Speaking of power cord supports, these arrived. I put the tall one under Orion M-1 Reference power cord, and small one under Dragon I2S. You bet this is helping the SQ! They solidified SQ better than my previous cork assembly for sure.
But if you just want to do one, you should do it on the PC connection to the wall. See my previous picture, and the SQ improvement was significant at that location.
When my USB cable arrives, I will use them under too. The Omega has two TAP/Cmode Filters that needs support even without SQ improvement.
Does anyone know what’s behind this idea to couple the connectors to a surface which resonates even more than the equipment on it (depending on the base and the equipment certainly)?
I’d say cabling itself is less sensible to soundwaves than surfaces like some bases or equipment housings.
The equipment rack I bought about 15 years+ ago. It has 7/8" MDF dense slabs sitting on spikes. I checked and did not find a label on it, and I do not know if they are still around.
I do not know the theory. These metal brackets are made as cable lifters and power cord support. They have three metal balls between two sections.
I use them to support PST too, but I need to add sorbothane duro70 rings on top of the brackets to make it sound great.
Originally, I planned to purchase VooDoo Isopod, and I borrowed a set from the Cable Company to tryout. It was surprising that my DIY feet were easily better. They are better than Isoacoustic pods too.
You will find these in aliexpress. It takes two weeks to arrive in CA. They range from $40 to $60 each.
I got sorbothane 70 ring/disc from Amazon. When adding the rings on top of the metal brackets they are as good a support as any under transport in my system.
I have been lusting after a pair of Wave Storm Reference BNC cables to connect my MScaler and TT-2. They are very popular with Chord users ( Rob Watts recommends them).
Alas, my new DS MKII arrives tomorrow and I may not keep the Chord gear after that.
More and more I’m convinced that the cable trend of the day is driven too much by social media and so fails to put products into any context.
I have no doubt the Wave Storm cables are outstanding! But how much does Rob Watts’ praise revolve around “that’s what he’s heard because they’re a local-to-him company”? What other cables has he heard? Is he more likely to have heard UK and European cables? Has he heard equally marvellous cables from the US?
We have a small cable manufacturer here in Australia (Aurealis Audio) who also make outstanding products. They’re extremely price competitive, often being much cheaper than imported product of roughly the same performance. They operate only through their own premises with no dealer margins bringing up the cost.
I’ve been through looms of AudioQuest, Cardas and Townshend in my time, and the Aurealis cables are their equal (though they all have their own house sound). This while also being between 50-65% the retail price.
Shopping local makes sense. I’d love to hear the Wave Storm to compare. And AudioQuest Diamonds…and…
@michael_lichnovsky I hope you did not take my post as criticism on your choice of cables as that was not my intention. What matters is what you experience with your system. I have no first hand knowledge of Aurealis but commend you for supporting your local industry.
My comment was strictly about the cables I would like to try. I do not know how much influence social media has in this matter, but Rob Watts designed the Chord DAC I own so I value his recommendation as I would with anything Ted may recommend for the DS.
I have a pair of Greg Osborn’s speaker cables, from Melbourne, OZ. Litz I think, like Aurealis.
I also had some Silverlink RCAs.
Wave Storm was a small make-to-order company that went bust 3 years ago.
There is far less excitement about cables in the UK. The threads you get here about quantum this and that don’t happen here.
Herb Reichert uses cables I wouldn’t use to tie up bundles of old newspapers. Every once in a while he gets a really expensive cable, upwards of $1000. Sigh. On the plus side I believe he uses more candles than any other reviewer ever will. So your point about “What else has he heard” is not lost on me.
But Watts is a seriously clever man who has done some outstanding things. If he says something, it is probably based on much more than a whim.
The guy who runs a much loved tube amplifier company in Indiana writes volumes on why cables, especially power cables don’t matter. I question his beliefs more than I questions Mr. Watts.
Oh I’m not saying he’s wrong or uninformed, I’m just trying to say just because he says they’re great doesn’t mean there aren’t equally great alternatives, or perhaps even better alternatives. But because he said they’re great, those cables have become very desirable. Which is understandable, but doesn’t tell the entire story.
Cables are important but not that important. Important is to get power to your equipment safely and get the equipment interconnected. Without that: no music. So any cable that does that gets a 80 % rating. Ie. It gets the music out in decent quality.
I tried a 350 € power cable and compared it to the stock cable that came with the equipment. I could not hear the difference in AB listening. I learned another important lesson, that polarity matters a lot. Because there were cases the stock cables sounded way better that the expensive cable. Then I changed the polarity of the Schuko plug by simply unplugging it and turning it 180 deg. And there the 350 € cable sounded equal to the stock cable again, only it was that thick that it looked horrible that way, it was not with it. So I still use the stock cable for which it is easy to put it into the socket one way or the other.
What is 100 %? In my mind that is the point that the system operates at its optimum.
As cables can only limit losses, There is no 100 %.
For equipment costing more than 1000 $:
The first couple of 100 $ spent on cables may take you to 95 %. 1000 $ perhaps to 98 %.
How much money do you want to spend to get from 98 % to 99.9 %?
Me, I am a proud dad when my children score 80 % on their tests. So my need to spend more than a couple of 100 $ on a cable? None.
I prefer to put the money in high quality solar power system, and clean earth potential, proper surge protection. Then I’ll install filters close to the cheap SMPS of LED lights. Tackle any issues at the source. Certainly not as sexy as gold ring or high polished or carbon fiber plugs but very effective.
But you are not someone who reviews Audio equipment for a living.
In order to be a competent and credible reviewer you have to test lots of different strategies to develop a proper baseline. I don’t ask that reviewers do anything in particular. But when someone raves about a piece of gear that I have experience with and strongly don’t agree, I keep my eyes open for future reviews to see if they learned something along the way. In Herbs case I have seen he is learning a lot as he continues his work. A positive thing.
As always, personal testing and observation is key.
Off course. I agree with John Darko, you can not review without a reference and certainly can not rate a product against another without direct comparison in the same situation. Especially for products that determine nuances like cables.
I am in the lucky position to understand a lot of cables by education and working experience. For me the best brand is the one that bothers to take time to answer the questions I have and who’s products have not let me down. Atlas Cables in Scotland is such a manufacturer, they are transparent in what they do, they even sent me their instructions and provided special tools to terminate the cables that I had to pull through a conduit in the wall. They answer even cynical questions about the design. Like PS Audio, different medium, e-mail predominantly, but responsive. Why would I look further?!
