Any feedback on the new Wolff PC ?

I would like to see the UL/CSA certification on this cord :)

In reply to your concerns Sean. And, I do appreciate you stating them.

Actually the CARBON SOURCE cord has been tested up to 20 amps. The limiting factor here is wattage. It was designed to handle front end components only. The reason that it was designed that way was to avoid non-linear distortions. Digital equipment is very sensitive to the quality of power it is fed. Notice that I said quality, not quantity. A DAC will not perform better to a power cord that is capable of delivering 2,000 watts at 20 amps. But it surely will react differently to a cord that maintains square waves versus one that distorts that 60 cycle wave.
Digital equipment is not dynamic in current draw. Most CD players need only about 32 watts and most preamplifiers need about 50 watts of continuous wattage to operate. That gives us the opportunity to focus on the quality of power. Amplifiers on the other hand, are dynamic in their current needs.

As far as UL listing, to my knowledge very few of the cords out on the market have a UL approval for the entire cord. They may use UL rated parts but the cord itself is not UL approved. Case in point, Magnolia HI-FI, which is a large national stereo shop, discontinued selling Audioquest power cords until they had a UL approval on the cord itself. It would be interesting to ask BMI, David Elrod, and for that matter, all of the DIY guys if their cords are UL approved.

With regard to technical data, I have tried to give an overview of the advantages that these cords are based on. A heck of a lot more than the typical “Nirvana promises” that other manufacturer’s give. Review BMI information about their $3,000 cords, or David Elrod’s $2,700 cord, or Shunyata. Where is their technical data? Nada. All they tell you is that “Hey this is the cord for you”.

The carbon cords are safe to use if they are not misused. I have confidence in them, enough so to apply for a patent which set me back $4,500. That’s how impressive the performance of this product is to me. It’s very natural to be a little skeptical about something new.
So we have overlooked the most important aspect of this whole subject which is sound quality. Two of my audiogon customers have the carbon Source cord in their possession and are using it. Viggen (audiogon name) has already provided some early feedback which can be reviewed on the website.

Best Regards to you,
Michael Wolff

One additional comment if I may add.
I could build a carbon SOURCE cord that delivers 300 watts of continous power. But, it would'nt have the same sonic characteristic. I've tried it. What we accomplish by the smaller carbon ribbon is more speed, better frequency and all the etc. etc.'s. Quality vs. Quantity - there was no doubt in my mind when I heard it in my own system.
Guess time will tell.
Best,
Michael Wolff

With all due respect to other cord manufacturer's. I owe them an apology and retraction on my earlier comment which implies that they provide no technical merit to their products. Obviously some do more than others.
I guess my feathers were ruffled a little and I apologize to everyone implied or named.
My sincere apologies and I will refrain from furthur involvement.
Best Regards, Michael Wolff

Michael: I see no problems with bringing other manufacturers into question in terms of UL type acceptance, etc... BUT naming names can be a touchy situation.

I've seen some cords that would have NO problems being UL approved and i've seen others that are fire hazards waiting to happen. The funny thing is that, many of the cords that would easily meet UL spec's do so because they are nothing more than "standard" power cords wrapped in "snakeskin" with good quality connectors on them. I guess that the manufacturers include a quantity of "snake oil" along with the "snakeskin" at the prices that they charge : )

Other than that, i agree with your comments about the "quality" of AC being more important than the "quantity" in most cases. Obviously, the one major exception would be high powered amps, especially when coupled with low impedance, low sensitivity speakers. In such a case, a "current funnel" would work best : )

Given the "rebuttal" that you've provided, i would suggest amending your website info to state something to the effect of "Our Carbon Source cord is optimized for use with devices drawing lower quantities of current i.e. sources ( as the name implies ), preamps, etc... These devices are typically more sensitive to the quality of power being delivered to them than other devices that require greater quantities of current that vary on a dynamic basis. As such, that is why we make another cord that is designed to deal with the heavier, dynamic loads that an amplifier consumes." I think that you get the idea.

Other than that, I think that you and Corona should go into business together. You guys are great at giving nothing away in terms of intellectual properties or actual design criteria : ) Sean
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