NOS Western Electric Powerwire.

[rollo]

   Bought a pair of 8ft cords with Oyide IEC and plug . Copper plugs that is. The wire is a 10Ga. annealed stranded wire. Designed for audio applications back in the day.
  To date these cords have replaced my reference cords. It took quite some time to settle in. At first they were bright and hard sounding. Now with 300 hours on them they mellowed but retained the super dynamics and clarity. No exaggerated sibilance great bass and a rich airy midrange.
  I'm hearing good things about the 14Ga. as well for front end components. The price is right and fair. If interested contact Triode Pete who posts here. He makes them as a hobby. Pete is a PE who also works in the power industry. He knows his electricity and now powercords as well. Well worth the effort.


charles

[Deton Nation]

These cords rock. Easily bested cords 3 - 4 x the price. Definitely an uber bargain!
M
And made by an awesome dude named Pete. Talk about friendly! And just plain great!

[topround]

We did a shootout at my house with about 9 powercords.
They ranged from the Shunyata anaconda, to the Synergistiv Research Designers reference to my friends home made WE 10 gauge cable.
The WE costs about $70 to make with Furutech ends, but we have been getting excellent results with the cheap Oyaide clones from China for about $16 on ebay.
In my system the WE cable was by far the best. My friend does a certain type of weave and uses a cable from Home Depot as the ground, I have other WE cables that are not nearly as good as his. He hit upon a very good combo.
Don't buy any expensive WE cables on any website, make your own or have friends make it for you, it is extremely easy to do and the results are great. They sell spools of the WE cable on ebay, find the gauge you like and weave on!

Mike

[BobM]

Charles - I will bring along my "RFM" version of this WE powercord to your rave. It is still an effectove 10 gauge wire, but instead of 3 runs (+, -, ground) it uses 5 wires. A 14 and 12 for the +, a 14 and 12 for the -, and a ground. So it is doubling up 2 different gauge wires for each powered leg. This was my design (aka "RFM") that Pete manufactured for me to try out as an experiment.

Compared to the standard 10 gauge with only 3 wires I am hearing subtle but definite improvements in soundstaging and perhaps a small improvement in speed and dynamics.

Enjoy,
Bob

[bpape]

Has anyone tried the Virtual Dynamics method of larger return and grounds and smaller + sides?

Bryan

[Black Sand Cable]

Has anyone tried the Virtual Dynamics method of larger return and grounds and smaller + sides?

Bryan

Many times.....and I heard no difference nor could I measure any difference so I abandoned the idea.

[rollo]

We did a shootout at my house with about 9 powercords.
They ranged from the Shunyata anaconda, to the Synergistic Research Designers reference to my friends home made WE 10 gauge cable.
The WE costs about $70 to make with Furute ch ends, but we have been getting excellent results with the cheap Oyaide clones from China for about $16 on ebay.
In my system the WE cable was by far the best. My friend does a certain type of weave and uses a cable from Home Depot as the ground, I have other WE cables that are not nearly as good as his. He hit upon a very good combo.
Don't buy any expensive WE cables on any website, make your own or have friends make it for you, it is extremely easy to do and the results are great. They sell spools of the WE cable on ebay, find the gauge you like and weave on!

Mike

Cool. How does he weave the wire ? Which ground wire from Home Depot ? Thanks. Inquiring minds want to know.


charles

[DeeJayBump]

Can someone post pictures or images of the WE wire that you are raving about? A quick search of ebay turns up more than one type/color of WE power wire.

Thanks.

[Triode Pete]

http://cgi.ebay.com/Western-Electric-KS-13385-L-1-12-AWG-Cloth-Wire-Black-/380212770817?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5886727801

For 12 AWG applications. Remember, you will need 2 or 3 lengths of conductor per power cord. It adds up.

I utilize a different grounding wire & to me (as well as others), it sounds better...

Also, different WE wire types sound different as well. A very old (~1936) NOS version has a very forgiving warm sound (great for a harsh digital front end).

The ones described by Mike (topround) & others have a more lively, vivid sound.

And yeah, the Oyaide pure copper knock-offs, appear to be the "best" connector with best being a subjective term...

[DeeJayBump]

Triode Pete-

Thanks for the ebay link.

Which end of the sonic spectrum does the wire you linked lean toward? Warm and forgiving or more lively and vivid? Also, which wire are you using for the ground?

[Triode Pete]

Triode Pete-

Thanks for the ebay link.

Which end of the sonic spectrum does the wire you linked lean toward? Warm and forgiving or more lively and vivid? Also, which wire are you using for the ground?

In giving away most of my secrets, the cable I built for BobM (the RFM version) had a very old (~1936) NOS version (14 AWG) with a very forgiving warm sound PLUS a 12 AWG NOS newer version (1960's) that has a more lively, vivid sound. The mixing of cable gauges & vintages provided BobM with a sound he really liked. I attribute this analogy similar to what Arthur Loesch has stated regarding tube rolling, capacitors & resistors... basically, that the mixing of brands of various high quality components yields a superior sound without noticeable colorations (ie - use different brands of caps, resistors & tubes in your designs to eliminate colorations & inaccuracies).

My ground is a 10 AWG, pure copper, Made in USA, 300V thermoplastic jacketed conductor...

[topround]

Pete,
Do you use snake oil as the dielectric?

Only the best power cords use snake oil

See you at charlies?

Mike

[DeeJayBump]

Thanks, Pete.

[Triode Pete]

Pete,
Do you use snake oil as the dielectric?

Only the best power cords use snake oil

See you at charlies?

Mike

Mike,
I'll try to be at Charlie's on Saturday but I also have a family friend's party to attend at 5 PM.

This Monday evening, I probably be having a few Raver's & Syndrome members over for a listen... you're always welcome...

Just out of curiosity, what type of wire weave does your friend use on the WE's? I use a Litz weave that my daughters make (they are masters (artists) on braiding)... all my profit margin goes to them ($5-10 per cord) Ha-Ha!... like "Field of Dreams", I make cords for the "love" of the hobby, not profit...

I also made / sold two cords to an "unnamed" Audio Reviewer who has an eclectic auditory reception / perception. I don't always agree with him but he has a myriad of followers... he really liked my 1936 version of the WE wires... helped to cure his "digititus" on his front end CD player as well as his high end amp...

Enjoy,
Pete

[rollo]

 These cords were a great addition to any system we put together at the July Rave. In amps or CDPs a noticeable difference for the good.


charles