Acrolink in-wall cabling?


Hello,
I am in the process of running two dedicated circuits for my equipment. I will be upgrading the receptacles possibly to Oyaide SWO Series. Is there sonically a difference with the Acrolink in-wall cabling vs. 10/2 Romex? The Acrolink is quite expensive at $30.48 per ln. foot x 72 total ln. feet needed = $2194.00. I may be wrong but I believe the amount would be better invested in equipment and to just purchase 10/2 Romex. Is there a higher grade of Romex, or is the jump to better cabling that dramatic? I don't want to get too crazy with all of this but I do understand that with purer copper the better the sound. Thanks...Joe
proclaim123

Showing 3 responses by alanmkafton

And Hooper, with all due respect....none of your friends have had the opportunity to try the Acrolink, considering it's a brand-new product in the North American market. Perhaps they would change their tune if they found it outperformed the VD or JPS. They already made their choice....others want higher performance.

Of course the Romex works as it is designed to do, but it's a lower level of quality, without question. More than a dozen years ago, when a bunch of us in the local audiophile club were making our own power cords, I found that Diamond Handiwire (purchased at the same Home Depot) sounded better than the Romex brand, and it was less expensive to boot. I still recommend Handiwire to customers, as I think it's a better copper formulation. I'll always go with what sounds best. But Handiwire ain't 6/9's OFC copper, and neither is Romex. The Acrolink dielectric is also tightly-extruded, addressing resonance control of the conductors, something the loose-fitting covering of Handiwire and Romex simply does not do.

Without a doubt the Acrolink is expensive, especially in relationship to the cost of Romex. But in relationship to Elrod power cables, or PranaWire, or Siltech Emperor, or the best Tara Labs and Virtual Dynamics, it is relatively affordable for its cost per given length. Then again, there are some who feel that $25 spent on a gold-plated fuse are out of their minds....that's relative as well. But these fuses work well, without a doubt.
Mcmiller....using an expensive in-wall cable is no different than using "very good PC's". After all, they both are placed after the electrical panel. Unfortunately, debating this is a straw argument, just like comparing the high price of gas....especially when bottled water is *incredibly* more expense on a per gallon basis. A $500 power cord (presuming it's 5-feet in length) costs $100 per foot. That's 3 times the cost of the Acrolink in-wall cable!! Anyone can do the math for a $2000 Shunyata or Virtual Dynamics power cable as well.

Of course, Romex is more cost-effective, as is the Diamond Handiwire. It's patently obvious. But there are others who wish to have the highest performance possible. This is a choice, of course....it's not mandatory.
Joe....the Romex and/or Handiwire can be cryo-treated (I perform a double-treatment on cabling, wall receptacles, and other electrical parts....of course, this methodology is for another discussion), which will greatly increase the performance of either less-expensive choice for in-wall wiring. That will work out to between $1.50 and $2.40 per foot (for either a single or double treatment), far less than the Acrolink solution. Proper cryo-treatment is a cost-effective and permanent enhancement, and certainly a good choice over stock wiring.