4 power cords, reviewed in UHF

What’s wrong with cheap power cords? Three things: the wire, and the plugs at the two ends. Even if the plugs were any good -- and generally they’re not -- the metal bits that supposedly conduct electricity are fastened together only by the dubious pressure of molded plastic. To add to the fun, the unshielded wire makes a beautiful antenna...either transmitting or receiving. Got a nearby radio station? Got digital data floating about? Who doesn’t?
     Got troubles?
     We set out to try four premium power cords in our Alpha system. We used a single recording, Walton’s Façade suite (Reference Recordings RR-16) on LP. Our point of reference was a $3 power cable running between our Inouye line conditioner and the wall. That is not what we usually use, but anything for science! The filter feeds our preamp and CD player but not the power amplifier, which is fed from a Foundation Research LC-2.
     We could hear right away that a number of things were wrong. Substituting even the cheapest of our test cords made a highly audible difference.

Wireworld Stratus

    This is the cable normally used on our preamp, and we know it well because it can be found in our Audiophile Store. Ours is a custom version, with a Hubbell hospital grade plug and a 15A Swiss-made IEC connector. This is much better than the 6A IEC connector and the mediocre GE plug found in the off-the-shelf version of the Stratus.
     Stratus is billed as a 16 gauge cable, though it seems to have much more metal than the previous version, which also had a 16 gauge rating. It doesn’t have individually-insulated strands, like Wireworld’s more expensive Aurora and Electra cables, but its hot and neutral conductors are well-shielded by separate spiralled ground wires. The 2m cable costs C$119.95 (US$76) or C$79.95 (US$51) in kit form.
     Was the sound better with the Stratus? “It wasn’t that awful with the cheap cable,” said Albert, “but the timbres weren’t right and the space was shrunken.” Reine agreed. “Not only was the sound lacking in body, but I swear there were actual notes missing.” With the Stratus the magic of this superb suite returned, as the sound stage opened up and the surprising hardness receded. We could hear farther into the background, picking up the softer instruments, such as the castanets and the very soft cymbal during the bassoon solo.
     We also noticed what seemed to be increased dynamic contrast. By comparison, the cheap cable seemed to equalize the volume of everything. And yet we had changed the cord only on our preamp. Imagine the difference with a large power amplifier, which attempts to draw large amounts of current through a narrow electrical pipeline.

Eichmann eXpress

    As you can see, the company uses the eXpress name for all its cables. Its IEC connector has an extra large shell to accommodate the large wire, but we were disappointed to find it has only a 10A rating. This is good enough in countries with 220 volt lines, but with 120 volts you need double the current for a given power. The AC plug is not hospital rated, though it is very well made (we looked inside). The unshielded wire has an 11AWG rating, which should handle most loads..
     The wire itself travels through a large blue football-shaped device we took to calling The Blue Whale. Was it some sort of current filtering device? We imagined a whole herd of these whales, if you used one on every component.
     The eXpress costs C$299, about US$188.

Harmonic Technology Pro-AC11

    This thick power cable is built much like the company’s interconnect: with pure copper single crystal wires. There are two shields: a braid and a metallized Mylar foil.
     The basic version has a Hubbell wall plug, but without a hospital grade rating. The hospital plug (the same one we use on the Stratus) is available as an option, as is a Schurter 20A IEC plug (which has a configuration different from the 15A model). A 2m PRO-AC11 cord costs US$180 (C$300) plus US$70 (C$115) for either of the connector upgrades. We were disappointed to discover that the regular IEC connector has only a 10A rating. Our sample had the better AC plug, but we should add that we find the upgrade price for that plug to be outrageous.
     The cable...

ESP The Essence
     The acronym doesn’t mean what you think. The letters sound for Essential Sound Products. By the time we got around to trying this attractive cord, we rather agreed that the word “essential” perfectly describes power cables.
     The Essence uses multiple conductors cushioned by (unspecified) materials chosen (says ESP) not only for their dielectric properties but also for their mechanical qualities. Specifically, the two materials are tuned to different resonant frequencies. ESP evidently believes that, given sufficient vibration, everything is microphonic. That could easily be right.
     The Essence uses a Hubbell wall plug, though without a green dot. The IEC connector is the same one we use on the Stratus. A 20A IEC connector is available at extra cost for very large amplifiers requiring it.
     The base price for a 2m cord is C$860, or US$499.
     The cable sounded...

(This is an excerpt from the full set of reviews. To read the entire issue, just order issue 63 at our secure server.)

Complete articles from this issue:
Soundproofing, Big Screen TV's to Stay Away From, Passion A11, State of the Art

Excerpted articles from this issue:
Comparing the Incomparable: Listening in the Store, Antique Sound Lab Leyla, Vecteur Espace, Two Interconnects, Five Speaker Cables, Four Power Cords


		(Reprinted from issue 63 of UHF Magazine. To purchase the issue, click here. Or click here to subscribe to UHF) Four Power Cords They shouldn’t make a difference, except for one thing. That piece of string that came in the box with your expensive equipment isn’t getting the job done.
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		What’s wrong with cheap power cords? Three things: the wire, and the plugs at the two ends. Even if the plugs were any good -- and generally they’re not -- the metal bits that supposedly conduct electricity are fastened together only by the dubious pressure of molded plastic. To add to the fun, the unshielded wire makes a beautiful antenna...either transmitting or receiving. Got a nearby radio station? Got digital data floating about? Who doesn’t? Got troubles? We set out to try four premium power cords in our Alpha system. We used a single recording, Walton’s Façade suite (Reference Recordings RR-16) on LP. Our point of reference was a $3 power cable running between our Inouye line conditioner and the wall. That is not what we usually use, but anything for science! The filter feeds our preamp and CD player but not the power amplifier, which is fed from a Foundation Research LC-2. We could hear right away that a number of things were wrong. Substituting even the cheapest of our test cords made a highly audible difference. Wireworld Stratus This is the cable normally used on our preamp, and we know it well because it can be found in our Audiophile Store. Ours is a custom version, with a Hubbell hospital grade plug and a 15A Swiss-made IEC connector. This is much better than the 6A IEC connector and the mediocre GE plug found in the off-the-shelf version of the Stratus. Stratus is billed as a 16 gauge cable, though it seems to have much more metal than the previous version, which also had a 16 gauge rating. It doesn’t have individually-insulated strands, like Wireworld’s more expensive Aurora and Electra cables, but its hot and neutral conductors are well-shielded by separate spiralled ground wires. The 2m cable costs C$119.95 (US$76) or C$79.95 (US$51) in kit form. Was the sound better with the Stratus? “It wasn’t that awful with the cheap cable,” said Albert, “but the timbres weren’t right and the space was shrunken.” Reine agreed. “Not only was the sound lacking in body, but I swear there were actual notes missing.” With the Stratus the magic of this superb suite returned, as the sound stage opened up and the surprising hardness receded. We could hear farther into the background, picking up the softer instruments, such as the castanets and the very soft cymbal during the bassoon solo. We also noticed what seemed to be increased dynamic contrast. By comparison, the cheap cable seemed to equalize the volume of everything. And yet we had changed the cord only on our preamp. Imagine the difference with a large power amplifier, which attempts to draw large amounts of current through a narrow electrical pipeline. Eichmann eXpress As you can see, the company uses the eXpress name for all its cables. Its IEC connector has an extra large shell to accommodate the large wire, but we were disappointed to find it has only a 10A rating. This is good enough in countries with 220 volt lines, but with 120 volts you need double the current for a given power. The AC plug is not hospital rated, though it is very well made (we looked inside). The unshielded wire has an 11AWG rating, which should handle most loads.. The wire itself travels through a large blue football-shaped device we took to calling The Blue Whale. Was it some sort of current filtering device? We imagined a whole herd of these whales, if you used one on every component. The eXpress costs C$299, about US$188. Harmonic Technology Pro-AC11 This thick power cable is built much like the company’s interconnect: with pure copper single crystal wires. There are two shields: a braid and a metallized Mylar foil. The basic version has a Hubbell wall plug, but without a hospital grade rating. The hospital plug (the same one we use on the Stratus) is available as an option, as is a Schurter 20A IEC plug (which has a configuration different from the 15A model). A 2m PRO-AC11 cord costs US$180 (C$300) plus US$70 (C$115) for either of the connector upgrades. We were disappointed to discover that the regular IEC connector has only a 10A rating. Our sample had the better AC plug, but we should add that we find the upgrade price for that plug to be outrageous. The cable... ESP The Essence The acronym doesn’t mean what you think. The letters sound for Essential Sound Products. By the time we got around to trying this attractive cord, we rather agreed that the word “essential” perfectly describes power cables. The Essence uses multiple conductors cushioned by (unspecified) materials chosen (says ESP) not only for their dielectric properties but also for their mechanical qualities. Specifically, the two materials are tuned to different resonant frequencies. ESP evidently believes that, given sufficient vibration, everything is microphonic. That could easily be right. The Essence uses a Hubbell wall plug, though without a green dot. The IEC connector is the same one we use on the Stratus. A 20A IEC connector is available at extra cost for very large amplifiers requiring it. The base price for a 2m cord is C$860, or US$499. The cable sounded... (This is an excerpt from the full set of reviews. To read the entire issue, just order issue 63 at our secure server.) Complete articles from this issue: Soundproofing, Big Screen TV's to Stay Away From, Passion A11, State of the Art Excerpted articles from this issue: Comparing the Incomparable: Listening in the Store, Antique Sound Lab Leyla, Vecteur Espace, Two Interconnects, Five Speaker Cables, Four Power Cords [TABLE OF CONTENTS] [BACK HOME]