Im planning on building a pair of DIY power cables, I have shortlisted a few cables and connectors, please feel free to recommend which one to purchase.
In all fairness, battery power sources do indeed address many of the issues with the dirty power coming in via the AC line. They have been tried with great success on a number of noise-sensitive, non-current-hungry components. Problem is that the application is limited to only a few non-DIY components available for sale, and they introduce problems of their own with delivering consistent peak current to the components that they feed (they run down). ole school’s solar-powered solution would be even better still...
For the remainder of the 99%+ of audio enthusiast that choose to purchase conventional AC-powered components, power cords that effectively clean up the dirty AC from the wall prior to entering their components and deliver non-limited, time responsive current is of paramount importance to good sound.
Hi Narcissus, Don't listen to voices claiming power cords don't maka difference - they do! Mor so, if your system is very open with high resolution. I had very good results with silver in cotton for interconnects and speaker cables and applied the same logic/recipe to power cords with same positive performance. With interconnects and speaker cable I experimented with different gauges and found one single conductor always sounded better than multiple ones and that bigger is better. If you look closer to Nordost, Kimber etc you will see they increase total gauge with their better cables as well. If you don't need to move your power cords around frequently try 10 gauge solid silver for L and N and 8 gauge copper for ground. Put each wire in a thick cotton rope and protect each with heat shrink. Twist all three slightly together and surround with Techflex. I used Wattgate 350i Ag plugs. They are silver coated and cryo treated. This cable does not look or feel sexy but it will transform an excellent system to world class level. Start with CD or transport. It will make your digital front end sound more liquid, relaxed and analog like. Bass will benefit as well. Let me know if you need more info. Good luck & enjoy! Decibell
They have a variety of different OFC cables. I ended up buying GY-PW9000, which has rectangular cross section neutral and hot conductors that are approx 9 gauge. I disassembled the six feet I bought and made two helix power cables, using the 9 awg conductors as my hot conductor in each cord and then 2 runs of 10awg silver plated copper as my neutral and one run of 10awg thhn copper cable as my ground. So, since I dissected the GY-PW9000, I can say it is very well made. I would imagine all of their bulk cable is of high quality and very low price based on my order. Worth checking out..
The cords I made sound phenomenal, but I'm comparing them to my diy VH audio flavor 1 power cords made with 10 awg silver plated copper, not any of the cables mentioned here. Still, thought I'd mention this supplier as a good option on the cheap.
I am an EE and have been in high end hi-fi for 40 years. I am also the happy owner of the large QUAD ESL 2912 full range electrostatic speakers powered by dual Benchmark AHB2 amps running in mono. I have to say the power cable thing strikes me as nuts. What about the wire before the power cord? 100 feet of regular romex to your load center (fuse box) then up to the pole. As long as the power can reach your equipment and supply the correct amperage what else could you ask for? 120 volts AC 60hz that is then converted to DC. I will say the cords look cool. The entire purpose of a power supply is to clean up the power and get is ready to be consumed by the downstream device. Clean DC is very easy to "see" it is a flat line on an oscilloscope. Batteries put out nice clean DC. Many years ago we were building a "super amp." Rather than bother designing the power supply we used 4 car batteries, 48VDC. Great power supplies are totally sonically neutral. Anyway just adding my two cents worth!
Per my post above, my apologies as I spoke about speaker cable. So let me respond more cogently. I have a have dozen power cords and new heard a damn bit of difference between the lot of them. Until recently. I got a Shunyata Venom 3 PC and, oh boy, the difference was clearly evident! Much more detail to the sound and the increase in clarity was very noticeable. It is one of the best tweaks I have found for $120 from Steve at The Cable Company. Clear Day has an excellent PC for $100 as well, but I definitely prefer the Shunyata PC.
I have runs for Neotech NES 5001, Mogami 3103, and recently Van Damme HIFI Series Studio Grade Speaker Cable 2 X 6.0mm that I rotate through my system. Supra Classic speaker cable is excellent. All audiophile-grade cables and quite inexpensive. I have recently been terminating my speaker cables with AQ Suregrip 100 BFA connectors and they are excellent. Dyson makes from very fine and inexpensive BFA speaker cable connectors that I will be trying soon.
I have tried 10ga silver-coated copper cable and found it decidedly bright in my system, but evidently others like it. Horses for courses...
"It's not about loss of money. The damage comes afterwards, when drives you to wrong direction for your next component, when trying to tailor all this mess for an acceptable meaning."
That is the most intelligent comment regarding this topic I have ever read/heard.
---I think Yarbo has nothing in common with anything German, but please do not hesitate to give a listen! It costs almost nothing and the conductors are FLAT OFC. The 23euro/m SP-7000PW has a double shield and also flat OFC conductors. In general an acceptable construction and a phenomenal performance, even if "German quality" is probably arbitrariness and perhaps a misleading marketing phrase. ---SR fuses ... you must have patience for 200h break-in. ---Gold plating for plugs has a refined sound and nice price. 8095 is a rarity among audiophiles cause of it's high price and although I like silver, the rhodium plating is not for me. Another reason may be that you can't find any fused silver inlet to match for an ideal contact.
They look very similar to sonar quest, which I’m currently using and find to be excellent connectors. So that’s another option.. I really like the silver plated copper in my rig.
Greetings, Thank you for your advise, could you please elaborate when you say "The connector side is very tricky on assembling" I assume it's specifically related to the NEP3200? Any idea how much it costs currently?
Have you used the new versions NEP-3001,2,3 MkIII? If yes, could you please give us your views.
I do agree that the IeGO seem like a solid company and their build quality looks very nice indeed, it could well be the "bang for the buck" I'm looking for... Only read good things about them..
Appreciate the heads up on Chinese companies posing as Germans and also the link to purchase iego plugs.
Just be aware that as a marketing trick, there are some audio/electronic Chinese companies which place simply a small office in Europe but all the design/work is done in China. They pretend to be a German, Italian or Austria company to sound fancy and high quality European company in order to attract customers. One of those brands pretends to use European OCC copper which is non-sense! For audio copper cables, there are two major Japanese companies having appropriate technology to make fine copper cables. Big brands in USA and Japan even like Furutech and Oayide, they commission their orders to those Japanese companies.
Neotech is a good cable power cable especially Hybrid copper/silver version of it.
IeGO is a company based in Taiwan. Their designer used to design cables for Furutech. Their cables are very good but need some tricks to be assembled. Based on my my experience, Male and IEC side need to be of different metal. Best result that I had was to use male IEGO gold with IEC Furutech FI-15Plus or Fi-25 (or 28) gold. some review: http://hifi-advice.com/Furutech-IeGO-powerconnectors-review.html
---About the Fururtech FI-03(G) fused IEC inlet, well it fits my mono blocks, its not rhodium or palladium or platinum or the likes with very high resistance (and awful sound), fairly priced, good quality and does not require soldering. ---The SR Black fuses comes as a recent upgrade over Fururtech fuses and after the 120-200h break-in, are OK. Furutech is more hi-fi exciting, SR has more natural flow (There is a thread here about) ---The Yarbo is priced 33euro/m, the construction is good enough with flat OFC conductors, copper shield and sounds open, clear, detailed & dynamic. Best of anything that I've had over 25 years. (from VDH, XLO, Kimber Select, PAD dominus, Essence, Audioquest NRG, Black Sand Ref, and many many more) ---Same for the Iego 8085 as I'm using it extensively (12 pairs schuko/IEC they replaced Oyaide P004e/C004). The price is not so ugly, but if you compare Yarbo SP-8000PW+Iego 8085 with Yarbo SP-7000PW+Copper Color Cuprum Series EX -126, you may prefer the later, as the first can expose etched qualities if any. ---The OCC is somewhat softer and perhaps less detailed to my ears, pushing further the need for silver somewhere in the chain. This is my impression after having some Neotech wires for hook-up, interconnect & speaker cables, so I haven't done DIY power cords using OCC.
I tried several different brands of power cords. Finally, I realized best solution would be to make DIY PCs. Neotech is a very good choice. I have some Neotech PCs that I assembled myself. The connector side is very tricky on assembling. Neotech 3200 is an old version made ~2004 and some vendors still carries those. They have well articulated bass but somehow being shy on high frequency sides. New version of these PC are NEP-3001,2,3 MkIII which are UP-OCC Copper / Silver Hybrid. NEP 300X III series are more balanced all over frequencies and are much better than old series.
Just be aware that Break-in period for Neotech cable and components are about >300-350 hours!!! That's what I was told by authorized Neotech representative.
Male/IEC Connectors- Furutech is basically very good. However Neotech PC are better served and sound better by using their own connectors or IeGO 8085 on male and Neotech GOld on IEC! To find the best PC, I tried Fi-11N (Male), FI-15-PLUS Gold and R, Fi-25R or G, Fi-28R or G, IEGO Gold, Silver and R. After testing, I still have some of those connectors in my storage!
BTW, IEGO Power cords are very good and well balanced with excellent sound stage too, compared to Furutech PCs.
I agree with them and this is exactly what I use: Furutech GTX [receptacles] Furutech FI-03(G) [fused IEC inlet] Synergistic Black [fuses] Iego 8085 [plugs] Yarbo SP8000PW [power cable]
As far as IEC inlets are concerned, I have used the Furutech IEC inlets successfully. I have both fused and non-fused inlets. They are a good addition to your equipment. VH Audio sells them as well. I'm sure you can find them somewhere in the UK.
Just make sure the dimensions of the inlet and the mounting holes line up exactly. In my opinion, the IEC inlet upgrade gives you a subtle improvement in sound, but it's not as large of an upgrade as a excellent power cord.
Technically speaking, there is nothing to stop you from wiring in some normal GTX receptacles and FI-28 male plugs to a UK 220V circuit. It should handle it just fine (it’s just a metal conductor), as long as you stay within the equivalent amperage (at 220V, you wouldn’t want more than a 10 amp circuit). Where you would get into trouble is that you would probably be doing this against local UK wiring codes. I don’t know the UK standards, but this could affect things like insurance claims if somehow this outlet caused a fire. Even though you know it’s a 220V circuit, there’s always the risk of some idiot plugging in a standard 125V device and causing that device to fry itself and possibly cause a fire or more.
Even the US has strict codes on what kind of outlets are placed. You can refer to this chart to see.
When looking at normal 15 amp circuits, you can choose a 5-15 outlet or a 5-20 outlet. The 5-20 outlet has a special blade insert which allows both 5-15 and 5-20 plugs to be used. However, that 5-20 plug cannot be inserted into a 5-15 outlet (this is mainly a safety measure from the wiring code to prevent over-extending a particular 15 amp circuit and causing electrical fires/problems).
There is also a special 220V outlet in the US called 6-20. You need a special industrial plug for this and it’s really not used for electronics unless you want to use something like a brass Hubbel 220V plug. Again, the reason for this special blade configuration is to prevent someone from plugging in a normal 125V device.
As far as the outlets, if you want to do the wiring yourself and understand that it’s a 220V circuit, feel free to use a GTX on this. Just make sure your electronic equipment is setup to accept 220 volts. Once again, I don’t know your local UK codes and what is acceptable and what’s not. This would violate any wiring codes in the US for sure.
Can I use the GTX receptacle and American connectors (FI 28 or FI 50) for use in a 220v environment? I know I could opt for a UK plug, but just a general knowledge question which I've been meaning to ask...
Also, could you please advise some great IEC inlets + fuse which really work as I could use 'em to replace the el cheapo's in my amps...
A BIG THANK YOU, for everyone who shared their experiences and advise. I'am definitely equipped with better knowledge now and hence I can make an informed decision.
Based upon the replies & reviews I've read in the past few days, I have no doubt that Furutech is one of the world leaders when it comes to audiophile cabling and connections.
The Neotech NEP 3200 is also a strong contender, so the shortlist gets shorter now...
The Neotech NEP-3200 FP-TCS31 FP-S032N
I'm very interested to hear about "VH Audios Flavour 4" cable or any other one from their stable as Chris VH comes highly reputed here and on other forums too.
You're Absolutely right, I should've mentioned the components of my system for clarity sake. Anyways, my speakers are the focal 1028BE, Monoblocks PASS LABS XA 100.5, speaker cables Kimber 12TC, DAC Lampizator Level 4 gen 4.
Yes, the whole purpose of this thread is to make an informed decision and get a high bang for the buck. I'am very sceptical of people trying to sell BS, snake oil when it comes to cables.
Thank you for contributing your views to this thread, from the reviews I've read it seems the Furutech Alpha 3 has been superseded by the FP-TCS31.
I would be interested to read something on their newer cables FP-S20N and FP-S35N though.
If you were to provide the components in your system (or post your virtual system), which components you are planning to power with the new cords and what budget range you are considering then folks could better advise. Otherwise, responses are likely to be all over the board.
My general response regarding DIY is that you can get a high bang-for-your-buck and, that for most ranges of components, potential differences are overrated so you can spend a lot of money that would be better spent on component upgrades. I would recommend heavier gauge conductors for power amps, and shielding cords for digital components, but not power amps. If you want bulk cable, Furutech FP-Alpha 3 is pretty good for power amps, and even preamps. Furutech FP-3TS20 is good for digital components. Both of those use Alpha-PCOCC stranded conductors. I have heard from an amplifier manufacturer that Furutech’s newer FP-S20N and FP-S35N cables with embedded nano particles are also quite good.
If you are on a tight budget, three twisted or braided Western Electric WE 10ga wires with Furutech FI-11(Cu) male and iec connectors (shielded for digital components) may be all you will need. There is a manufacturer that makes cords from this wire that are very well reviewed. Cost for two 6-foot cords using this wire would be in the ballpark of $300 if you can buy the connectors at a sale price - try Sonic Craft. Good luck.
I have two systems, a computer audio system upstairs and my main home theater system. In the home theater, I am actually using the rhodium plated FI-52 for all my primary amps because it was the only 20 AMP IEC (C19) connector that was pure copper. I use rhodium FI-50 IEC for my Krell processor and rhodium FI-28 IEC for surrounds (as well as anything upstairs). I’m using rhodium FI-28 for the male plugs everywhere. Upstairs computer audio has a Belkin power conditioner that everything plugs into (I use it as a master switch as well). It’s a modified DAC, with a modified Rane stereo line mixer going to two Yamaha studio monitors.
Downstairs, I use a Furutech GTX rhodium outlet for the Krell processor. I’m currently using Furutech FPX-Cu outlets (un-plated copper) for all amps, but I will be converting to rhodium plated GTX or FPX in the next few months.
All my power cable is hand made. I use 20awg solid-core OCC copper conductors with Teflon coating (the Neotech chassis wire) for my power cords. Each power cord has eighteen 20awg conductors -- 6 conductors per leg (hot/neutral/ground). I braid all the conductors -- each braid has a hot/neutral/ground, so that makes 6 braids for a power cable, making it a 12awg power cable in total.
All my computer audio system equipment uses Furutech fuses. Downstairs, the Krell processor uses Furutech, but all my amps use Isoclean. I will be converting those amp fuses over to Furutech in the coming months.
I’ve gone through almost every power cord situation. Many years ago, I started with stock cables, then upgraded to cheap 12awg cables. Then went to DIY cables using stranded THHN 10awg copper from home depot. Using shielding/non-shielding. Tried different solid-core conductors (16awg, 18awg, 20awg, 22awg). Tried straight/twisting/braided (braided was the best as it calms down brightness and for some reason it just sounds "right" -- it also provides a natural shield because of the counter-rotating ground/neutral conductors) Tried Hubbel hospital outlets and Wattgate connectors until I determined the brass was causing a lot of sterile/shouty character. Tried different gold-plated and rhodium plated Neotech connectors. Tried gold-plated, rhodium-plated, un-plated Furutech. In the end, I think you get what you pay for, but component synergy is a big factor.
If you’re on a budget, you could try getting the brass PorterPorts as outlets and then use a Furutech gold-plated male plug to compensate for the fast/sterile character of the Porter. Then use a rhodium plated IEC. Further tweaking could mean trying an Isoclean fuse, or a Furutech rhodium fuse. The gold-plated male would probably equalize the very forward/fast/sterile character of the Porter outlets.
That is just an idea I think might work out based on my historical experience with different types of metals. I ended up with rhodium-plated all the way through. I believe this sounds the best, but it is also the most expensive.
Kind of. So in the US wiring is usually black, white , green.
Then in rare, audiophiliac related cases you have a shield. The green is the safety ground. You MUST connect the green conductor to the center pin at both ends. No and /or/buts. MUST connect it.
However, the fourth conductor, a shield, only connects at the wall, or male plug. The green wire, being of equal gauge to the current carrying wires (black and white) is all that’s needed to act as a proper safety ground. The shield is not required to be connected at all by any codes or safety procedures, but to be an effective noise shield it needs to get grounded somewhere, and the place to maximize the noise rejection is at the wall, not your equipment.
Here is a link to the DH Labs power cable, so it’s more clear.
So of course, IEC connectors have only 3 pins. How do you attach 4 conductors when you have 3 pins? Carefully. :-)
At the wall, all 4 conductors. The green and shield get twisted together. Usually black would go to the "hot" pin, white to the neutral.
At the other end where you attach your amp/preamp/DAC/whatever, only the 3 insulated wires get attached. Neatly trim any shield so it's not in the way of your work.
@ Steve (williewonka), thank you for sharing your work. However I'm not much of DIYer and might find it difficult to build upon your experience. I'll send you a separate mail....
The Furutech FP 3TS762 comes highly regarded as one of the best VFM PC by a very credible audiophile who has done 100's of reviews for uber priced equipment.
@ Auxinput, Excellent Insights, As for the Porter Ports to tell you the truth though the price is a steal & fits my budget perfectly I have been slightly hesitant after Albert confirming the interior parts to be "Brass", he does have a contract with Hubbell to supply IG (isolated ground) where available.
May I ask, what cable, connectors, receptacles are you using currently in your rig?
The PorterPort is probably the least expensive choice in an outlet upgrade. It’s basically a cryoed Hubbel hospital grade outlet. Keep in mind that it’s made of brass (just like most other stock outlets are). The "cryo" and the additional current capability is good though. Brass conductors will have a very fast and clean sound, but they can sound sterile in some situations. For the price, it’s a modest upgrade to stock outlets.
I have not heard the Synergistic outlets, but I have been hesitant to spend money on these since Synergistic does not tell us what material they use (brass, copper, bronze, silver, etc.). It may be very good, as Dave has said.
Typically, gold plated terminations/conductors can slow down the sound somewhat - give a more laid back or lush style sound (while still keeping high frequency response). The rhodium plated will give you resolution and detail and punch, but the rhodium can reveal flaw/problems in your other parts of the part cord (i.e. receptacle, fuse, etc.). So, yes, careful matching is important, but the rhodium sound excellent when you match up properly. Silver plating does make a very fast and clean sound, but I have found silver to be somewhat artificial (the voices and sounds just do not ring naturally). This is my own personal opinion, many people like silver.
I have found recently that un-plated copper terminations/outlets will give a blare/ringing in the midrange, so I cannot recommend these at all.
I have the PorterPort and I feel confident in recommending it. It imparts a clean and uncolored sound. Sort of a reference of neutrality IMO and gets along well with a variety of cords. A no-brainer at the price.
If you decide you want something that ads more life, air, and soundstaging presence to the sound, I like the Synergistic Research Teslaplex SE. I wish to disclose that I have all SR cords and cabling in my system as well as a Powercell 10UEF/FEQ, so YMMV.
All of the receptacles need several days to settle in before judging. I run an extension cord to our garage fridge for a week, changing between the two outlets on the receptacle at mid-week. Even then, they need a day or two to settle in once the cord(s) is disturbed.
@ Dave, I was really calling this BS until you confirmed my doubts that the metals of the receptacle and male connectors need to be matched identically.
Im planning on getting the Porter ports wall inlets from Albert Porter, I think they're bronze.
Any advise on good wall inlets? I'll make sure to mail Chris @ VH Audio asap.
Oh, if the rhodium plated terminations sound a bit harsh in the mids or highs, put in a Furutech rhodium plated fuse in the equipment. I have found this smooths out the harshness. The matching of the Furutech rhodium fuse with the Furutech rhodium power cord terminations is a nice combinations. The Furutech rhodium fuse may not sound great with other power cord terminations as it can be very revealing (transparent) in the power cord signature. Other fuses (such as Isoclean or Hi-Fi Tuning) might work better with other power cords. It’s a game of component synergy.
If you choose rhodium, be prepared to be patient and burn in the power cord for 100-200 hours (I have found 250 hours is really needed for rhodium to fully calm down).
I’ve done a lot of R&D work with power cables. In your short list, I would probably choose the Neotech NEP 3200 because it uses solid-core conductors. In all my testing, I achieved the best results with solid core. That being said, this particular cable uses 17awg solid-core conductors. These may be a little bit large for the sweet spot I have found (which is 20awg conductors). The larger awg conductors (16-18awg) will have rolloff in the high frequencies. Because of this, I would choose rhodium plated connectors for the terminations to give you the best amount of high frequency resolution.
On the terminations, I would actually choose Furutech as the best terminations (both in build quality and design). The FI-28 series is a very nice termination. Furutech actually connects all the case mounting screws as well as the internal cable strain-relief clamp to the ground conductor. This does add additional cost, but I see it as a small positive. The Neotech terminations do not have grounded case screws. I don’t think you need to go with the FI-50 series unless your splitting hairs and willing to spend the $$$. The Furutech FI-11 series is cheaper, but it uses phosphor bronze for the IEC and case/strain-relief screws are not grounded. The newer FI-15 Plus series are nice, but keep in mind the FI-15 does not support thicker cables (the Neotech cable above would be too thick).
I have used the previous generation Neotech rhodium connectors. These were not that great and tended to push too hard on the voltage. The Furutech connectors above are much better and much more "delicate" with the sound - at the same time giving you a lot of resolution and punch.
My experience is that choosing the proper metals is more important than the brand. Rhodium is very detailed in the extreme treble but can be hard sounding in the mid treble unless carefully matched to the rest of the system. I tried Rhodium plugs and receptacles a couple of times and sent them back. Gold over bronze is my favorite, but YMMV.
Whatever you choose, care should be taken to match the receptacle and the IEC to the male plug metal composition (think of it as in interaction of metal interfaces from wall to component).
Chris at VH Audio is a super guy and could be very helpful to you on this project.
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