There’s a well known audiophile saying about how good sound starts at the wall and I was always fascinated by power cords long before I started making my own. I literally went through dozens of different models using a variety of materials and topologies. Over time, it became clearer how the different design choices worked sonically and, equally, how they could be improved upon.
All of my power cord models share a common design based around the same UL certified conductor but are offered at different price points using different plug-sets. As this conductor is extremely transparent sounding, you will hear clearly the differences between plugs, even the most expensive options. This isn’t however a casual exercise in upselling and I will happily advise prospective customers if a cheaper option better suits their system.
Since different brands of plugs have differing wire capacity, I always take advantage of the opportunity to use a larger gauge as I find this to improve both transparency and dynamic scale. As such, this modular approach allows customers to easily upgrade / trade up the model range for the difference in list price. Here are the models in Miss World order.....
Reserva - uses 7awg per phase together with the Oyaide 004 plugset. A solid performer despite being the entry level model and a good allrounder for all types of equipment.
Reserva Elite - as above but now using the Furutech NCF plugset which allows 6awg. These plugs give a large drop in noisefloor with big gains in detail and dynamics. The soundstage is much more open and imaging placement tightens with pin-point accuracy. The linear presentation works very well with tube and warmer sounding solid state gear.
Prince Sablon - this is an evolution of the Elite model above but adopting the Bocchino silver plated iec in combination with the existing NCF mains plug. Although this initially sounds like a simple change, the sonic gains are disproportionately impressive. The noisefloor drops even further and the presentation gains significant dynamic authority and tonal (dare I say it ‘analoguey’) density. This is also another good allrounder and my most popular power cord. Those with vinyl and tube based systems may care to consider selecting the platinum plated Bocchino iec, which gives yet more transparency with a similar linear voicing to the Elite model.
King Sablon - this is my flagship featuring the full Bocchino plugset and 5awg of wire. I’ll be the first to admit that it isn’t for everyone, not least of all since the Bocchino mains plug is simply huge, 50% larger than the already chunky iec, and spills over adjacent outlets in mains conditioners / distribution blocks. If you have the real estate to accommodate this, then you can expect further gains over the Prince model in transparency and dynamics. My standard fitment on this model is to use a mix of silver and platinum plated Bocchino plugs, a sublime combination imho which gives a more balanced and transparent performance than the earlier all silver example featured in the Hong Kong thread, however all platinum plated is also available to order.
Here’s a photo to help visualise the difference in plug sizes.
All of my power cord models share a common design based around the same UL certified conductor but are offered at different price points using different plug-sets. As this conductor is extremely transparent sounding, you will hear clearly the differences between plugs, even the most expensive options. This isn’t however a casual exercise in upselling and I will happily advise prospective customers if a cheaper option better suits their system.
Since different brands of plugs have differing wire capacity, I always take advantage of the opportunity to use a larger gauge as I find this to improve both transparency and dynamic scale. As such, this modular approach allows customers to easily upgrade / trade up the model range for the difference in list price. Here are the models in Miss World order.....
Reserva - uses 7awg per phase together with the Oyaide 004 plugset. A solid performer despite being the entry level model and a good allrounder for all types of equipment.
Reserva Elite - as above but now using the Furutech NCF plugset which allows 6awg. These plugs give a large drop in noisefloor with big gains in detail and dynamics. The soundstage is much more open and imaging placement tightens with pin-point accuracy. The linear presentation works very well with tube and warmer sounding solid state gear.
Prince Sablon - this is an evolution of the Elite model above but adopting the Bocchino silver plated iec in combination with the existing NCF mains plug. Although this initially sounds like a simple change, the sonic gains are disproportionately impressive. The noisefloor drops even further and the presentation gains significant dynamic authority and tonal (dare I say it ‘analoguey’) density. This is also another good allrounder and my most popular power cord. Those with vinyl and tube based systems may care to consider selecting the platinum plated Bocchino iec, which gives yet more transparency with a similar linear voicing to the Elite model.
King Sablon - this is my flagship featuring the full Bocchino plugset and 5awg of wire. I’ll be the first to admit that it isn’t for everyone, not least of all since the Bocchino mains plug is simply huge, 50% larger than the already chunky iec, and spills over adjacent outlets in mains conditioners / distribution blocks. If you have the real estate to accommodate this, then you can expect further gains over the Prince model in transparency and dynamics. My standard fitment on this model is to use a mix of silver and platinum plated Bocchino plugs, a sublime combination imho which gives a more balanced and transparent performance than the earlier all silver example featured in the Hong Kong thread, however all platinum plated is also available to order.
Here’s a photo to help visualise the difference in plug sizes.
