Home Cable Asylum

Interconnects, speaker wire, power cords. Ask the Cable Guys.

Oyaide Black Mamba V2 with Furutech FI-50 Gold Report




Image: Oyaide Black Mamba V2 bulk power cable terminated with VH Audio's Furutech FI-50 Gold AC connectors

After a number system changes, I placed more effort into upgrading audiophile-quality cable options including power cords, which is a key factor in how an audio system can actually sound from a subjective POV. Having had experience of VH Audio's exclusive Furutech FI-50 Gold AC connectors (a special order gold-plated version of the Furutech FI-50 rhodium-plated AC connectors), I knew the SOTA option for use with Oyaide's new-ish Black Mamba V2 bulk length power cord option for DIY would be a set of those SOTA AC connectors. The FI-50 Gold is a good investment, since the sonic signature is supremely neutral, wide open, and offering a lowered-noise floor, without any inherent coloration or sonic artifacts that I can detect. A true reference-quality design without caveat, to my ear. It mates especially well with the Furutech GTX, Oyaide SWO-XXX, Oyaide R1 AC outlet, or any AC outlet that deserves a neutral and very detailed sounding AC connector option. The first DIY Oyaide Black Mamba V2 power cord I built was terminated with Oyaide 004 Beryllium AC connectors, which sounds excellent in the way the platinum + palladium plated beryllium copper contacts impart a musical sounding presentation that I've come to be familiar with, and appreciate from an audiophile perspective.

The first DIY power cord build for use in the recent digital front end AC delivery upgrade project was a 12 AWG Acoustic Revive 8800 bulk length power cord terminated with VH Audio's Furutech FI-50 Gold AC connectors. The sonic signature was a mixed-bag. Although the leading edge was well-pronounced, the essential shape of images tended to not be well fleshed-out in terms of spatial cues and timbrel information. A "plastic" sounding sonic effect became apparrent that stepped-on the soundstage presentation and 3D imaging. The factory-terminated Oyaide Black Mamba Sigma V2 with bare/unplated berrylium copper Oyaide AC connectors excels at front-to-back spatial cues and neutrality, which makes it my favorite power cord for use with an Apple iMac computer AV server.

After comparing Furutech's entry-level FI-11(G) AC connectors with VH Audio's exclusive gold plated Furutech FI-50 Gold AC connectors, I came to find even more so how important cutting-edge technology can be when it comes to high-performance power cords, especially the critical aspects of termination-generated turbulence and dielectric energy dissipation issues, as well as effective mechanical resonance control provided by a SOTA AC connector design. Much of what can be gleaned by such a comparison is not so much what a SOTA AC connector can do, it's what it does *not do* as compared to a more basic design with less costly factors involved in a lower-priced design. This is to say that the performance level of a SOTA connector is not based on an additive factor, it's more so a matter of no obvious sins of commission nor sins of omission. Most obvious should be that of a veil lifted and superior coherency vs. a hi-fi-ish "wow factor", tonal coloration, or an otherwise artificial sound shaping capacity. However, the various sonic signatures of particular power cords, AC connectors, and AC outlets can be great tools for custom system tuning efforts, so there is plenty of room for diversity when it comes to audiophile-quality AC delivery systems.

It's become apparent that when comparing an AC connector with a flimsy nylon shell vs. a more rigid polycarbonate shell that rigidity is a key factor in how well an AC connector tends to perform, so when an AC connector design goes a step further by the use of a low-mass plastic inner insulator, a rigid stainless steel outer shell, with a carbon fiber inlay that helps dissipate both electrical and vibrational energy, much of what makes a typical plain plastic shell less than optimum is eliminated. What this does is to provide a far more transparent, uncolored clarity without obscured details nor dynamics, with true to life timbrel characteristics, spatial cues, and dynamic subtleties otherwise obscured via lesser designs. It's often true that a listener needs to hear something valuable before it can be understood or missed for that matter, since it's about peeling back the onion to reveal more layers, as well as satisfy audiophile expectations and goals based on both analytical perception and musical aesthetics. Yes, if a small electronics part can be called a component, then an audiophile-quality power cord can definitely be considered a vital component, as well.

The evaluation of the Oyaide Black Mamba V2 power cord terminated with Furutech FI-50 Gold AC connectors involves a Monarchy Audio DIP and a Gustard X12 DAC placed in my main audio system. Both serve as the primary source component combination within the system, with equal importance since they each work in tandem as my primary digital front end, serving both a Theta Pearl digital transport within the main audio system, and a distributed audio signal via a digital optical Toslink interface via my computer workstation system in a back corner alcove located across the listening room. The other power cord placed in the digital front end is a VH Audio AirSine terminated with Wattgate Audio Grade Gold AC connectors, which is my reference standard upon which all power cords in my audio system can be fairly compared with, especially due to the old-school Wattgate AC connectors.

The clarity of the Oyaide Black Mamba V2 bulk power cable terminated with Furutech FI-50 Gold AC connectors is on par with the best I've heard. The only factor that I might prefer is a 10 AWG version of the Black Mamba V2 for high current applications, but for a digital source component, 12 AWG offers an excellent sense of speed while still providing a good bottom end. That said, I would fully expect the power cord will perform very well for high-current applications, including from an AC outlet installed at the wall to a power line conditioner or distributor. The most impressive aspect is how little dielectric involvement there seems to be, which is half the battle in any case, regardless of metallurgy and geometry. This factor is not a surprise, since both the conductor insulation and the jacket are minimal-mass, which makes the outer diameter of the power cord substantially thinner than most 12 AWG power cords, IME. As for the metallurgy, the copper is virgin, not recycled, and the strand lay is of an advanced design that avoids detrimental aspects of strand interactions claimed to be closer to that of a solid core conductor, but in my experience the Black Mamba V2 does not sound like a solid core AC conductor of which I don't enjoy for an aftermarket power cord build.

As a final note, I've enjoyed the Oyaide Black Mamba V2 bulk power cable so much, I bought a factory terminated Oyaide Black Mamba Sigma V2 power cord for use with my Apple iMac computer workstation system, and find its sonic signature to be perfect for a computer audio application. The unplated beryllium copper AC connectors seem to provide a very detailed and neutral sonic signature, while allowing the uncolored sounding Black Mamba V2 to perform without issue. Furthermore, yet another DIY Oyaide Black Mamba V2 bulk power cable terminated with gold Oyaide P/C-079 AC connectors sounds excellent when placed on a new T-Music ES9018 Sabre DAC for use in my computer workstation system.

Cheers, Duster


This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
  Analog Engineering Associates  


Topic - Oyaide Black Mamba V2 with Furutech FI-50 Gold Report - Duster 16:43:27 01/12/17 (15)

FAQ

Post a Message!

Forgot Password?
Moniker (Username):
Password (Optional):
  Remember my Moniker & Password  (What's this?)    Eat Me
E-Mail (Optional):
Subject:
Message:   (Posts are subject to Content Rules)
Optional Link URL:
Optional Link Title:
Optional Image URL:
Upload Image:
E-mail Replies:  Automagically notify you when someone responds.