Power Cables, High current versions vs Regular?

ayreman

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marty

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I've received a few PMs asking me what PC I am using for "high current" (i.e. power amp) applications since I'm a devotee of the Ching Chengs for low power level gear.

After much experimentation, I've chosen a pretty conventional custom cable design comprising of Furutech 4.1 DPS cable with Furutech plain Jane FI-11 copper male ends and gold FI-28 IEC connectors. As I have said previously, I think the choice of connectors should take the receptacles they are used with into account. In my case, the cables go into Shunyata CopperConn AC wall outlets (finally recently released commercially!) and gold IEC contacts in my Soulution gear.

The cables are fabricated by our own Dave C at Zen Wave Audio. I use Dave because in communicating with him privately, he showed me some of his custom home made electronics with some of the most beautiful wood case work I have seen. This told me all I needed to know about his craftsmanship and in addition, his prices for the cable components plus assembly are extremely fair.



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dminches

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Marty, those cables look very nice. Are you tempted to try them on your low current gear just to see what you hear?

Minor comment. What I have found is that the heavy power cables seem to hold better in the outlet when the ground is on the top instead of the bottom.
 

microstrip

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(...) a pretty conventional custom cable design comprising of Furutech 4.1 DPS cable (...)

Pretty conventional? The top Furutech limited edition power cable? ;) I have been considering getting a few meters to try in my system.

As I also have the CC, we can use them as a reference. How do they sound compared to the CC?
 

Kingsrule

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Where can I buy the CopperCon outlets?
They are not on the Shunyata website....
 

marty

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Marty, those cables look very nice. Are you tempted to try them on your low current gear just to see what you hear .
In an ideal world, possibly. But honestly, I think I'm at the point of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". I've spend more hours listening to PCs and countless types of outlets than I care to think about. I'm happy with that aspect of my system so no plans to experiment further.
 

microstrip

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Steve Williams

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Marty, those cables look very nice. Are you tempted to try them on your low current gear just to see what you hear?

Minor comment. What I have found is that the heavy power cables seem to hold better in the outlet when the ground is on the top instead of the bottom.
They hold even better when your AC outlet is horizontal and not vertically placed
 

BlueFox

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They hold even better when your AC outlet is horizontal and not vertically placed

You mean if the ground is on the side versus being on top? It would seem the ground being on top is best as gravity will force the AC blades into the socket.
 

Steve Williams

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You mean if the ground is on the side versus being on top? It would seem the ground being on top is best as gravity will force the AC blades into the socket.
Mine are all sideways and they fit perfectly and don’t move
 

BlueFox

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Yes. Just hypothesizing.
 

microstrip

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Of course. I feel like an idiot....
As I've said, for power demand, they are superior to the CC particularly in the lower bass.

When you refer power demand, are you addressing loud levels or that in general they have better performance on the bass? Or just when used with power amplifiers?

In my particular system I also found the CC lacking in the bass - butt we should remember I appreciate full range sound reproduction.
 

dminches

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In my particular system I also found the CC lacking in the bass - butt we should remember I appreciate full range sound reproduction.

How can these cables be considered ”neutral” if they are lacking at any frequency level?
 
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microstrip

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How can these cables be considered ”neutral” if they are lacking at any frequency level?

Remember this is a subjective hobby - what some people consider full range in the bass others consider "fat", "greasy" or "spiced" ... ;)
 

marty

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Francisco and David,
Everyone has their own interpretation and meaning of descriptors like "neutral". The better term for the Ching Cheng is "natural", that is, it conveys the timbre and tonality of instruments in a manner that sounds as one would expect from the real instrument. This is totally subjective of course. When one uses the term "neutral" as it relates to frequency, that's more easily understood in terms of bandwidth measurement. To me, it suggests the bandwidth is not rolled off or exaggerated at any particular part of the spectrum. If we took objective measurements of the frequency response of just about any power cable, they would probably all measure essentially the same; that is, "flat" in the audio range, until we got out into extremes of sub megahertz frequencies, or frequencies approaching DC. But they may all of course, sound different. Part of that sonic difference may be the way they handle instant high power conduction. When I refer to response to high current demands, particularly for the lower register, I find the impact or weight of the CC's is a tiny bit less than the PC I use on my amps. It's not a dimunition of bass level per se, but rather a slight limitation of the dynamic impact of bass transients that at high volume, can translate to over 500 watts of peak power output in some amplifiers. So yes, in that case (my amps deliver 1.1 KW into a 4 ohm load and 6 KW at peak!!), I think the Furutech DPS 4.1 performs more satisfactorily than the Ching Chengs. But at low power levels, such as phono stages , DACs, or servers? Those signals are not translated to massive current delivery in front end gear, and so I find no reason to move away from the CC's which are just beautifully natural sounding and therefore highly pleasing. Could a huge monster PC be just as satisfying in those applications? Perhaps, but as I've said, I have no interest in exploring that at the moment.
Marty
 
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dminches

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They don't lack low frequency they don't boost it like many others do either.

david

I was asking since Marty seemed to indicate that they did lack low bass ( or however you want to phrase it) when used in a high current application.
 

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