most applications.  The test cable was braided, and even shielded, and the results were definitely negative.  This surprised quite a bit. I'm now using CAT5, single strands several per connection twisted and shielded.  The results are very noticeable. 
 
I guess that accounts for 3 feet of good cable making a difference when you have 30 to 100 feet of Romex between the service panel and your outlet.
 
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