‘Whale’ of a time with the new Soundfoundations Power cables!
renjith lal
Active Member
I will check.
D
Deleted member 15865
Guest
Rikhav, I gave this further thought and I could see both pros and cons of putting the wooden block for support.
The pro logic of course is that it can keep the connector/connection unstressed and could lead to more secure connection.
The con logic is that the vibrations can pass through from the wooden support to the connector. That will partly nullify the effect of the isolators below the amplifier.
I tried putting some support (not wood as I don’t have it yet, but CD cases+books) for trial and found the sound quality reduced a tad - esp. the microdynamics getting subdued.
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Just buy Jenga blocks and try. Available in most toy shops. Costs some Rs 500. Doesn’t work, gift it to some kid 
Having said that I haven’t seen or heard of anyone using a block below the connector.
Having said that I haven’t seen or heard of anyone using a block below the connector.
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M
mpw
Guest
@SachinChavan
dont buy jenga blocks...
I have many of them and i want you to use it and that will save me space too..
how many do you need ?
PM me
regards
dont buy jenga blocks...
I have many of them and i want you to use it and that will save me space too..
how many do you need ?
PM me
regards
M
mpw
Guest
In a 2000 sq feet house, by removing the Jenga blocks, how much additional space are you going to get?
It's in the loft
)
ONEMANARMY
Active Member
In Mumbai every square inch mattersIn a 2000 sq feet house, by removing the Jenga blocks, how much additional space are you going to get?
In a 2000 sq feet house, by removing the Jenga blocks, how much additional space are you going to get?
Haha
Hard foam also works well as heavy cable support. I think it also acts less as a short circuit to the footer under the equipment (unlike a harder material like wood).
D
Deleted member 15865
Guest
Seems like a good idea.
On the other hand, I have a Solidsteel rack, and I have used cable ties to tie the power cable to the rack such that the IEC connector stays horizontal without the cable weight pulling it down. The cable ties are not tightened fully, though, and there is a slight play.
I wonder which is a better option of the two.
ONEMANARMY
Active Member
Sachin,
If its not too much, please do try and update if there is any further change/improvement in the cables after they have settled in for about 200-300 hours.
Thanks
If its not too much, please do try and update if there is any further change/improvement in the cables after they have settled in for about 200-300 hours.
Thanks
D
Deleted member 15865
Guest
Shehzad,
The improvements I reported in the opening post have only settled in further to the extent that now I am taking them for granted. If there was any further improvement/change from the first 20 hrs to the 200 hrs mark, it might have been gradual and I wasn’t able to perceive it.
JaideepGiridhar
Member
Hi guys,
After my positive experiences with the Roller blocks (equipment isolation) from Soundfoundations (shared in a separate thread earlier), I was wondering what next for me in the penchant for sound enhancement? Recent threads that I read on power cables has piqued my interest and it was one accessory I had never ever given a thought to.
Long story short and I was sent two new power cables (from the top end of their collection) that Soundfoundations is launching for my trial and review. i didn’t know what to expect when I received the parcel. So I was kind of surprised to find the thick cables with heavy connectors in the box! One of the cables was black, with similar to Furutech connectors and the other blue, with Krell connectors. While their names weren’t finalised yet, eventually the black got christened ‘Orca’ and the blue ‘Mysticeti’. While Orca is the scientific name for the (black) killer whale, Mysticeti is the systematic name for baleen whales order which contains the magnificient blue whale. Let me heretofore refer to them with these names.
View attachment 43450
Overall (common) impression
Let me first state what I found common across both these cables. The moment I introduced them one after another in my chain, first at the power amplifier (Audiolab 8200A, I use only the power stage). There was very obvious unmistakable change in sound I felt with both as compared to the stock cable that came with the amplifier. The detail had gone up and I was hearing more modulations in the vocals and texture of the instruments than before. My system had always had a treble roll off, and this was an area that improved with both these cables. Also the overall noise/distortion level went down ensuring I could raise volume more if desired before it starts getting distorted and lower the volume further down before it starts losing details and immediacy.
What followed was then a critical listening of each of these cables one by one, first with the power amplifier, and then with the tube pre (Lyrita DHT). Let me now review each cable separately.
The Dynamic Killer - Orca (Black)
First in was the Orca. This cable simply shines with its dynamic capability and rhythm. If you are the kind of kinesthetic listener who plays their music loud and cannot help tapping your feet and nodding your head, or worse, getting up and dancing to it, the Orca is for you!
View attachment 43453
The sound with the Orca will immediately attract your attention and impress you like say an Amitabh Bachchan would with his performance. It projects the sound closer to the listener and has more airy treble. It also does better with rhythm and timing, leading to the subconscious foot tapping.
The Accurate Pied Piper - Mysticeti (Blue)
Next, I tried the Mysticeti. Now, I like the color blue, so I was careful not to let that affect my objectivity. I need not have been. This was the cable I’d have fallen in love with even blindfolded. Right after trying both these within hours of receiving them, I communicated to Magma of Soundfoundations that I liked the blue one (wasn’t named till then), and this choice remained constant during the entire 3 days of the trial.
View attachment 43454
While the Mysticeti doesn’t match the dynamism and the rhythm of the Orca, the areas where it excels are the ones that are dearer to me. Firstly, the tonality, it is spot on with the Mysticeti. For the first time I heard the tabla tone just right (the right combination of leather and wood) in my system! The same applied to pakhwaj, santoor, sitar, or just about any instrument one has heard live and can compare. Am I saying my system gave exact tonality with the Mysticeti? No. Am I saying its tonality was far improved and much closer to the actual tone with the Mysticeti than without? Yes! The next big change with the Mysticeti was how well the microtones were coming through. When it comes to genres with more competent and intricate singing such as Hindustani classical, ghazal, country or blues, a lot of detail is in the microtones. You know a perfect glissando when you hear it. And the Mysticeti brought it to me. It also makes the music more soothing and immersive, you can get lost in it (the pied piper effect). Since I likened the impressive Orca with Amitabh Bachchan, I’d say the immersive Mysticeti is like Sanjeev Kumar.
With the Lyrita DHT Preamp
Next I tried each cable with the Lyrita preamp (reverting to the stock cable with the power amp). I found almost similar benefits from each cable with the Lyrita pre as with the Audiolab power. If at all, the improvements were slightly more prominent with the preamp (perhaps because it is upstream in the chain, unfortunately my vintage CD player doesn’t have detachable cable so couldn’t try further up and the steamer‘s placement in my cabinet makes it impossible to fit the big connector of these cables behind it). I found another surprise benefit with both the cables - they got considerably rid of the bloom in my tube’s sound - a problem I was contending with for a long time without solution).
Combination or Pureplay?
Next I tried the Orca and Mysticeti in combination, interchanging them between the pre and the power. I realised that these two whales do not like coexisting. The sound with the combination of the two cables sounded kind of mixed up and lost on some of the benefits when only one of them was used in isolation. So I did the next logical thing. I requested Soundfoundations to send me another Mysticeti, so I could use Mysticeti on both pre and the power. And my hunch was right! The improvements added coherently in this case and what I got was the best sound that my system has produced till now, by far!
Conclusion and Disclosure
Eventually I returned the Orca and purchased the two Mysticeti. They are serving me over a week now and I am eagerly relistening to all my favourite CDs. In each case I am hearing more, and better music. Along with the vintage Yamaha CD player (with TD1541A) and the Roller blocks isolations, I rate these power cables among the best additions to my system.
Or course I know that some of you are skeptic about improvements a power cable can bring. I cannot argue with that, but I’d trust my ears (and that of my wife and a close audiophile friend who both listen to my system regularly) than theories. And some of you believe that they bring more improvements in cheaper/budget equipment than high end ones which have better in built power supply. May be that’s true - my system is a budget one and the ROI with these cables is therefore better than costlier upgrades. And in no way am I concluding or suggesting that similar improvements would accrue in everyone’s system or with each equipment. If any of you do try any of these two cables, do add your experience in a comment to this thread.
Finally, the cables were provided to me for my testing and review without any compulsion to buy them. But eventually when I liked them, I bought them off at the quoted price.
I intended to post a longish set of impressions about each of these cables before I came upon this review by Sachin. It sums up, almost to the half-note, all the experiences I've had with the Mysticeti and Orca. I knew from every audio show listening session (and the handful of equipment auditions at dealer demo rooms) - compounded by all the Audio Bacon-Stereophile literature I've consumed - that the power cable/supply is critical to the listening experience, which impelled me to get rid of the stock cable that came with my amplifier.
I was going to order an Audio Art (AAC Statement e2Plus Cryo AC Cable with 15A US Male, 15A IEC; USD 1,680) or Furutech (FL 50(M) connectors + FP-S032N & FP-S35N cable; approximately INR 35,000) when I came upon the Mysticeti and Orca. My rig consisted of a MacMini running Audirvana + McIntosh MA7900 + Chord Qutest + B&W 704 D3 (Kimber connects throughout). I ordered the blue cable and two hours into a jazz (primarily horns; Wynton/Miles/Ambrose/Sonny/Coltrane) playlist, was struck by how organic the music sounded. The cable infused my rig with an unmistakable musicality.
I have since upgraded from the McIntosh to a PS Audio BHK Signature amp-preamp setup (both of these feature vacuum tubes at the input stage) and added a Chord M Scaler upriver. I ordered a Mysticeti to power the amplifier, and asked if I would be allowed to audition the Orca. Ali, of Sound Foundations, offered to send it to me for a taste. I plugged the black cable into both amplifier and preamp. My impression of what it did to the music remained constant in both variations - the cable was deeply analytical, almost Germanic in its approach to dynamic range; precise, incisive, mathematical; or what most reviewers call 'audiophile'. While this is a sound that many listeners prefer, it isn't the sort of approach that I find agreeable. The philosophical, holistic (almost spiritual) manner in which the Mysticeti helps channel sound is more in tune with the idea of timbre, scale, rhythm, melody, and song, that I hold than the cold calculus that the Orca applies to music.
My Chord Qutest will soon make way for a Denafrips Terminator and I've sounded out Ali that I'll need a third length of Mysticeti to power that DAC.
JaideepGiridhar
Member
Correction: the Furutech costs approximately INR 70,000; I forgot to take into account the IEC connector
Excellent..thanks for sharing....since I plan on running a 3 way active triamped system. I guess the orca will be a shoe-in for the bass amps. And the mysteceti for the mids and tweeters which are run by tube amps
D
Deleted member 15865
Guest
Excellent..thanks for sharing....since I plan on running a 3 way active triamped system. I guess the orca will be a shoe-in for the bass amps. And the mysteceti for the mids and tweeters which are run by tube amps
That would be the right matching. But depends on your system synergy. It’s all about trying out.
JaideepGiridhar
Member
Would you mind going over your impressions of the PS Audio regenerator? It's on my shopping list.Excellent..thanks for sharing....since I plan on running a 3 way active triamped system. I guess the orca will be a shoe-in for the bass amps. And the mysteceti for the mids and tweeters which are run by tube amps
Hi jaideep
I really don't know how to sum up, what it contributes to the sound. As I've been using it to power up my entire chain for almost 2 years now, I really can't comment on how it sounds without the regenrator in the loop. But I do get pitch black back grounds, and a lot of associated heat too
That being said, I can't hear a difference between power cables anymore, as all are fed with very clean power now. And as I run very effeceint speakers, I haven't lost any thing on dynamics front, as can be the case with lot of other power regenrators and conditioners.
But I mainly keep it in the loop for protection, as I've had some nasty experiences with power surges blowing some boxes in the past. I know this answer is very very vague, but the regenrator did replace a cvt + isolation transformer I was running in the past, which were noisy with a lot of hum. This is very very quiet, with better clean power.
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