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Review: Tel Wire Cord Tel Wire Cord Power cord

Category: Cables

Tel Wire power cord.

This cord consists of OCC copper conductors and the excellent Oyaide P-004 and C-004 connectors. These connectors make a very positive connection with a tight fit.

The power cord seemed to sound better initially than most other power cords which require extensive burn-in. The designer claims no burn is necessary.

First serious listen however, revealed a rather odd bass quality which did not have a clear defined tonal character in the bass notes.
This was bad enough that this would have been a deal breaker.

So, I put the cable on my Audiodharma Cable Cooker for 5 days before giving it any more serious evaluation.

After Cooking, I then again tried the cord on my Pass Labs X350.5 amp.

Positives
After proper burn in, the cable now exerted a very nice transparent sound with a neutral character and a nice black background.
The cord sounded very smooth, with excellent spatial cues. The bass now had a rather nice tight round character, very nice improvement.

I also tried this cable on my Video DVD Player, (a Denon 5910.)
The Tel Wire greatly improved the Video and sound quality compared to my previous cable that I used on it (a Electraglide Epiphany X.)

Negatives.
I believe the internal conductors are 12 gauge. Compared to some highly $$$ Power cables listed below , the Tel Wire Cable is a little less dynamic, and I also needed to turn up my Amplifier volume slightly more.

Conclusion
Though these may not be up to my highly expensive power cords on Audio they are not too far behind.
Probably within 70% of the performance of those $$$ Cables.

What a steal!

Power cords comparison

•Electraglide Epiphany X
•Virtual Dynamics Revelation 2
•Purist Audio Anniversary.

Equipment tested with

•Video-Denon 5910 plugged into a Hydra 8 on a separate dedicated 20 Amp outlet
•Audio-APL 3910 plugged into separate dedicated 20A wall outlet running direct (no preamp) to a
•Pass Labs X 350.5 Amp which is plugged in direct to a separate 30 Amp wall outlet
•Eggleston Works Andra 2 Speakers

Associated gear
•Denon 5910 plugged into a Hydra 8 on a separate dedicated 20 Amp outlet
•APL 3910 plugged into separate dedicated 20 A outlet running direct (no preamp) to a
•Pass Labs X 350.5direct in to a separate 30 Amp outlet
•Eggleston Works Andra 2 Speakers

Similar products
•Electraglide Epiphany X
•Virtual Dynamics Revelation 2
•Purist Audio Anniversary.
128x128ozzy
19 responses Add your response
sherod
1,690 posts
 
Here's another thread on AA with some more feedback from other users:

http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/cables/messages/13/135124.html

sherod
1,690 posts
 
I have a gut feeling that this current Telwire version would sound great on lower-powered amps, i.e SET, push-pull, OTL, etc. I am having wonderful results on a 17 watt EL84 amp right now. The dynamics are equal or better to a few 10 gauge cords I've tried on it.
clio09
3,355 posts
 
Chris told me in an email recently that he is experimenting with a lower gauge PC for amps. Evidently he is monitoring our comments and customer feedback.
lotusdriver
19 posts
 
Sherod,
No I haven't
sherod
1,690 posts
 
Lotusdriver,
Have you talked with the Telwire designer, Chris , about his thoughts regarding cord gauge?
lotusdriver
19 posts
 
No, just commenting on what Clio9 posted, I meant a larger gauge version of the Tel pc. Even though I found the pc to work well on my amp I would be interested if a larger gauge would be even better.
sherod
1,690 posts
 
About 5 years ago I owned a Plinius 8200 integrated amp. The US distributor suggested that I use a minimum of 10 gauge for the power cord.
Post removed 
lotusdriver
19 posts
 
The lowest gauge pc I have used is 8.
Post removed 
lotusdriver
19 posts
 
I think at the price this pc is an absolute steal. Though I did not have an issue using the pc with my Plinius SA250 a lower gauge cord would be interesting.
clio09
3,355 posts
 
Sold my Stealth cables and bought another Tel Wire. Rhyno is right on about the roller blocks. I use the FIM isolators under my transport and DAC and they were hard to keep level with the Stealth cords. One had to really distribute the weight of the cable and that required hanging them by fishing line (the things we do in this hobby). No such need with the Tel Wire.

Even though I agree with Tvad and Rhyno about the use of the Tel Wire on amps that draw high current, the cable didn't sound bad on my amp when I was burning it in. Maybe Chris can come up with a 9 or 10 gauge version of the cable. I for one would certainly give it a go.
Post removed 
rhyno's avatar
rhyno
649 posts
 
allow me to throw my $.02 in:

i find this to be an excellent power cord for line level components...high draw amps might need a bigger gauge wire to accomodate more current requirements (as seen in ozzy's impressions w/ the pass amp), but the cord seems to shine w/ preamps & sources. must say i've used the TelWire on a Modwright 36.5 (and an EMM CDSA) i have in for review and found it to be a wonderful partner: VERY tonally balanced (those P004 / C004 connectors are awesome--i use them everywhere), dimensional, and a pleasure to use.

and that point re: "pleasure to use" isn't just relevant to equip swappers like me. the point Clio09 made re: flexibility should not be understated---if you are using source gear (i.e. CDPs) with any sort of roller-type footer, it behooves you to try this cord. while the same basic characteristics of the cord apply equally to preamps & CDPs, the thing that makes this cord an easy recommendation for CDPs is that any sort of rollerball footer is regularly screwed up under the CDP by virtue of unequal torque & weight load that larger & bulkier cords provide on one quarter of the unit. the TelWire cord is extremely light & flexible and thus very 'Rollerblock-friendly' and enables the self-leveling feature of rollerblocks (et al footers) to maintain their effectiveness.

even if you don't use rollerblocks, this cord is a fine option for line level gear and for the $$ its a terrific deal. if you do use rollerblocks and find them frustrating, this is a terrific cord for matching and getting the most out of your component + footer combination.

(and from my perspective, i've seen vibration control become equally important in my rig as cabling, at least w/ the CDPs i've used on the rack i'm using)
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clio09
3,355 posts
 
Just got this cable in for a trial myself. Very good out of the box and I love the simple design and flexibility. My Stealth PCs are officially on notice.
sherod
1,690 posts
 
I just wanted to add a note that after further burning in this Tel Wire power cord on my Pilot tube amp, I have found the sound to be very clean, extended and dynamic. I have never yet liked the colorations imposed by most of the Oyaide connectors, but this new P-004 and C-004 has very little coloration when attached to this cord. The overall transparency and neutrality is quite pleasing to my ears at this juncture. I'm starting to just focus on the music as opposed to listening to the sonic colorations imposed by the cord itself.
sherod
1,690 posts
 
Ozzy, I would be interested in your impression from time to time on the power cord's sound as it approaches the 400 hour mark. Let us know if you decide to keep it on a certain component. I also am currently evaluating this Tel Wire power cord and am impressed with its clean and neutral performance. I will give my impressions after it burns in for a while. I would imagine that the Oyaide connectors will probably take longer to fully break in than the cord itself.
cpk
190 posts
 
Thanks for the nice review! As you noted the cord does sound pretty good out of the box but it does benefit from burn in and will continue to improve up to about the 400hr. mark. Enjoy and Happy Listening!
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