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Model: | Cord |
Category: | Cable |
Suggested Retail Price: | $799 ($399 intro price) |
Description: | Tel Wire Cord power cord terminated with Oyaide P-004 Beryllium AC plug and Oyaide C-004 Beryllium IEC connector |
Manufacturer URL: | Not Available |
Model Picture: | View |
Review by Duster on May 24, 2008 at 12:16:05 IP Address: 67.168.76.130 | Add Your Review for the Cord |
Image: Tel Wire Cord power cord terminated with Oyaide P-004 Beryllium AC plug and Oyaide C-004 Beryllium IEC connector
Prior to the delivery of a new power cord design sent for evaluation from a fellow Audio Asylum inmate known as Cpk, my expectation was quite neutral so an objective attitude towards this particular cable evaluation seemed more than possible. I was somewhat familiar with Cpk, but my only understanding was that the moniker belonged to a productive poster and good-natured inmate. While I foresaw no reason to anticipate that the power cord being sent for the evaluation would turn out to be an extraordinarily well-crafted, high-performance design, nor a mediocre attempt at homebrew, I was in fact eager to give it a listen simply based on the power cord materials, alone:
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Continuous Cast Copper Conductors
Wire is made from casting molten copper into long rods or bars that eventually are drawn through a tiny orifice that creates a copper wire. Copper crystals, generated during rapid cooling in the traditional casting process, act as an impediment to the natural flow of the signal. This is because the random orientation of these copper crystals forms an irregular mosaic pattern that impedes the flow of electrons. In 1986 the Ohno Continuous Casting (OCC) process was introduced to the world. High purity single crystal copper was developed by professor Ohno of the Chiba Institute of Technology in Japan. OCC is a single, long grain copper structure built by using a heated mold, that solves the rapid cooling process problems. The results are small rods of pure copper, from which the wire can be drawn as a single copper grain of over 700 feet in length.
Oyaide P-004 Beryllium AC Plug and Oyaide C-004 Beryllium IEC Connector
AC connectors featuring beryllium copper contacts plated with 0.5 microns of platinum followed by 0.3 microns of palladium. The first layer is 0.5 µ (microns) of platinum, followed by the second layer of palladium which is 0.3 µ in thickness. The initial shaping of the contact is done via an automated mill. This is followed by a manual polishing which is done before the first direct plating layer and again before the final plating. This process is unique and unparalleled and achieves a mirror finish. The use of beryllium copper provides a high level of conductivity and at the same time a high level of mechanical integrity. Heat treatment is applied to enhance its machine-ability. Its rigidity and thickness (1.0mm thick and 6.0mm wide) increases the holding capacity of the plug to 8kg and minimizes vibrations which would otherwise degrade the transmission of energy.
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If at the onset Chris Kline (Cpk) of Tel Wire had disclosed his previous employment history within the audio manufacturing business, as well as being a rather dedicated follower of the late Bob Crump’s design concepts (a much-admired AA cable guru) this would have prompted me to think that there must at least be something of interest about his cable design efforts. Thus said, I’m glad I began the evaluation without predudice other than a natural bias towards the use of SOTA materials.
A smaller and lighter than expected FedEx package arrived containing a power cord (and a pair of interconnects). Happily, the small size and lightweight package was due to the power cord and interconnect cables being minimal mass, highly flexible, and easy-to-route designs -- a very welcome thing when compared to heavy, stiff, unyielding cable designs that are difficult to route and/or may be quite unsettling towards the efficacy of vibration control devices.
From an aesthetic point of view, there’s nothing DIY-looking about the Tel Wire Cord as the fit and finish is first rate, very professional to my eye. The Cords exceptionally superb sounding Oyaide 004 Beryllium AC connectors feature a translucent charcoal gray shell which I find to be a welcome thing as it’s a more sleek departure from Oyaide’s other translucent red, amber, or blue shelled AC connectors (perhaps the candy-colored iMac design fad may be in decline). Furthermore, the choice of cable sleeving is impressive. Rather than the usual shiny black polyethylene terepthalate (PET) woven monofilament sleeving, the Tel Wire Cord looks to be covered with another (unknown to me) Techflex sleeving product that features a nonreflective satin finish and a rather supple fabric-feel -- actually it’s a more-true theater black sleeve and simply a nice departure from the usual, I might add. While the sleeving is essentially very attractive to the audiophile eye, there’s nothing coldly industrial nor flashy eye-candy-ish about it, so WAF should be safe if not excellent.
So, how does it sound? My first observation invoked an impression of “black velvet”; ultra smooth, silky, elegant, very open sounding (especially the upper mids and treble); with an extended, full-bodied bottom end that matches the sonic signature of other Oyaide Beryllium AC products such as the stellar sounding, state of the art R1 Beryllium AC outlet. If fans of the R1 wish to simply obtain more of what they like about the Oyaide R1 Beryllium AC outlets sonic attributes, the Tel Wire Cord terminated with Oyaide 004 Beryllium AC connectors just might hit the spot. I find the Cords continuous cast copper conductors to impart a quite transparent sonic signature -- I believe the Cords particular CCC wire, design, and geometry is configured in such a way as to actually complement the Oyaide 004’s sonic signature rather than manipulate a portrait of AC delivery such as a particular house sound. The sonic signature of the Tel Wire Cord is quite neutral/uncolored, albeit that of an obviously Oyaide 004 terminated power cord, to my ear. In fact, the Tel Wire Cord sounds as if it were tuned to the Oyaide 004’s rather than assert its own particular character, and in this new era of high performance AC connectors, that’s just about the highest complement I can give to Chris Kline’s new Cord.
I find the Tel Wire Cords soundstage orientation to be quintessentially middle row, which may be considered by some listeners to be a rather laid back presentation rather than that of a more assertive front row perspective. But “laid back” could be a somewhat deceptive impression, since any cable induced noise floor due to the Cords materials and design seems so low that the ubiquitous perceived inky black background factor 'almost' dominates the presentation without making the cable seem too polite sounding or lacking subtle detail and dynamics. As with all Oyaide Beryllium AC products, I do not find that they are dark nor lush sounding, but I do find the sonic signature to be polite in a very good way; polite without loss of information. As I take it, the Tel Wire Cord seems to effortlesly present this remarkable quality when the 004’s are mated with CCC wire and careful cable geometry.
The Cord presents a rather complete lack of glare which makes the top end seem far more dry and subdued sounding than the other more liquid sounding, spotlighted treble Oyaide AC connectors -- listeners who are addicted to harmonic excitement of the upper octaves may go into a state of withdrawal until acclimated to a more pristine treble energy. The midrange is fully fleshed out and focused, utterly uncolored, and very see-through. The bottom end simply sounds right -- so much so that I was literally compelled to complete a long-neglected customized stereo subwoofer system project. It’s not that I found a lack of bass due to the Tel Wire Cord (quite the opposite), it’s that my stand-mount 2-way monitors can only push so much air, and couple to the room only so much, that the missing foundation (including ambient information retrieval within the soundstage) begged to be included in my happy list of listening cues. It became too obvious to ignore -- the picture simply needed to be complete. So, I find the full-bodied bottom end that the Tel Wire Cord provides deserves an audio system that can present optimized lower octave energy and articulation.
In order for listeners to appreciate the sublime sonic benefits of such a carefully-crafted power cord via unobtrusive cable geometry and SOTA materials, I believe the Tel Wire Cord greatly deserves to be included in just about any short list of power cords to be seriously auditioned.
Tel Wire email: telwirecpk@gmail.com
Product Weakness: | Non-aggressive, if that's what is desired. |
Product Strengths: | Neutral tonality, open sounding, pristine sonic quality. |
Amplifier: | Bryston 3B-SST |
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): | Aragon 18k MKII |
Sources (CDP/Turntable): | Marantz/Museatex digital front end |
Speakers: | B&W Matrix 805 + customized stereo subwoofer system |
Cables/Interconnects: | VH Audio, Oyaide, Tel Wire |
Music Used (Genre/Selections): | Jazz, Rock, 2-channel HT |
Time Period/Length of Audition: | Several weeks post burn-in |
Other (Power Conditioner etc.): | VansEvers, MIT, PS Audio |
Type of Audition/Review: | Product Owner |
How does it compare to Acrolink 6n 4030? terminated with the same oyaide P/C004.
Very nice Duster-san
Now cable inmates... the very important comparison....
who's gonna do it....
Less Loss vs TEL Wire
Both are similar in concept.
I am really eager to know the verdict.
Jag
just not at the same time unfortunately. When Liudas from LessLoss was visiting the US he stopped by to demo some cables and his power conditioner. I have to say the immediate thing that strikes me about the cable is the lower noise floor, but while I'm not 100% certain, I believe it is at the expense of rolling off the top end. The Tel Wire, sounds livelier and more tonally balanced, with better frequency extension as well.
To keep this in some perspective the cables were used on a LessLoss DAC 2004 MkII. I now use two Tel Wire cables, one on the DAC and another on the CEC transport slaved to the DAC. As an aside, this combo came to me with a LessLoss custom clock cable for the CEC and one of their digital cables. Just for fun I swapped out the digital cable for my Creative Cable Concepts Silver Bullet. Again the same effect, more livelier sound. In a demo in southern FL a friend of mine noticed the same thing when swapping out the digital cable for one of his favorites. He mentioned to me that LessLoss uses Ferrite clamps on the digital cable which he felt constricted the sound a bit.
Overall the LessLoss cables are some of the quietest I have heard, but not my cup of tea. Like you though, it might be good to hear both cables in a side by side comparison. If anyone lives near Las Vegas I'd be happy to participate in a comparison.
Do you know if the Lessloss power cords use ferrites for the filtering process? I've tried several interconnects and power cords that use ferrites and although ferrite is good for filtering out EMI/RFI, they also somehow filter out some of the music as well. I'd rather take my chances of keeping out RFI/EMI with better shielding and isolation. I'm also curious if the Telwire uses ferrites. As always, YMMV.
> I'm also curious if the Telwire uses ferrites.
No, no ferrites, not a fan of what they do to the sound.
what they use for filtration. It is easier to see the ferrite clamps on the digital cable as it is a much thinner design.
IME, Lessloss power cord has the effect of adding a good power conditioner to the system by itself without an actual power conditioner. If one uses Lessloss cord into power conditioner, one gets the predictable effect of too much filtering, e.g. "rolled off" top end. Lessloss is the only cord I have ever tried that sounds better straight from the wall (vs. my battery-backed pure sine-wave regenerator).
They sounded much better directly into the wall.
------------------------
Recovering Audiophile
Born again music lover.
Interesting. After your comment I decided to plug my Lessloss PCs connected to a dac and cdp directly into wall socket. Results were spectacularly disappointing - much more crimped, flat, less dynamic, less bass and nowhere near the natural staging of instruments. I plugged the Lessloss PCs back into the Moldwire powerstrip that is connected to Adept Response which is connected to Variac which is connected to wall outlet and the magic returned. The power outlets are dedicated to stereo but even by separating analog and digital I didn't like the wall outlet. I don't know how much is AdeptResponse and how much variac, or how much is just my imagination.
I'm always fascinated by people's experiences with their systems and how different the results can be.
Bob
I use the Alan Maher PE products (not your traditional type of power conditioning) and these were in the system with the LessLoss cable. Funny, Liudas never advised me to take them out and he was standing in the same room I was. I would think if his cables were sensitive to power conditioning he would have mentioned that. Of course we used his cables with the LessLoss power conditioner in my system as well.
NT
nt
I've been using The Tel Wires on my DAC and transport for a few months now. They replaced the Stealth Dream and M5000. Love what they do although I think the Stealth have a bit more weight, musically as well as physically. Price to performance ratio is in favor of the Tel Wire.
I believe Chris has an interconnect too, but hasn't really marketed it yet from what I can tell.
Thank you for a typically well written and well thought out review of a product, Duster. Your contributions and experiences are always most welcome and appreciated. You don't mention which component you used this Tel Wire cord with though it reads as if it must be your amp.
Given that, have you used it with any other component yet?
"...You're all welcome to stay for the next set...we're going to play all the same tunes, but in different keys..." -Count Basie
Thanks for the kind words, musetap.
During the evaluation process, I swapped out a VH Audio AirSine placed on my power amplifier with a Tel Wire Cord for quite some time, and very much enjoyed the Cord when placed there; it almost stayed on that component. But, while the Cord sounded more open, I found the AirSine to present more slam and could not part with that provision. This observation about power amplifier use has been shared by a number of Tel Wire Cord users and reviewers, and I believe the reason may pertain to what makes the Cord so flexible (utterly the most flexible high performance power cord, in my experience); the Tel Wire Cords ultra fine, high strand count conductors. I postulate that this type of wire presents a rather relaxed and comparatively quite softened gestalt vs. a medium strand count power cord conductor. It may also show true that an ultra fine gauge, high strand count conductor needs more cross section in order to reach a desired slam-factor when placed on high current devices (again, I postulate). IMHO, in general I don’t think it’s a matter of effective AWG alone, as other folks opine.
Another important factor that should not be overlooked (IMHO) is what AC outlet/AC connector mating is involved within particular audio systems:
Both the Oyaide 004 Beryllium AC connector terminated Tel Wire Cord and the gold Wattgate Audio Grade AC connector terminated VH Audio AirSine respond greatly to what AC outlet they are connected to. Some AC connector/AC outlet combos simply don't jive together while others provide excellent synergy -- the differences can be profound and the particular matings can make or break the potential of otherwise stellar power cord products.
The fact that I've previously optimized my AirSine power cords interface via the same-family silver Wattgate Ag AC outlets make a big difference in the matter of synergy. Perhaps the Tel Wire Cord when placed on power amplification may best be used when mated with an Oyaide R1 Beryllium AC outlet. When placed on source components within my system, an Oyaide 004 Beryllium AC connector when mated with silver *and* gold Wattgate AC outlets sound copacetic -- no great issues other than a basic difference in tonal bloom, to my ear.
The Tel Wire Cords as placed in my system found homes on my DAC, transport, and digital CATV terminal -- The VH Audio AirSine power cords remain on my power amplifier and preamplifier.
How does the AirSine sound on your CDP? Next, compared to the Tel Wire on CDP?
Again, I found the particular AC outlet/AC connector matings to greatly affect my opinion of what sounded satisfactory for use on my CDP (in my audio system, YMMV). My digital front end (CDP implemented as a digital transport and DAC) are plugged into a specific PLC with a gold Wattgate AC outlet designated for digital gear. The gold Wattgate AC outlet is quite warm/somewhat rich sounding in its own right -- when mated with gold Wattgate AC connectors this sonic signature pretty much “goes over the top” to my ear -- simply too lush/euphonic sounding -- I found the Wattgate gold/gold combo to present too much tonal bloom to the point of coloration in this particular application. I find a silver Wattgate/gold Wattgate mating to “balance-out”/compliment the two divergent sonic signatures, not unlike what the popular Oyaide SWO-XXX/Oyaide 079 combo provides.
So, if my AirSine power cord was terminated with Oyaide 004’s or silver Wattgate Ag AC connectors (or Oyaide 046’s, etc.) rather than the gold Wattgate's, or if plugged into a silver Wattgate Ag AC outlet or Oyaide R1 (or Oyaide SWO-XXX, etc.) my observations would perhaps be more favorable as placed in this particular application. I really love my AirSines terminated with gold Wattgate AC connectors when plugged into silver Wattgate Ag AC outlets, but they simply don’t mate well with gold Wattgate AC outlets unless a very rich, euphonic presentation is desired, IME.
While most posts on power cords center around the type/brand of equipment it is used with, it seems that you focus on the combination of the metals between plugs and outlets. Very interesting.
Shortly, I will be setting up my new listening room and plan to run 3 or 4 30 amp dedicated power lines using VH Audio 10 gauge cryo'd Romex between the fuse box and the outlets. I was planning to use Oyaide R-1 outlets because, by most accounts, they are "the best'. Your message implies there is indeed a science to receptacle/plug combinations in order to tune sound. This leads to me think that I should give more thought to the selection of outlets.
Here is what I have learned so far:
1) There are basically 10 metals used in plugs and receptacles: 1) brass 2)gold 3)silver 4)beryllium 5) bronze 6)palladium 7) platinum 8) rhodium 9) nickel 10)copper. Each of these has a different sound.
2)The trick is to mix and match male plugs with IEC plugs and then outlets to produce the right sound for your system.
Based on the following table of Oyaide receptacles and plugs:
Base Material Plating 1 Plating 2 Product Sound
beryllium copper platinum palladium R1 outlet neutral
P-004/C-004 neutral
phosphorus bronze gold palladium SWO-XXX neutral
P-046/C-046 neutral
P-079/C-079 warm
brass none none P-029/C-029 ??
phosphorus bronze silver rhodium P-037/C-037 lean
Assuming the PC wire is neutral(as you describe the Tel Wire), can you document the sound of the following combinations and/or recommend some combinations to get most balanced sound:
Outlet Male Plug IEC Plug Resulting sound
R1 P-004 C-004
P-004 C-029
P-004 C-037
P-004 C-046
P-004 C-079
P-029 C-029
P-029 C-037
P-029 C-046
P-029 C-079
P-037 C-037
P-037 C-046
P-037 C-079
P-046 P-046
P-046 P-079
P-079 P-079
SWO-XXX P-004 C-004
P-004 C-029
P-004 C-037
P-004 C-046
P-004 C-079
P-029 C-029
P-029 C-037
P-029 C-046
P-029 C-079
P-037 C-037
P-037 C-046
P-037 C-079
P-046 P-046
P-046 P-079
P-079 P-079
Also, any recommendations on other good setups with non-Oyaide (Wattgate, Furutech, Pass & Seymour, etc) PC Plugs/outlets for SS equipment (Ayre CX-7e CDP, Ayre K-1xe preamp, Krell FPB-600c amp, Thiel CS5i speakers, Transparent Reference XL cables and Straightwire Crescendo speaker cables)?
Thank you so much.
Sorry about the first post (tables got misaligned) - I am still learning how spacing works (or doesn't!). Spoiled by edit function on other threads! Let's try again:
Oyaide Products: R1 outlet, P-004/C-004
Base Material: Byrellium Copper
Plating 1: Platinum
Plating 2: Palladium
Sound Description (VH Audio Website): Neutral
Oyaide Products: SWO-XXX, P-046/C-046
Base Material: Phosphorus bronze
Plating 1: Gold
Plating 2: Palladium
Sound Description (VH Audio Website): Neutral
Oyaide Products: P-079/C-079
Base Material: Phosphorus Bronze
Plating 1: Gold
Plating 2: Gold
Sound Description (VH Audio Website): Warm
Oyaide Products: P-029/C-029
Base Material: Brass
Plating 1: None
Plating 2: None
Sound Description (VH Audio Website): None
Oyaide Products: P-037/C-037
Base Material: Phosphorus Bronze
Plating 1: Silver
Plating 2: Rhodium
Sound Description (VH Audio Website): Lean
Assuming the PC wire is neutral(as you describe the Tel Wire), can you document the sound of the following combinations and/or recommend some combinations to get most balanced sound:
Outlet: Oyaide R1
Male IEC Resulting sound
P-004 C-004
P-004 C-029
P-004 C-037
P-004 C-046
P-004 C-079
P-029 C-029
P-029 C-037
P-029 C-046
P-029 C-079
P-037 C-037
P-037 C-046
P-037 C-079
P-046 P-046
P-046 P-079
P-079 P-079
Outlet: Oyaide SWO-XXX
Plug IEC Resulting Sound
P-004 C-004
P-004 C-029
P-004 C-037
P-004 C-046
P-004 C-079
P-029 C-029
P-029 C-037
P-029 C-046
P-029 C-079
P-037 C-037
P-037 C-046
P-037 C-079
P-046 P-046
P-046 P-079
P-079 P-079
Thanks ahead of time for your wisdom.
Personally, I don't recommend a mix and match of Oyaide AC plug/IEC connectors since I find a same-type Oyaide model at each end to be complimentary. However, one can experiment at will if desired (I have not felt an urge to do such).
The popular Furutech FI-11M(Cu)/FI-11(Ag) combo is the only exception to this notion by a rather unanimous praise of such -- the FI-11(Ag) IEC connector adding a bit more sparkle to the FI-11M(Cu) AC plugs presentation. But, this particular example is that of an entry level, lower-budget high performance AC connector combo, IME (a combo that I still like and use in all three of my audio systems).
There may be other folks who can suggest an Oyaide AC plug/IEC connector mix and match being better than a same-type model combo, but I simply consider an Oyaide mix and match to be more of a fix rather than a best choice to begin with.
When it comes to Oyaide AC outlet/AC plug mixing and matching; I found the (pre-R1) SWO-XXX/079 combo to be more of a fix which just happened to sound great to many folks (still does, but not as great sounding as an R1/004 combo).
A choice of IEC inlet make/model can help tune the IEC connector end of things, such as the selection of a gold or rhodium Furutech IEC inlet, while the AC plug can be tuned via a choice of AC outlet.
When it comes to Oyaide AC gear, if a listener is starting from scratch -- meaning, no upgraded AC outlet(s)/AC connector(s) yet, or willing to replace all currently implemented AC outlet(s)/AC connector(s), the Beryllium line is more than a safe bet, IME.
IMHO, the Oyaide R1 Beryllium AC outlet is the new SOTA with a potential best served when mated with Oyaide 004 Beryllium AC connectors. While I do that find a mix and match is possible with the Oyaide Beryllium line (the P-004 mates well with the gold Wattgate AC outlet, silver Wattgate Ag AC outlet, gold Oyaide SW-GX AC outlet), if I were given a financial opportunity to replace all of my currently implemented AC outlets/AC connectors, I would choose an all-Oyaide Beryllium line without blinking.
I hope these opines are of some help.
Thank you Duster for the great review and for your patient advice. All of this has been very helpful to me.
By the way, since I am "starting from scratch" on the power for my new room, is there a recommended surge protector that I can use just before or just after the new fuse box that will protect all my gear without current limiting (I plan to run my Krell FPB-600c and Ayre K-1xe directly to the wall and travel a lot so not always here to unplug when storms occur) or other detrimental effects?
Thanks again Duster.
I suggest that you post a question in Tweakers' Asylum with a subject heading like, "Recommended surge protector?", since there's lots of folks who visit that forum who are keen to AC house wiring issues.
Also to consider: Rather than a surge protector installed near the fuse box, there may be an excellent power line conditioner (plugged into an AC outlet at the wall) that features surge protection without degrading audio performance -- I'm sure a good solution can be found in that forum...
Thanks Duster, I'm thinking about trying the Tel Wire sometime down the road on either my CDP or pre, as I'm using the LessLoss PC on my Amp right now with very satisfactory results.The current state of top quality conductors matched with the proper wire and other "ingredients"
sure does open up the choices to a never ending blend of power cords these days.There certainly doesn't seem to be an end to the selection in finding the "right" cord to complete the "puzzle"!
I think your post(s) help many towards what may be the right path.
"...You're all welcome to stay for the next set...we're going to play all the same tunes, but in different keys..." -Count Basie
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