Review: : Zebra Cable ZC-PWR 10 Power cord


Category: Cables

The Cable Nut!

Cable Review: Zebra Cable
Five Foot ZC-PWR 10
10 AWG Power Cord.
Date: 5/24/06.
Website: www.zebracables.com

System.

Rogue 88 Tube Amp.
Yamaha Preamp/Antique Sound lab LHO1.
Belcanto dac-2, Chang 3200 PLC.
Speakers are the B.G. 420’s Bolender Ribbons.
My background: Electronic Tech, Telemetry/Radars.
25 years U.S. Gov. Audio/Videophile. 25 years.

Here we have another fine affordable cable company, ZEBRACABLES! Hey where’s the horses? Well the first day I gave the cord to hi-fi Dave, and said take the cord home and plug it into the big Sim audio W-5 amp and compare it to the 10-gage signal cable power cord. Also I said put about 2 more days on the cord because I only had a week of burn in on it. So the next day I said Dave hit me what’s up, how did the Zebra sound next to the Signal Cable pc cord. Dave said The Zebra has more detail in the Mid’s and sound more alive and open, Hum a good sign so far. This was the first thing I was looking to hear, was the cable laidback, dull and dark sounding. To many low price power cords sound this way, Not the Zebra. Also the cord has a nice feel to it. The first thing I said to Scott was, your $52 dollar cable reminds me of and looks like the Audience power cord. It feels like it too, “Quality.” Dave I said, is it a keeper? Yes! I would buy one he said. Good! Give it here so I can review it and go buy your own.

Day 1. I pop off my H-T AC-11 p-c cord and pop in the Zebra on my bel canto dac-2, to see if the cord would fall on its face. Most cords cant replace the AC-11 on my dac, for some reason it likes the Harmonic Tech. Hey, the Zebra works and sounded very smooth, open and had a little bit more bass. Hay it passes, that’s all that matters. I have other cords costing much more that failed the dac test. This is where the Zebra ZC-PWR12 Power Cord is better, it is a 12 AWG, 100% Teflon insulated, three conductor twisted design with double foil/braid shield to keep out any EMI/RFI, terminated with Marinco's 8215 Male Plug and Marinco's 320 IEC. Also available are different sleeve colors and terminations from Furutech! Starting at: $64.00 for a three-foot cord.
Moving onto the Yamaha preamp, off came my DIY “do it yourself” cardas on the nutral and audience wire on the load side, twisted pair with no ground and no shielding. The Zebra on the preamp took a more bold sound with good weight and a smooth soundstage. Hey it works here too, my power cord has a little bit more detail, that’s it. It passes the preamp test. I also pop in the Mr. Cable power cord list $400 dollars. Again the Zebra held its own ageist the heavy hitter. The Mr. Cable superflex 10 was cleaner, detail and more open but not by much. I did not hear a $200 to $300 difference.
Ok here we go, next up was my S-R Diamondback pc cord on my Rogue 88 tube amp. This is where the 10 gage Zebra should be anyway, but can it handle the Diamondback lets see. The Shunyata Research Diamondback 12 gage $200 dollar power cord, maybe dollar for dollar some of best cords on the market and works the best on my amp. Well out came the snack and in went the Zebra. On the BASS the Zebra wins!! Nice and deep with good low-level resolution and warm, I like the low growl this cable has in the bass. The MIDRANGE was smooth and open, no problems here but the Diamondback was a little more clean and transparent but not by much. The TOP-END has good detail and air. The Diamondback was a little bit more airy and sharp sounding. The more I played the Zebra the more I like it; it just had more power and weight to it, so I left it on the amp. Normally I jump up and snatch out a cable after hearing it. Hey not bad for a $50 dollar cable! I put this cable up ageist some pretty tuff competition and it stood its ground. It even out perform the heavy duty power cord form signal cable witch has a dark and laidback sound to it, but still sounds good.

Day 2. Like I said before never go by first impressions. I need another day with the cord, and I may change out my anti-cables for my audience interconnects. Well the next day I waited for everyone to go to bed, I let the system warm up some and change out the Interconnects. I also tuned on the subwoofer, all this time the sub was off so I could get a feel for the BASS without any help from the sub. The first CD I played came across with a stunning soundstage and the LOW-END on this cable is awesome, maybe the best BASS power cord for under $300 dollars. The MIDRANGE was smooth and transparent kind of what I like. The TOP-END was clean and detail with more air this time around the instruments but a little rolled off. I could tell the cable needed more burn in, maybe 2 more weeks. Also the audience IC-cable is warm and rich sounding anyway. What count is I was having fun with the Zebra power cord. Fun and affordability is what Audio is all about.

Conclusion:

Scott Burns Power cords are probably dollar for dollar the best Cords on the market. At this price I would try the Zebras first then move up if need be. But you are going to spend a lot of cash to beat out the Zebra-Cables. As bad as I wanted to find fault in this fifty dollar pc-cord. I just could not find any, and what shock me was, the Zebra could hang with all of my top power cords at 2 to 3 times the price. Hey I think its time to saddle up and ride the Zebras.
Highly Recommended!

Bill Glenn
[email protected]

God Bless

Associated gear
Rogue 88 Tube Amp.
Yamaha Preamp/Antique Sound lab LHO1.
Belcanto dac-2, Chang 3200 PLC.
Speakers are the B.G. 420’s Bolender Ribbons

Similar products
Signal Cable
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