Power cords known to produce good bass


All the cable naysayers and deniers please step aside. We have heard your opinions more than enough already. Thank you.

Tell me if this train of thought is off base or not. I am observing that power cords made with a high strand count of fine gauge high purity wire can be very resolving, very refined sounding and very smooth sounding but, they do not provide good bass. Usually true? Yes or No?

Here's a couple of examples of power cord wire that I find fit the above description. Furutech FP-TCS21 and FP-SO22N, Acrolink 6NP4030 and 7NP4030 II. These are cables that are or were available in bulk for DIY application. I have pretty much done all the DIY cables that can be made using the ready made bulk wire that is on the market. 

Across three systems, I do have a lot of Transparent Audio power cords from the mm2 generation and the Gen 5 generation. All of them are re-terminated by me with Oyaide 004 cord ends.

I'm now looking for opinions about which other manufactured power cords are thought to have good bass. In particular I want to try something to go between the wall receptacles and power conditioners. At present I have two of the Acrolink 7NP40430 II cords in that position. High resolution but bass could be better.

Unfortunately, due to my hearing condition that is called hyperacusis, I'm extremely sensitive to brightness, harshness, shrillness, etc. etc., which means it is no dice on silver wire and most plated cord ends. Other than the Oyaide 004 ends, all of my cord ends and receptacles are un-plated copper.

So, any suggestions will be appreciated.

Ag insider logo xs@2xmwh777

Showing 3 responses by mwh777

Thank you all for the excellent input. Yes, I should have said good - quality - bass in the header. Lots of votes for Audioquest so far.

@vinci92 I did have an early version Shunyata King Cobra way back when. That was an amazing power cord. Unfortunately, one or both of the cord ends was/were silver plated and I eventually moved it on.

@nyev  I have a Transparent  Powerlink MM2 (next tier up from the Reference in the mm2 generation) on my upgraded McCormack DNA-500 amp. Gen 5 Reference can't unseat the Powerlink MM2 on my amp. Might be a synergy thing in that case.

 

@jumia Due to my inadequate explanation, you have misunderstood which cables I'm wanting to improve. The cables that are the issue are the ones made with the Acrolink 7NP4030 II wire. I am a big fan of Transparent Audio cables largely because of the way that they tamp down the high frequency problems that are very exaggerated to my ear, again due to my hyperacusis. All of my IC's and speaker cable are Transparent. I don't use all Transparent power cords because I find that some components just sound better to me with other cords. I have three mm2 PI -8 power isolators and one mm2 Reference power isolator in the main system.

Re: wall receptacles, of course everything matters, I have both some Maestro and some Oyaide R-0 (un-plated copper) receptacles (on dedicated power lines). I grant you that the Maestro recepts. are not all copper but they work well for some parts of the system.

Re: re-terminating the Transparent power cords. I simply dislike the sound of brass cord ends. Let's face it, Transparent uses el cheapo basic brass cord ends. The gold plated ends on the newer generations are not to my liking either and I figure that they are on the inexpensive side also. For the most part, I prefer un-plated receptacles and cord ends except that I do prefer the Oyaide 004 ends on the Transparent cords. The 004 ends are made with beryllium copper instead of the phosphor bronze that their other ends are made from. Most of the Furutech ends are phosphor bronze also. I hear a difference and prefer all copper ends.

My concerns about bass are about quality not quantity. 

@jumia Yes, I did do the re-terminating myself. Before I continue, in all fairness, the term "el cheapo" I used to describe the cord ends that Transparent uses was a poor choice of words. Their cord ends are not poor quality products. It's that on my scale basic brass is the baseline and just as with many other kinds of products it is possible to get higher performance or a different final result at additional cost.

Re: how big of a deal is it to change the cord ends? Well, depending on your manual dexterity, level of patience and how left brained you are it can be done. Don't forget you are ultimately dealing with electricity. Your comfort level about making changes to an electrical device and any ramifications that could arise from any mishap that might impact your home owners insurance should be taken into account.

Re: the Power Isolators, I can remark about the mm and mm2 generations. Based on my observations I think that they used very good receptacles in those units. They are labeled as Hubbell brand which is a major player in their arena. I suspect that Transparent has the buying power to contract with Hubbell to have the receptacles made to Transparent's specs. or at least they can choose what options they want. The receptacles seem to be made with high copper content internal conductors. I have full confidence in the Power Isolators. Yes, they are heavy. A peek inside reveals that all of the electronics inside are potted, which is where some of the weight comes from.