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…?
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.
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.
Nice review Ozzy, well written and articulate. You mentioned that the Nova is the first power cord to surpass your home brewed PCs. I would be curious how much you have invested in one of your DIY cables in comparison to the Nova $2,500 price tag?
If I was to make a guess at current prices 2m cable that ozzy built would cost you today $1700 in parts plus labor. Furutech connectors around $800. Solid silver 10GA 20feet $370. PTFE tubing $200 for 20 feet and copper shield $30. Nano liquid $300.
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.
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.
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's and millercarbon's systems are very different yet they both hear similar results. I am looking for two to three more people with highly resolving systems who want to help me better understand how these cables work under different scenarios.
thecarpathian, At this point the power cord(s) have settled nicely. The soundstage has become enveloping. Actually I think it sounds better than my 5.1 surround system in depth and width. These cords are very good for my amps. If you can try to get one to demo.
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.
I would be interested in hearing/auditioning your power cables. Is there a way to get hold of you? I can't find any button for sending a PM on the Audiogon web site.
@bill3332 - best to contact bewgow per his direction above, but for future reference if you click on the member’s name the page that comes up has a small highlighted box "marketplace feedback" which is right under the word Country near the top of the page, click on that box and the next page has 3 highlighted boxes also at the top portion of the page one being "send message" , click on that and you can pm a member via the website. You can check for a response to your pm via notifications on your page.
jafant, Yes I already have, The Synergistic SX is on my Lumin X1. The Audioquest Dragon is on my Audioquest 7000 and the Nova's are on my 2 mono block amps.
I had a guy over Saturday, he couldn't believe a power cord could ever make any difference. So I replaced the Moneoone Supernova with a freebie rubber power cord. Let him listen to a little Steve Miller, Space Intro. Then put the Supernova back in.
The needle barely hits the groove when I hear him exclaim, "Wow! That is amazing!"
Yes, the improvement was so vast even the lead-in groove sounded better! Ha!
The point here is that MC had a guy over who did not believe that cable makes a difference. The best way to demonstrate that is to use the freebie. I do it all the time. Second point is that the guy could tell that the Supernova makes a difference in sound before the music started. Amazing!
bewgow, That is no point. Any quality power cord should out perform a cheapo freebie power cord. The question is, is it necessary to use a $10,000 power cord to prove the point?
Actually ozzy it is totally the point. It only seems different to you because you are past the denial stage. You know very well how important these things are and so to you the test is comparing one against the other in order to determine first which is better, and second by how much. You are down to figuring out what to spend your money on. That is a completely different thing than what we are talking about here.
The point is there is a difference, and it is huge. The guy who was listening, to him that is the whole point, the whole enchilada, the whole shebang. He thought there was no difference whatsoever. Was sure there could not possibly be any difference. He found out otherwise. Precisely the point.
Now if you want to ask is it necessary to use a $10k PC to prove the point, that is yet another question. Now you are talking about how much of a difference does it take before someone will notice. The answer is: no one knows. Because you are talking hypotheticals. My example was an example. Nothing hypothetical about it. Actually happened.
There are by the way two ways of finding out the same thing. One is you can change and try lots of different power cords. Another is you can change and try lots of different recordings, and different systems. Generally the best recordings and systems will make it a lot easier to discern differences between things like this. But there is yet another way, and this time we stumbled upon it quite by accident.
When Dana exclaimed he could hear the improvement even while the needle was still in the lead-in groove, well that goes beyond recording quality. That goes beyond system quality. When all you hear is a freaking blank groove and yet the power cord is so good it extracts detail even from a smooth blank groove - AND does it so obviously even a guy who is in total doubt and denial is forced to say WOW! - well now folks you know you are talking a very high level of high end power cord.
I inquired about getting some power cords to audition. But got the jest that they are looking for those without high end power cords i was basically being told that there was not going to be a big difference with what i have and their cords. So now i understand the post their cable against the freebies. Not a good approach, with my next need for a power cord why would i consider their cable if there is a lack of confidence from the get go. It could be a great cable and it should be at the prices but i guess i will never know.
I absolutely want to know how my cables compare to high end power cables in other systems like yours. That's why I ask the question what power cables do you have so I know before I send the cables out. After I asked the question you withdrew the offer to audition.
Sorry but you’re missing it. Let me be clear. Both Nova and Supernova are very high performance power cords. The freebie power cord was NOT used because that is how low you have to go for Supernova to sound better. The freebie was only used because I have one handy and Dana was sure the freebie would be just as good. He found out just how wrong that is.
Now you are are saying there was not going to be a big difference with what you have, without saying anything about what you have! What do you have? Because there is no lack of confidence. Unless you have spent a good deal AND made a very good choice I am real confident either one of these will be a lot better.
That's why I ask the question what power cables do you have so I know before I send the cables out. After I asked the question you withdrew the offer to audition.
I withdrew because if there was going to be little or no difference i did not want to waste anyones time.
Like i said the cables could be excellent but i do not comment on anything unless i have experience with said product.
My post was not directed towards the product. Having been in the industry for over three decades i know when starting out getting product in as many hands as possible is important and showing confidence in your product to beat the competition. Maybe it was just me but i felt a lack of confidence to go against my Shunyata and Nordst cables.
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