SimplifiedLife Posted January 31, 2015 Posted January 31, 2015 So I'm hoping for a review of some of the Australian power cables out there...Not just "I like this cable or you should get this", but what you think the cable offers to music playback. Some comparisons would be amazing. Even some advice. Best cable on source end or amplifier end? Pretty sure I'd never spend over $350 for one...ever! Last time I was setting up my system I gave up on the idea of power cables. Now my system is taking a jump up, it is time to reconsider. What I've found (in no particular order): Thoroughbred Audio http://www.thoroughbredaudio.com/SHIELDED/ RKcable http://www.rkcable.com.au/powercables.htm Audio Principe http://audioprincipe.com.au/australian-power-cables/ Krispy Audio http://www.krispyaudio.com.au/categories/Cables/Power-Cables/ Clink (looks non-compliant) http://clink.com.au/accessories/power.htm Whatmough http://whatmoughaudio.com.au/product_info.php/whatmough-power-cable-p-242 Isotek http://www.isoteksystems.com/cgi-bin/product_categories.pl Voodoo http://voodoocable.net/product-category/power-cords/ I think we need a cable library like I've heard about with http://www.thecableco.com/ 1
Clydemount Posted January 31, 2015 Posted January 31, 2015 Careful son, down this road there be dragons. 9
SimplifiedLife Posted January 31, 2015 Author Posted January 31, 2015 That is what we have a chillout room for. I'm tempted to buy one of each and to organise a meet for comparison. 3
Jventer Posted January 31, 2015 Posted January 31, 2015 (edited) That is what we have a chillout room for. I'm tempted to buy one of each and to organise a meet for comparison. That would be great ! Maybe as more cost efficient exercise SNA members commercial and others could provide loan cables? (Also like your idea of a library) Edited January 31, 2015 by Jventer 1
Sparkle Posted January 31, 2015 Posted January 31, 2015 Randle , love to hear the results of your comparison. Something like this is long overdue!!!!!!! I'm hoping to do something similar in a few weeks, but perhaps not with as many cables and all hopefully borrowed. Just a word, previously I've borrowed 2 power cables, one $700 and one $1000. Both wonderful... but the dearer one was better,.. surprised? Still price range comparisons are a good place to start. 1
Sparkle Posted January 31, 2015 Posted January 31, 2015 Nice idea JV, or perhaps you are a boutique cable manufacturer and would like some exposure and provide a set of loaner cables ??
PorkBun69s Posted January 31, 2015 Posted January 31, 2015 That would be great ! Maybe as more cost efficient exercise SNA members commercial and others could provide loan cables? (Also like your idea of a library) Ditto!
SimplifiedLife Posted February 1, 2015 Author Posted February 1, 2015 The plan would be to work towards trying the following (I've arbitrarily designated high-end as above $500 and perhaps ultra-high-end as $1000+): Entry Level <$200 IsoTek Evo3 Premier http://www.isoteksystems.com/cgi-bin/products.pl?id=5 Cinema Link http://clink.com.au/accessories/power.htm Voodoo Magneto http://voodoocable.net/product/magneto-powercord/ Audio Principe Premium http://audioprincipe.com.au/australian-power-cables/premium-shielded-power-cable/ R.K. Cable VFM 1.5 http://www.rkcable.com.au/VFMpowercord.htm R.K. Cable LoRad http://www.rkcable.com.au/RKlorad.htm Throughbred Shielded http://www.thoroughbredaudio.com/SHIELDED/ Mid-Range <$500 Whatmough Power Cable http://whatmoughaudio.com.au/product_info.php/whatmough-power-cable-p-242 Krispy Kables Power Cable Stage 1 http://www.krispyaudio.com.au/products/Krispy-Kables-Power-Cable-Stage-1.html Krispy Kables Power Cable Stage 2 http://www.krispyaudio.com.au/products/Krispy-Kables-Power-Cable-Stage-2.html Voodoo X-Ray http://voodoocable.net/product/x-ray-powercord/ Voodoo Avatar http://voodoocable.net/product/avatar-powercord/ Voodoo Ultra Wave http://voodoocable.net/product/ultra-wave/ Audio Principe Signature http://audioprincipe.com.au/australian-power-cables/signature-shielded-power-cable/ R.K. Cable 1.5 http://www.rkcable.com.au/RKCABLE15.htm R.K. Cable 2.5 http://www.rkcable.com.au/RKCABLE25.htm R.K. Cable Furutech 1.5 http://www.rkcable.com.au/RKCABLEFurutech.htm R.K. Cable Furutech 2.5 http://www.rkcable.com.au/RKCABLEFurutech.htm R.K. Cable Furutech Rhodium 1.5 http://www.rkcable.com.au/fururechrhodium.htm R.K. Cable Furutech Rhodium 2.5 http://www.rkcable.com.au/fururechrhodium.htm With this list I definitely couldn't afford to buy one of each! Particularly given the resale! Maybe a condition of participation would be to bring/organise two power cables from the list? All power cables would need to be run in for a minimum of 300 hours. Does anyone in Melbourne like the sound of this? P.S. I'm open to listening to higher priced cables, but not open to buying them (perhaps I should not listen then!) 1
vwo60 Posted February 3, 2015 Posted February 3, 2015 I have two of the Voodoo ultra wave in my system, one on the amp direct from the wall socket and the other from the wall socket to the power conditioner, i could not be happier with them, A sceptic came over on the week end to listen to my amp, he is an electrical engineer, I played the system with the cables in place and swapped out the amp cable to the standard on that came with the amp, he could not believe the difference, another convert , good luck with the comparison.
firefly0071 Posted February 3, 2015 Posted February 3, 2015 I have the audio principle signature and two R. K. Cable and two Voodoo Tigers (purchased second hand). Voodoo is not Oz made. My preference is audio principle signature. 2
rantan Posted February 3, 2015 Posted February 3, 2015 I have the audio principle signature and two R. K. Cable and two Voodoo Tigers (purchased second hand). Voodoo is not Oz made. My preference is audio principle signature. +1. The AP signature cord is unbeatable at anywhere near its price and I found the RK cables to be OK but nothing special. Also, the Voodoo cords are definitely not made in Oz 4
firefly0071 Posted February 3, 2015 Posted February 3, 2015 I tried to buy secondhand but RK and Audio Principle are almost impossible to purchase secondhand (small number of sales) to save some money. Purcahsed new and helping out Oz manufacturing. I purchased two used voodoo tigers on SNA.
vwo60 Posted February 3, 2015 Posted February 3, 2015 Strange how the title says made in AUS but goes on to list many that are not.
SimplifiedLife Posted February 3, 2015 Author Posted February 3, 2015 Strange how the title says made in AUS but goes on to list many that are not. The topic is about ones that are designed and compliant for Australian use. I'm keen to support Australian manufacturing, but that is not the purpose of this thread. Would love you to contribute to the topic.
vwo60 Posted February 3, 2015 Posted February 3, 2015 It would be good to know how compliant the cables are, both plugs and cable, I see a lot of the cables sold here use cheap plastic plugs from Hong Kong.
steve u Posted February 3, 2015 Posted February 3, 2015 (edited) Hi @@firefly0071, which RK cables and AP cables did you end up purchasing? There are 10 different cables listed here. Cheers, Steve Edited February 3, 2015 by steve u
PorkBun69s Posted February 3, 2015 Posted February 3, 2015 (edited) My experiences so far with power cables. I had these in the my system over the course of a few years. I capped power cable expenditure to $200..its a personal thingee. - IsoTek Evo3 Premier - Voodoo Black Dragon I got the Isotek Premier for use with my Polaris Evo power board. I felt that it 'choked' the sound a bit. But at the price vs performance level, I thought it was better suited as a source power cable. The voodoo cords are not locally made but mine had AU plugs. These were well built, quite inflexible really but gives that 'highend look' due to the sheer size and thickness of the cord. Soundwise, the black dragon just didnt do it for me. Just flattened the sound overall, made it very 2 dimensional. The power cable that most impressed me was a diy cable using DH Labs cord made by Geoff from Aurealis audio. It just gave me a much more open sound. Am planning to try out some audio principe power cables in the future since the feedback for them sounds positive. Edited February 4, 2015 by katattack74 1
firefly0071 Posted February 3, 2015 Posted February 3, 2015 It would be good to know how compliant the cables are, both plugs and cable, I see a lot of the cables sold here use cheap plastic plugs from Hong Kong. RK Cable states it complies with Australian Standards and I have two and they not cheap plugs. Same with Audio Principle.
aechmea Posted February 3, 2015 Posted February 3, 2015 And RK cables bear a test tag with serial number. 1
pete_mac Posted February 3, 2015 Posted February 3, 2015 And RK cables bear a test tag with serial number. Testing and tagging is NOT the same as certification. I hope that RK's statements are based upon separate certification/approval, with the subsequent test and tag simply confirming that the item is electrically safe. 1
Darren69 Posted February 4, 2015 Posted February 4, 2015 Can we please keep this on topic? I for one am interested in how a given electrical cable performs in a hi fi system. Start your own threads about what constitutes a safe cable and knock yourselves out.
pete_mac Posted February 4, 2015 Posted February 4, 2015 @@Darren69, there's already a thread on that topic from memory which does into a bit more detail. I agree that this kind of in-depth discussion should not be replicated here. However, I don't think it is wise to exclude all discussion on legality entirely. I can't see why we can't discuss which cables sound the best, whilst also understanding which of them tick the legality box as the same time. For many buyers, there are three things that they consider when buying a cable - price, sound and legality. Some only worry about the first two points... in which case, they can choose to completely disregard any discussion on the last point 1
Juicester Posted February 4, 2015 Posted February 4, 2015 Voodoo Vector cables @@Randle - they are the ones you want for sources. The ultrawave are great for power amps and conditioners.
SimplifiedLife Posted February 4, 2015 Author Posted February 4, 2015 Voodoo Vector cables @@Randle - they are the ones you want for sources. The ultrawave are great for power amps and conditioners. What is the reason you suggest one for source and one for power amps? What particular character do they each bring in your experience?
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