I just went to the website and looked at what they had to offer. Very limited technical info and what was there has me somewhat scared. I'll let those with first-hand experience tell us how much better it is than everything else they've tried. Sean
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Sean,
What is it that has your scared? I would like to address your concerns if they are grave.
Best Regards, Michael Wolff |
FYI,
Two audiogon members are now evaluating the Carbon Source cord. So we shall know something shortly. |
My negative thoughts about this product are based on current limitations and non-linear distortions and safety hazards arising from such.
You have one cord that you specifically state "do not use this with a power amp". Since most amplifiers only draw a few amps on a steady state basis, this tells me that this cord suffers from higher than average series resistance and becomes worse ( possibly dangerous ) as more current is pulled through it. Then again, i'm basing this on the information that you've provided on your website, which is far from being all inclusive or technical in nature. Sean
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I would like to see the UL/CSA certification on this cord :) |
In reply to your concerns Sean. And, I do appreciate you stating them.
Actually the CARBON SOURCE cord has been tested up to 20 amps. The limiting factor here is wattage. It was designed to handle front end components only. The reason that it was designed that way was to avoid non-linear distortions. Digital equipment is very sensitive to the quality of power it is fed. Notice that I said quality, not quantity. A DAC will not perform better to a power cord that is capable of delivering 2,000 watts at 20 amps. But it surely will react differently to a cord that maintains square waves versus one that distorts that 60 cycle wave.
Digital equipment is not dynamic in current draw. Most CD players need only about 32 watts and most preamplifiers need about 50 watts of continuous wattage to operate. That gives us the opportunity to focus on the quality of power. Amplifiers on the other hand, are dynamic in their current needs.
As far as UL listing, to my knowledge very few of the cords out on the market have a UL approval for the entire cord. They may use UL rated parts but the cord itself is not UL approved. Case in point, Magnolia HI-FI, which is a large national stereo shop, discontinued selling Audioquest power cords until they had a UL approval on the cord itself. It would be interesting to ask BMI, David Elrod, and for that matter, all of the DIY guys if their cords are UL approved.
With regard to technical data, I have tried to give an overview of the advantages that these cords are based on. A heck of a lot more than the typical Nirvana promises that other manufacturers give. Review BMI information about their $3,000 cords, or David Elrods $2,700 cord, or Shunyata. Where is their technical data? Nada. All they tell you is that Hey this is the cord for you.
The carbon cords are safe to use if they are not misused. I have confidence in them, enough so to apply for a patent which set me back $4,500. Thats how impressive the performance of this product is to me. Its very natural to be a little skeptical about something new.
So we have overlooked the most important aspect of this whole subject which is sound quality. Two of my audiogon customers have the carbon Source cord in their possession and are using it. Viggen (audiogon name) has already provided some early feedback which can be reviewed on the website.
Best Regards to you,
Michael Wolff |
One additional comment if I may add.
I could build a carbon SOURCE cord that delivers 300 watts of continous power. But, it would'nt have the same sonic characteristic. I've tried it. What we accomplish by the smaller carbon ribbon is more speed, better frequency and all the etc. etc.'s. Quality vs. Quantity - there was no doubt in my mind when I heard it in my own system.
Guess time will tell.
Best,
Michael Wolff |
With all due respect to other cord manufacturer's. I owe them an apology and retraction on my earlier comment which implies that they provide no technical merit to their products. Obviously some do more than others.
I guess my feathers were ruffled a little and I apologize to everyone implied or named.
My sincere apologies and I will refrain from furthur involvement.
Best Regards, Michael Wolff |
Michael: I see no problems with bringing other manufacturers into question in terms of UL type acceptance, etc... BUT naming names can be a touchy situation.
I've seen some cords that would have NO problems being UL approved and i've seen others that are fire hazards waiting to happen. The funny thing is that, many of the cords that would easily meet UL spec's do so because they are nothing more than "standard" power cords wrapped in "snakeskin" with good quality connectors on them. I guess that the manufacturers include a quantity of "snake oil" along with the "snakeskin" at the prices that they charge : )
Other than that, i agree with your comments about the "quality" of AC being more important than the "quantity" in most cases. Obviously, the one major exception would be high powered amps, especially when coupled with low impedance, low sensitivity speakers. In such a case, a "current funnel" would work best : )
Given the "rebuttal" that you've provided, i would suggest amending your website info to state something to the effect of "Our Carbon Source cord is optimized for use with devices drawing lower quantities of current i.e. sources ( as the name implies ), preamps, etc... These devices are typically more sensitive to the quality of power being delivered to them than other devices that require greater quantities of current that vary on a dynamic basis. As such, that is why we make another cord that is designed to deal with the heavier, dynamic loads that an amplifier consumes." I think that you get the idea.
Other than that, I think that you and Corona should go into business together. You guys are great at giving nothing away in terms of intellectual properties or actual design criteria : ) Sean
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Hey,
Guess what, my "review" is posted on this product's site, although, the review isn't really a review. Rather, they personal emails and discussions with Mike about the new carbon cord that has been in my system for about a week and a half. The reason for the correspondance is that I understand user feedback is helpful in determining the attributes and weaknes of a product. I did give him permission to post the email on his site though.
Frankly, I just wanted to note that the 200 words "review" is derived from 2 separate emails from different dates about a week apart consisting of 600 words. Maybe he chopped my email down for reasons of being more concise and succinct. However, I do want to add I did have some concerns about the cord that were in the emails and is absent in the "review".
For one, carbon itself is not conductive (atleast not that I know of) but the carbon material used in this cord is conductive just as the carbon material you will find in the Stillpoint's ERS stuff (Yes, the same stuff used on Stealth bombers). Yet, the resistance on these stuff is still rather high. This made it not feasible for me to use the carbon cord when it is attached to a passive filter such as the Audio Magic Stealth and Furutech ETP60 that I am using.
Whatever is attached to the filter while the carbon cord is also attached to it causes the wattage going into these components to be reduced. This has caused my gaincard's volume to do a weird synthesizer curves and my transport's light to go bonkers then shut down. As of now, I have the carbon cord attached directly to the outlet in lieu of the filter. And, there is no more poltergeist stuff. No, the carbon cord is not the cord connecting the filter to the wall outlet. It is connecting from the filter's to the transport. So, there are no component downstream from the carbon cord.
I guess Mike never tested the carbon cord with it attached to a filter with multiple outlets with multiple components attached to it before. This may or may not be a problem for some out there. Or, maybe this is an isolated incidence with the cord I have in my system now.
My other concern is what is the long term viability of the component for being connected to a carbon powercord for a longer period of time. This might or might not be cause for alarm. yet, I feel some people might be too faint of heart to try this out on their own equipment, so thank me for being the lab rat *heh*.
If you've been to Mike's website, then you've read the positive virtues; eventhough, they are patched up haphazardly. Sure hope my former English teachers are not audiophiles in the market for a powercord. I will report back, perhaps, after a week. |
And Sean, give them a break. It's not everyday engineers transition into marketing. I know this can be frustrating though. |
I appreciate the feedback from you guys. Sean, I will do a little wordsmithing and may even use your word as written to clarify. I thought it was pretty clear that the SOURCE was designed exclusively for typical front end equipment which draws low current.
As in Viggens case, he did have some difficulties with shut downs because the passive filtrations devices probably kicked the total resistance up higher than what the cord was designed to take. After he removed those devices, I assume by his e-mails, that the cord performed fine and he was pleased with the sound.
Perhaps I should not have called it a review, but feedback which is what I have titled on the web page.
I really don't think that I'm in the same league as Corona.
I don't have any "unknown resources sent from above" in my cords.
Carbon is a natural conductor, is it as good as silver, NO.
Evereything in this world has a resistance factor. Carbon may not be as good as some of the conductive materials, however, the trade-offs may be very worthwhile. Worthwile enough to apply for a patent which I did. Maybe that I will own a patent on something that I only use.LOL
In closing, just to show how crazy this whole thing can get, go to Audio Asylum and read the post from "Sonny" who claims that my cords are hocus and a rip off. One of the monitors from AA called me last night, and we talked. I told him I had no idea who this guy was and he definetly did not have one of my cords. I think I know who sonny is by the style of writing and the mispelled words.
Thanks, Michael |
Wow! So much crazyness and not a single coherent explanation! Amazing...
Perhaps I could get a copy of the patent pending thing. If it's $4500 there must be some substance to the design. |
