Cable Asylum: REVIEW: YBA Diamond Cable by Sean H

Not particularly the most well known power cord, but very good. The cord is made from the same design of the YBA Diamond speaker cables, a 12 conductor design. The 4 foot cords oddly enough do not have a shield, but I have been told that with their 12 conductor design it's "self shileding." The ground is floated as well. The IEC in particular, which has no manufacturer markings, is a very good one, "Schurter" in style but better (Where the heck could one get a box of these!?). Again the Diamond speaker cables are the same design but HAVE a braid shield. I converted a run of the Diamond speaker cable into a power cord and attached the shield to the ground of the AC plug, and again a floated ground but a drain wire attached. Both these cords have made a huge impact on my system. I'm using the 4 foot cord on my integrated and the converted cable on my digital source.

I was using the Belden 19364 cords before this, which I used for a couple years. In comparison the YBA cords are clearly on another level. The Belden's have a nice tonal balance, smooth, maybe even a touch warm. The YBA cords are very open sounding, they have really opened up the midrange and treble. Increased detail, more dimensional staging, more of a spacious and airy sound. The increased transparency is more revealing of the source. Tonally I found the sound now less laid back and warm, more neutral and livlier. I am not sure I noticed a huge difference in the darkness of the background, the Belden's did well with that. There is a greater sense of coherency and "tightness" now: better pace and a more controlled flow. Bass was profoundly changed, cleaner, tighter and much deeper. The Belden cords are not known for the best low bass performance and the YBA's showed this. Bass seemed a bit lower in volume at first but it becomes apparent that the bass is far more accurate and integrates with the stage giving a more dimensional sense. The broadness and depth of the stage grew. Overall they have increaesed my satisfaction with listening, the increased transparency has made for a more involving sound.

I had been planning to seek out some new speaker cables to add some more top end and air but there is absolutely no need now, it's amazing what power cords can do. I am using them with YBA gear, the Audio Refinement Complete and CD Complete, and wonder if there might be a synergy with the manufacterer design. Very good cords.

REVIEW: YBA Diamond Cable Review by Sean H at Audio Asylum