Power cable matters

It is helluva of fun to see friendly rivalry between KF and the banker, old horse versus young pony. In the course of rivalry, I was made a double agent!!! Both sides get insights from me. Poor ol' me, I don't get paid for their campaign. KF and the banker are good friends, nevertheless. We promote healthy competition, no sour loser from either side. You win some and you lose some. Life could be such a boring routine schedule without excitements, as if you are waiting for the day to fall six feet under. Should you guys come to KL, these new two audio landmarks should not be missed apart from the usual big boys, that if of course you get invitation from them. Nevertheless, these are the real world system for the 99ers.

Now, I wanted to share my recent power cable adventure. Anybody know since when power cable gets serious in audio? Some said the good people from Hong Kong pioneered audiophile grade power cable in the 90s. This claim comes unsubstantiated. Power cables influence on  the sound really puzzles me. Look, the main task of power cable is to carry alternate current from our wall socket to audio components. Copper is the conductor, still is. Power cable does change the sound, period, deal with it.

It isn't hard to tell cable companies hype up their marketing claims, and as if they are the connection to audio nirvana. Most agreed that power cables these days are a riff off, cable manufacturers promote the ideology to consumers to treat cable as an audio component, not an accessory. What is the significant? Accesory is something you can live without. You can not live without component.

What is more effective than to get equipment manufacturers to endorse their cables. So, willing buyer, willing seller. Everybody walks away happily. In present economic hardship, high end cables are meant for the selected few. Advertising and promotions alone squander away a big chunk of the cost, dealer cut, logistics, duties, reaching the consumers at exorbitant prices. Let's not deny, advertising and promotions is a powerful tool to make consumers "feel good". Buying a relative unknown brand is not cool and sometimes be scorned by fi, it attracts banter. Even if your audio buddies did not say a thing, they give you that strange look. Branding works. Pricing does not work. People want value, this "awakening" sprouts the birth of web based small cable companies in the States that offer customised cables at a more reasonable price.

Sadly, high end cable does not hold value like audio equipment, say 30% of the price paid.

Let examine, a good power cable must be, apart from the purity of the copper, in Litz geometry, shielded and cryoed. Gauge of wire, measured in AWG, is dependent on the amperage. Trying swapping 15A and 20A power cable, you will comprehend "gutsy".

If you are foreign to this blog, I am a big advocate of tone and dynamic, the very essence of music. Timbre accuracy is important to me, as such I prefer neutral sounding. Neutrality is easier said than done, I wonder if neutrality does exist let alone in audio. What is the difference of neutral sounding and natural sounding. In my context, neutrality is drop death neutral whereas natural allows tolerance. I appreciate natural timbre. Unwittingly, I am gravitating to classical music and non ampflied music. In classical music, you listen to the beauty of tone, almost poetic (with some composers' works) and composition. Well, it took me twenty years to realise that, shame on me!

At this juncture, I have a few power cables. Shunyata Research Copperhead being my most expensive power cable ever and two DIY HMS power cables by William. Copperhead is my first foray into commercial branded power cable. It struck me as a balanced and quiet power cable while HMS is a power house, full bodied, gutsy and powerful. HMS feeds current to my DAC and amp.

You guys would have guessed right at this juncture, my system sounded a little murky in the lower register. Hence, led to a veil at the upper bass. Voices sounded fuller in the expense of transparency. Transparency comes from the recordings and not from the equipment. The urge to try different power cables is quietly growing, itchy back side. I am ready to burn cash. Then, I came across Mr Lee who run a small boutique hifi in Sungai Petani. I was interested in Western Electric power cable and asked if a return is possible if not suitable. Mr Lee graciously agreed to let me try for a week and accept return if I am not satisfied. The only condition is that I will have to bear a restocking fee which I am more than happy to oblige. Within three days, I receive WE Model IV in a securely packed package.

Western Electric is a big name in amplification but not power cable. I doubt that WE research intentively on cables. In those days, nobody pay attention to power cable. The power cable trend was way after its time. So, how possibly good could Model IV be? Big question mark, dubious but I am not about to sentence a product until it is proven unworthy. Try it on is the only way to find out since good sound can come unexpectedly. So, I dutifully plugged the power cable into my DAC and let it run for a day or two.

Model IV is flexy, which is a blessing for a small room. HMS, in contrary, is stiff and hence the current equipment arrangement pretty much to accommodate its stiffness. Common sense, cable straining and coiling compromise its performance. Diameter of Model IV is 18mm, not actually anaconda in size, but just about slightly bigger than  HMS, and no information on WE wire gauge provided. Good length power cable starts from 1.5 meter and no more than 3 meter. Power cable will sound fury/rushed with anything shorter than the suggested length, lame with more than 3 meter.

As much as I wanted Model IV to work, I tried to not bias. After 48 hours on it, though it may need more hours but, it will somewhat reveal its sound character.  Model IV does not shine upon first listening. Nothing in particular stands out. If you are detail freak, WE is not for you. If you are speed demon, Model IV is not for you either. If you are looking something to spice up, Model IV is also not for you.

Ebullience! I found gold in Model IV. Its tonal color and sheen are where the gold is. Playing Beethoven's Symphony No. 6, aka Pastoral Symphony, the joyous, cheerful, serenity and carefree are beyond description. Nothing particular uncommon. Airiness is amazing, rendering acoustical space. Instrument tonal portrait is first rate, no dubitable instrument. Violin sounds like violin, horn like horn, trumpet like trumpet, Model IV catches the essence of tone. The Dane's Dynaudio, the Italian's old Sonus Faber and Brits' ATC are thick for me, German's Elac and Old Pro Ac are thin for me. Model IV has about the right tone density. Model IV, while not exactly honey coated but the sweetness is discernible, its tone density sits in between those extremes. Model IV is without a question an Olympus, if you know the Olympus colors. Nordost is the Leica. Highs, mids and lows of Model IV has the delicate balance. The banker's system has a lighter tone weight, KF is richer.

Instrument sheen, the extra radiance is wonderful. Brass and piano in particular, benefited this to assert their individuality. A quality not heard in average systems, "nested" in mega bucks systems!!! A sound that gets people closer to the real thing. WE is instrumental to this nobility. Isn't this labelled as noble sound that get people go craze about?

Model IV accords top to bottom articulation. It paints the sound with solid color,  not overly rich or creamy, or pencil color or crayon, you can listen for hours. I am really happy with the exquisiteness. Maybe I will prefer a more saturated tone when my age catches up and my hearing losses its sensitivity. Model IV is generally forgiving but not too forgiving to tell me that I had been living with a slight boom at my right speaker. Ouch! There is my system undeteched Achilles heel. Model IV decouples the consistent double bass notes admirably. But, there is still some work to be done there to resolve the confusion. The sub electrical distribution box created the mode! That's shouldn't be difficult to remedy.

WE Model IV vs the resident HMS

HMS is a power house. Gutsy sound. You feel the extra uuumph right away! The balance of HMS tips toward the bottom. The pace is a tad slower, the images are slightly bloated and the presentation lacks exquisiteness and airiness upon comparison. However, the bass is addictive, tsunami alike. HMS ponderous bass also disguises the possible room mode. On the explosive symphony like Massenet - Ballet Music by City of Birmingham Symphony, the bass on HMS is authoritative. Bass freak will love HMS. HMS is a great choice for power amp but not with the other audio components.

While Model IV  bass is not in the same league with HMS but it makes up anything above bass. Model IV  renders a more livelier presentation, better micro detail retrieval and better acoustical ambiance around the instrument. On a well recorded piano, the piano is simply breathtaking. The note is pure, the ringing of the strings, the boxiness of piano were unambiguously vivid. The nimbleness is equally impressive, without being absorbed in the acoustical darkness. On Stradivari original sound track under Philips label, the beauty of a Strad prevails. What distinguishes a Strad with other violin is the golden hue of tone and sweetness. Nothing close to sawing the strings.

WE Model IV vs Shunyata Research Copperhead

This is a meaningful comparison since many are familiar to Shunyata. I am sorry that I did not conduct the comparison. I felt Shunyata is right where it is now, at the transport. Too much work there to test different power cable make. I need a very silent and neutral power cable to power my transport and DAC. What ever color the upstream will be hell difficult to correct at downstream. Certainly, HMS bass reigns again.

Conclusion

Will I recommend Model IV to you guys? Probably not because my problems may not similar to yours. You must determine what you want. In my case, Model IV is precisely what I want. Recommending a cable is daunting task due its tonal taste and system dependent. Most importantly, you and I listen differently. Is HMS bad? No, I see HMS not suitable powering DAC in my system but it will be godsend for modern crops of delta-sigma based machine. These modern machines play to a very high resolution and that skim a lot on bass.

In term of cost of ownership, Shunyata being the most expensive, follows by HMS, half the price of Shunyata, and Model IV, a quarter of the price of Shunyata. Do I believe in a coherent cable loom? No, this question is equate to asking would you buy all equipment from the same manufacturer? Every company has different core competency. Naim might be one exceptional.