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Review: Tel Wire Cord Tel Wire Cord Power cord

Category: Cables

Tel Wire power cord.

This cord consists of OCC copper conductors and the excellent Oyaide P-004 and C-004 connectors. These connectors make a very positive connection with a tight fit.

The power cord seemed to sound better initially than most other power cords which require extensive burn-in. The designer claims no burn is necessary.

First serious listen however, revealed a rather odd bass quality which did not have a clear defined tonal character in the bass notes.
This was bad enough that this would have been a deal breaker.

So, I put the cable on my Audiodharma Cable Cooker for 5 days before giving it any more serious evaluation.

After Cooking, I then again tried the cord on my Pass Labs X350.5 amp.

Positives
After proper burn in, the cable now exerted a very nice transparent sound with a neutral character and a nice black background.
The cord sounded very smooth, with excellent spatial cues. The bass now had a rather nice tight round character, very nice improvement.

I also tried this cable on my Video DVD Player, (a Denon 5910.)
The Tel Wire greatly improved the Video and sound quality compared to my previous cable that I used on it (a Electraglide Epiphany X.)

Negatives.
I believe the internal conductors are 12 gauge. Compared to some highly $$$ Power cables listed below , the Tel Wire Cable is a little less dynamic, and I also needed to turn up my Amplifier volume slightly more.

Conclusion
Though these may not be up to my highly expensive power cords on Audio they are not too far behind.
Probably within 70% of the performance of those $$$ Cables.

What a steal!

Power cords comparison

•Electraglide Epiphany X
•Virtual Dynamics Revelation 2
•Purist Audio Anniversary.

Equipment tested with

•Video-Denon 5910 plugged into a Hydra 8 on a separate dedicated 20 Amp outlet
•Audio-APL 3910 plugged into separate dedicated 20A wall outlet running direct (no preamp) to a
•Pass Labs X 350.5 Amp which is plugged in direct to a separate 30 Amp wall outlet
•Eggleston Works Andra 2 Speakers

Associated gear
•Denon 5910 plugged into a Hydra 8 on a separate dedicated 20 Amp outlet
•APL 3910 plugged into separate dedicated 20 A outlet running direct (no preamp) to a
•Pass Labs X 350.5direct in to a separate 30 Amp outlet
•Eggleston Works Andra 2 Speakers

Similar products
•Electraglide Epiphany X
•Virtual Dynamics Revelation 2
•Purist Audio Anniversary.
128x128ozzy
tvad
9,467 posts
 
01-12-08: Sherod
I have found the sound to be very clean, extended and dynamic.
That sums up my experience nicely.

The Tel Wire cord creates a very large and lifelike image in my system when used on the preamp (Atma-Sphere MP-1 MK III).
rhyno's avatar
rhyno
642 posts
 
allow me to throw my $.02 in:

i find this to be an excellent power cord for line level components...high draw amps might need a bigger gauge wire to accomodate more current requirements (as seen in ozzy's impressions w/ the pass amp), but the cord seems to shine w/ preamps & sources. must say i've used the TelWire on a Modwright 36.5 (and an EMM CDSA) i have in for review and found it to be a wonderful partner: VERY tonally balanced (those P004 / C004 connectors are awesome--i use them everywhere), dimensional, and a pleasure to use.

and that point re: "pleasure to use" isn't just relevant to equip swappers like me. the point Clio09 made re: flexibility should not be understated---if you are using source gear (i.e. CDPs) with any sort of roller-type footer, it behooves you to try this cord. while the same basic characteristics of the cord apply equally to preamps & CDPs, the thing that makes this cord an easy recommendation for CDPs is that any sort of rollerball footer is regularly screwed up under the CDP by virtue of unequal torque & weight load that larger & bulkier cords provide on one quarter of the unit. the TelWire cord is extremely light & flexible and thus very 'Rollerblock-friendly' and enables the self-leveling feature of rollerblocks (et al footers) to maintain their effectiveness.

even if you don't use rollerblocks, this cord is a fine option for line level gear and for the $$ its a terrific deal. if you do use rollerblocks and find them frustrating, this is a terrific cord for matching and getting the most out of your component + footer combination.

(and from my perspective, i've seen vibration control become equally important in my rig as cabling, at least w/ the CDPs i've used on the rack i'm using)
tvad
9,467 posts
 
Rhyno makes a good point about the Tel Wire cord's effectiveness on preamps and line level components. This has been my observation as well.

I don't believe it's gauge is large enough to be optimal on high current amplifiers, but this is only my opinion. In my system, I have found cords of at least 9 gauge to be most effective in this application.

Yes, it's about the most flexible cord I have ever used.
clio09
2,978 posts
 
Sold my Stealth cables and bought another Tel Wire. Rhyno is right on about the roller blocks. I use the FIM isolators under my transport and DAC and they were hard to keep level with the Stealth cords. One had to really distribute the weight of the cable and that required hanging them by fishing line (the things we do in this hobby). No such need with the Tel Wire.

Even though I agree with Tvad and Rhyno about the use of the Tel Wire on amps that draw high current, the cable didn't sound bad on my amp when I was burning it in. Maybe Chris can come up with a 9 or 10 gauge version of the cable. I for one would certainly give it a go.
lotusdriver
19 posts
 
I think at the price this pc is an absolute steal. Though I did not have an issue using the pc with my Plinius SA250 a lower gauge cord would be interesting.
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