Review of Michael Wolff Carbon Ribbon Source power


This is a review of the recently released Michael Wolff Carbon Ribbon Source power cord, which uses carbon fiber shielding and some form of carbon ribbon conductors. I am skeptical of power cord claims, but I was attracted to trying out this one because of the extensive use of carbon components. This is a seriously good power cord, at least in my setup described below. I would characterize it, after some 70 hours of break-in, as fast, providing excellent resolution and detail and producing precise images with a focused soundstage. Its most interesting quality, though, is that it just has a very rich harmonic texture that helps my other components to produce a rich, but detailed and balanced sound. In sum, it produces a sound that I would describe as so real that it is “spooky.”

I am not a power cord hound, and I do not have a lot of patience in switching among these components. As a result, I am not one with extensive experience in auditioning power cords. I was curious, though, about how the Carbon Ribbon Source compared with an expensive high-end cord; I recently had this opportunity due to a visit from two audiophile colleagues who brought some different power cords and interconnects to compare. The power cord comparison was with the new Shunyata Anaconda vX power cord, which is a thick, but flexible, cord that rattles (“magic dust”?), more like a rattlesnake than an anaconda, when it is moved.

The power cords were used only on the digital front-end, specifically, on an Electrocompaniet EMC-1 UP CD player. The EMC-1 UP feeds a VAC Renaissance Signature Mk II preamplifier through Stealth PGS-3D balanced interconnects, which in turn drives a VAC Renaissance Signature 70/70 amplifier through Stealth PGS-3D single-ended interconnects. The EMC-1 and the VAC pre-amp (and its separate power supply) are placed on a Sistrum SP-5 equipment stand, and the VAC amp sits atop a separate Sistrum SP-101 amp stand. The VAC amp drives a pair of Alon Circe speakers which are on Sistrum SP-004 speaker stands. The Circes are tri-wired with Stealth Ultimate Ribbon speaker cables (silver ribbon) in a custom bi-wire configuration to drive the middle and high frequencies, and with Stealth Premier (litz copper) speaker cables to drive the low frequencies. Needless to say, I am a fan of Sistrum, Stealth and VAC products, but that’s a different story.

The power is supplied by a 30-amp dedicated line through a Topaz 10 kVA EI-type transformer (a 325 lb beast that sits in my basement) that is hard-wired to provide a balanced 60-0-60 output with a technical ground. This is then fed into a Tice Power Block Signature 3B power conditioner placed on top of a homemade MDF platform that sits on four 1” brass cones on the floor. The room is 28’ x 21.5’ with sloping ceilings in the front and back (no right angle corners); the maximum height is 9’ 10”, and the minimum height is 6’ 1”. The speakers (measured from center of woofer cone) are placed approximately 7’ 3” apart and approximately 9’ 2” from the rear wall. Also, two 16” ASC tube traps and two homemade (a la Jon Risch) absorption panels are deployed.

So, how did the Anaconda vX and the Carbon Ribbon Source power cords compare? Which is “better” and why? Well, unfortunately, there is no conclusive answer because it depends on (i) the type of music to which you listen, (ii) your system and (iii) your individual tastes. Both power cords are excellent. They both have a similar speed and ability to handle fast transients. The Anaconda vX appears to have slightly more detail and resolution than the Carbon Ribbon Source. For example, the sound of the piano – a very difficult sound to reproduce accurately – was more accurately reproduced in my system with a very realistic timbre using the Anaconda vX. The piano sounds excellent on the Carbon Ribbon Source, but the Anaconda vX just absolutely nails it. However, once you move away from the piano to vocals, acoustic, jazz or rock ‘n roll, the Anaconda vX sounded somewhat lean in comparison to the Carbon Ribbon Source.

The Carbon Ribbon Source has a richer harmonic texture, with greater bass extension, than the Anaconda vX, which makes listening to acoustic and vocal pieces as well as dynamic jazz pieces, more enjoyable. For example, on “Prologue,” the first track of Dave Grusin’s West Side Story (N2K-10021), the very dynamic performance was more musical and more enjoyable on the Carbon Ribbon Source because the soundstage was more coherent and the slightly lesser amount of detail made the overall presentation less edgy. There was plenty of detail and resolution, but the presentation sounded richer, more balanced and more coherent on the Carbon Ribbon Source. I think the Anaconda vX, with its greater detail, may have overemphasized the cymbals and horns and presented a soundstage that was unnaturally wide and somewhat confusing. (This could well be due to the already wide-soundstaging abilities of the EMC-1 UP and the open-baffle-designed Alon Circe speakers.)

I would like to have compared these power cords playing orchestral and choral music, but we spent some of our time spinning LPs and playing around with interconnects, so I cannot tell you how they would have fared. This would be an interesting comparison as it would pit the Anaconda vX’s relative advantage of greater detail and resolution against the Carbon Ribbon Source’s relative advantage of richer harmonic texture. All I can tell you is that orchestral and choral music on the Carbon Ribbon Source has a sound that is rich and detailed and with excellent imaging and soundstaging. I sure wish that I had compared this with the Anaconda vX when I had the chance.

It has occurred to me – and this is sheer speculation on my part – that on a higher resolution system, the richer harmonic texture of the Carbon Ribbon Source might outweigh the benefits of the Anaconda; on a lower resolution system, the greater detail and resolution of the Anaconda might outweigh the benefits of the Carbon Ribbon Source. This is so system dependent and taste dependent that it is very hard to make any sort of general statement regarding these two products. Suffice it to say that both the Carbon Ribbon Source and the Anaconda vX were excellent power cords on the Electrocompaniet EMC-1 UP. Each appeared to have a specific relative benefit over the other; it’s more a matter of your tastes and your system as to which you prefer. I preferred the Carbon Ribbon Source on all of the music to which we listened other than piano music.
vac_man

Showing 2 responses by john_beavers

I decided to take Michael up on his 3 week home audition offer. Glad I did. I'm the Audio forum moderator and Reviewer over on the Home Theater Talk website; below are my evaluation and review posts from the thread I started on Home Theater Talk.

First off I want to thank Michael Wolff, the designer of the Carbon Ribbon Power cord, for the opportunity to evaluate his product.

This review/audition thread will be done in stages. The first stage is the initial impression portion, which I've gotten a handle on tonight. This first stage is a direct comparison to the product that the Carbon Ribbon cord is in competition with for a permanent home in my rig. It's a bit unfair since what the ribbon cord is up against is more than just another power cord. For the first week I'll be doing a/b comparisons between Michael's cord and a combination of two VansEvers power cords and the Model 85 power conditioner. 3 to 1 advantage there for the VansEvers power solution So who won the first round? It was a draw, with the judges torn between two unique presentations, both worthy of merit. With both cords being switched out on different songs mulitple times, this on my SACD player, the following impressions were had by the Beav.

The VansEvers combo was very lush sounding, with some impressive dynamics, however what the Carbon Ribbon Power cord offered was also very appealing. Crisp life-like images of various instruments and vocals, also lush, but not the over riding impression as with the VansEvers presentation. Here things were more etched in definition, best term I can think of to describe it. The instruments took on a more vivid presence in the soundstage, especially the cymbals which had a sparkling zing to them. In all I'd say at this point the evaluation results are not about better, but preferences in sonic properties. This may and probably will change over the next 3 weeks as the ribbon cord breaks in. I've seen some pretty dramatic sonic changes with my Sahuaro cords over time, so I know this initial impressions comparison is just an appetizer for more meaty things to come.

There will be another match up in the last week of the audition period, this a direct head to head with the Sahuaro cord, which I will take from the pre-amp and move to the SACD player. The heavy weight match on the card more to come...

Post 2

Round 2

After a good nights sleep, feeling fully rested and eager to continue the evaluation process, I cued up Laurence Juber "The Collection". This is solo acoustic guitar, reference level recording. I'm in trouble Me thinks Michael is a crafty little audio devil, offering you his apple for a free test ride, knowing that once you take that free bite he's got your soul

I don't know what was going on with my listening skills last night, perhaps I was just too tired; whether it's 24 hours of burn in or just a fresh set of ears, the a/b comparison this morning revealed much more than last night. Quite simply, the word for the day is muddy. The Vansevers cord and power conditioner, compared to the ribbon cord, on this CD, revealed a muddy and recessed sonic portrait. The contrast was not subtle. I am actually a bit amazed again, as I fully expected last night's session to be the flavor for the entire evaluation period, slight sonic character differences....not this "trouble" Michael's got me in now. The problem you see, with putting something in your rig that creates a significantly positive contrast to what you have is, it's really tough to go back, to not purchase the "gear" that has brought about a significant sonic quality increase. And the fact that this is a power cord, which up till last year I wouldn't have considered such an item as a significant player in a rigs sound quality. And it does boggle my mind that these cords contribute as much as they do to the processing of an audio signal. Especially since we don't really have a solid scientific reason for the level of audio quality boost these PCs are exhibiting...at least in my system, with my listening skills.

Now, I haven't totally surrendered to this apple, though I think the competition between the Vansevers combo is pretty much decided. I'm going to listen to the ribbon cord exclusively now for the rest of the week, getting myself as familiar with its contribution to the sound as I can. Then it will be on to the main event. Sahuaro vs. Carbon Ribbon.

Post 3

It looks like the same deal that applies to Sahuaro power cords also applies to the Carbon Ribbon cord. Power Conditioners be bad for performance. After taking the ribbon cord off the wall outlet and plugging it into the Model 85 I began my listening session, and sure enough, the dynamics, detail, soundstage and instrument and vocal definition suffered, and suffered greatly. It didn't take more than a few cuts off of my reference CDs to determine that power conditioners were a very bad idea. Once the cord was plugged back into the wall everything returned to it's previous highly detailed musical state. And in that state, more changes have occured, detail has continued to increase, but what has really opened up is soundstage, both side stage and front and back. This cord continues to impress me greatly. It's a fairly done deal, based upon the performance increase over the stock cords and the Vansevers PC + Conditioner combo. The $650 asked for this product is quite a bargain when measured against the performance increase I'm getting. The only remaining factor is how it will fare in direct competition with the Sahuaro cord. I expect this comparison to be much closer, but who knows, this cord is proving to be one dynamic performer.

Post 4

Patricia Barber "Verse"

Carbon Ribbon cord vs stock cord

Song 6

First up the Ribbon cord. Stunning realism is my first impression, cymbals have a vivid livliness, horns come across smooth and tonally accurate, vocal presence is unreal, with some very pure transparency, bass is hitting very hard. Soundstage is dimensionally active and expansive, everything is reeking of vibrancy. Cool stuff, wonder how much of that is the cord's doing?

Stock cord, decent looking, solid shielding, not your average stock cord.

Song 6

Oh my! Realism is severly diminished, sounds likes your basic stereo again with a pretty flat presentation, with a loss of transparency from before. Cymbals sputter and click, no realism there, and I'm not hearing the tonal qualities I was so impressed with, with the carbon cord. Brush strokes on drum and cymbal hits are thin and not life-like, vocal presence is ok, but it doesn't have that certain something that I heard before. Horns are screechy, not tonally accurate like before, bass is still hard hitting, but it's more mushy, less tight. Damned if the cord isn't a big percentage of what I was hearing.

OK so there's no competition with a stock cord, I expected that, though not quite to the level I just heard. I'm going to hold off doing the Sahuaro comparison till the weekend. I want some really dedicated time for that comparison. Again though, I'm markedly impressed by this power cord in and of itself.

Final post

The Gold Medal round.

Carbon Ribbon power cord vs. Sahuaro Prethrilla power cord.

Joe Satriani "Strange Beautiful Music" SACD

I had planned on waiting till Saturday for the big face off, but since I got home early today and had a few hours to myself I decided to have the showdown.

For this phase of the evaluation, in order to be able to a/b the two contenders, I used the Vansevers power cord on the pre-amp. Once that was set up it was Sahuaro time with the SACD player. I had just finished listening to the Satriani album with the carbon cord doing the duties, and had a clear picture of the sonic qualities I'd just experienced. I used track 8 which I'd just finished listening to with the carbon cord. It didn't take long to list the drop offs in audio quality, the guitar which had been diamond clean and fiery, with a defined and potent center stage presence, dropped down, literally to a lower level of the soundstage, and it didn't have the definition nor that hard to define quality called musicality which was so apparent before. Then the drums came in and what had been a powerfully deep and rich sound, became less focused more muddy in it's impact. The presentation of the instruments in the soundstage which had been laser perfect, became less focused in comparison, more of a wall of sound then the layered precision I was used to with the other cord on line. For the next 2 hours I switched in and out with the two cords and my initial impressions became solidified. The carbon cord was showing it's true metal against what I felt would be a very close call with the Sahuaro, but again as with the stock cord, the clear winner was the carbon ribbon cord. To be fair to the Sahuaro cord, once it was back on the pre-amp, the already impressive carbon cord sonics on the SACD player went up a notch in all the areas I was finding so impressive.

Are these impressions faulty, based on long-term memory limitations, am I just entranced by a new component? Who knows, I can only go by what I hear, and what I hear is a clear improvement in the performance of my rig when I use this cord. This improvement is not subtle; it's distinctly impactful to my senses. So where does that leave me in regards to this audition. The balance sheet has nothing but check marks on the Carbon cord side, and all in the strong improvement column. $650 does seem like a lot for a length of wire, but when you put it into perspective, looking at the evaluation balance sheet, it doesn't look like the ratings for a 5 foot power cord, it looks like the comparison sheet for a new amp or source component, with all baseline areas of musical performance peaking up. So what am I going to do you ask Write Michael a check of course. I really appreciate the opportunity he gave me to audition the cord, I never would have gotten exposed to this innovative design otherwise. I'm not going to address all of the technical issues brought up in the other thread, they are good for the intellectual appetite, and learning more about the science of it all, but they do not relate to my skill area. My skill area is critical listening, and those skills that I've honed over the years are telling me I've got a very special component here. It does put me in a quandary though, knowing what this carbon cord technology can do; I look at all my Sahuaro power cords and wonder....what if it were all carbon cord....I knew I was in trouble when I first heard this cord now I'm in deeper than hot fudge poured over vanilla ice cream.
I now have the Gain cord and latest Source cord on my components. This now puts everything in my audio rig on a Wolff PC, which is the best way to evaluate effectiveness of a given technology or product type in my opinion. All I can say is, we're lucky to be getting in on this product at its introduction. My guess is once more people, and especially established reviewers, hear what these cords can do, business is going to through the roof for Michael. He'll need to raise prices to stim the tide of overwhelming demand. There have been very few "components" which have provided such a dramatic boost in overall audio quality in my rig....and certainly not in the under $1K price range.