[Balisarda]

After reading Markl's excellent review of all those power cords, I purchased a three-meter length of Black Sand's Violet Z1. It just arrived, and I can't wait to hear it!!

I'll be fitting it to my Berning micro-ZOTL, which some say benefits noticeably from aftermarket cables. The Violet replaces the stock cable that came with the amp.

Speaking of Violet, my first impression of the cord was how violet it is. It's not a bright violet, mind you, but three meters of thick cable jacketed in pastel violet is nevertheless . . . violet. No matter! I'm delighted to have something dressing up my system and saying, "Hey, Eric's confident in his heterosexuality."

My other first impressions were that the cord is very thick, yet very pliable (even much more so than the stock cord), and that the connectors are huge, though that didn't hinder connecting the cord either to the power conditioner or to the Berning. Build quality appears excellent.

Stay tuned!

Oh, by the way, should I expect a burn-in period on a power cord?

And, oh, by the way, I should mention that this is the first aftermarket power cord I've purchased, primarilly because I've been VERY skeptical that a power cord can make an audible difference in a system.

 

[braillediver]

You should try connecting the micro-ZOTL to a high quality 12 DC power supply. The guy I got mine from sugested a 12 volt battery charger and David Berning suggested:

"Some folks have purchased emergency battery/charger systems that might be used to start a car to run microZOTL. Sears has these."


I use mine with a 12 volt 5 amp open frame DC power supply and think it improves the sound.


Mitch

 

[Balisarda]

Thanks, braillediver, I'll have to try that!

Following are my impressions of the Violet after a couple hours' listening.

One difference stands out head and shoulders above anything else: the soundstaging. The stock cable projected a two-dimensional soundstage: instruments and voices were well placed on vertical and horizontal axes, but the sound was flat, like an image projected on a wall. The Violet adds depth to the presentation.

I don't mean the Violet adds more depth; I mean it creates that third dimension. The instruments now have air around them; you can sense the space behind them, and the distance from instruments relative to each other is noticeable.

Instruments and voices also sound more lifelike, more realistic. To my ear this difference is not enormous, but I have no question it's there. Perhaps it's tied to the superior soundstaging and the sense of air around the instruments?

Anyway, the Violet seems to me an extremely worthy upgrade, one I'm very happy I made. I'd say the difference is almost as great as changing tubes! I admit I'm surprised: swapping power cords sounded like hocus pocus to me, sort of like Brilliant Pebbles. But now that I've heard the difference, I'm a convert.

Can anyone give a somewhat scientific explanation of why power cords are so important?

 

[Vul Kuolun]

There's no physical explanation to it. It cannot be measured, explained or even be prooved.
From this viewpoint,it's nothing else than ESP, Astrology, or other humbug you might think about.

The scientific explanation for it is called "placebo".

 

[nierika]

Don't worry, Vul Kuolun, no one is going to make you buy one!!

 

[Balisarda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by braillediver You should try connecting the micro-ZOTL to a high quality 12 DC power supply. The guy I got mine from sugested a 12 volt battery charger

I asked Allan about the battery charger; he discouraged the idea:

Eric,

I'll save you the time and money. If you plug a 60-cycle tranformer into the MicroZ, you will hear the transformer in the form of a hum. You can't use a 60-cycle power supply without getting noise in some way or the other. Now if you want to use a 12 Volt battery, now your're talking

Allan

For my part, I've heard the same thing from ham radio operators: a hum on listen, if not on talk.

Berning recommends a 12v battery of at least 40 amp-hours. If I got a 12v battery I'd still need a battery charger, of course. I'm considering Concorde's Chairman series deep-cycle batteries, in particular the AGM-1205T. Has anyone experience with 12v batteries on the Berning micro-ZOTL?

 

[braillediver]

"Some folks have purchased emergency battery/charger systems that might be used to start a car to run microZOTL. Sears has these."

That is a direct quote from David Berning Himself. But maybe Allen knows more than the guy who designed, builds and sells the amp?


“You can't use a 60-cycle power supply without getting noise in some way or the other.”

B.S.- the power supply in the micro-ZOTL is a 60-cycle power supply and there is No hum.

There’s No hum in my amp with the DC power supply or the on board power supply.


Mitch

 

[Vul Kuolun]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nierika Don't worry, Vul Kuolun, no one is going to make you buy one!!

That was not the question. Question was :"Can anyone give a somewhat scientific explanation of why power cords are so important?"

But maybe you can provide the op with some pseudo-scientific claptrap (carefully avoiding the factor of expectations and such influences in the process of hearing) copied from some dubious sellers hp?

 

[Balisarda]

Vul Kuolun, you sound awfully caustic--and I don't think there's any call for that on this forum. The fact is, I hear a very pronounced improvement in the sound of my system using the Black Sand power cord, affirmed after multiple A-B swaps. I'm thrilled about it, want to spread the word, and want to know the cause of the very pronounced improvement. That's all.

braillediver, you're sounding touchy, too. We each reported what we were told. You have the added advantage of actually using a battery charger in your system and not having trouble with it--though Allan has experienced just the opposite, as have numerous ham radio operators. Allan also warns that battery chargers run a 14.8-Volt current, which he says will overdrive tubes and burn them out. May I ask which battery charger you use?

 

[Balisarda]

John at Black Sand Cable just responded to my question about why his cords are so much better than stock:

As for the why?, without giving away every secret I have……….think about voltage drop, EMI, RFI, amps and voltage from male to IEC, wire resistance and a host of other things. A well built after market cord needs to address every one of those issues and then some in order to make a difference. Every cord I make does and I think the results speak for themselves.

 

[markl]

Well, I hope your thread doesn't degenerate into yet another anti-cable food fight. There is no evidence that skeptics will accept, but it's also not like there's been some multi-billion dollar Manhattan Project dedicated to unravelling the mystery of power cords.

Trust your ears, and enjoy the music. Give the cable about 150 hours of burn-in (music need not be playing, just leave your component on 24/7).

 

[Vul Kuolun]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Balisarda Vul Kuolun, you sound awfully caustic--and I don't think there's any call for that on this forum. The fact is, I hear a very pronounced improvement in the sound of my system using the Black Sand power cord, affirmed after multiple A-B swaps. I'm thrilled about it, want to spread the word, and want to know the cause of the very pronounced improvement. That's all.

That's fine. But when you ask about scienific explanations, what did you want to hear? Seems like all you expected was the marketing claptrap i was talking about, and which you did get in the aswering of your mail. Is the only valid explanation of a electrical/physical manner? If so, the answer stays the same: No explanation. If someone finds one: real big deal, nobel price in sight. Or, alternatively: claptrap.

He's trying to blind you with notions you are not familiar with, implying there are well known physical reasons for the sound changes you experienced. This is not true. If it was, one could make a connection between certain sounds and technical parameters. This ist not possible today, as far as my knowledge goes. The trick he's trying is so trashy, i think it's nothing but a shame.
But it's your decision, i'm just adding my thoughts on this as there's no shortage of people wanting to play the "let's assure each other how much difference >*add favoured fetish here*< makes"- game in this forum. They already found this one. Bye.

 

[883dave]

Balisarda...

Thanks for the review, how many more cables do you need for your system?



Vul Kuolun...

Lets approach this from a different angle

What are the scientific reasons (not therories) as to why a power cord makes no difference?

Please be specific, and quote the authors and links to their papers.

 

[Vul Kuolun]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 883dave Balisarda... Vul Kuolun... Lets approach this from a different angle What are the scientific reasons (not therories) as to why a power cord makes no difference? Please be specific, and quote the authors and links to their papers.

Well, a cable cultist asking for proof, how strange is that?

Why don't you ask for proof before you give your hard earned money to some guy promising you the earth and the moon if you use his cables?

But here you go: It is per definition impossible to proof the non-existence of something.
Please proof the non-existance of UFO's, ghosts, fortune tellers, astrology, friday the 13th,reading tea leaves....Please be specific, and quote the authors, blablabla.

Maybe you can point the op to some source about cable sound that isn't either a dubious sellers HP or anecdotal evidence written by some audio-geek peeking at the pricetag of the cable while doing an A/B-"Test" with the
volume knob in hand, constantly persuading himself to be skeptic enough not to be biased.

But why are we discussing proofs here? Surely you can provide the op the information he was looking for?

 

[JaZZ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vul Kuolun Well, a cable cultist asking for proof, how strange is that?

Vul Kuolun...

...since you have nothing to contribute but sarcasm and putting other Head-Fiers down (while not even being able to answer clearly worded questions) -- please stay out of this thread!
.