I have a question for the group. I just hooked up a brand new 150 to my Int amp/powered dac. I find it a tad too upfront and vivid. Is there a burn in time? I like the increased detail, but the slight upfront nature is a little fatiguing. Not sure if the built in power cord needs time to settle in? Being too vivid is perhaps not something many would find distracting. Average records sound more bright. I want it to relax a bit.......thanks all.
Has anyone tried these stunning new CPT power cord?
Considering the many, many brands of power cords I've tried in my very well accomplished high-end system, I have never been so impacted by these Core Power Technology power cords. Within a very short period(15-20) minutes my system literally came alive. Soundstage opened wider and deeper. The background became dead silent, space between instruments and stage members were more focused and everything sounded cleaner and musical than ever. My highs had a glorious crispness and symbols shimmered. Midrange through my 2" horn became more dynamic and punchy. My 15" bass driver tightened and dug low with great control. My Rel G1 which is a fabulous sub on its own but with a CPT 150 on it is another story. Running high pass from my sub to my Audiozen Noah amplifier, music depth is just stunning. Lower end bass is authoritative and clean with solid grip and impact.
My experience with these power cords is truly magical. The scary part of the above is I only have one 150 on my sub and one 300 from my wall to my 6 outlet bar. I still need 3 more to complete my system. I could just imagine the level after that...In closing, I cannot emphasize enough to try one of these in your system. I CANNOT and WIIL NOT take these out as they are that good. But hold your jaw, cuz what you've been listening to will just become real after Core Power Technologies.
Cheers....and let the tapping begin.......
My experience with these power cords is truly magical. The scary part of the above is I only have one 150 on my sub and one 300 from my wall to my 6 outlet bar. I still need 3 more to complete my system. I could just imagine the level after that...In closing, I cannot emphasize enough to try one of these in your system. I CANNOT and WIIL NOT take these out as they are that good. But hold your jaw, cuz what you've been listening to will just become real after Core Power Technologies.
Cheers....and let the tapping begin.......
Showing 50 responses by grannyring
Well I just read through most of this thread. Whew! Anyway, I did read several folks commenting that the unit needs 100-150 hours to sound it’s best. Some say it improves up to five hundred hours! I also read that some did find the unit a tad hard, thin, and compressed sounding out of the box. Lastly, Mark the builder, said this ...." There are many comments from me that IMHO our E=C units are thin and a bit hard just as new - but once past 50 hours of use they will get better - and after 150 hours of use they become much better still. " I hope this is the case and sense it is. Right out of the box I sense this unit can be special. The details and resolution are impressive, just waiting on more composure,refinement and meat on the bones. |
Thanks for your post. I use a Lyngdorf 2170. Seems some 35 watts max. It is Class D. The real issue is better stated as a lack of full bodied sound and a leaning out of the music....detailed for sure, but thin. After about 40 hours it is still too thin sounding for my liking. I like the improved resolution and detail, but not the way it is being done. By that I mean the details are more obvious because the meat is missing from the bones. I did read of another person experiencing the same thinness out of the box. I wonder how much of this is the sound of the hard wired cable vs the electronics? Well the only electronics inside is a transformer. I do think the cord plays a role in tonal personality. I say this because initially I hooked it up this way; Shunyata Hydra 2 - CPT 150 - Lyngdorf This was too thin sounding. I then did this, CPT 150 - Hydra 2 - to Lyngdorf Still a little thin, but better for sure. I like the Furutech powercord going from the Hydra 2 to my Lyngdorf. I bet it is a more full bodied cable. I noticed this when I first purchased the Furutech power cable. The 150 straight into the Lyngdorf was far too thin sounding and whitewashed. I will I’ll give it more time. Thus far the Hydra by itself is best. I did email Lyngdorf to confirm watt usage at full volume. |
This is a sleepy thread and I wonder if owners are still happy with CPT? Still have them? Sold them? I imagine you all still have them and are very happy. Well my little 150 has changed personalities over the past day. It changed for the better in such a dramatic way that I decided to place my Hydra 2 in front of it and have the 150 feed my Modified Lyndorf 2170. Ok now I am hearing some very special things. Spooky imaging with instruments in a wide and deep stage. Powerful and more articulate bass. I am hearing details never before noticed on my favorite recordings. The stage depth is something that must be mentioned. So deep as to give the performance a life like 3D image. I looked inside the unit, as I am an avid DIY modifier, and just had to look. 🙂 Just a breaker and transformer. That’s it. Amazing what this simple device does for an already dialed in system. The body and weight is now there, but now with everything mentioned above. I will end with this. I have tinnitus and must be careful with volume as I am very sensitive to upper mids and highs. This little transformer enables me to turn up the volume without setting my ears off. I also like to listen at moderate volume levels of say 75db and the clarity and "thereness" of the music is wonderful. Great unit. Simple design that just plain sounds great. My experience is these units do take some time to sound as they should. Enjoy! |
Yes, let us know. I will be modding mine next week with.... - cork under the tranformer - entire inside layered with constrained layer damping - wrap the entire tranny with copper and EMI, RFI blocking cloth tape - Stillpoints ERS tape around the cable inside the unit - nylon bolt and wooden top ring for tranny - Furutech power cable on the side plugging into the gear |
I think that is a good idea because I believe the power cord does influence the sound of these units quite a bit. I find the unit just a tad too lit up for me. That is why I am putting the Furutech cord on mine. The particular cord I am using has nice warmth while not losing any of the detail. This is all subjective of course as the unit unmodified sounds absolutely tremendous. I'm just looking for that last little bit of warmth and body. |
I didn’t know that Ric was suggesting a nylon bolt? Best to remove any and all types of metal from the transformer mount. That is the complete reason I am using nylon. That will impact the sound for the positive! I will send you a link to the material I am using for damping. I purchased it from eBay as Surplus military goods. |
Ok finished the mod today. What I did is really not for a novice I think. Have it back in the system and will report back. I found a lot to do and we will see. I took lots of pictures and will post soon. - constrained layer damping throughout the entire case. I used two layers with copper tape sandwiched in between - nylon bolt, washers, nuts, and a round plastic top plate - 1/4 inch of cork under the tranny....the cork is over the layers of CLD described above - I replaced the power cord going from the 150 to the component. The female connector end. I used a wonderful Furutech cord. The cord I replaced is shielded as is the Furutech. The shield is connected at both ends of this female side of the balanced cord. That is it is hooked up inside the unit and the female IEC plug. - wrapped internal tranny cables with ERS cloth I did not like all the rather flimsy Wago terminal blocks/splices used to make all the connections. They are made by Wago. They are fine, but I much prefer direct wire to wire connections. I discarded all these Wago connectors and soldered all connections directly. They were used because they are so easy to use and make for quick assembly. They will not sound as good as direct wire to wire however! |
Ok here is a link to the pics. Need to start from the end, page two, and go backwards for the right order. For some reason the site loaded the finished pics first? The two wire soldered connections are obvious from the pics. You can see the old Wago connectors vs direct soldering. The shots that may confuse you are the shots of a nylon bolt clamping three separate O ring terminations. This is what I did to replace the six wires going into a large Wago block strip splicer. I have three O rings clamped tightly together using the nylon bolting system shown. I did not want to use a sound degrading metal bolt for this. Not even a thick copper bolt. Each O ring has two wires feeding it. These six wires originally went into the large Wago block splicer. http://s1097.photobucket.com/user/grannyring1/library/CPT%20Model%20150%20mod?sort=3&page=1 |
Thanks Lak. Initial listening to familiar tracks indicates nice gains in low level details, smoothness, stage depth, imaging, and improved texture. Just more musical and less electronic or recorded. After 4 hours the gains are very obvious and the cord still needs to settle in more. The improved separation of instruments and vocal performers is something that struck me on several occasions this evening. I am also hearing and experiencing the fullness of mid and deep bass that I hoped for. In my rig this little mod seems to be just the ticket. The bones of the unit are great, but these units can be improved nicely with a little effort. If the builder took the extra time and cost I did, then these would go up in price! Here are the parts.... - 3 feet of Furutech FP-S022N 14 AWG Power cable - $58 on sale at VH Audio - 4 feet of Tech Flex outer black mech for power cord - $4 - SoundCoat damping sheets from Parts Connextion or Sonic Craft $13 - nylon bolts, washers, nuts - $5 - cork from Hobby Lobby $4 - solder and heat shrink on hand - copper tape - $10 from Amazon - ERS tape 3 feet - $11.85 |
I just received a used CPT 300 and put it on my music server/computer. Just outstanding is all I can say. Everything folks have already said. I then did the modifications I have already outlined but kept the power cable stock. I did not change the cable out for the Furutech Alpha Nano bulk like I did on the 150. - double layer of constrained layer damping throughout the inside and on the underside of the chassis. - removed metal tranny bolt and metal top plate and replaced with nylon. - removed all Wago connectors and soldered all connections instead. Here are the pics. More comments to follow. http://s1097.photobucket.com/user/grannyring1/library/CPT%20300%20mod?sort=3&page=1 |
Nice! I found the Furutech cord sounded great after just 4 hours of run in. However, unexpectedly things go south for about 3-4 days ( detailed and somewhat thin sounding) until all is wonderful. This has been my experience three separate burn in times. Great cords. VH Audio has the raw cable on sale right now. Has anyone found that their CPT units buzz mechanically? My 150 is silent, but the 300 buzzes away. I had to use softer footers and really clamp the tranny down, however it still buzzes slightly. I wish it did not really. My system is dead quiet except for the 300 buzz. |
Unfortunately it does seem as though transformers will buzz. That has been my experience. You may find that 80 or 90% of them don’t buzz, but some of us will always get the buzzers. i’m going to build a DC blocking circuit and place it inside my 300 to see if that quiets it down. My system is dead quiet before the 300. I can now hear a very slight buzz when I’m about 10 feet away and not listening to any music. It did it before my modification and my modification helped just a tiny bit. Wonder if someone can just purchase a transformer from the builder and replace it? |
@t_ramey Here is a link to a bulk buy I made on EBay for a military overrun on dampening material. I had enough to damp several pieces, woofer baskets, equipment rack, and still have extra left over. This stuff is conductive so be careful when using. I used it as the first layer of two in this project. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Acoustic-Sound-Absorbing-Dampening-37-3-4-x-7-Adhesive-backing-10-sheets-F04... I used this as the second and top layer as it is not conductive. http://www.soniccraft.com/product_info.php/soundcoat-gp-p-4619?osCsid=a653d4852efb931764789287a9cf1a... |
Way over and beyond for sure. Very generous of Mark. Love his products and have been reading about the Deep Core. I have a DC blocker circuit in mind and see he has put one in the Deep Core with great filtering and surge protection. Seems like a well thought out unit. The Core Power Technology products I have go well beyond the sound improvements gained from past balanced conditioners I have owned. I have own the BPT 3.5Sig and loved it. However, Mark’s units are even more more special in how they connect you to the music. |
Well I placed a DC blocker circuit inside both my 150 and 300 to tame the hum/buzz in my 300 and remove the hum/buzz in my amplifier transformers. It worked like a charm. The 300 as well as my amplifier are dead quiet! Awesome. The DC blocker is very simple folks. Here are some pics. - one bridge rectifier - 8amp. 600 volt - one .47 uf film cap - I used a nice Audio Cap Theta - two 15,000 uf. 35 vdc caps - I used Nichicon - one 33 ohm resistor. - I used Mills MRA12 The unpopulated board came from here; http://www.atlhifi.com/shop/bare-pcb/pcb-for-dc-trap-blocker-filter-for-toroidal-transformers-toroid... While I I did not expect improved sound quality, who knows? We will see. http://s1097.photobucket.com/user/grannyring1/library/DC%20blocker?sort=3&page=1 |
The circuit needs to break in before I know if it has any impact on the sound quality. Right now I would say I am hearing a slight improvement in air and Micro details. Could all be in my head 😁 However, all my toroidal transformers are dead quiet now. It costs about $50 to build one of these and place in your balanced transformer, AC distribution outlet box, or amp etc... |
Just an update on the modifications I completed on the 300 and 150. Adding the DC blocking circuit did not bring about additional sound quality improvement. It did however quiet down the transformer in the 300 and the transformer in my integrated amp. Now if you read back to an earlier post where I replaced the power cable with a nice Furutech on the outgoing female end only, this resulted in a Nice improvement to my ears. The biggest difference is more of a full-bodied sound presentation. All of the details are still there, however they are delivered in a more full bodied and meaty manner. In my system this is a big plus. However, this is both system and user preference dependent. Looks like @kinghifi said the same thing much earlier on in this thread. As as for the chassis dampening and removal if the steel bolt, washer, and top plate, not sure how much of the SQ improvement is due to these things. |
Why would you want your name involved with such a company? It will do harm to your name and brand. No way around it. Best stay clear. Time for this company and brand to go away. The technology in the power supplies is nothing special and easy to match. Very simple stuff. It can actually be improved. Nothing here any longer worth attaching yourself to. |
You guys should use the new Duelund 600v 12 gauge stranded and tinned wire to do your mods. This wire sounds amazing. I am using it now to build my power cords and they are the best I have heard. Only $10 meter. I will now use it to upgrade my BPT Balanced Conditioner. I also suggest putting in a nice DC blocking circuit. Many of these torroids Buzzzz🐝 |
You can purchase DC blocking circuits here..... https://www.atlhifi.com I purchased the board only and populated it with high quality parts. My buzzing CPT trannys are stone quiet now. Also no DC is getting into my rig. |
Yes as well as ground. The 8 connector Wago will work. No need for a terminal block with these. The blocks were another option. One 8 gang Wago for hot, another one for neutral and another one for ground. I am also placing a .47uf Audience Auricap XO cap across each individual outlet half for additional filtering. |
I am also using DH Labs spades to connect at all the outlet screws. I then Epoxy over the tightened spade screw connection assuring it never wiggle loose. The small spades used on vintage gear. The BSP model.... https://silversonic.com/products/connectors/spade-connectors/ |
Well I only have a 150 and 300. I soldered and used the O spade with brass screw and nut method. I am upgrading my BPT Balanced conditioner which is much like the CPT. I am using these more reasonably priced outlets. I use them a lot and like them. https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis980b8-porter-port-porter-port-outlets-cryo-various-colors-ac-di... I am also adding a DC blocking circuit as shared in an earlier post. You will need to use two 33,000 uf caps to populate the board for those of you with a CPT1200 or 1800. I will use the new Duelund 600v 12 gauge Polycast wire to do all the internal homerun wiring. I am also going to ditch the IEC and hard wire a nice Duelund power cord to the unit. I am still deciding wether I use my O spade with brass screw and nut system for connectors or the Wago products. Not sure just yet. I am also going to ground ground all outlets and the unit to a Grounding box. Fun project! |
Hi Ozzy. You meant to type Wago. They make the 221 line which actually does a good job clamping tightly onto the wire leads. They make ones that hold 2,3, and 5 separate wire runs. Here they are... https://www.amazon.com/Wago-221-415-LEVER-NUTS-Conductor-Connectors/dp/B0107SYYGU/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?s=... Mark used them in his CPT products. This one is also interesting and can connect up to 8 wires. These could be used to run all the hot leads (two per outlet) to the output of the tranny. You could homerun wire three outlets. Same is done for neutral and ground. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CN6WR26/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 You will need some sort of terminal block or the above products for such a project. Terminal blocks are readily available everywhere! Well, unless you decide to direct solder each homerun lead to the output. Can be done with some good soldering and a plan. One could even terminate each run with a round spade and use a brass screw and nut to tightly clamp down all the O spades. Be sure to use a nice double wall adhesive lined heat shrink to cover up these bundle so tney don’t touch the chassis or anything else. |
@alexberger I compared my Acoustic BBQ power cord made with the new Duelund 600v wire with several Furutech power cords. One made with their former top of the line 10 gauge bulk cable and F28 connectors. In addition, I compared to Furutech and Neotech power cords usually selling from $400-$1000 from dealers. My customers tell me they compare nicely to cables they have costing up to $1200. Cables from Luna and several others. I like the natural tone and openness of the power cord. You hear the same sort of natural tone and realism found in the Duelund cotton covered wire used in speaker cables and ICs. I know some don’t believe in burn in and I don’t want to argue that, but these do take some time to settle in and open up. Based on my listening they need at least 200 hours. It really depends on what it is plugged into (CD player vs conditioner etc..). I have used several types of connectors for my customers since I do a lot of custom work. The one I like the best I used to source from China. It is a knock off of the top of the line Furutech with carbon fiber/stainless steal barrel bodies and Rhodium plated copper blade conductors. You can now buy this from Parts Connextion for $50 under the Connex brand. For the money they do sound rather good. I make a standard cord with one run of the 12 gauge wire per pole and well as a cord with a double run per pole making for a 9 gauge cord. I do use a special twist/weave on both. I make both shielded and unshielded. Both sound great. I find the unshielded is perhaps a tad more open and lively. The wire’s polycast coating is very, very thick. It is hard to strip as the material sticks to the wire. It requires additional work and attention to detail so one does not nick or cut off some of the wire strands. One trick is to heat up the wire tips with a heat gun right before stripping as this seams to release the polycast a bit. Don’t overheat or melt. |