Sakura Systems OTA Cable Kit

So far I have used three Storatos power cables in my system. Two 20 ft runs direct from 230 Volt AC wall socket to each VAIC SET monobloc and one 6 ft run between a dedicated-digital power strip to a z-systems digital preamp/equalizer.
I will certainly add more Storatos PCs now after hearing this arrangement, since the use of my existing PC cables (all of them NBS Statements) seems more problematic (mechanically, electronically, sonically) than not having them. I am certain that the Storatos cables improved the ability of the z-systems preamp to handle complex frequency- and dynamic-related information in the digital domain, and that it enhanced the transient characteristics, detail and reproduction of frequency extremes (crisper treble, tighter bass) of the VAIC monoblocks. This latter result was surprising since the VAIC monoblocks have some special "challenges" with their power supply and require exteme care when it comes to mains voltage--I will spare you the details. In short, let me just say that I was shocked that Storatos could function as such an excellent power cable for these power-hungry units, fast enough to cover their sudden demands in energy.
Some tips for making up Storatos PCs.
There are lots of metal parts in every stock IEC and PC plug I have examined: mainly screws for the wires, wire guides, and lead systems for + - and ground. These can be a problem if you want to minimize intermediary connections between Storatos and your house mains cables or the hook-up wires to your components transformers.
If you plan on using an AC plug, try to find one with solid copper prongs (German high-end manufacturer "Phonosophie" provides copper tip plugs for the Schucko system). If your house has Schucko outlets (i.e. you live in Europe), you can also use two 47 Labs speaker banana plugs as AC plug prongs and make a direct contact between Storatos and your house mains this way. (BE VERY CAREFUL TO AVOID SHOCK!) This solution is not possible for the American plug system. But you can still always make a direct "pressure" contact between Storatos and your house mains. (This goes without saying, but, TURN OFF YOUR HOUSE MAINS BEFORE YOU DO THIS!)
As for the other side of the Storatos power cable, I have used both light-weight PVC and rubber IEC female plugs (I actually prefer the cheaper PVC variety). One important tip: Do not simply crush the bare Storatos wire under the screw clamp! Instead wrap the bare Storatos around the IEC "U" brackets/guide (leaving enough Storatos insulator stripped away to allow the male IEC prongs to fit fully into the female "U" receptables) so that the male IEC will make direct contact with the Storatos wire. Affix Storatos in the IEC by screwing down on the beginning of the insulated portion, being careful not to break or strain the wire inside.
You may want to leave the halves of the IEC relatively loose until you have the female IEC (with the Storatos bent around the very tip in a "V" formation) fitted over the male IEC prongs of your component. Then you can finally affix the two IEC halves together by fully tightening the screw that holds the two halves together after the IEC is inserted into the component.
As far as defeating the third (center, ground) prong on the ac line-cord by removing it, I will leave a few warnings. This third prong provides a ground connection, which not only helps prevent pickup of RF interference but prevents possible damage to components. This ground return is legally required by Underwriter's Laboratories, a branch of the National Board of Fire Underwriters (in the USA) and by EU regulations (in Europe). Not only can some equipment get damaged by removing the ground, but a fire hazard can be introduced. If your house burns down and the investigation of the remains reveals that you were operating equipment without grounds connection, your insurance company is not liable to pay any of your claims. They will simply look at it as your negligence to provide protection from excessive current risks.
Note that it is no advantage to shield Storatos ac power cables. Note also that lengthening the ac cable to 20 feet, as I did, did not impose excessive power loss. If high-frequency response was lowered by such a long power cable, then that is a matter of no technical concern, and even an advantage: hifi equipment is operated in Germany at a frequency of 60-Hz ac, well below the high-frequency loss (starting from 2,000 Hz) imposed by long lengths of connecting cable.
One final "tip": I think dekay already said this, but if you solder Storatos wire, a small soldering iron is advisable. You will want to use as little solder for your connection as possible. Modify your soldering iron to limit the amount of heat and solder that is applied to the circuit board terminal point. Use a short length of bare Storatos wire wrapped around the tip of the soldering iron, and cut to a tip of approximately 1/4 inch. After prolonged use, the wire will become corroded and pitted, and must then be replaced.

OTA Power Cords. I'll try your method with my next 2 Power Cords. I've already done 5 Power Cords and the improvements brought about by the OTA power cords are pretty amazing. Fantastic value for money compared to what good PCs are going for these days.

»In short, let me just say that I was shocked that Storatos could function as such an excellent power cable for these power-hungry units, fast enough to cover their sudden demands in energy. »

Slawney, you are continuosly surprising me with your pioneer spirit!

Franky, I would say feeding you VAIC with mains from tiny 47Labs cable is an overkill. I wouldn't dare even try that! Well, I couldn't sleep the first night I had my low power consumer setup hooked on it but I think I told you about that.

Why did you need 20ft power cables? You had them hooked to the mains in the other room?

»There are lots of metal parts in every stock IEC and PC plug I have examined: mainly screws for the wires, wire guides, and lead systems for + - and ground. These can be a problem if you want to minimize intermediary connections between Storatos and your house mains cables or the hook-up wires to your components transformers.«

No problem at all! Just throw away ALL the metal not strictly related to contact making. You can glue back IEC and PC plugs instead of screwing them back with metal screw. From an ordinary PC plug and three IEC connectors I usually end up with fistfull of pieces I put into dump.

»If you plan on using an AC plug, try to find one with solid copper prongs (German high-end manufacturer "Phonosophie" provides copper tip plugs for the Schucko system).«

Did I tell you that one? Actually, I didn't know about that one but when talking on the subject with Jonathan Carr, he raised my attention to this product.

»If your house has Schucko outlets (i.e. you live in Europe), you can also use two 47 Labs speaker banana plugs as AC plug prongs and make a direct contact between Storatos and your house mains this way. (BE VERY CAREFUL TO AVOID SHOCK!) »

In all seriousness, that is something I would not like people start doing… Are the extra bananas you ordered last time for that? If so, good I didn't have them in stock… Forget about getting them, unless using them for speakers, hehe. I intend to see you in May and not to bring flowers to your tombstone.

»As for the other side of the Storatos power cable, I have used both light-weight PVC and rubber IEC female plugs (I actually prefer the cheaper PVC variety).«

I agree that PVC should be better. What counts here is, of course the conducting material. Copper, then brass, then rhodium would come on my list. Nothing else. No plating.

»One important tip: Do not simply crush the bare Storatos wire under the screw clamp!«

A very easy thing to do…

» Instead wrap the bare Storatos around the IEC "U" brackets/guide (leaving enough Storatos insulator stripped away to allow the male IEC prongs to fit fully into the female "U" receptables) so that the male IEC will make direct contact with the Storatos wire. Affix Storatos in the IEC by screwing down on the beginning of the insulated portion, being careful not to break or strain the wire inside.«

This one is tricky and I sense problems with this arrangement (as in most cases, a good contact will remain to be desired, if not done right).

»As far as defeating the third (center, ground) prong…«

I checked mine and haven't seen any center prongs left, hehe.

»… on the ac line-cord by removing it, I will leave a few warnings. This third prong provides a ground connection, which not only helps prevent pickup of RF interference but prevents possible damage to components. This ground return is legally required by Underwriter's Laboratories, a branch of the National Board of Fire Underwriters (in the USA) and by EU regulations (in Europe). Not only can some equipment get damaged by removing the ground, but a fire hazard can be introduced. If your house burns down and the investigation of the remains reveals that you were operating equipment without grounds connection, your insurance company is not liable to pay any of your claims.«

Which, I think, probably is the case if used power cables of lesser diameter than required by the power rating of the appliance… It's a slippery territory we are talking about here and I can not recommend to anyone to make power cables from Storatos.

But, if you do….

Why bother with multiple cables? That leaves you with problems.

Why not use one PC plug and run multiple IEC's out of it?

So, you need three power cords, for example… Take 6 runs (9 runs if intending to keep the grounding), mark three of them (and onother three for grounds, yet in another color) at cable ends on both sides. On one side, wrap threes of the same color together and fit them into PC plug.

Other sides of cable, one of each color go to IEC plug, making sure to fit each of them to IEC on the same place (if wire colored red is in one IEC connector on the left side, it should be on the left side in the other two IEC plugs as well. If using ground, wires colored as ground MUST go to IEC grounds, of course. This is valid for Shucko mains plugs system where PC plug can be plugged two ways to match required polarity. For UK, one must make sure that Live comes to the right side of IEC plug, looking at IEC conenctor from the front side, flat side down…

This way, you can be sure that each of your components has exactly the same polarity orientation, no need for extension cord (so you want to make it long enough to reach the wall plug), less metal, etc…

»Note that it is no advantage to shield Storatos ac power cables.«

Very much agreed.

Best regards,
Sead

Would like to try it myself. Anybody wants to go for it together? I'll just need 6-7' for two interconnects and maybe 16+' for speaker cable. So more interested parties cheaper for all. Let me know!

Pssst! I keep hearing fire trucks outside my window, but no disaster here yet.

"Slawney, you are continuosly surprising me with your pioneer spirit!"

"Pioneer"? I like to think of myself as a full-fledged OTA OTAKU! Sead, please ask Teramura or Kimura about the meaning of the word "Ota" in Japanese and ask whether there was an implied reference to the Japanese "Otaku" movement of the 80s. Young, permanently infantile Japanese nerds sleeping away there life in a protective imaginary universe of their own making. As for me, OTA cable kit is perhaps becoming my electronic "umbilical cord" to "mother 47 Labs." I am starting to hear those " infinite tentacles" Teramura describes--at least, see them stretched between all plugs and outlets in the listening room. He didn't warn us that these tentacles would be blue/green, but isn't that the color of the Pacific?

"Franky, I would say feeding you VAIC with mains from tiny 47Labs cable is an overkill. I wouldn't dare even try that! Well, I couldn't sleep the first night I had my low power consumer setup hooked on it but I think I told you about that."

The VAICs are fed AC power with Storatos, and they will remain fed AC power with Storatos. (They are even wired inside with Storatos now, he he, don't tell Alessa). In fact, I finally got the entire rig wired with Storatos power cords! As for nightmare fantasies, I did have a daytime anxiety attack on a commuter train outside Frankfurt when I was suddenly overcome with the fear that one of the IECs had not been inserted far enough, and that it would touch off a fire in my listening room. I desperately wanted to return home to remedy the problem, and was distracted the entire time I was at work until I could return. Nothing bad had happened.

"Why did you need 20ft power cables? You had them hooked to the mains in the other room?"

Not the other room, but the opposite wall. Has to do with house wiring and the need to separate high power and low power users in the system. I did not like at all using that much Storatos for this hookup, and some day I will not need it. I hope then that the long ac cables can be returned to normal interconnects. Have you ever recycled a Storatos ac cable into a Storatos interconnect?

"Just throw away ALL the metal not strictly related to contact making."

Have done exactly that: except (and this is an important except) for the brass (they are brass, unfortunately) "U" guides that channel the bare Storatos wire (in the IEC) towards prongs on the components. Without them, I would not be able to make a direct contact with these prongs.

"You can glue back IEC and PC plugs instead of screwing them back with metal screw."

I would need a third hand to apply the glue. Things are tricky enough with making the direct contact between Storatos and IEC prongs since I have to push the two halves of the IEC female together after it is slipped onto the male. (I really like the language here: "the two halves of the ... female ...slipped onto the male")

"From an ordinary PC plug and three IEC connectors I usually end up with fistfull of pieces I put into dump."

The dump is increasing here in Frankfurt, too.

"Did I tell you that one (that "Phonosophie" makes copper prong plugs)? Actually, I didn't know about that one but when talking on the subject with Jonathan Carr, he raised my attention to this product."

Yes, Sead, you told me that one: perhaps after pondering the deplorable aspects of my previous $21,000 ac cable network. I rarely forget a thing you say. I do not know if Phonosophie actually made this copper prong plug (come to think of it, what do they actually "make"?) and it is rather difficult to track down, but the person I got them from says that he possibly could have gotten them from Phonosophie, but he isn't sure.

"Are the extra bananas you ordered last time for (use as ac cable plugs)? If so, good I didn't have them in stock… Forget about getting them, unless using them for speakers, hehe. I intend to see you in May and not to bring flowers to your tombstone."

I like the way 47 Labs does not let you electrocute yourself with their products. Arthur Salvature was right when he said (on "high-endaudio.com") that the service with 47 Labs is excellent. They will even bring flowers to your funeral! Much better than with "some other manufacturer" (I was going to mention the name, but decided to wipe out any trace of violent comparative advertising). With the unnamed product I really gave myself shock treatment: disoriented myself for two weeks. The flesh on my hand actually stank like a corpse, and took a long time to heal. Remembering this, I feel pretty irresponsible suggesting this heretical use of the banana plug. Please do not use OTA banana plugs as power cable leads! Forget that I even mentioned it! Sead, the banana plugs I ordered were for a speaker: except for the fact that I do not have the speaker yet. And probably will not until I hear "Essence" for a second time in May. So long as I live till then. Thus, yes, it is perhaps in your greater interest to not sell me the banana plugs just yet. And probably in my own interest. It may be that I will not need banana plugs at all, he he.

"IEC contacts: Copper, then brass, then rhodium would come on my list. Nothing else. No plating."

The IECs I use come with brass contacts, no plating. The guide for the wire is a circular hole through a rectangular brass fitting. Many other IECs do not have circular guides, but simple screws, where the cable is pinched by the screw against the side of the IEC housing: avoid these at all costs! They are frustrating to work with and electronically, and mechanically inferior. Make sure whatever IEC you use does not strain Storatos when screwing the insulated portion into place.

Sead on my suggested method for terminating the Storatos wire in the IEC (see above): "This one is tricky and I sense problems with this arrangement (as in most cases, a good contact will remain to be desired, if not done right)."

Admittedly, "tricky." You need the right IEC. You also need to leave just the right amount of tension in the bare Storatos wire, as well as arrange the wires very precisely in the "U" guide. Also, the "ground" center wire has to maneuver around the hole for the screw that holds the two IEC halves together. But... it has worked every time that I have done it. My recommended amount of bare Storatos at this end is 3 cm, although you can lengthen it to 4 cm and wrap the bare end of the Storatos wire around the brass guide (just in front of the screw clamp) for extra sturdiness after you make the "V" turn and reach sufficent distance from the tip so that the male IEC does not encounter resistance (too short, and the IEC male will not fit fully inside and you will have anxiety scenes like the one I described above). To get the best fit, the gully of the "U" must have only one strand of bare Storatos wire in it, straightly arranged, and not absolutely tight, cut to the correct length so that the insulation does not interfere with the penetration of the male IEC plug into the female. The only problems I have encounted is that the Storatos-equipped female fits tighter over the normal male IEC (this perverse technical language!) and difficulties may be encountered when removing the IEC in the future without loosening it up with a screwdriver first. What problems do you sense?

"Why bother with multiple cables? That leaves you with problems. Why not use one PC plug and run multiple IEC's out of it?"

The advice sead gives you above is valuable, and worth rereading and referring to in detail. In particular, the advice he gives concerning consistent polarity orientation is crucial for Schucko users, since (unlike other systems) you can easily reverse polarity. Color code all of your Storatos cables when making up the power cables and make sure you have the correct polarity orientation. Use a polarity checker or take off the chassis of your components if you are not sure where the "live" wire is. You must do this before you make up a Storatos ac power cable with multiple runs to compensate for any reversals in polarity you have in a given component. Perfect polarity consistency can be heard by a trained human ear (by listening closely to the bass, and other things), of course, but it is better to check polarity visually by looking at the wiring of the component rather than play around switching wire orientations in a multiple run (Storatos will eventually break and you will have to recut and perhaps lose groupings) and listen with each regrouping. I recently ran 3 multiple lines of Storatos ac cable out of an isolation transformer/filter outlet, and the method I used is very similar to what sead mentions.

»Note that it is no advantage to shield Storatos ac power cables.«

"Very much agreed."

And yet think of the high cost of the shielding that goes into a boutique power cable (some even with active shielding). LOL. ... However, as you can tell, I am not entirely against using Storatos with power conditioning in problematic mains situations (like my own). But, unfortunately, one hears the positive AND the negative effects of power conditioning much better with Storatos than with "boutique" power cables.

Best regards,
Ota Otaku