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Cable Asylum: REVIEW: The Bolder Cable Company Type 1 AC power cord Cable by Sean H

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REVIEW: The Bolder Cable Company Type 1 AC power cord Cable

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Model: Type 1 AC power cord
Category: Cable
Suggested Retail Price: $60
Description: 6 foot Belden 19364 based AC power cord
Manufacturer URL: The Bolder Cable Company
Model Picture: View

Review by Sean H on October 08, 2001 at 07:40:37
IP Address: 216.243.207.214
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for the Type 1 AC power cord


This is a review of both The Bolder Cable Company Type 1 and Type 2 power cords. I will post this review twice so as to log the review under each product name.

Do-It-Yourself (DIY) cables are becoming more and more popular these days and much of this due to the many "recipes" available. Hats off to the people who have shared their recipes with all of us audio enthusiasts. Not everyone is comfortable with making their own cables, so there are companies popping up who will make these DIY recipes for you. One of these companies is The Bolder Cable Company, owned by Wayne Waananen. Wayne offers many of the popular DIY based cable recipes already constructed for the person who would like to try some of these DIY designs but doesn't feel that they have the ability or time to DIY. I’ve been burning in several of Bolder’s cables over the past couple months and recently formed some impressions of the Type 1 and Type 2 power cords Wayne offers.

The Type 1 power cord is based on the popular Belden 19364. It’s a 14 gauge stranded copper, three conductor design with a foil shield and drain wire. The Type 1 is terminated with a WATTAGATE 320 IEC and a Marinco 5266 AC plug- which is where the foil shields drain wire is connected to ground. A 6 foot cord sells for $60.

The Type 2 power cord is based on Belden 83803, which has been a popular base cable for DIY power cords as of late. It’s a 12 gauge stranded tinned copper, three conductor design with both a foil and braid shield, all housed in FEP Teflon insulation and jacket. The Type 2 is also terminated with a WATTAGATE 320 IEC and a Marinco 5266 AC plug- which is where the braid shield is connected to ground. A 6 foot cord sells for $60. Wayne applies Caig Labs Pro Gold to all connections. As always, the fit and finish of the two cords is outstanding, Wayne’s craftsmanship is top notch. The cords aesthetically look very cool.

What’s interesting with the Belden 83803 is the conductors, which are made up of larger strands of wire- only seven strands of 20 gauge wire to make up each conductor and each strand has been tinned. In comparison Belden 19364 has 41 strands of 30 gauge copper wire per conductor. The Type 2 is relatively stiff compared to the Type 1. DIY meister Chris VenHaus popularized the Belden 83802 based DIY power cords, which is of the same base cable design as the 83803 but lacks a third conductor for ground. Chris states "Tin plating will minimize "skin-effect" by acting as a semi-Litz conductor. It also mitigates "strand-jumping" (when current "jumps" over oxidized surfaces between each conductor). In effect, this has similar advantages of solid-core cables, but with significantly better flexibility. I have also read that Tin plating is considered better than silver plating because copper and tin "melt" together as opposed to the diodic barrier which is created when copper is plated with silver. Lastly, tin plating protects the copper from oxidation. The widely respected Bob Crump (of TG Audio) is also a proponent of tin-plated conductors for power cords."

In all reality this review is not only of Bolder’s products but also a comparison between the popular Belden 19364 and 83803 base cable. I also threw one of my other power cords into the mix for the comparison, a 4 foot YBA Diamond power cord. Briefly, this cord is made up of six pairs of 20 gauge solid core copper wires per conductor, each of which are individually insulated from one another (Litz style). There are only two conductors, no ground wire, so the ground is lifted with this cord. The conductors are in a twisted configuration and are housed in both a copper foil and copper braid shield. Impressive design, if you ask me. The cable is terminated with a soldered Shurter IEC and P&S 5266X AC plug. Shield is connected to the AC plug ground. A 4 foot cord retails for $225. All of the cords were plugged into a Monster Cable HTS-2000 which was plugged into an ACME Audio silver plated AC receptacle. (oh boy this receptacle is good!)

Comparing these cords was grueling. The differences between them was fairly subtle, but all were clearly better than a stock cord. I have been burning the Type 1 and 2 cables in for about 6 weeks now. Having made several Belden 19364 based cords in the past I was more interested in and excited to try the Type 2, 83803 based cord. I first tried it on my Audio Refinement Complete integrated amp, replacing a YBA Diamond power cord. At first I was immediately struck by the quite open and detailed sound of this cord. Cymbals shimmered with great clarity, top end treble information seemed to sparkle. There was a welcome clarity to my system, which at times could sound more romantic and slightly warm. The Type 2 cord brought more air and top end extension and seemed to define leading edge of notes better, and also increase transient pace. This $90 cable was clearly competing with, and upon first listen performing better than the $225 YBA cord.

I replaced the YBA cord on my Audio Refinement CD Complete transport with the Type 1. I found the effect any cord I used on the transport was subtle, that is subtle in the differences between each of the cables, all of course clearly bettered a stock cord. I kept the Type 1 on my transport and the Type 2 on my integrated for nearly a month before I started to swap them and do comparative listening to form some impressions of what each cable was doing. In this time my system sounded fantastic, I was really enjoying the new clarity and detail that seemed to have been improved over the cords I was using. I was impressed that this $150 combo of cords was equaling, and seemingly outdoing the more expensive cords. My only criticism was that I could sense the Type 2 cable seemed to lack some bass, which others have noted with 83803/83802 based DIY cords. The bass was definitely tight and clean, not boomy at all, but seemed to lack some weight. Something like this could be a matter of me getting used to the sound of "better" bass, or maybe it was a matter of personal taste where I like a more pronounced bass. Wayne suggested I needed to allow for break in and that’s what I did. Over the last month the Type 2 seemed to change the most, sounding slightly bright and bass-less one day, then smoother and weightier the next. Things seemed to more or so even out over time.

Over the last couple weeks I have done some direct comparisons between all three cables, used on both my transport and integrated. Again, using the cords on my transport was much harder to discern differences between them than it was using them on my integrated. But in either usage the same sort of characteristic of each cable emerged. Though the quality of bass of the 83803 based Type 2 cord is quite good I still sense at this point it lacks some weight through the mid bass. The bass is tight and extended but doesn’t seem to have the midbass response, which is either a system dependent thing or it’s of a personal taste. The bass of the Type 1 seems more pleasant to me and my system, with a warmer mid bass (perhaps a more accurate mid bass) but still good extension and speed. The Type 2 might posses a more speedy bass but again I kept focusing on its slight lack of mid bass response. This is nitpicking by the way, it’s pretty darn subtle. Again it’s a quality versus quantity thing here, the Type 2 has slightly less quantity of bass but might have slightly better quality of bass than the Type 1. As for pace and drive I find both of these cords do quite well, the Type 2 apparently a little quicker and zippier but either cord carries the music with good drive, or at least adequate by my standards. Maybe six weeks of break in is not enough for the 83803, maybe this cord takes a long time to burn in.

Overall the tonal balance of the Type 2 is fairly neutral, with what I think is just a slight tilt upward in the treble, but it’s refreshingly open and detailed. In the right system it could sound excellent, while sounding brighter in the wrong system. The tonal balance of the Type 1 is even more neutral, with a smoother tonal balance and a sweeter top end. The Type 1 seems to have a more expressive midrange to me, it might actually be a touch more plump or detailed in the upper mids, but lacks glare and any annoying forwardness. I was quite surprised actually. The midrange of the 19364 based cord was excellent, much better than any 19364 based cord I have ever made. In fact the Bolder Type 1 is the best rendition of the 19364 based recipes I have heard. Is it the connectors? The midrange of the Type 1 had both good weight and detail, where the Type 2 was slightly more cooler but equally as detailed. Vocals were great with both cables, the Type 2 slightly more immediate while the Type 1 less so.

Getting more into the upper mids and treble is where I start to hear bigger differences between the two cords. The Type 2 is definitely more airy sounding, more extended. The Type 1 has a sweeter treble, which I have always thought the case with the 19364 cable. Horns seemed to become more forward and more precisely defined with the Type 2, where with the Type 1 they were more rounded and less sharp, but less detailed too. With the Type 2’s airier and more open treble I was able to hear notes longer, I can hear the boundaries of the recording venue better where space is better defined. But the Type 1 isn’t far off, it also offers excellent air and spatial definition, much more than any 19364 based cord I ever made. Both of these cables excelled in doing what a good power cord does, which is an increase in detail and definition, reduced noise, better contrast of sounds, increase of soundstage size and dimension. To me the Type 2 seemed more up front, starkly contrasted and defined in it’s imaging and staging, the Type 1 more laid back and less up front, but both present good stage depth, focus and imaging. Moreover, the Type 2 seemed to highlight leading notes more, defining a little less the body and depth of an instrument and more so the outlines.

So is the Type 1 more musical? Maybe. I liken the differences between the two cords to be similar to the fundamental differences between the typical sound of copper signal cables and silver signal cables. But even in this regard it’s fairly subtle. In so many words I find the Type 1 to be richer, more dense, has more weight, warmer midbass, fuller mids, slightly more quiet, has a sweeter treble. The Type 2 has a leaner midbass, more open and airy, quicker on transients, more clarity and more immediate.

How’d the YBA cord fare in the comparison? The YBA Diamond power cord seemed to take the strengths and weaknesses of the Bolder Type 1 and 2 cords and improve on them. I sense another level of refinement, but its subtle. Of the brief notes I took they say things like quicker, slightly cleaner, solid, carries the music with more confidence, coherence, smooth-clean and extended treble. But my mind changes from one minute to the next with regard to how the YBA cords compare to the Bolder cables, where one minute I catch a glimpse of how the YBA cords are maybe better and then next I feel the Bolder cords are better in some areas. All in all though it’s very, very subtle, so subtle that lately I have been changing my cords around like a merry go round and I’ve enjoyed my system and the music equally as much with any of the cords on any component. It’s only when I try my hardest to hear the differences that I can. So let’s summarize then: $450 for two 4 foot power cords (YBA) versus $150 for two 6 foot power cords (Bolder). Are the YBA cords three times better? No. But we know this isn’t how it works in our hobby, we’ll pay three times the money for 5% in return. Get the picture here? The Bolder Cables are VERY good for the price.

In the end I liked the Type 2 on my transport and the Type 1 on the integrated, despite the fact I had them the other way around for almost a month. I could go into why I think it worked better this way but in the end I think it’s simply a matter of a synergistic thing.

I was surprised by both of these cords. First, I was surprised at how good a well designed 19364 based power cord can sound, having always somewhat doubted the 19364 cable as being a serious base cable for power cords. I always thought it was a very good sounding cable but I’ve realized it can sound as good as much more expensive and well-regarded cords if implemented right. And second I was surprised at how good the 83803 based cable is used as a DIY power cord base cable, offering exceptional transparency and detail. They are very competitive with $200+ power cords I have either owned or heard in my system. These cables offer excellent performance and the price is sanely reasonable. Very hard to beat in this price range, congrats Wayne!

(Please see Inmate System for associated equipment here )


Product Weakness: Type 1: For the price hard to complain. Might not be as open, detailed and as solid sounding as more expensive cords.
Type 2: Might be a touch too revealing and open sounding for brighter components. VERY stiff and somewhat hard to work with.
Product Strengths: Type 1: Tonal balance, good detail and transparency- especially in this price range, quiet, sweet. Very flexible.
Type 2: Exceptionally open and detailed- especially in the price range, transient response.


Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier: .
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): .
Sources (CDP/Turntable): .
Speakers: .
Cables/Interconnects: .
Music Used (Genre/Selections): .
Room Comments/Treatments: .
Time Period/Length of Audition: 6 weeks
Other (Power Conditioner etc.): .
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner
Your System (if other than home audition): .




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Topic - REVIEW: The Bolder Cable Company Type 1 AC power cord Cable - Sean H 07:40:37 10/8/01 ( 0)