Yes, bad recordings of good stuff stuff is revealing as we improve things. Great summary of your sources. I’ve spent more time designing the leads than getting “great” sources. And, I think it is time to start that process. My music collection isn’t at all anything to be envious of. My system is pretty nice but with more music it might be a lot nicer!
The main ICONOCLAST mission is to bring to you, what I hear using the leads. That is job one. The task was never, “hey, let’s make money doing this”. Not even close. Still isn’t. We sell mostly word of “cable”. Better SOUND at far lower prices is the mission, and to service users who have systems that allow the changes to be utilized. This is not system price determined. Many modest systems can leverage the designs.
The improvements into the music the leads make is remarkable to enjoyment. Sure, people will say it the music not the reproduction. I try to say that, but my system tells me how wrong I am to think saying it makes it so. Your sources are indeed worth better and better fidelity.
Thank you Ray! Not that I have a lot of disposable income after the holiday binge and Christmas but now it appears that I will go broke following your advice and picking up a pile of great recordings. Your list is impressive and I (and I’m sure others) really appreciate posts like this!! Roger M and Joe F have also contributed to my collection!!
Let me know when you are ready to really experience an upgrade (speaker cables.)
Galen has come up with some pretty useful metaphors.
I have never heard the 260.8’s, but based on experience (long past) with Nelson’s X-series stereo amps (X250.5 and X350.5) I’d put the X series AB amps more in Galen’s “Spring” category, and the XA single-ended class A monsters more towards the “Fall.”
Winter - cool
Spring - Slightly warm, mostly cool
Summer - Warm
Fall - Slight cool, mostly warm
I nice surprise for Iconoclast. A PS Audio member and Iconoclast customer (Dennis L) was kind enough to send me a link to the AudioBacon “Best of 2019” post barely now a week old. Thank you Dennis for letting me know and thank you Jay at AudioBacon for the win! https://audiobacon.net/2019/12/31/best-of-2019/
Darrell, Galen has approved an IEC connector waiting for the duplex and matching 20 AMP. Slow yes but moving forward. Galen is very thorough! Thank you for hanging with us and the support you give!!
The power cables will be data driven like all ICONOCLAST. I avoid the issues of wishful theory and magic materials with no real measured support. We have PLENTY of “magic” cables to chose from already so we stay BELDEN and data driven.
ICONOCLAST is about measured and factual changes in design and materials. The entry level UTP, Unshielded Twisted Pair, power cable will define the dielectric used, and why. If this means I test twenty cables materials ( I really needed to test a few major material groups) and chose a well knowm material that tops the measurement charts, I’ll use that material.
What should that “new” dielectric do in a power cable? Move 60 Hz AC and mitigate RF influences into the power supply. Stay tuned and as usual, I’ll have my reasons for what has been done and I think your wallet and your ears will appreciate what I’ve found. If I can find designs that fit a requirement at a great price, that WORK, I’ll use them. This is about the principals of DESIGN, not making something expensive UNLESS it has a benefit.
And, I’m using the BAV power cable in my system now for everything.
Again, the inital power cable series will be BAV, and that market needs high performance at the best cost. This cable brings that to the table.
For ICONOCLAST, and performance at any price (we still keep “any price” reasonable) we have some leveraged designs I can use from the BAV development and measurement process. This is performance first, cost second, opposite the BAV.
The real world measured data seldom makes cables worse. I’m expecting that to continue to be true.
I how far in time will the Iconoclast AC cables lag the BAV choices?
I do appreciate your data driven choices. I did venture out and get one aftermarket cord for DSD with improved performance . I am about to try another. I have a second system to move cords to if your design proves superior. I,d much rather move cords and cables than amps. Better cables like Iconoclast is akin to electronic upgrades iand are esily discernible in my system. So Godspeed in your new product roll out.
BJC Article (Written by Kurt D., on January 6, 2020) HDMI 2.1 and Cables.
I watched with interest over the last couple of years waiting to know what was going to be the next step in the HDMI transition into the future. After all, it never was a good solution and really created to try to insure copy write protection. All of those little tiny conductors, connectors that were difficult to pull through conduit and almost “ALL” produced in factories in my favorite…“China.”
Here is the latest that we have learned. Kurt is in Vegas at CES with multiple goals. Take a look when you have a few minutes to read. I hope this is not old information. Kurt usually is on top of the latest…
Welcome to the forum. We would certainly look into a Schuko connector for our upcoming power cables if there was interest. We haven’t completed the design specifications just yet focusing first on a BJC/BAV product and later a full Iconoclast design. Thank you for your interest and stay tuned.
Been a long time lurker, totally bowled over with the OFE 4x4 interconnects I received just before Xmas, so definitely interested in iconoclast power leads!
Don’t you guys just feel sorry for folks who haven’t had the chance to get their hands on Iconoclast products? I mean, really. We’ve been knocking around on this thread for years now and there’s been some traction but one day these will just explode. Boom. Game over for the other cable companies. It’ll be awful hard to sell a $20k interconnect then.
Thank you very much sir and I could not agree more. We will go “Boom” and I feel it coming! In a good way of course! And, I really do feel sorry for those who have not had the opportunity to hear what a “real” cable sounds like.
I just replaced Shunyata Venom RCA IC’s going from preamp to amp with Iconoclast OCC off @BobBJC’s demo" discounted list…
The Shunyata’s are relatively inexpensive but have OCC conductors. They sound great.
But the amount of nuance information that the Iconoclast reveal make them worth the cash.
Each instrument and voice appear to be more complete. Very nice.
Interconnect leads, or our hearing, take your pick are definitely a harder cable to understand. The input impedance load of an RCA or XLR is extremely high. And, this drops the amount of current in the actual signal wires. E=IR and we know E is 1 Volt or so and the input impedance is, in theory, infinity so I has to be very low. This is why we can use such skinny wires in RCA and XLR cable for the SIGNAL, not the ground, lead. Speaker leads have a near dead short, for all practical purposes, on the cable end. E=IR where R is very low (the speaker) and E is a higher voltage (0-50 volts is typical) at the speaker terminal. The speaker cable current has to be far higher as “R” is so low to produce the voltage. In one case we have lots of electron’s moving and the other far fewer. More voltage allows more current delivery into a set load.
The interesting issue is using the “single wire” technology verses the “quad” wire technology in the RCA and XLR where the wire size is far small in the quad design (10-mil verses 20-mil). Yes, the smaller wire lowers the cables impedance across the frequency range, and is measurable. But, it is far, far less so than a speaker cable as we already have pretty small wires in even the single wire design. The generation II was “supposed to” prove that the 20-mil wire was more than small enough. It didn’t show that to be the case so we now have a crazier design to manufacture but it is better sounding. By all right of measurement it should not be…but it is. The TPC 4x4 and 1x4 sound as good as the UPOCC 1x4 and 1x1 design on analog sources, or so close I can’t separate them. This is a great deal for you, the TPC 1x4 and 4x4 is cheaper to buy and, the differences on up the wire metallurgy price scale are finer between each grade.
The calculations and data support true"improvement" in the cable but the “numbers” don’t suggest we can hear the changes. Use them to decide which is true in your system.
