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Anyone care to suggest the best bulk mains cable they've used (to make a power cable)?
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Having tried a bunch of the better Japanese bulk AC cables (Oyaide Tunami, Acrolink 4030, Acoustic Revive, AET, Nanotec Systems, Kripton), my favorite is Acoustic Revive, as it is the best all rounder. The others are generally good, too, with the Acrolink being a pretty neutral (and usable on anything), the Nanotech being sweet but a little soft (but seems best used with sources), Oyaide being a little heavier sounding, Kripton is a good all rounder like the Acoustic Revive but not as extended. AET is another good one, particularly for source and pre, but is a little expensive (the SCR and SIN) and takes forever to run in.
The thicker of the Acoustic Revive cables (I have tried their 5500, 8800 and 10000, their latest and just discontinued one being 18000 which I haven't tried) are generally very good all rounders, with well extended and musical sound. Bass extension is also quite excellent and is about the only bulk cable that could match and dethrone the XLO Limited which I was using at my power amp. The XLO probably had a bigger soundstage, but the Acoustic Revive was a little more musical. I am using one at my preamp now and it's qualities there are pretty much the same. As for plugs, I find them better matched with Oyaide M1/F1 than the Furutech FI-50, although the Oyaide is harder to work with given the pretty thick diameter of the cable. The Furutech plugs sounded a little more Hifi and the Oyaide more fluid yet the hifi qualities are not lost.
Just my 2 cents
Excellent comment thank you.
BTW, Acoustic Revive has revised the conductor material of all their cables this year with PC-Triple C copper (PCOCC-A has been discontinued I think) but has yet to come up with the thick gauged PC (just the thinner one for now). Oyaide has also gone onto something called 102 SSC.
Here are my Acoustic Revive cables. Unfortunately, I didn't get the carbon fiber mesh that they use on their factory cables and just got some nice cotton cover on them.
Acrolink 7N-P4030II is an excellent bulk power cable for DIY power cord projects.
See link:
Hi Duster...from your experiences with the Acrolink 7N-P4030II power cable...are there any changes in sonic character after 100hr mark or do they stay pretty much the same from day one. Thanks.
As I recall, there was a subtle level of congestion before 150 hours, with some notable improvements of micro listening cues including dynamics after many more hours of burn-in time. If you are using it on a source component, you might consider placing it on a high current device for a while for a more effective and expedient burn-in process.
@Duster...Thank You :). If you have experiences with Ayre IBE cd...would any of the white, pink or brown noise tracks hasten the burn-in process? Thanks much.
Noise-based burn-in tracks may do well for interconnect cables and speaker cables, but they do nothing too special for power cord burn-in. Plugging an audiophile power cord into an AC outlet, then using an IEC inlet --> AC socket burn-in adapter to plug-in a refrigerator or AC conditioner that kicks on and off in cycles with instantaneous current demand is a popular method for power cord burn-in. The same effect can be accomplished by plugging the power cord into a high current power amplifier, then playback very dynamic music with plenty of uncompressed drums and bass at high volume levels for hours on end, but that might be an unwelcome burn-in method, and I would agree. Patience is a virtue when it comes to the burn-in process, so I suggest waiting for the process to take its course in time, and listen to the development of sonic betterment rather than feel the need to rush the issue... my 2 pennies
Thinking of upgrading my HT to the Acrolink. Any experience with the HT Pro11? Is there a significant difference especially in the freq extremes and overall top end refinement? Or will it be somewhat of a lateral move and be dependent on choice of plugs. Thanks again.
The HT Pro AC-11 was not to my liking when I tried it years ago. Since then, the stock AC connectors have changed, so I can't comment on the newer versions. That said, I would expect the Acrolink 7N-P4030 II to be more refined sounding from top to bottom based on my experience of a HT Pro AC-11 terminated with a Hubbell Hospital Grade AC plug.
Thanks Duster. Really appreciate all your advice. :)
Thanks for the reply Duster.
A bit of history: I bought Oyaide Tunami on its introduction (damn hard to accomodate the wire bulk in standard Australasian connectors I was using then). Impression - v pure but lacked dynamics. I put this down to shielding, and fairly quickly sold it. Further: I hadn't moved to top level connectors, plus I wonder if I even ran it in sufficiently.
Now I really wish I'd retained it as a reference, at least.
Duster have you found shielded power cable to have negative consequences (realising you've given a firm recomendation here)?
I've just seen Take Five Audio deep cryo treats Neotech cable: interesting.
I found shield a negative and none of my systems cables including interconnects are shielded.
E
T
ET I'm glad you didn't ask.
Presently none of my cables are shielded: sounds better without I found, so far.
Looking at archives and reading Duster's recent post re this thread, could keep me awake at night!
There are good reports on P4030 and yet its shielded.
(I don't know how a floating/undrained shield works - maybe someone could chime in). Duster's post does say > > "this type of minimal shielding tends to have less impact on dynamics" ie it seemingly does affect dynamics!
Some reports in the Acrolink archives suggest shielded for source: I guess I'll have to try it.
P4030's purity is enticing: I recall an informed poster claiming highest purity counts most on digital fronts ends.
The very thin copper foil shield of the Acrolink 7N-P4030II power cord floats at both ends (there is no drain wire for the shield) while the also thin copper foil shield of the Oyaide Tunami power cord does feature a drain wire (usually connected to ground at the AC plug end only). IME, this type of minimal shielding tends to have less impact on dynamics than a braided copper shield and/or relatively thick aluminum foil shield. However, the sonic signature of the Oyaide Tunami was also problematic to my ear, as the soundstage presentation and image outlines sounded notably forward regardless of AC connectors involved and component/system dependant issues. When terminated with Oyaide 004 Beryllium AC connectors, the Acrolink 7N-P4030II presents a bold sonic signature while remaining more true to natural dynamic contrasts and depth of field. The the Acrolink 7N-P4030II sounds like what I hoped the Oyaide Tunami would, and since they are more similar in design and materials than they are different, it seems odd that the Oyaide Tunami sounds the way that it does vs. the Acrolink 7N-P4030II. YMMV
I asked Chris VenHaus the following re floating foil:
'Chris do you know the theory behind the (apparently)
floating/undrained foil/shield of Acrolink P4030II?'
His answers below:
"Please stand by. I've asked before, and never received a proper explanation.
Asked again, and the distributor said they pinged Acrolink on this ;-)
I should know something in the next day or so."
Hi, John. I just received a response, but not sure this answers anything.
This was directly from Acrolink Japan.
"There are two reasons.
1.Its sounded better for us with shielding floating.
2.The shield on P4030II is made from thin copper clad tape. So when you cut the outer sleeve of the cable the copper clad tape underneath easily tears off.
We don`t want to use strong tape as it will make cable very stiff."
I once tried adding a short drain wire from the shield of a 4030 to the AC Plug end. Can't recall exactly how it sounded but I did remember it sounding a little different from without. You may want to experiment if you are in the mood. Just be sure that nothing gets shorted while you do it.
Howdy eduardoo,
I experimented doing the same with the floating foil shield of an Oyaide PA-23 power cord, and also found it sounded better without the added drain wire.
Cheers, Duster
DH Labs Power Plus Reference Series Power Cord is an excellent cable for the DIY'er. Scroll down on the ad page for the bulk prices.
I just ordered 5 feet from eBay and got some Furutech connectors at more than 50% off from Sonicraft. It will end up costing me $158 w/shipping. I'll post on it soon.
E
T
Thanks for the reply
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