In an earlier post I recommended the Volex 17604. Here's a relevant review in regard to the Volex as well as the iron lung jellyfish.
This is a direct cut and paste from a "shoot-out" of PCs made in 5/19/2006 by Steve Hoffman. The number 15 refers to number 15 of 16 PCs addressed in the review. It's called Power Cord Shoot-out: 16 Power Cords Reviewed.
Something to think about.
>>15. Volex 17604
Pricing (6 ft. cord): $8-$12.00
Review
In other threads on this site, this cheap Volex cord has been compared favorably to cables costing 30X its price. The 17604 is the shielded version of Volex's basic cable which features wire made by Belden. How does it stack up for this reviewer among all the various cables I've had so far?
Surprisingly well. Let me amend that-- shockingly well (qualifier-- given the price). I can say that this power cord easily and handily beats out several of the much more expensive cables I've reviewed so far. To put that statement in perspective, though, as you've read, there are a number of fancy power cords I didn't care for at all, so it's in that context that this cheap Volex stands out ahead of them.
But saying the Volex is better than cables I really detested is not the same as saying it compares favorably with the really good aftermarket cables. A better, more fair and interesting comparison is against another mass-produced budget cable I think very highly of-- the Iron Lung Jellyfish.
I was quite surprised at the difference between these two budget cables. I suspected they would sound quite similar, but they don't.
The unshielded Jellyfish is much more extended at both ends-- there's clearly more treble and much more bass. The Jellyfish is more "hi-fi" sounding, where the Volex is more "natural" and warm. The Volex has the "tone" thing down. It *harmonizes* very well. It sounds very "real" and natural. In contrast, the Jellyfish has more "glare" than the Volex, sounds are more "recorded" than real, yielding an artifically sweetened sound. Tonally, Volex focuses more on the mid-range, Jellyfish more on the lows and the highs. Neither one is completely right; one has a smiley-face EQ (Jellyfish), the other a frowny-face EQ (Volex). Overall, the Volex is easier on the ears, the sound is "thicker", and less "exciting". If you want to relax into the sound, the Volex would be a better choice, but if you want to be a participant, rather than just an observer, the Jellyfish makes more sense.
The Jellyfish definitely is superior to the Volex in terms of PRAT and sheer slam. It's a much more forceful, impacting and energetic cable. In terms of soundstaging, the Volex is smaller, moving you back a couple rows. The Volex has less "air" and dimesionality than the Jellyfish, making it seem somewhat 2-dimensional and flat. They are roughly equal in terms of detail/resolution.
I estimated I switched out these two budget cables at least 30 times doing this comparison. This was a royal pain in the butt. It took quite a while to decide which one I preferred, it was not clear-cut. Overall, these are both terrific budget cables with different strengths and weaknesses, I think it comes down to where you are more willing to compromise. I can live without the extended highs of the Jellyfish (which can sound somewhat artificial), but the deal-breaker for me on the Volex is its pretty severely rolled bass response. I need every last drop of bass I can get, and the Volex withholds a little too much to overlook. And that's a shame because it's so tonally attractive and natural, very "musical" and quite enjoyable.
Flexibility: 9
Build quality: 5
Tonality: 9
Soundstaging/imaging: 5
PRAT/dynamics/speed: 5
Resolution/detail/transparency: 7
Value: 8
Overall Performance: 7.5<<
:) listening,
Ed
