Frank, you've really, really annoyed me...

[meninblack]

Because.....

a) Your bloody mains cable actually works!

And it shouldn't. It really shouldn't.

b) I'm going to have to buy the damned thing now!

My Cyrus system requires SIX mains-powered boxes just to play CD's, so I did a bit of playing about last night with the various options for the cable which you "generously" lent me.

It didn't make much sense to put it on just one of the (mono) power amps, so I tried it first on the Pre-X. Nothing. Nada. Nix. Then the CDP: again, no audible difference. I was starting to feel confident in my cable scepticism, despite the earlier experience with i/c's.

Then I thought about it, read the Cyrus manual a bit and realised that the internal power supply in the pre-amp only powers the switching and control electronics, with the ouput stage being supplied by the PSX/R (when used.)

So I plugged the cord into the PSX/R and bugger me, the whole sound just snapped into focus somehow. That's the best I can describe it. It was even noticeable with the TV sound!

I don't understand how the hell it does this. The cord is plugged into a Woolies 6-way cheapo trailing socket, which is plugged in turn into another 6-way trailing socket, which is plugged into the solitary unswitched mains socket that the builders of my house provided for the living room!

I tried swapping around again this morning, after having a stiff word with myself about electrical theory, but it still bloody works.

 

[JonR]

So does this mean meninblack won't be sending for the meninwhitecoats...?

:minikiev:

 

[Guest]

MIB i could ask you to post this on another forum but there's been enough of those debates lately

 

[Boxer]

See, us cable believers aren't completely hatstand...well, not all the time.

Boxer

 

[Davewhityetagain]

I will post it then, its just like posting something from a newspaper or mag the word needs to be spread

 

[Effem]

meninblack wrote:

Because.....a) Your bloody mains cable actually works!

And it shouldn't. It really shouldn't.

b) I'm going to have to buy the damned thing now!

My Cyrus system requires SIX mains-powered boxes just to play CD's, so I did a bit of playing about last night with the various options for the cable which you "generously" lent me.

It didn't make much sense to put it on just one of the (mono) power amps, so I tried it first on the Pre-X. Nothing. Nada. Nix. Then the CDP: again, no audible difference. I was starting to feel confident in my cable scepticism, despite the earlier experience with i/c's.

Then I thought about it, read the Cyrus manual a bit and realised that the internal power supply in the pre-amp only powers the switching and control electronics, with the ouput stage being supplied by the PSX/R (when used.)

So I plugged the cord into the PSX/R and bugger me, the whole sound just snapped into focus somehow. That's the best I can describe it. It was even noticeable with the TV sound!

I don't understand how the hell it does this. The cord is plugged into a Woolies 6-way cheapo trailing socket, which is plugged in turn into another 6-way trailing socket, which is plugged into the solitary unswitched mains socket that the builders of my house provided for the living room!

I tried swapping around again this morning, after having a stiff word with myself about electrical theory, but it still bloody works.

Did you, or did you not want convincing and the best way was to let you have it at no risk. It is a brand new lead too so it willmellow for a day or two yet before it gives of it's best.

Watch out too for Papa Lazarou's verdict on the Mercury I lent him yesterday when hecompares it to the Titans he's already got. I doubt very much if he's sending it back.

 

[legzr1]

HHhmmm,thread locked on HifiChoice - there's a suprize :Not Sure:

 

[Ant]

legzr1 wrote:

HHhmmm,thread locked on HifiChoice - there's a suprize :Not Sure:

By me

 

[legzr1]

I know.

 

[Umberto]

I would say there is definetly an improvement with Franks mains cables over kettle leads. I have heard Franks Titan lead and also his Mercury power cord. Had the Titan lead in my system for about two months and even my cloth ears could hear an improvement, especially in the noise floor and overall definition of the sound.

Franks leads are good value for money IMO but don't go expecting night and day improvements. The improvements are overall and subtle (well they were with the Titan. The Mercury may be even more noticeable).

Not wanting to poo poo the non-believers, what is it that you are expecting to hear? Are you going into it open-minded or are you sticking your fingers in your ears andsaying "la la la la i'm notlistening".

If you go into it with an open mind then hopefully you will hear the difference too.

 

[Papa Lazarou]

The Mercury that Frank kindly lent me yesterday has substituted one of his Titans on my CDP. The result? Even more airiness to vocals and more detail retrieval. Impressed!!!

 

[peter312]

meninblack wrote:

So I plugged the cord into the PSX/R and bugger me, the whole sound just snapped into focus somehow.

"Snapped eh?" I not surprised, what with the shape of mains plugs. Did you try plugging it in the wall socket instead?

:minikiev:

Seriously though, I personally found your post interesting, bearing in mind your initial scepticism.

cheers

Peter

 

[hifienthusiast]

I was once a sceptics of mains cable until I heard a silver mains cable in my friend's system.The silver cablewastrialled on asale of return basis. Swapping the cheap stock and silver mains cables from his ATC SIA-150 int amp did make a lot of difference. The silver cable had more clarity, smoother high frequency and warmer midrange. We swapped it back to the stock cheap cable and didn't like the sound at all, it was congested and lacked finesse. At the end, my friendbought the silver cable and it only cost 50 pounds.

 

[GaryC]

I've had mixed responses with Franks cables. First tried some Sterling interconnects (replaced Chord Chorus)- wonderfullyseparation of instruments, lots of detail.exceptionally controlled bass. Next up I gotStratos (replacing RA Classics)for Christmas- used these on my Bryston pre-power amps, gave the sound more depth, slightly faster response to transients.

Now here's the thing. Having experienced the benefits of using Franks cables, I plumped for a Mercury (replacing RA Classic)for my CDP (Linn Ikemi). It killed the sound dead -no life, no bass. Decided to try the kettle lead supplied by Linn and the sound just opened out. Admitedly the bass was looser (but probably because there was plenty of it) and vocals lacked theprecision of the Classic/Mercury. The dealer who sold me the Ikemi suggested I try the Chord Power Chord -gave the best of both worlds - precision and power.

As it turns my experiences are due to the nature of the Ikemis switching power supply, reviewers havehad similar experiences using various manufacturers cables vs kettle lead.

Just goes to prove, one cable may not be a panacea, it depends on your kit as well.

 

[griffo104]

GaryC wrote:

I've had mixed responses with Franks cables. First tried some Sterling interconnects (replaced Chord Chorus)- wonderfullyseparation of instruments, lots of detail.exceptionally controlled bass. Next up I gotStratos (replacing RA Classics)for Christmas- used these on my Bryston pre-power amps, gave the sound more depth, slightly faster response to transients.Now here's the thing. Having experienced the benefits of using Franks cables, I plumped for a Mercury (replacing RA Classic)for my CDP (Linn Ikemi). It killed the sound dead -no life, no bass. Decided to try the kettle lead supplied by Linn and the sound just opened out. Admitedly the bass was looser (but probably because there was plenty of it) and vocals lacked theprecision of the Classic/Mercury. The dealer who sold me the Ikemi suggested I try the Chord Power Chord -gave the best of both worlds - precision and power.

As it turns my experiences are due to the nature of the Ikemis switching power supply, reviewers havehad similar experiences using various manufacturers cables vs kettle lead.

Just goes to prove, one cable may not be a panacea, it depends on your kit as well.

Gary,

I've had this problem with my old Lingo unit on the LP12. I think you'll find it is down to the switch mode psu inside the Linn gear which causes the problems. I can confirm what others have said. I was amazed at how some of the posh mains cables totally killed a Lingo - just proves mains cables DO make a difference although not the difference we sometimes want.

 

[Effem]

I have long known about sooper dooper power cords having little or no effect on a switch mode power supply. This I think has been one of the clues to unravelling the mysteries of why they do work on oher kit. Whether it's the impedance characteristicsthat a switch mode supply presents, or the way the cable interacts with the tranformer I couldn't tell you, but one day someone with the know-how and the right test equipment will no doubt tell us.