On the subject of tweaks!

[DaveC]

You heard Emotion, (then) $1000 for the 1st meter. Far, far from "top $" as far as power cables are concerned.

And I don't find CC neutral in the least, in the two (three if you count speaker rotation) systems I've heard.

There is no possibility the CC cable is going to be a reference cable imo, but otoh all we really have is comparative experiences, and I do think using one cable as a point of comparison is a good idea.

I think it would be even better if you select one cable that is very neutral, but doesn't omit as much as a cheap copper cable, like a high quality UPOCC silver cable. IMO UPOCC silver is the best reference as it has the best dynamics, the best resolution, and shows the most differences between recordings, but it's also not warm enough and I'd agree tone may not seem realistic enough. Most people would not enjoy a loom of pure UPOCC silver cables but I do think it makes for the best reference. All of my top end cables are based on UPOCC silver, but none of them are actually pure round-wire UPOCC silver for that reason.

I think CC and a UPOCC silver cable could both be good points of comparison, but for different reasons.

 

[ddk]

You heard Emotion, (then) $1000 for the 1st meter. Far, far from "top $" as far as power cables are concerned.

And I don't find CC neutral in the least, in the two (three if you count speaker rotation) systems I've heard.

!

If I sold next year's dog leash in lots for Thousands today I wouldn't find anything like CC or equivalent neutral either Alex! But of course everyone's welcome to their opinion.

david

 

[NorthStar]

I'd love a CC cable to try, if someone has spare.

Here ... https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Hospital-Gr...380572928?hash=item5423f5ef00&redirect=mobile

Another with the CC logo ...
• https://www.ebay.ca/itm/CHING-CHENG...&_trksid=p2047675.c100623.m-1&redirect=mobile

 

[KeithR]

You heard Emotion, (then) $1000 for the 1st meter. Far, far from "top $" as far as power cables are concerned.

And I don't find CC neutral in the least, in the two (three if you count speaker rotation) systems I've heard.

Elation as well You weren't there for that one.

I understand why you like the power cables that you do but just disagree on that entire assessment/direction in general. Horses for courses.

 

[RogerD]

I believe this belong to a member here:
"A’phile friend of mine brought over some of the inexpensive Ching Cheng pc’s tonight. We listened to them against a number of other pc’s --from Zen Wave, Black Cat, Synergistic, Cardas, Nordost and Audience. Interestingly...the Ching Chengs were basically junk in my system. Resolution dropped like a stone, frequency extension was non-existent, imaging diffuse, plus it was quite obvious that these inexpensive cables were no different than the stock ones supplied by all manufacturers’ to at least give you the ability to hook up power!
My friend left the Ching Chengs with me...to throw into the bin.
Even the entry level Cardas cables had it all over them..Moral of the story, at least in this case, is you get what you pay for."

!

If I sold next year's dog leash in lots for Thousands today I wouldn't find anything like CC or equivalent neutral either Alex! But of course everyone's welcome to their opinion.

david

I don't own or use any CC's but I do use a fair number of other cords that retailed from $3K to > $100 and the character of the sound never changes except lately tweaking my psychoacoustics setup. Clarity, dynamics, tonality, absence of stress ect.
So my opinion is if a system is what I call "perfected" meaning your system's performance is in the high 90 pct of SQ then you could use a $5 PC and NO difference.
There are two ways you can remove current leakage...1. Through cables 2. With grounding. You can also do a few other things but the vast majority don't. The current leakage can be mitigated both ways and I'm talking internally in the component.

So that's my opinion. Try the CC's and see what happens....a dirt cheap experiment, which may help evaluate SQ.....
BTW I could see where both sides are right depending on what is primary in removing current leakage.

 

[microstrip]

There's a whole bunch of inexpensive Chinese made PCs out there. Some appear to have good materials and some have obviously fraudulent parts such as the Oyaide connectors (easy to tell by the print on the connectors) but really, who cares? The question is, how do they sound and for <50 bucks, I'd love to find out. But I'm just not willing to invest the time for comparison testing. Perhaps someone is, and you have my encouragement and support for doing so. Who knows, there could be a giant killer among the bunch!

For me the big question is systematics and consistency of action of power cables in systems. Known companies power cables have a defined signature and their action in systems is somewhat consistent - we can foresee with some probability the kind of effects they will have in a system, positive to some people, horrible to others.

IMHO if people do want to invest their time in this area they should get some decent sets of plugs and connectors, get some different types of bare power cable from cable manufacturers and assemble their cables. And IMHO the exercise can not be accepted as a general result unless a few different people do it independently and cross results with common results in the end. Manufacturers are in good position as they can get a lot of feedback from users who do not have contact with other users.

Deep inside us we all desire to be power cable non believers, the first step to become tweak free. But unfortunately experience shows us that in really they change sound quality and we are not able to understand why!

BTW, it is known that elbow grease makes cables sound better - one more reason to go DIY.

 

[marty]

IMHO if people do want to invest their time in this area they should get some decent sets of plugs and connectors, get some different types of bare power cable from cable manufacturers and assemble their cables. And IMHO the exercise can not be accepted as a general result ... .

Francisco, I couldn't agree more. That's exactly what I've done for about 3-4 years now. I've tried more DIY combinations of cables and wire terminations (both cable terminations and wall plugs terminations) than I care to think about, and evaluated them in a manner by which I am comfortable. But as far as a "general result", that is far beyond what I sought to accomplish. What I wanted was to find stuff that worked well in my system, often for a specific application, which of course doesn't have to please anyone but me. I had fun doing it, picked a lot of brains, and learned a lot through careful experimentation (that is why it's a hobby for goodness sake) but admit I am equally happy to get off that merry-go-round now...until next time, which hopefully won't be anytime soon. My cable search has reached a satisfying equilibrium for now for PCs (CC for source and Furutech DPS4.1 for power), interconnects (MB ultra and Tara Zero Evo) and speaker cables (MB Ultra). Is this combo broadly applicable to other systems? Hell if I know. Nor do I really care.

Time to move on and fry some other fish. (I have a Lampi coming next week so am looking forward to a Lampi/Meitner comparison. Should be fun!)

 

[RogerD]

David....PM sent

 

[BruceD]

Curiosity got the better of me after this thread --I tried a CC on my PSU and then on the CDPlayer.
Seemed fine smoother maybe, not much difference to the stock one and my Ref'Cord.
Only noticeable item was that the soundstage "flattened"slightly but for the $'s CC's could be the real deal.

My jury is still out tho

BruceD

 

[RogerD]

Curiosity got the better of me after this thread --I tried a CC on my PSU and then on the CDPlayer.
Seemed fine smoother maybe, not much difference to the stock one and my Ref'Cord.
Only noticeable item was that the soundstage "flattened"slightly but for the $'s CC's could be the real deal.

My jury is still out tho

BruceD

When I first started experimenting with PC’s And SC grounding the size and dimensionality of the soundstage was the most effected. Now it doesn’t matter.

 

[RogerD]

I was lucky enough to locate a CC PC with the same specs as was pictured here in this thread. After listening in my system, which I used the CC on my 2 track RTR with a true 2nd generation tape. I must agree with David and Steve, very neutral and without faults that most discerning listeners would find fault with.

 

[Tango]

I was lucky enough to locate a CC PC with the same specs as was pictured here in this thread. After listening in my system, which I used the CC on my 2 track RTR with a true 2nd generation tape. I must agree with David and Steve, very neutral and without faults that most discerning listeners would find fault with.

Just transparency with normal-ness. Nothing jumps at you. No wow on dynamic. No stage manipulation. No warmth. No beaytiful tone. Just normal.

 

[Steve Williams]

I was lucky enough to locate a CC PC with the same specs as was pictured here in this thread. After listening in my system, which I used the CC on my 2 track RTR with a true 2nd generation tape. I must agree with David and Steve, very neutral and without faults that most discerning listeners would find fault with.

Just transparency with normal-ness. Nothing jumps at you. No wow on dynamic. No stage manipulation. No warmth. No beaytiful tone. Just normal.

and there's no burn in time

 

[RogerD]

Just transparency with normal-ness. Nothing jumps at you. No wow on dynamic. No stage manipulation. No warmth. No beaytiful tone. Just normal.

Sorry Tang for my tardy response. I was downstairs listening to Bartok amd my iphone battery discharged.
Now I made a couple of YouTube videos....one with the CC cord and the other with regular a NBS signature...not top of the line by any means,but I'm not really into expensive cables anymore....just so everyone understands where I'm coming from.

Btw if anybody finds major faults with either cord or for that matter my system...that's fine too...not the first time and certainly won't be the last.
Just so everyone knows how I expect my system to present itself. As close to the recording....not live,not the sound field emanating from the L & R channel of a large percentage. The 39 drivers should all disappear on most classical recordings...not a flat earth presentation either,but dependent on the recording itself.

So here are the videos for what they are worth if anything...

 

[Tango]

Sorry Tang for my tardy response. I was downstairs listening to Bartok amd my iphone battery discharged.
Now I made a couple of YouTube videos....one with the CC cord and the other with regular a NBS signature...not top of the line by any means,but I'm not really into expensive cables anymore....just so everyone understands where I'm coming from.

Btw if anybody finds major faults with either cord or for that matter my system...that's fine too...not the first time and certainly won't be the last.
Just so everyone knows how I expect my system to present itself. As close to the recording....not live,not the sound field emanating from the L & R channel of a large percentage. The 39 drivers should all disappear on most classical recordings...not a flat earth presentation either,but dependent on the recording itself.

So here are the videos for what they are worth if anything...

Hi Roger,

The two videos sound different. I am sure they can be easily distinguish sitting in your system. I do like the first video better than the second video which is a bit more forceful in the low with exciting dynamic than the first. You should be happy and proud with the sound you are hearing Roger. It is unbelievable how we could achieve great sound from different gears and direction.

May I ask what Bartok is this. I never found a Bartok that did not give me a confusion. This one is so excitingly good. I need to get one.

Kind regards,
Tang

 

[Hieukm]

The f

Sorry Tang for my tardy response. I was downstairs listening to Bartok amd my iphone battery discharged.
Now I made a couple of YouTube videos....one with the CC cord and the other with regular a NBS signature...not top of the line by any means,but I'm not really into expensive cables anymore....just so everyone understands where I'm coming from.

Btw if anybody finds major faults with either cord or for that matter my system...that's fine too...not the first time and certainly won't be the last.
Just so everyone knows how I expect my system to present itself. As close to the recording....not live,not the sound field emanating from the L & R channel of a large percentage. The 39 drivers should all disappear on most classical recordings...not a flat earth presentation either,but dependent on the recording itself.

So here are the videos for what they are worth if anything...

The first video seems brighter and has more dynamics. The soundstage seems clearer. Sound is more coherence and even in all regions.

It seems both video is playing at different volumes but the difference is distinguished.

Maybe the phone is lying to us.

 

[Hieukm]

and there's no burn in time

I am curious if the CC was replaced by MasterBuilt on your amps or the other way around??

 

[Steve Williams]

I am curious if the CC was replaced by MasterBuilt on your amps or the other way around??

The other way around.
I started with CC but switched to Masterbuilt Ultra which gave more top to bottom extension and better dynamics

 

[Steve Williams]

I have CC throughout my entire system except for amps and Taiko Extreme.

 

[RogerD]

Hi Roger,

The two videos sound different. I am sure they can be easily distinguish sitting in your system. I do like the first video better than the second video which is a bit more forceful in the low with exciting dynamic than the first. You should be happy and proud with the sound you are hearing Roger. It is unbelievable how we could achieve great sound from different gears and direction.

May I ask what Bartok is this. I never found a Bartok that did not give me a confusion. This one is so excitingly good. I need to get one.

Kind regards,
Tang

Hi Tang,
Thanks for the kind words....appreciated.
The confusion is not on you. The video is Mussorgsky not Bartok. I was listening to Bartok much later in the day. This particular Mussorgky recording is private...not available unfortunately. Btw some have already expressed differing viewpoints about the two videos..but so far the CC hold the favorite position FWIW.