‘Whale’ of a time with the new Soundfoundations Power cables!

[prem]

Jayant, try a MX power strip. Belkin messes up the sound a bit. Till date never heard a Belkin strip that sounds good.

Get a MX with no bells and whistles. Just a simple basic one with no filters and surge protection. If it comes with that, disconnect those filters.

 

[Deleted member 15865]

Jayant, try a MX power strip. Belkin messes up the sound a bit. Till date never heard a Belkin strip that sounds good.

Get a MX with no bells and whistles. Just a simple basic one with no filters and surge protection. If it comes with that, disconnect those filters.

Interesting how different brands suit different people. I find the Belkin sockets grip the plugs (Both 3 pin and 2 pin, even international) better than MX. But see your logic with getting rid of filters.

 

[prem]

I think the material used for the pins in Belkin is different from the ones used in MX. That’s what makes the difference. The sound is all in the material used. Whether it’s pure brass or is it brass with nickel or is it pure copper or gold plating on copper or silver plated copper or rhodium plated copper. The older MX strips used plain brass. I don’t know about the newer ones. The high end ones like Furutech and Oyaide play around with the material to give you different sounds.
I have tried all Furutech and Oyaide connectors and receptacles and face plates. So am very familiar with what combo brings what sound.

 

[Deleted member 15865]

I think the material used for the pins in Belkin is different from the ones used in MX. That’s what makes the difference. The sound is all in the material used. Whether it’s pure brass or is it brass with nickel or is it pure copper or gold plating on copper or silver plated copper or rhodium plated copper. The older MX strips used plain brass. I don’t know about the newer ones. The high end ones like Furutech and Oyaide play around with the material to give you different sounds.
I have tried all Furutech and Oyaide connectors and receptacles and face plates. So am very familiar with what combo brings what sound.

The product description (for the Belkin) doesn’t mention the material used for the pins. I’d imagine mass market brands would usually not mention it. And yes, material would make an alteration to the sound and which alteration suits the rest of your system is again subjective. But I also feel the quality of coupling (not loose, holding heavy plugs upright and tight) would also matter to the sound and/or the equipment health.

 

[prem]

Tight connection is important. I don’t know which MX strip you used. But the older ones were very good. The connections were tight. I doubt the newer ones would have changed the design except for adding a few filters

Sachin, try a simple Sound Foundation power strip. It might work better.

 

[Hari Iyer]

I have used MX tops at both ends of my power cable and they have a solid grip. Planning to add cotton in the gaps to avoid vibration if any.

 

[mpw]

Sachin, try a simple Sound Foundation power strip. It might work better.

Prem

The Belkin is much better than we give it credit for.

I use that as well.

Excellent one..

Regards

 

[magma]

Hey sachin
That was a whale of a review

Very well written
Im glad the cables are working well for you

Gives us encourgment

I'm hoping to list these soon on hifimart

For now all the ones I had are out on demo
Infact most are not coming back ( I hope )

Filters do different things
In some cases the quieten the bacground noise
In some cases they may not be that useful

But that's how it is in many accesories
One would need to try and see if it works for them

 

[prem]

Hi mpw, at least the Belkin strips I heard tended to thin out the sound a bit. Maybe yours and Sachins are different from what I heard.

 

[Deleted member 15865]

Hi mpw, at least the Belkin strips I heard tended to thin out the sound a bit. Maybe yours and Sachins are different from what I heard.

This is what I have.
Belkin Essential Series 4-Socket Surge Protector Universal Socket with 5ft Heavy Duty Cable (Grey) https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0083T231O/

 

[mpw]

Same same

Hi mpw, at least the Belkin strips I heard tended to thin out the sound a bit. Maybe yours and Sachins are different from what I heard.

Or maybe we all hear differently

)

 

[Jayant_S]

This is what I have.
Belkin Essential Series 4-Socket Surge Protector Universal Socket with 5ft Heavy Duty Cable (Grey) https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0083T231O/

Used exactly the same one before it started giving me trouble with loose contacts in one socket

Using this one right now
https://www.amazon.in/dp/B01N14K0N0/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_c_api_i_ouQrEb3CYWWCK

 

[mpw]

Or maybe we all hear differently

)

Actually there is a logical fallacy in my remarks @prem

Thin is Thin so only the degree varies I suppose..

 

[renjith lal]

I think the material used for the pins in Belkin is different from the ones used in MX. That’s what makes the difference. The sound is all in the material used. Whether it’s pure brass or is it brass with nickel or is it pure copper or gold plating on copper or silver plated copper or rhodium plated copper. The older MX strips used plain brass. I don’t know about the newer ones. The high end ones like Furutech and Oyaide play around with the material to give you different sounds.
I have tried all Furutech and Oyaide connectors and receptacles and face plates. So am very familiar with what combo brings what sound.

Prem,

I have heard very good feedback about Furutech NCF receptacles and face plate, can you please share your experience?
I just got a cheaper option from Hubbel (people say it performs well) and planning to check the impact compared to typical
wall receptacle.

Thanks
Renjith

 

[prem]

The Furutech top of the line gold plated receptacle is very nice. It’s a bit hifi sounding though but in a nice way. I prefer the Oyaide wall plate to the Furutech one.

My preferred receptacle is Maestro. Its a very neutral sounding outlet at least to my ears. I think it sells for around USD 80. The Hubbell 5362 is also quite nice.The Furutech is a more resolved version of the Hubbell.

if you want even more resolution then go for rhodium. Very resolving but not as organic as gold.

You can mix match too. Use gold for digital and rhodium or silver for amp

Each one brings its own flavour. Also they all take 200 hours to break in. So you need to be very patient.

IME, all these things work when you have a very highly resolving system and all things from isolation to room are addressed.

My previous systems were very resolving. Hence I used them. My present system is no where as resolving. So I don’t use them.

 

[renjith lal]

The Furutech top of the line gold plated receptacle is very nice. It’s a bit hifi sounding though but in a nice way. I prefer the Oyaide wall plate to the Furutech one.

My preferred receptacle is Maestro. Its a very neutral sounding outlet at least to my ears. I think it sells for around USD 80. The Hubbell 5362 is also quite nice.The Furutech is a more resolved version of the Hubbell.

if you want even more resolution then go for rhodium. Very resolving but not as organic as gold.

You can mix match too. Use gold for digital and rhodium or silver for amp

Each one brings its own flavour. Also they all take 200 hours to break in. So you need to be very patient.

IME, all these things work when you have a very highly resolving system and all things from isolation to room are addressed.

My previous systems were very resolving. Hence I used them. My present system is no where as resolving. So I don’t use them.

Thanks Prem for sharing your experience and observations, really appreciate it .
I got Hubble IG5362 model. Will try it this weekend.
I was not aware of breakin time for receptacles, I thought it is there for cables, speakers and amp.
People here were praising Furutech NCF version a lot. I will look in to Maestro and Oyayide.

Thanks
Renjith

 

[aeroash]

Thanks Prem for sharing your experience and observations, really appreciate it .
I got Hubble IG5362 model. Will try it this weekend.
I was not aware of breakin time for receptacles, I thought it is there for cables, speakers and amp.
People here were praising Furutech NCF version a lot. I will look in to Maestro and Oyayide.

Thanks
Renjith

Don't worry, there's 'break-in period' for us also. You've to be fully ripe before anything sounds amusing enough

 

[prem]

Hubbell IG 5362 is isolated ground. That sounds a bit different from the normal Hubbell 5362.

Most hospital grade outlets like Hubbell 5362 which use brass contacts sound pretty good. You might also want to look at a cryoed version of it. It sounds different from the normal one. The normal 5362 will not take long to break in. I was referring to the audiophile ones like Oyaide or Furutech or Maestro. Also the connectors used in the cables will make a difference. Once you go the Furutech or Oyaide way, you may need to change the connectors too. Here I personally like Furutech plain copper connectors with no plating. I think they are around USD 50 each.

 

[renjith lal]

Hubbel IG 5362 is also brass. I compared it with normal 5362 and based on photos and some reading on forums felt IG5362 is better.
Any ways it is not super expensive and doesnt matter.
Next step will be a Furutech, when I talked to a Japanese dealer he prefer Oyayide over Furutech for cables.

Thanks for your suggestions.

 

[keith_correa]

Or maybe we all hear differently

)

No "maybe". It's a hardcore truth!