I use brass ac outlet cover faceplates. My power cords use steel bearing fill as a dielectric RFI shield as well as being a drain for micro-vibrations. I love that sound. I will try out the copper end shield over and near the IEC end of my power cords. As I described my power cords shielded construction, would not both ends unprotected as they are, be improved with the copper shields? I hope to find out soon. Thanks for the tip. Tom |
Ozzy, Thanks a lot for the website links. Indeed it was too bad @ the local home improvement stores.
Undertow, thanks for the detailed explanation - looks like a 1-3/8" reducer to 1-1/4" will do the job. I do have a local ACE hardware store that I can try. I will take my IEC along.
Rx8man, thanks for your kind words re. the Scintillas! They sound as good as they look but need a brute of an amp to do the job. These speakers belong in the "Society for Cruelty to Amplifiers"!! ;)
Yes, I did discover McMaster-Carr. If my local ACE store does not work out, I'll order online. Thanks for the M-C suggestion. |
Undertow,
Blu-Tack's a GREAT idea to take up the excess I.D. and damp.
I'm doing that on the 2 stock P/C's to the amps, thanks for the tip ! |
Remember when trying the copper too much can be a bad thing. It improved my Marantz SA-11S1 using copper at both ends. For my Art Audio Px-25 amp, copper helped at the IEC end but additional copper at the male end collapsed the sound stage. Both cords go to a PS Audio Power regenerator and not directly to the wall. I bet it will help most CD players as they generate a lot of noise to the A/C line. I think the improvement to amps will vary.
Have fun experimenting.
David Pritchard |
Yeah the blu tack is perfect for this application and semi-permanent, and has better mechanical and damping properties as well. Plus leaves no residue on the copper or your plugs which is nice, so you can test this out where you want and reverse it quickly. I also have decided to only do the IEC ends on my amps, and Do both ends on my DAC and Both ends on my Transport
Mainly I stay away from preamps with this kinda thing as it does seem to suck some life out of them.. Most analog gear accept amps for that matter dont seem to benefit from this, such as phono stages etc.. I just do the digital fully and the amps just the IEC connection.
I am curious however if there would be some benefit adding a Drain wire by soldering a small wire onto the Copper coupler at the IEC end and connecting it to the back of the Component chassis screw with a quick conneect tab or alligator clip? It would be grounded this way as well, not sure if any benefit but interesting. This way you have a positive solid connection as it seems in the marantz video above he basically was just trying to hang the copper so to touch the IEC inlet screws
I can see however its worth using stainless steel or Brass wall plates for more isolation on that end vs. cheap plastic ones.. However I would not pay the 30 to 300 dollars for the voodoo carbon fiber or brass plates from some of these guys advertising them! |
I was able to rearrange AC ends on back of the Hydra adding sleeves over the AC ends of the transport, dac and preamp.
If I notice any decrease what so ever, I'll remove the preamp AC sleeve first, per above comment(s) |
First few notes upon fire-up and wow again.
More fully developed harmonics and smoothness, like another component upgrade.
AC wreaks an evil havoc on sound, controlling it is the key, but not always an easy task. |
I would be curious however if a couple of the shields are just simply NOT having any negative effect, but also not doing anything positive but lame ducks, like the ones possibly on the preamp.. So if you get a chance let us know.. But again it will really depend on the equipment too I am sure, tube, solid state, overall design and power supply in the component can make this tweak better on some and not so good on others who knows? |
Undertow,
I gathered that conclusion among other things as well as tweaks, eg. P/C's, tube types, interconnects, speaker cables etc.
Power supply is a very key matter, ask a guy like Paul or Brian at TRL,
I had a long phone conversation with them.
I'll listen for a lame duck tonight, when everything's quieter and settled in ! |
About a year ago on another thread, I told of removing the ferrous cover on my ac mains box. That made for a nice improvement and heard by others in my listening room as my system was being played. Tom |
I have looked at the forum site where this tweak was first reported. I was interested in the idea of outlet cover material improving the sound. From what I read, brass outlet covers did not make a difference, but carbon fiber added to a plastic cover or the expensive commercial covers did make a small improvement.
David Pritchard |
David my last post was in reference to removing the entire cover off the AC mains breaker box. Tom |
Chrissan,
I just talked to 1 electrical engineering at my work and, just like you brought it up earlier, he too rec'd to run a ground wire from a coupler to the classis. Verified.
He thinks to design a "metal hat" like Marantz do to their REference lines to shield up the entire transformer is not a bad idea... |
Brought my EIC connector in local Ace hardware for sizing but their biggest size avail. for copper coupler was half inch or 3/8". Does any one have the part number from Lowes of Home Depot? |
Nasaman,
Lowe's is a better bet, even though I found their bins a complete mess.
#222144 corresponds to a 1-1/2" coupler.
Bring your cord and get the size that fits closest, you may need 1-1/4" so
read the label on the coupler to verify.
|
Thansk,I have the standard Wattgate plugs so will see. An engineering guy said that it isn't have to be copper. It can be brass or else, what matter is its thickness. He also added, other material that can actually "neutralize" magnet is called Mu-metal, but then it'll have side effects as well, and he went on... to probably few pages if I type all down. I'll stick with copper. |
Nasaman,
Yeah you could probably get away with steel or aluminum too, but copper is pretty easy to get.. Brass would be really heavy and pull on your connection a lot depending on the thickness.. Standard Wattgate connections you will need exactly 1.25" or in otherwords 1-1/4" INNER diameter couplers if you want the perfect fit. 1.5" will be larger than your wattgate and you would need to put some type of spacer, either wrapping a thick line of electrical tape, or some thick double sided tape if you just want to hold it in place. |
Ozzy or anybody,
Did you try the Pex Supply couplers you mentioned on above link? It appears to be thin compared to some of the ones mentioned from Lowes and HD. I wonder if they are as effective as some of the thicker ones.
Thanks in advance,
Kenobi |
Kenk168, in this case it really should not matter much in the gauge of metal used, its going to block the same for the most part, only reason I could see thicker being better would be with a really strong inductive/magnetic field, but I think this would be far more power than what we are able to run in the house. Essentially this might work even just using Aluminum duct tape, or copper tape wrapped around the connector a few times, problem is that a roll of that tape is probably a lot more expensive than a few of the 3 dollar plumbing pipes we are talking about here!
For example there are many hi end manufactures that wrap just the transformer in the component with a simple foil thickness type metal with good shielding results. The only other advantage to thicker being possibly better would be simply the mass adding more mechanical damping, but for the shield properties if thats what your going for I really doubt you would find much of a difference.
Who knows maybe just balling up a strip of the aluminum foil in your kitchen right now might be just as effective! But it would not look as cool :-) |
Kenk168, I think they are the same thickness, standard wall.
There is a standard wall, a X-hvy and a XX-heavy wall thickness.
Almost all domestic copper is standard wall.
The thicker walls are used for Industrial use. |
The copper couplers are working extremely well in all locations.
My crappier recordings are sounding very listenable, and at loud levels.
This is the most effective, cheapest tweak ever applied to my rig, and I've done many over the years, installing my own IEC inlets, various fuses, damping of chassis, footers and materials etc, etc. |
If you do a search for rfi and emi shielding materials you will find many different types and variations. The foil types made of copper with adhesive maybe the most simple to procure and to use. I have a couple of copper foil inductors I could unroll and use for this experiment/purpose. Some slicing and dicing along with some spray adhesive may open this up for some shielding inside of my cd transport. Tom |
Tom,
I found a roll of 3 inch adhesive-back copper foil from McMaster Carr,
the inside of my CEC transport looks like a good place to start using it. |
Alrighty, finally, I bought 2 of them, 1.5" for my IEC (Note: 1.25" did not fit the Wattage plugs, it just stops right at the black lip of the plug). Paid $4.99/each from Mom&Pop strore since Lowes did not have any copper or brass bigger than 1".
If all materials are getting the same affect then I think next time I will stopby a muffler shop to see I can snatch 1 for free.
I stayed up late till 4:30am last night to test out power cables, and it was so much fun. It was so amazing to see just switching 1 power cable around can change the sound of my music.
Let's see where this tweak will take me tonight... crossing my fingers and hoping for best. |
Nasaman, Remember I found the biggest effect to be on the power cord IEC on the CD Player. |
OMG, this tweak REALLY works for my system. The power cable for my DVD Denon-5910 is 1M long and everytime I slided back far away from the CD end (IEC female plug) it degraded sound quality in both instruments (guitar, violin) and Diana Krall "The Girl In The Other Room." Engaged it back on and the sound was just beautifully sharper, instantly. Unlike any IC and PC that I have tried on my system, this OZZY tweak (lol, in this thread, you brought it up, you earn it!) remain the same characteristic but much clearer and sharper. It's a step closer to high-end sound like the Esoteric DV-60 that I auditioned before in my system. I would say more like Hi-Fi sound; very define and crystal clear.
My system was very warm and musical before but now it's more like Hi-Fi sound, not a bad way, not a good way, but I just stated to show the compare and contrast for this Ozzy Tweak.
I was gonna wait till my wife come home from work so she can help me slide it back and forth for my blind test, but after quickly going thru it, I confirm that Ozzy Tweak is really work. I used couple "clear brain" techniques to asurely this is not my imagination, and it is NOT. It really works.
I'm so excited now so my rating for differences might be unfair and bias. If I have to throw in a number, it'll probably like 15-25% sound improved. ( I just edited and crank it up from 10-20%)
I'm taking the extra piece to my friend who has higher end system, and I will keep on update more later. |
Gentlemen,
What do you think of this shielded coupling at a higher cost of course. However, it comew w/ a nice neoprene gasket fitting. Unfortunately, its currently out of stock.
http://www.buyplumbing.net/index.html?pg=pd&_i=3003150
Regards,
Luc |
This tweak works great on my friend's system. Great improved on audio. We tested on DVD mode using his Bob Scacces disk, but there's 1 technical problem. After the 2nd attemped, audio still playing but the video went blank (showing no input) everytime we slided the copper over his IEC (Nordost) even on diff DVD disks.
His DVD player is Ayre D1-xe comes with original equipted seperate power supply. http://www.ayre.com/retired_detail.cfm?productid=4&field=specs
The video works fine on my Denon DVD-5910.
I predict that this has to do something with magnetic field... |
Kenk168 , Its all about the sound. If it costs $14 but improves the sound even better then go for it.
However, thus far, I don't have any problem with the ordinary (cheap) Copper sleeve not fitting snug to the power cable and it doesnt fall off.
I think the fitting with the neoprene gasket may be overkill.
But, keep us updated. |
Nasaman, Strange about the Ayre D1-xe DVD player.
I have put copper sleeves in my Video system too.
Didnt work too so hot on my Denon 5.1 Reciever.
But worked great on my DVD player(Denon 5910) and on my DVD Recorder. The DVD recorder really has now a better picture.
I also put one on the AC end of my Sony LCD. Each one added improves more.
I think these sleeves work great on almost all digital. |
Went copper coupler crazy and put the last two on the AC ends of the amp cords tonight, it's the icing on the cake.
Skipping the audiophile adjectives, the sound is very real, speakers flat-out disappear.
Total cost incl. tax under $60.00 |
Rx8man, Wow , that is great!
I wonder how long it will take Cable Manufactures to start offering exotic versions for big $$$.
Visited a fellow Audiogonner the other day and I brought along one of the 1 1/2" copper couplers.
He had a very nice sounding system that cost lots of money.
However, he uses just the standard power cords and interconnects.
He refused to even try the copper fitting, because he believed it would not do anything. |
"He refused to even try the copper fitting, because he believed it would not do anything."
Lol, and that's why he has the "well engineered" factory power cord. Just a while back, people did not believe the earth was rounded like an orange, and they thought that....
Fact, just about 2 to 3 years ago, I thought that high end components were over rated and designed for people with too much money in their hands. Any thing costed more than my Harman Kardon AVR and $79 Sony DVD were just ... too much. Especially telling me a $200 interconnect could improved my system? C'mon get a life. That was such an insult my intelligent.... Thank you Lord, I have an open mind and the passion for this hobby. |
Nasaman, Amen to that.
I have found that many items once thought to be just Hi-End Tweaky stuff (such as power cords, interconnects, speaker cable, isloation devices, dedicated circuits, and power conditioners ) do something, even if it is just a 1-30% improvement.
It comes down to how much is that improvement worth in performance compared to the cost of the item.
That why I think the copper sleeve is such a great thing. Improvement with little financial outlay. |
Ozzy,
If the copper coupler had an "audiophile" name on it with a $500.00 price, he'd put-em on his cord(s) w/o question.
Only a matter of time before manufacturers catch on, I can almost
hold my breath to find out when. |
when?
now:
http://www.audio-replas.com/html_eng/plate.html |
"If the copper coupler had an "audiophile" name on it with a $500.00 price, he'd put-em on his cord(s) w/o question."
If StereoPhile magazine agrees to test and write a full review for this tweak under my new company's name: "NasaMan", I'd probably get rich and quite my day job.
Humm, not a bad idea!!! Wondering how much StereoPhile's prices?
Rhyno,
Great finding. ..Did you jsut create that site? j/k
Wow, they are pretty hefty /thick. But, unless that extra thickness already compensate it, otherwise I think thye need to extend the length to fully cover the IEC. Anyways, with those pieces from the website above, our local untrusted friends may now have no doubt that they actually work. Can you imagine if Furutech or Cardas or even Nordost come out with alikes... this thread will def be extending to couple pages more. Lol. |
Rhyno, Thanks for the link. By the way, I think it costs $1100.
I also think it doesnt cover the IEC enough.
But that will be changed in the Mark 2 version.
Nasaman, I want a cut from your profits for the
"review of this tweak under my new company's name: "NasaMan", |
Thanks Rhyno,
I can breathe ea$y ! |
One final thought.
Please be careful when adding too many of the copper sleeves to ones system. I own a Synergistic Research PowerCell 10 SE. Everything is plugged into this powercell. Including all my Audio, Video, Home theater, etc.
I have found that a copper sleeve on the CD player IEC is a very good improvement. But, when I continued to add more throughout while keeping everything plugged into the powercell the sound dulled, especially in the high frequencies .
So, experiment, have fun, and lets hope the Economy comes back soon. |
Also, after today experiment,I want to confirm that this copper tweak WILL NOT work on Ayre D1xe DVD player. The video will be blacked-out. Confirmed.
Note: Ayre D1-xe equipt with seperate power supply. |
Same as Ozzy, too much was not a good thing for my system either.
The tweak worked awesome with my CD player (or what I'm using as a CD Player, PS 1), and my Oppo 980 DVD player, improved, but to a lesser extent, my DAC, but killed the sonics on my tube integraed (PrimaLuna PL2).
I have an aftermarket PC on my amp and stock cords on my other gear (don't know if that makes a difference).
I also have the couplers on both ends of the digital gear.
On the amp, it flattened voices and made the high frequencies "tizzy".. I only had the coupler on the female/amp end but it was a very noticeable degradation of sound.
Either way, great tweak.. best $2.39 CDN I've ever spent. I can't believed it worked.
I also make a little sleeve with Duct tape around a little bubble wrap to create a snug fit and have the couplers tight up against the chassis..
Wondering if it puttin a coupler on my cheap power conditioner would make a difference? |
Wow, with this copper sleeve, the video is also greatly improved, too. Not just more colorful but clearly details as well... Speechless!
"Out Sourced" movie is a great one for testing sound and video. Grab one!!! |
Nasaman, Quite honestly I saw the biggest advance in Video with the tweak.. Audio about 5 to 10% maybe, video 15 to 20% cleaner. For the most part as stated above this is most effective on digital gear, however more so on the transport side even over a DAC. |
Nasaman, Quite honestly I saw the biggest advance in Video with the tweak.. Audio about 5 to 10% maybe, video 15 to 20% cleaner. For the most part as stated above this is most effective on digital gear, however more so on the transport side even over a DAC. RE: Enhanced Video Did you place the copper sleeve on the DVD player/transport only, or did you also place one the TV AC cable? Also, what's the consensus on diameter, 1 1/4" or 1 1/2", and if you were to place some adhesive-backed poly foam (like a weather stripping) inside the copper sleeve to help hold it in place, would that have any negative impact on the enhancement (i.e.: dielectric problems)? |
2chnlben
Definitely with todays Digital Displays as all Flat panels are basically "DTV's" if you can get a copper ring on the IEC and its a standard WBT type IEC you use to make a custom connection/cable etc...Then what we are talking about above will work well, For sure this could be of some benefit right on your TV.. You can do it to both ends but seems the most important by concensus so far is doing the IEC at the Units input closest to the transformer.
Mostly everybody above is talking about on your DVD player, or Cable box, or Movie server I am sure could all benefit from an upgraded cable with this copper shielding being they are all based in the digital component realm. You could even keep your cheap belden IEC computer cables that come with the components and take one over to the hardware store and find some Copper to fit those as well, but they will NOT be the sizes above, they will be smaller, like 1" or 3/4" or something probably.
Beyond that I have not tried it on a TV display, I would accept mine has a Standard IEC but its RECESSED into the back and very difficult to get an IEC other than the standard generic cables to fit in there, also with a copper ring Definitely will not fit, but I could do it and may on the AC end at the wall.
Bottom line although some above argued it, I explained very Clearly that 1 1/4" couplers are tricky, THEY ARE THE EXACT correct size if the ID (Inner Diameter) is this size not the OD (outer Diameter), Only for WBT's and Wattgates which are made by the same manufacture MARINCO. Above somebody says a 1 1/4" coupler Hits and does not go over but just hits the insert, Yes and this is why He used standard Marked 1 1/4" couplers, you need to be careful and find the more rare it seems Reducer couplers, or get lucky and find a straight pipe with the REAL 1 1/4" ID. You can use the 1 1/2" and use some Blu tack or double side tape to make up the difference, but I prefer not to, it has a pretty good amount of space.
I had to custom cut some with the ID of the correct size and they fit directly on like the plug was made out of Copper, but this is probably not easy for most, so just buy the 1.5" and modify as you see fit to fill the gap.
Good Luck |
Thanks. I went ahead and picked up a $5.00 copper coupler during lunch today...why wouldn't I, after reading more than 90 (mostly) positive reviews here. I have to say I am skeptical. I'll give it a go tonight. |
You have to be kidding.
Now, I realize the only reason I didn't hear, or see anything different by including the copper coupler is because my ears aren't as trained, and my system isn't as detailed as everyone else here who hears and sees up to 15 percent difference. That said however....you have got to be kidding. I can't say I was disappointed, as I really didn't expect to hear/see any difference. I will tell you all this, I have been concerned about my seating height, so I placed some 2X4's under my couch (that's a 1.5" difference) and the change was rather dramatic - it's what I needed to do all along. Thankfully my hearing is good enough to discern the difference. I only wish I was capable of hearing the enhancements made via the copper coupler - which I'm keeping in place just in case my hearing improves (and my eyesight). |
Ouch,
Sorry it did not work out for you. No, it's not you or your system. If you CAN hear differences by switching ICs or speaker cables then the problem is not you.
Are you kidding? I've not heard it in person but people think the pair of your Krell Revolution speaker is top notch details. Now, I'm rasing my eyebrown not understanding why it's not working out on your Rotel? |
Well don't take it personally Nasaman! In actuality, I really did not give the copper coupler much of an evaluation. I simply slid it on and off during audio/video playback a few times and I really couldn't discern any differences. I'm going to leave it in place though. You know, I spent hours - days actually, tweaking my stand, and I employ a number of other tweaks (e.g.: weights/damping on the chassis of all the equipment, dedicated AC line/outlet, after market power cords, etc.), all of which I really can't discern much difference. I suppose it all adds up though (that's what I'm sticking with). As I mentioned above, I can actually hear a difference after I elevated my listening position by 1.5 inches; that, and I most certainly can hear a difference in late p.m. listening sessions compared to other times of peak power consumption. Those last two "tweaks" being free! Another freebie is speaker placement tweaking. For me, very slight changes in positioning have yielded big returns - in fact, Im sure that I have not found the optimal position yet, but its a pain in the %@#!, so I keep putting it off |
