Review of Cullen Power and Speaker Cables
I was looking to replace a MAC Paradise power cable (now Rite Audio Cables and apparently out of business)between the wall outlet and my isolation transformer. I considered Decware's DHC, Signal Cable's Silver Resolution, and Cabledyne's Silver power cables before coming across Patrick Cullen's Audiogon listing for his Crossover Power Cable. I was very familiar and happy with silver-plated wiring and items (Mapleshade Golden Helix speaker cables and Acme Audio outlets/fuse holders, and purchased a 5-foot Cullen Crossover PC.
I originally placed the cable on the transformer, which has a plasma television and audio equipment plugged into it 24/7 in standby modes. After several weeks of stand-by and power-up (to include 100-150 hours of music playing and 50 hours of television), I noticed a cleaner, slightly wider soundstage. On a whim, I switched the cable to my Jolida JD100 CD player...and was dumbfounded by the improvement. Dynamics became punchier, and soundstage width and depth dramatically expanded. I want to say the background became blacker, but it didn't... unless complete nothingness is considered blacker! Images were clearly defined and placed and just appeared out of nowhere, yet the sound was smoother and more natural; neither etched nor rolled-off. To borrow another company's phrase: it just sounds right. Tone and pitch remained as I love it.
I decided to purchased an unadvertised pair of Culllen Crossover speaker cables to replace the Mapleshades, which have been the clearest and best imaging cables I've heard in over 20 years...yet a tad lean in the bass sometimes. I had previously tried Mapleshade's Double Helix cables, but didn't like the increased warmth. The Cullen's kept the near perfect (to me) soundstaging and clarity and tone, but added startling weight and slam in all ranges that revealed notes, tones, and sounds I hadn't heard before. The revelations were not gimmicky or out of balance...they just appeared as if a switch had been previously turned off. In a nutshell....these cables are killers! Competitively priced, great performance irrespective of price, solidly built and attractive. My Wegrzyn's power cables (which are about 10 years old and I'm told to have cost around $400 then)will be on the market to be replaced by Cullen Crossovers.
Jolida JD1701 Hybrid Integrated (with Wegrzyn Silver Slam PC)
Jolida JD100 Tube CDP (with Cullen Crossover PC)
Omega Super 3S Speakers(with Cullen Crossover Speaker Cables)
Darwin Silver RCA Interconnects
Isolation transformer (with Acme Audio outlets, IEC inlet, and fuse holder,and Wegrzyn Silver Slam PC)