Review: DIY The Power cord

Category: Cables

This is a free design posted by the highly respected Bob Crump of TG Audio. As he is quick to mention, it is an older design. It is, however, good enough that several places sell these as either kits or pre-assembled. Boldercable.com and diycable.com are two such places. Many have tried, and greatly enjoyed, this 3 conductor shielded 14 awg cord. I built one myself, and first compared it to stock cords. It was much better, having more power, being quieter, and sounding warmer. Then I compared it to a braided/shielded design (TNT-TTS), and it was again much better, this time being more clear. I then put it against a few of my own early attempts at power cord building. Some designs were better (unshielded ones) and some were worse, but overall, my early types were not the nicest. When I began putting it against later, more complicated designs of mine, it began to show its shortcomings. It is a little slow and dark, and somewhat sloppy compared to what eventually has become my reference PCs. I can't divulge the details of these, as I sell them, but they take FAR more time to build than the Asylum cord, and a long time and many designs were used in developement. The main issue seems to be the shielding, which I've always found to be a detriment. Overall, this is a very good, well balanced cord, especially for a free design, and as such, is quite good. It takes a lot more work to do better, and for most systems, especially those which are somewhat bright, this cord is more than sufficient.

Associated gear
B&W DM 605 s2
Acurus RL-11
Acurus A100
EAD DSP-1000

Similar products
Various DIY/Poth Audio cords