Thanks, The Iconoclast BAV is very large diameter. I way have to research Wattgate plugs
I like the clocking capabilities. The small diameter backshell probably not worth my efforts. You mentioned updriling, what are existing dimensions, and most you can increase too?
You can put a 20mm cable in the shell if you are careful. The clamp itself comes completely apart.
Here are some pics of the connector dissembled. I had a spare in one of my boxes of many wonders.
The Belden 19105 should fit fine. The instructions that come with the plug give you recommended lengths for each of the 3 conductors to fit in the back shell at the desired position.
Hey, guys, letās have some subjective evaluation on the audible differences between gold and rhodium plated mains plugs, okay?
(Iām not sure if I should be half serious here, Iāve seen people doing such comparisons and evaluating system synergy based on such thingsā¦ It might not be BS)
Gold vs Rhodium
I tried both. I felt that Gold power connectors ācoloredā the sound towards āwarmā. I decided that I personally didnāt want to have so many components such as Tubes, Interconnects (RCA and XLR), Power cords, Fuses, etcā¦ all changing the ātoneā of my system. I feel that Rhodium has no sound, that it is neutral.
One persons opinion.
I totally believe this.
Even Galen canāt explain this. It is possible that no one can, yet. Perhaps a signal theory and metallurgy researcher somewhere, whose findings we will never find anywhere.
There was talk on another forum by someone working with RF if I remember correctly and he said that rhodium has an especially good transmission of high frequency signals, not sure if to trust him but if itās true, itās NOT related to plain old static DCR value. And there is no material-specific impedance defined. There is skin depth and paramagnetic propertiesā¦ Hmm.
Iād agree with vkennedy. Rhodium tends to test your patience burning in, but is ultimately worth it. Furutech Rhodium + NCF is especially good. I have a mix of rhodium and gold, about a 2:1 ratio since I like a little bit of warmth.
I think you reminded me of a comment Iāve heard that Rhodium is too analytical. Iām now thinking thatās because they were listening to Gold prior and were missing the coloration.
The nice thing is we have choice. Choice rich and time poor.
Something changed for the positive in the past 2 days with this power cord. All of a sudden everything got better. The soundstage is wider and deeper, the mids are smooth and it sounds like thereās more range if that makes any sense.
This morning I swapped in the Cardas Clear Beyond XL cord I was using for comparison. The DIY cable now sounds better. Particularly with bass.
Burn-in is a real phenomenon. I just needed to be more patient. This took ~400 hours.
I am going to put back the DIY and leave it in place until I build v3. Parts are on order.
Do you have experience or knowledge on the use of wide diameter foil for power cables?
Verastarr (thatās OCD Mike, known from Youtube), makes cables with wide silver foil. They are very well reviewed as being very immediate and quick sounding, āattention drawingā I guess, apparently in a good way and Iād trust those arenāt bribed reviews because Mike genuinely seems like a very honest guy.
I wonder what the benefit physically would be, since mains skin depth is so large that the conductor essentially being one big skin shouldnāt make a difference there? He did explicitly mention they are designed that way for skin effect but it seems like he just doesnāt know why his cables sound good.
There is apparently, as explained by Siltech, the effect of a double transient of the whole available amplifier bandwidth being reflected backwards into the socket through a power cable, their design was to null that as I understoodā¦ My intuition tells me that with a very thin foil, that transient would have a very low impedance path to reflect through freely.
Could it be that it improves the immediacy of the sound when such back reflection transients are reflected fast, with little group delay, through a cable so as to not cause smearing? This could be a benefit just as eliminating it is a benefit (Siltechās approach)ā¦ Just ruminating.
Also, I would imagine that power cables with multiple foils in such close proximity would be fairly capacitive. If the stored energy is somehow engineered to discharge āvery quicklyā maybe it wouldnāt be a problem, I just have a hard time imagining how that could be done. Maybe the capacitance of a foil power cable is a major cause for the described āattention drawingā characteristic, some added discharge to accentuate the soundā¦?
Well, Iām sure Mike has designed the cables meticulously with ear, I believe they are good, just wondering why it works.
(I sent an inquiry to Verastarr about the principles involved, I hope they care to clarify technically)
I havenāt heard of this design. But, I will poke at it in the next few weeks. My todo list is pretty full.
Thanks for the info.
Cable whisperer and shaman
Everything has a sound.
I found Furutech gold IEC to be too warm.
Iāve gotten rid of all Rhodium in my system.
Using all Oyaide M1/F1.
I only use Rhodium from Furutech. I had heard his system from Furutechās German distributor and was thrilled at the time. With each Rhodium connection I found my system more controlled, more dynamic, more harmonious. Gold has a rich timbre veiled but some resolution. If possible, the plugs should have the same coating as the socket. A mixture causes different contact resistances and distortions. Donald has a very nice cable with a ribbon silver conductor. Dave Zenwave builds these.
Interesting plugs for a good price
https://kamaudio.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=18_46
I like Furutech NCF wall inlet and plate better too. Oyaide inlet in comparison sounded warmer with less detail (forgot I had gold or rhodium).
Zenwave PSR-11 is an incredible cord, but it took 1000+ hours to reach its peak! Compared to AQ Dragon HC it has an extra layer of warmth at high and mid. Female vocal sounded so realistic with Zenwave serving P15 than Dragon. Its sounds fuller also.
Good morning, we also have a right angle connector for the BAV power cords. The connector easily accepts the 0.681", Belden 19105 10 AWG cord. They come from Wattgate and look very much like the Furutech. The cable position can be adjusted to a number of exit points in relationship to the plug. The projection from the wall when fully inserted is about 1.5". There is no upcharge on the right angle connector when purchased as a new cable. We donāt do a very good job of telling folks about them.
I am also a bit uncertain if rhodium really can be any more of an improvement to a connector than having an āeverlastingā surface. Thatās the reason for its use beginning in hospital grade sockets and well established, but itās a relatively hard material so considering an ideal contact resistance, I see gold and moreso platinum being the best due to ductility. Platinum, is even more ductile than gold.