Nova Power Cord Model (M101 silver) Review
Nova Power Cord Model (M101 silver) Review.
First a little background of myself, ozzy.
I am now retired for about 6 years. Previously I was Senior Purchasing Agent and before that Senior Engineer for a large Manufacturing company a total of 42 years.
I have been a long-time member of Audiogon, and several other on-line forums. I have been in this hobby for 50+ years. Heck, I go back so far that when I was 18, I was a Manager of an Allied Radio Shack Store. Remember Allied Radio? Remember when Radio Shack bought them? I have also built many Heathkits and have experimented in many projects through the years from normal to the insane.
But I have always been fascinated about the relationship of the AC power to the sound of an audio system. As has been repeated so many times, how can 5 feet of cable make a difference when there are miles of power lines running to my house? I know I understand, but is it the last 5 feet or the first?
Naturally, I have dedicated lines terminated in Furutech NCF outlets. I have owned/tried so many power conditioners from the likes of PS Audio, Shunyata, Synergistic, Core power, and so many more. I have also owned power cables from companies such as, Purist Dominus, Nordost Valhalla, Synergistic, Virtual Dynamics, Hi Fidelity, Shunyata, Audioquest and on and on. I share this info so again; you can tell my sincerity about power cables. I have a passion (obsession?) for them!
My latest effort was a set of DIY power cords that I made using pure .9999 10 ga solid soft silver in a very high-grade oversized PTFE, braided, twisted, treated with Nano liquid and then finished with Furutech best NCF connectors. They look very similar in construction to the Audioquest Dragon configuration. They have beat all other power cords that I had tried before them. They have made me happy and content.
So now on to the review of the Nova power cables.
First off, I would like to thank Lubos (bewgow on Audiogon) for allowing me to demo his cables. My understanding is that all of his cables utilize copper wiring and Furutech NCF connectors. I will add that I became interested in these cables from a review on Audiogon that millercarbon started and was sorry to see it go off the rails. I asked bewgow for a couple demos to try. In a few days they arrived.
The Nova (silver) power cord.
Since I am using mono block amps, I needed 2 power cables. One about 3 meters and the other about 2 meters long. Lubos was kind enough to send me these 2 lengths. The power cords will be connected to my Audioquest Niagara 7000 power conditioner.
First listen, and I must say, the Nova cable sounded better. Never would have believed it. No way. But it is. There is so much more air and life in its presentation. Instruments extend left/right front/ back. Very impressive. There is a feeling of intimacy in the soundstage that draws you into the music. Women’s voices have that “tongue in the ear” effect. You guys know what I mean…Very inviting. Listen to Linda Ronstadt sing “Blue Bayou” you’ll get it.
The soundstage is wider and deeper. Usually when the music sounds this pure there is a sacrifice at the frequency extremes. But not with this cable. The bass is tight and deep and the highs shimmer elegantly. Since receiving the Nova cables, I have been playing music that I have heard so many times in so many different formats through the years that I could probably write the sheet music. And yet, now for the first time they sound entirely different and so engaging. Fantastic!
I like listening to live recorded music. Mostly rock music. With the Nova cables there is a new found pleasure in the openness in the performance. Even some of the earlier recordings like Creedence Clearwater revival At Woodstock is highly enjoyable.
When you hear your system sounding this right, I knew I had to have this cable. Now, if only I had some more items to sell on Audiogon, hmm… Or how to convince my wife I need a couple more power cords…?
But, oh boy can I recommend this power cord.
ozzy
@lak I have tested the power cords on all the components in my system. Millercarbon will tell you that it does not matter which component you use the power cord on the result will be similar. I agree with that statement however differences in build quality of the components will play a role as well. I use PS Audio dac and amps and Denafrips preamp and CD player. And I can tell you that I hear more change when I use my power cords in the DAC and Amps. What I have experienced so far is the more expensive component (hopefully better built) is more sensitive to quality of the power cord. The biggest difference you will hear is when you change the power cord in the power regenerator or power conditioner. It is like changing all the power cords in the whole system at once. |
In case you missed Supernova review. It's here. http://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/extra-extra-millercarbon-proven-wrong-read-all-about-it-extra-e |
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fuzztone, I remember a time (I think it was in Chicago 1971) when Tandy was giving out store bonuses and he wanted the Store Mangers to reinvest the money into company stock. For a young man that money was important to me. It was kinda hard to pull the check out of his hand. I moved on the next year to (eventually) bigger and better things, but I always enjoyed the experience. I still have friends from that era. ozzy |
docknow, lak, jetter, bewgow fuzztone, and of course miller. Thank you for the comments. I will add that for different equipment, different power cords shine. It seems rational to think that for power conditioners, and amps that larger gauge is better, but its also the method and design as to how the power is transferred. Trial and error based on previous designs and my own reasoning has been my method, but there is a real hoodoo science as to what affects the sound. ozzy |
Welcome Oz I'm still using my first integrated I got at Allied Radio on Western in Chgo. Before the west side went to hell, unlike fictional Shameless. Back in the time of Scorpio radio whose day job was at Polk Bros. "Shack" was not added until Tandy acquired them in '70. For us poor saps that couldn't afford Paul Heath, it was pretty much them and Musicraft (where I bought the tuner.) Later I got earspeakers at Gill Custom House. Thanks for all the PC wisdom. |
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Some background on this since the guy is so new, when Lubos first reached out to me it was largely because I was on the record as being down on DIY cables. So he knew I would be tough. Also my system is all tube and analog, most of his testing was SS and digital. The first one he sent me, I assumed it was his best but it turned out to be a test. That first one got no review from me because it just wasn't review-worthy. It did throw a captivating sound stage with awesome imaging, but it was lean and hyped and not that balanced a presentation. Turns out he tells me later he KNEW this was the case, that one was focused on imaging. This has been told before but it bears repeating, because how often do you find a DIY'er who not only acknowledges the flaws but knows why they are there and what he is going to do about it? I have never heard the Nordost Odin2, but I have heard other Nordost and I am familiar with listener impressions and would not be surprised to be throwing the same criticism at Odin2 if i had one. Fast lean and hyped is the curse of our times, but a lot of guys seem to like it. Fine. Just bear in mind where I am coming from. When I say his first was lean and hyped, probably a whole lot of audiophiles would be saying what are you talking about this thing rocks! It also helps to understand what it means when I reviewed both Nova and Supernova and said Nova had some edge and grain, or a sense of hardness, that is not there with Supernova. Without Supernova to compare against I would be talking about how fast and liquid smooth Nova is. Especially once it fully burns in. Does not look like anything special. Ozzy has had a lot more high end power cords to look at, would be nice to know what he thinks about these from a purely appearance point of view. To me the Nova looks like a Master Coupler with clear plastic instead of the usual black mesh. You can see the braid inside. The whole thing is kind of tight, nothing like the air dielectric used on Supernova. So two completely different geometries and designs. Yet they both work extremely well. |
Here is their website: https://www.moneoone.com/ |
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What I said. "Never would have believed it" should have been "everything I was expecting based on millercarbon’s review." But all the same, good to hear it is everything I said it was, and then some. A beautiful description of what I heard. Thank you for corroborating. If you think Nova is fantastic, which it is, you should hear Supernova. Also if you like the way Nova sounds now, just wait. My review was focused more on Supernova. That was the one I happened to try first, that was the one with the most hours, and Nova never really had as much time to fully come into its own. Because of some other things I was reviewing Nova was put aside a while. I wanted to get a better handle on Supernova, and also of course the Townshend F1 speaker cable and interconnect. Once I was sure those had stabilized then Nova went back in. That was about 2-3 weeks ago. Now with more hours this combination of Nova and Supernova is truly spectacular. Had a local audio bud over the other night, as he said, "How much more detail can you get??!" This from a system that to look at it no one would ever expect it to be right up there with the very best astronomically expensive SOTA. It is. Thanks in large part to exceptionally fine wire. |
