Do you really need 'audiophile' mains leads?

[James G]

Marco I love your theory about cables. Good stuff. Another must watch thread!

[James G]

Marco,

Get down your local B&Q or Focus etc. You can buy Unwaxed Sash Cord or other ropes that consist of an outer sheath and an inner core. The inner core can be pulled out just leaving the sheath.

Some of them are very nice too and look completely different to th eusual stuff you see on cables.

I think I read somewhere that cloth was the best dielectric besides air. If I got some of that sash cord you mentioned to cover some bare solid core copper wire, do you think it would protect it from oxidation? Or am I chasing a wild goose here?

[Prince of Darkness]

Can't see that working, the sashcord sheath will be easily air permeable.

[Ali Tait]

I've known people to make i/c's by feeding silver wire down shoelaces.Bit fragile but work well.

[Marco]

Marco I love your theory about cables. Good stuff. Another must watch thread!

Hi James,

Cheers!

All I'll say at the moment is that initial experiments have revealed some very interesting effects. It looks like I've discovered something MAJOR which could redefine how hi-fi enthusiasts view the use of 'audiophile' mains leads

There's still much experimenting and listening to do though so no definite conclusions have been reached yet.

More later - so stay tuned!

Marco.

[Steve Toy]

Is there any chance of keeping the inner core as well. I'm wondering about the benefits of extra insulation from RFI etc.

[Beechwoods]

All I'll say at the moment is that initial experiments have revealed some very interesting effects. It looks like I've discovered something MAJOR which could redefine how hi-fi enthusiasts view the use of 'audiophile' mains leads

It wouldn't have anything to do with ensuring cables run parallel to Ley lines would it, Marco

Seriously, given how 'easy' it is for even amateur DIY'ers like me to put cables together I'm watching this one very carefully.

[Primalsea]

I think I read somewhere that cloth was the best dielectric besides air. If I got some of that sash cord you mentioned to cover some bare solid core copper wire, do you think it would protect it from oxidation? Or am I chasing a wild goose here?

NO NO NO, The idea of the cloth sheath is just to make it look nice which is what Marco was wanting it for. You guys obviously don't understand Hifi DIY the art of zen

[Marco]

Is there any chance of keeping the inner core as well. I'm wondering about the benefits of extra insulation from RFI etc.

The 'inner core' on twin & earth mains cable is the earth, so yes, it will getting kept

RFI will be dealt with by Anthony's off-board mains filter, which as you know has proven to be excellent. It is my view, currently, that filtered and/or screened (stranded) 'audiophile' mains leads squash dynamics and mess up the sound, as evidenced (in full glory) yesterday at Ian's when we swapped the Music Works Plus mains lead powering his source for the 6mm mains cable and plugs I've been discussing.

We're now about to try the same in my system with the Transparents. This will probably take all day so I'll report back later this evening

Marco.

[Marco]

Well, that was very interesting... I'm afraid in my system it's 'no cigar' for the twin & earth mains cables, which is disappointing because I wanted the Transparents to be worse so that I would not only be able to sell them and make some money but also so that I would get some kind of upgrade, but sadly, and somewhat bizarrely it's a no-no...

First we listened to the system as is with my Transparent mains leads in use throughout (we played a Willie Nelson and Winton Marsallis Jazz CD) just to get a feel for how the system sounded, which was fine. What we also done was to hard-wire one of the twin & earth mains leads into my CU on the same MCB as the Transparent mains lead feeding my CD transport, so we could quickly swap (within seconds) from one to the other to compare any differences.

When we swapped the Transparent lead for the twin & earth one, at first the sound seemed more 'impressive' in that voices and instruments seemed clearer and better defined, but it quickly became apparent that this was only because they were being falsely forced forward into the mix, making the sound superficially more impressive in a hi-fi sense but at the same time losing all the tonal colour and emotional expression which makes the difference between listening to music and a cardboard cut-out of such. The timing had also lost its 'snap' and overall tunefulness had taken a significant nose-dive. My system had completely lost its 'mojo' - not good!

Therefore we swapped back to the Transparent Reference mains lead and played the same track again and within the first few notes the difference (improvement) was obvious. The sound had lost that 'grey' non-descript quality which had given the music an un-involving and 'uninteresting' presentation, and the tonal colour which gives emotional expression to voices and instruments was back, timing was much better, as was the overall 'flow' such that the interplay between the musicians was convincingly presented the way I was used to hearing it - in short: a pretty big improvement over the twin & earth mains cable.

We didn't give up though and tried it back and forth with different types of recordings and music but each time the results were the same: the twin & earth mains cable completely killed my system's 'musicality'. To be honest, a lot of people would probably like the effect of the twin & earth cable as it does give an 'impressive', 'hi-fi' type of sound but it's at the expense in my opinion (and Ian who agreed) of the musically involving and highly addictive presentation I've created with my system since moving to valves and there's no way that I would wish to lose that. It's the sort of difference I always listen for when judging anything I put into use in my system from cables to equipment (and also valves). I will always put whatever communicates the music most effectively first before any superficial hi-fi 'pyrotechnics'.

Now the question of course is why did we hear such an improvement with the twin & earth cables in Ian's system (trust me, it was BIG) and not in mine?

Well, it would seem that the Music Works and Naim mains leads (left over from Ian's old Naim system) he was using in his current system weren't doing as good a job there as the Transparent mains leads were in my system, which I suppose makes sense given the huge cost difference between both, and as has been proven, in terms of performance. Ian's system was definitely not working as it should have done with the mains leads he was using, so much so in fact that he was blaming the lacklustre sound he was getting on his amps and was considering selling them as a result!! But that's all changed for him now since installing the twin & earth mains cables.

It's also obvious the difference in the quality of construction on both sets of cables (Ian's previous ones and mine); the Transparents using heavier duty cable and much higher quality connectors. Consequently, when we put the twin & earth cables in Ian's system they made a big improvement (and I mean in a musical as well as a hi-fi sense), but in my system it was the opposite. The mains leads Ian was using before were definitely strangling his system - of that there is no doubt, so this is something that he has to address and will do so.

It's disappointing for me because after hearing the effect the twin & earth solid-core cables made in Ian's system I was convinced that they'd have a similar effect in mine, but at the same time it's comforting to know that the money I paid for the Transparents has been well spent and that they definitely do their job, making a very noticeable difference to the musical presentation of my system as a whole. So unfortunately there will be no holiday for me on the proceeds of selling the Transparents (shit! ), but I have the satisfaction of knowing that I haven't spent thousands of pounds on 'foo'...

I'll contribute some more thoughts later, but right now I'm off to listen to some tunes and mull over what I've discovered today. I don't really know why the 6mm twin & earth leads weren't better when 'logic' dictates that they should have been. Mmmm...

Laters,
Marco.