[agisthos]

What's everyone's favorite audio store on AliExpress for Nordost clones?

RM Digital. They have the highest quality Nordost clones. More expensive than some of the other clones, but it’s still small change.

 

[fidgeraldo]

I got two Nordost USB A-B cables, and neither was working! With other cables, luckily, I was fine.

Cheers!

 

[Stax 7]

I got two Nordost USB A-B cables, and neither was working! With other cables, luckily, I was fine.

Cheers!

Hi I purchased Monosaudio P902 99.998% OFC Copper AC and checked the connector to the power point and found the small cable in the middle of this cable exposed and connected to the earth dont know if this is a issue as it might be just a wire to reduce noise.Didn't take a picture and not really keen on taking it apart again as the screws and threads are not very good.Can anyone shed any light ? btw its a Australian plug..

 

[Jake2]

Hi I purchased Monosaudio P902 99.998% OFC Copper AC and checked the connector to the power point and found the small cable in the middle of this cable exposed and connected to the earth dont know if this is a issue as it might be just a wire to reduce noise.Didn't take a picture and not really keen on taking it apart again as the screws and threads are not very good.Can anyone shed any light ? btw its a Australian plug..

Ah, I think I found the same thing re that wire but didn’t notice it connected to eqrth when I unscrewed an EU plug to replace it with an AUS/NZ one. I only noticed the cable when I stripped the cable outer back a bit further to let it fit into the AUS plug, but just cut it, didn’t connect it to ground. Hopefully it is connected to ground at the other / IEC end as well. Presume the idea is it grounds the outer shielding to earth.

 

[Stax 7]

Ah, I think I found the same thing re that wire but didn’t notice it connected to eqrth when I unscrewed an EU plug to replace it with an AUS/NZ one. I only noticed the cable when I stripped the cable outer back a bit further to let it fit into the AUS plug, but just cut it, didn’t connect it to ground. Hopefully it is connected to ground at the other / IEC end as well. Presume the idea is it grounds the outer shielding to earth.

Thanks Jake 2 will check the IEC and see what is happening on that end.

 

[cdacosta]

Hi I purchased Monosaudio P902 99.998% OFC Copper AC and checked the connector to the power point and found the small cable in the middle of this cable exposed and connected to the earth dont know if this is a issue as it might be just a wire to reduce noise.Didn't take a picture and not really keen on taking it apart again as the screws and threads are not very good.Can anyone shed any light ? btw its a Australian plug..

If at AC side (not IEC) that is likely the shield ground. The shield should be grounded at AC side.

 

[HiFiRobot]

Hi I purchased Monosaudio P902 99.998% OFC Copper AC and checked the connector to the power point and found the small cable in the middle of this cable exposed and connected to the earth dont know if this is a issue as it might be just a wire to reduce noise.Didn't take a picture and not really keen on taking it apart again as the screws and threads are not very good.Can anyone shed any light ? btw its a Australian plug..

The drain wire and or shield is usually connected to the ground at source (wall power socket) end only, in many or most power cables. Supra does this in their newer revision of Lorad cables. My Preffair D503 /Audiocrast P101 (Krell cryo 156 fake) was wired liked that. And I did it in my DIY P902 and other DIY builds.

Some claim better results soundwise by having drain/shield connected to ground on the other end (equipment side) only. Perhaps if your AC is not grounded.

Shield connected to ground in source end only is very common for RCA cables also. It is marked with an arrow for directionality on most RCAs. The text direction on the cable usually indicates as well, you read from the source end where ground is connected to shield. And yes many make fun of the arrows not understanding cable construction.

Pics of my Monosaudio P902 build. I connected the thin bare drainwire to ground (green) but only at source end. Blue heatshrink to fix the drain wire to the ground, you don't want it to get loose inside the connector. The alu shielding was removed. I cut the drainwire at the other end (equipment side).
Did your pre-made P902 look the same?

And do not DIY or mess around with power cables without a multimeter and knowledge. Be careful and stay safe.

 

[DecentLevi]

Last night I experienced yet another significant upgrade in my system, and this time rather DIY. Oddly, I had been experiencing rather shill and piercing highs from my stereo amp, which I confirmed it to be stemming from after a process of elimination. And which was occurring even though it's connected directly to my power conditioner.

Knowing that my stereo amp was the only area of my system which lacked a thick aftermarket AC cable, I went and ahead and put this braided tinned copper wire shielding around it's AC cable, Which is a very thin (akin to a drinking straw) flimsy stock type with only two prongs. Instant results! The sound was deeper and more engulfing, just so much more level and natural now! Highly pleased. This is recommended for any of you that may have a component with a NON-removable AC cable. And you should be safe, as long as it's not making contact with any conductors.

On second thought, I guess I could have just cut both this wire and cut off one of my unused thick AC cables and twisted the wires together to see how it goes, right?

 

[Shiraz]

Hi I purchased Monosaudio P902 99.998% OFC Copper AC and checked the connector to the power point and found the small cable in the middle of this cable exposed and connected to the earth dont know if this is a issue as it might be just a wire to reduce noise.Didn't take a picture and not really keen on taking it apart again as the screws and threads are not very good.Can anyone shed any light ? btw its a Australian plug..

As others have rightly mentioned above, this is how the P902 (and other preassembled PCs) typically come wired when they have a drain wire or shielding - connected to earth only at the source/power end. Also how the wired P902s that I bought landed for me. You're good to go!

 

[cdacosta]

The AC cord is picking up EMI, possibly RFI, which caused what you hear and is masking information/causing a noise floor. The shield is blocking some of this noise.

The proper way to change out the power cord if one is inclined to do so is to install a IEC port or hard wire a better cable directly to the component (I will assume PC board). I would not twist the ends of a new cable with the inferior one coming from the component.

Just my thoughts on this.

 

[Jake2]

The drain wire and or shield is usually connected to the ground at source (wall power socket) end only, in many or most power cables. Supra does this in their newer revision of Lorad cables. My Preffair D503 /Audiocrast P101 (Krell cryo 156 fake) was wired liked that. And I did it in my DIY P902 and other DIY builds.

Some claim better results soundwise by having drain/shield connected to ground on the other end (equipment side) only. Perhaps if your AC is not grounded.

Shield connected to ground in source end only is very common for RCA cables also. It is marked with an arrow for directionality on most RCAs. The text direction on the cable usually indicates as well, you read from the source end where ground is connected to shield. And yes many make fun of the arrows not understanding cable construction.

Pics of my Monosaudio P902 build. I connected the thin bare drainwire to ground (green) but only at source end. Blue heatshrink to fix the drain wire to the ground, you don't want it to get loose inside the connector. The alu shielding was removed. I cut the drainwire at the other end (equipment side).
Did your pre-made P902 look the same?

And do not DIY or mess around with power cables without a multimeter and knowledge. Be careful and stay safe.

Thanks for the guidance. I like your neat sleeving. I was super cautious and used a multimeter to triple check my connections. I was only 'messing around' with changing plugs as they sent me the wrong plug type (Euro not AUS/NZ) one then sent the right plug later saying it was 'easy' to fit. Not easy to fit the three heavy gauge wires into the more splayed NZ plug layout, needed to trim back the sleeve and sheilding a little to do so which is when I encountered that small cable.

I wasn't super impressed with their terminations TBH, one strand was broken from the pressure of the screw and their pairing back of the individual strand covers was messy as, some of the covers not totally removed from the contact area in the plug.

Also the design and build of the AUS/NZ connectors they provided are not at the standard of the Euro/Schuko ones. See pics below.

I checked the IEC end just now - no shield connection to ground. I'll leave the cable out of play until I redo the AC plug end in the manner you've done it with some sleeving. With careful multimetering of course.

Edit - it occured to me that a crimped thin copper sleeve around the wires in the screw contact area might be both easier to fit and safer (less risk of broken strands).Thoughts?

 

[OCC7N]

Ok I just bougt a hdmi/cable from alix 99.99% silver and Im pretty amazed that I had to lower the volume.

 

[OCC7N]

Last night I experienced yet another significant upgrade in my system, and this time rather DIY. Oddly, I had been experiencing rather shill and piercing highs from my stereo amp, which I confirmed it to be stemming from after a process of elimination. And which was occurring even though it's connected directly to my power conditioner.

Knowing that my stereo amp was the only area of my system which lacked a thick aftermarket AC cable, I went and ahead and put this braided tinned copper wire shielding around it's AC cable, Which is a very thin (akin to a drinking straw) flimsy stock type with only two prongs. Instant results! The sound was deeper and more engulfing, just so much more level and natural now! Highly pleased. This is recommended for any of you that may have a component with a NON-removable AC cable. And you should be safe, as long as it's not making contact with any conductors.


On second thought, I guess I could have just cut both this wire and cut off one of my unused thick AC cables and twisted the wires together to see how it goes, right?

What awg thickness is the wire for the speaker? - you could maybe go thicker to sweeten the high notes abit.

 

[HiFiRobot]

Thanks for the guidance. I like your neat sleeving. I was super cautious and used a multimeter to triple check my connections. I was only 'messing around' with changing plugs as they sent me the wrong plug type (Euro not AUS/NZ) one then sent the right plug later saying it was 'easy' to fit. Not easy to fit the three heavy gauge wires into the more splayed NZ plug layout, needed to trim back the sleeve and sheilding a little to do so which is when I encountered that small cable.

I wasn't super impressed with their terminations TBH, one strand was broken from the pressure of the screw and their pairing back of the individual strand covers was messy as, some of the covers not totally removed from the contact area in the plug.

Also the design and build of the AUS/NZ connectors they provided are not at the standard of the Euro/Schuko ones. See pics below.

I checked the IEC end just now - no shield connection to ground. I'll leave the cable out of play until I redo the AC plug end in the manner you've done it with some sleeving. With careful multimetering of course.

Edit - it occured to me that a crimped thin copper sleeve around the wires in the screw contact area might be both easier to fit and safer (less risk of broken strands).Thoughts?

Agree the P902 was a pain to assemble due to the thick strands. Maybe crimped end caps around the strands would make it easier and secure the fit as you suggested. I have seen it in some power cables. This kit is an example
https://www.audiophonics.fr/en/powe...cs-sector-pcg3-shielded-3x25mm-2m-p-2360.html

I plan to reassemble my P902 and fit the strands deeper, just in case. I'll take some pics if I don't forget.

Regarding the Monosaudio P902 I doubt the white isolation is Teflon as they claim. I did the burn with a lighter and it melted, not like in the Monosaudio video when it just miscolored dark.

 

[HiFiRobot]

Some pics on the most common way power cables are wired.
Trim the shield and drain wire on equipment side.