Power Cord Shoot-Out: 14 Power Cords Reviewed

[immtbiker]

Markl has provided us with a detailed review, that took a great deal of time and effort, and I applaud anyone is willing to put their free time into trying to help other members gain some knowledge about something that they themselves might not be able to be exposed to.

The fact of whether burn-in or cable characteristics make a difference should not be argued here. There are plenty of threads for that. If you disagree with Markl's findings, fire off a PM to him. Please don't polute or crap in this thread. I have deleted any thread-crapping, and unfortunately responses to the threadcraps, even if they had some valid points, because they were responses to thread craps. If you don't like what he is saying, just move onto the next thread, because a lot of people are getting value from this one.

 

[omedon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by K2Grey This is not actually correct, unless you are referring to a difference in yourself. The difference most people care about is a difference inherent in the power cord, not a difference in the listener.

I understand what you are saying. I did indeed mean to imply a difference in yourself. A difference is still a difference.

I think that all anyone can give in any of these subjective reviews is there experience. If people only wanted to know the differences in headphones, amps, cdp, power cord, etc. Then they could just look at the product specs. The difference in the listener is why you read a review. This is also why it is important to use your own ears.

Any cord is by definition different from any other in that they are not one in the same. But these cords all have very different physical properties some silver some copper, etc. Ears are not electrical instruments and and the mind is wildly unpredictable. Even the seemingly smallest difference could have a giant impact when it reaches the brain. Perhaps that .05% is the type that really floats your boat.

I have had some extreme auditory hallucinations that were not merely created from thoughts and experience but were molded out of the sounds in my environment. A very plain sound becomes a complex piece of music.


This probably doesn't need to be in this thread. But since I took the time to write it...

 

[fewtch]

Actually omedon, I think you helped illustrate the essential difference(s) between the objectivist and subjectivist viewpoints very nicely.

P.S. I'm not really in either camp myself... call me a "situationalist." There are situations where objective views are called for, and others where subjectivism makes more sense. IMO it just depends, period.

 

[helix]

objectivists save money.

http://sound.westhost.com/cables.htm
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showt...=&pagenumber=1

 

[eyeteeth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by immtbiker Markl has provided us with a detailed review, that took a great deal of time and effort, and I applaud anyone is willing to put their free time into trying to help other members gain some knowledge about something that they themselves might not be able to be exposed to. The fact of whether burn-in or cable characteristics make a difference should not be argued here. There are plenty of threads for that. If you disagree with Markl's findings, fire off a PM to him. Please don't polute or crap in this thread. I have deleted any thread-crapping, and unfortunately responses to the threadcraps, even if they had some valid points, because they were responses to thread craps. If you don't like what he is saying, just move onto the next thread, because a lot of people are getting value from this one.

Absolutely! The dude put in the time and effort! Thanks moderator immtbiker.

 

[markl]

I would like to thank the mods for cleaning this thread up and explaining forum policy to the newb, and reminding the old-timer who really should have known better.

Solude, I would really enjoy reading your comments on the TG Audio 688 when you have the chance. Cheers.

 

[omedon]

Fewtch

What kind of battery set up are you using? I have been considering pouring around $300 CDN into a Jon Risch power conditioner/surge protector w/ an acme ac outlet & upgrading my hubbel wall outlet to an acme.

If I could get a nice battery set up then the problem of conditioning/surge protecting would be solved. Though I imagine there could still be some benefit gained by using quality outlets & powercords.

Pierre Sprey @ mapleshade records uses all battery powered equipment for his recordings.

My thanks to MarkL for doing the review. I am now very interested in the TG Audio 688. My brother is quit happy with the r_crump Asylum Cable that I made him. I have been considering the z-cable gold lightning with heavy Z-sleeve fas a possible upgrade for a while now. It is nice to have a list of other possiblities to try.

 

[Solude]

I certainly will post some but am going to give the 688 some time to burn in and wait for my Reference to return before running a comparison of throw ins, Volex 14AWG Shielded, XLO Reference2 and TG 688.

Since everyone has access to the throw ins I'll be comparing the rest to it.

I will also have my Monster AVS2000 by then so should be interesting all round comparison but no 14 PC undertaking

 

[pabbi1]

For those who were curious, the Iron Lung Jellyfish is an almost identical twin of the (1st) Quail group buy, sans ferrite cores.

Unfortunately, I have had a headphone cable failure, so I can't accurately compare the differences sonically until that is resolved.

 

[markl]

pabbi1, I'm not so sure. I just asked Jahn to read off the exact lettering that's on his Quail cords that he recently had for sale. The lettering he read off is not identical to what is on my Jellyfish. The most significant difference is that his Quail cords are 18 AWG while the Jellyfish is 14 AWG. Further, the latest batch of Quails ordered seem to be an entirely different color with different connectors on them. I would hesitate to say they are the same cable without complete info.

I want to add, that while I'm trying to figure out my next move power-cord-wise, I've retreated back to the Jellyfish on my Ray Samuels HR-2. Bizzybee has lowered the price of his cable to $23.99, making it an even better bargain.

What can I say, I love this cable. If you are into CLARITY in the extreme at the expesne of smoothness and cleanliness, and can forgive a little extra brightness, the Jellyfish is just an outstanding cable regardless of price.

If I had to guess, I would guess that it's unshielded, which may account for its supreme open-ness and slight sizzly highs.

Anyway, if I had to do it over again, I might rank the Jellyfish a space or two higher in my rankings, it's an absurd baragain.

Mark

 

[pabbi1]

Initially, the JellyFish does indeed sound more open than the Quail, undoubtedly due to the ferrites.

However, if I may, I'll present the case of 'twins seperated at birth'... 'cept one has a couple of unsightly growths...

http://home.swbell.net/pabbi/qjf1.jpg
http://home.swbell.net/pabbi/qjf2.jpg
http://home.swbell.net/pabbi/qjf3.jpg
http://home.swbell.net/pabbi/qjf4.jpg

Sometimes words just can't convey the message... I should have refined my remarks to looks alone.

 

[markl]

pabbi1, can you do me a favor and post the writing on the side of the Quail? I would be curious to see if it's identical to the Jellyfish or not.

 

[pabbi1]

Quail:

UL SJT E90165 105C VW1 14AWGX3C Well Shin CSA TYPE SJT Shielded FT2 LL57855

JellyFish

UL SJTW E90165 105C VW1 14AWGX3C Well Shin CSA TYPE SJTW Shielded FT2 LL57855

 

[ServinginEcuador]

Looks like all this positive press is driving up the price on the Wolff products. His PCs went up $50 at each length, and the ICs also took an upswing as well. Too bad, I was eyeballing the XLR IC, but at $925 for a 1m run I may be looking elsewhere.

 

[michaelhwolff]

That's odd since the power cords are priced $150 less than what they were a year ago. The interconnects have not seen any price hike at all, although they are due.