FAVORITE POWER CABLE under $100 (1M)

The Aliexpress Accuphase clone is getting a lot of buzz online currently and is available at around $30 U.S. I have one on the way for a bit of fun and will report back after I put it through its paces.

It will replace a DIY using basic Viborg connectors and JPS inwall cable (both cryoed) on my CD transport and I can also experiment with it on some other pieces of equipment where it will replace Viborg 1501 with top of the line Viborg connectors.

Loaned the DIY JPS out to a friend last year and he felt it was the equal of his genuine (as opposed to fake LOL) Nordost Brahma at around $1400 U.S.-the Viborg 1501 (which I’ve also had cryoed) is IMO much better than the DIY JPS here.

Said friend just put a pair of the 1501 Viborgs on his new Macintosh 451 monoblocks and they (the Macs and Viborgs) sounded quite good when I heard them recently.

1M 1501 with aluminum bodied rhodium plugs is available slightly above $100 on Amazon.com (my preference would be the copper plugs which are a bit more at around $140), but the less expensive Viborg 1606 with more basic Viborg male & IEC is available at around $70 for 1M and is also a very good power cord.

@musiclover1 and  ​​​​@mbolek 

Yes. Viborg 1501 (I am partial to the 1501 terminated in the top of line Viborg male

and IEC copper plugs-VM/VF 502 or 512's and have those in use in my system) with the top of line Viborg connectors is a seriously good power cord. 

It falls slightly outside the discussion in this case because it is just slightly north of $100 but it is an outstanding cable and gets better when cryoed. I use them in my system on an Aqvox Phono 2CI preamp, a Unison Research Triode 25 integrated and an Audio Sensibility power distributor. 

I also use the Viborg 1606  that I have DIY'ed with the Viborg connectors in a secondary system on a Shengya A-216 and another Audio Sensibility power distributor so have a bit of experience with both Viborg cables. 

The 1501 with quality terminations is going to be competitive with a lot of European and North American commercial offerings in the $750-$1500 range particularly if you can have it cryoed. 

Possibly well beyond that. I auditioned a bunch of power cords about a year ago with a friend who had them on loan from a local dealer over the Christmas holidays that included Cardas Clear, some higher range Audioquest (which I thought were the best of the bunch) and Nordost Tyr, which I wouldn't trade even for any of my Viborg cords for what it's worth. The Tyr was an absolutely hideous cord in the system that I heard it in, which was quite good. 

Which may not be an absolute indication of quality as opposed to the idea that system synergy may in fact play a very big part in all of this. 

I mentioned upthread that I had an Accuphase 40th Anniversary coming from Aliexpress a few months ago and now can comment on that cable. I ended up ordering one initially which I put on a subwoofer and a CD transport to good effect. 

Ended up ordering two more as I liked the results with that one in those two positions but wanted to experiment a bit more seriously, particularly on my phono preamp. Disclaimer: I had all these cords (and all my previous power cords) cryogenically treated before slotting them in my system for any serious evaluation so YMMV with this cord but the overall character should be as I describe without cryo; typically the treatment will result in slightly more extended frequency extremes, a smoother, more detailed midrange and more refined high frequencies but the treatment will not change the overal tonal balance or character of the original cord/wire. 

I rarely use the CD transport and, with a sub you are talking about only extremely low frequencies so it's perhaps a bit harder to draw a serious conclusion about a power cord's true ability in that application. 

But I finally got around to putting one of the Accuphase clones onto my phono stage (an Aqvox Phono 2CI) where it replaced a Viborg 1501 (also cryoed and with Viborg's top of the line all copper non-plated plugs on it), 

The 1501 is no slouch and a very good cord IMO. In the past I've used or had experience with a number of commercial offerings (some up to a retail price of around $500). For many years I used DH Labs Power Plus with Marinco connectors (all cryoed) but moved on to the Viborg 1501's in the past few years as I experimented with one initially and then essentially outfitted my entire system with them. They were a pretty huge improvement on the DH Labs. 

To my surprise, I found the Accuphase clone, at around $30 U.S. if you can believe it, to be a nice improvement over the Viborg 1501. At first I thought that the Accuphase lacked some of the bass energy that the Viborg has; that might be one area in which the Viborg might be better, but the more I listen and use the Accuphase, the more I have misgivings even about that. 

In the midrange and high frequencies the Accuphase simply sounds more natural and refined than the Viborg on my phono preamp. There's a slight edge and glassy quality in the midrange in particular that I did not realize was there that vanishes with the Accuphase clone. It's not a flashy, hi-fi kind of cord if you're looking for something like that: just more of a really neutral, but fleshed out & full bodied character. Sounds incredibly natural for lack of a better description. 

I'm not sure how the Accuphase would fare on my tube integrated-perhaps it will be too much of a good thing compared to the Viborg on that piece of equipment. But I've just ordered another one to try in that position and will report back. 

I cannot see anyone being disappointed by this power cord-it is crazy cheap and its price/performance ratio is off the charts. Price is not always an indication of performance. On some of the other audio forums, users there are divided over whether the Accuphase or Neardost clones provide better performance-some favor one over the other and vice versa but for around $30 U.S. the Accuphase is a no-brainer to try out. 

I ordered both from audioConnector Store and moonsaudio Store on Aliexpress: very good product and service from both of them. 

I'll post back in a few months after trying the next one on my integrated.