I. PERFORMANCE AND DESIGN
In the course of ten years of continuous experimentation in wire design, we have found that good speaker cable configurations invariably translate, with minor modifications, into good AC power cords. Given how pleased we were with the firs-rate sound of the Golden Double Helix Speaker Cable, converting it to a power cord was an obvious next step. The results were a resounding success, more than we had hoped for.
The conductors of the Clearview AC Power Cord are identical to the speaker cable; the field canceling double helix configuration is also the same. The grounding scheme is a modified version of the speaker cable's approach.
The IEC connector is a new design, produced for us to our specification. The design minimizes the dielectric absorption. The dielectric is an unusually good-sounding one, selected after extensive comparative listening tests. The resulting IEC plug has, by a surprising margin, the best sonics we've heard. Similarly, the AC wall plug we use was selected by ear. It sounds better than any of the standard audiophile "hospital grade" plugs, all of which have far too much mass of bad-sounding insulation.
II. INSTALLATION TIPS
DO NOT USE ANY BREAK-IN DEVICES OF ANY KIND ON OUR WIRES!
They will seriously degrade the sound. Use only music to break in our wires.
- Install with the two strands of the Double Helix at least 6" apart over most of the wire run, preferably one or two feet apart. We usually use thread, string or tape to suspend and separate the strands.
- Never lay this (or any other wire in your system) on a carpeted or plastic tile floor—nor along any plastic molding or plastic wall covering. The proximity of bad-sounding plastic dielectric will seriously degrade even the best cables.
- DO NOT PLACE THIS POWER CORD WHERE IT WILL BE WALKED ON. DO NOT EXPOSE THE CORD TO ABRASION FROM SHARP METAL EDGES. INTEGRAL TO THE GOOD-SOUNDING DESIGN OF THIS CORD IS THE USE OF EVERY THIN DIELECTRIC COATING ON THE CONDUCTORS AND A THIN POLYMER PROTECTIVE SLEEVE. THESE DIELECTRICS HAVE MORE THAN ADEQUATE SAFETY MARGIN TO WITHSTAND POWER COMPANY VOLTAGE SURGES. THEY ARE NOT DESIGNED TO WITHSTAND REPEATED ABRASION FROM BEING WALKED ON OR FROM RUBBING ON SHARP METAL EDGES.
- For Mark II versions of Power Cord, make sure the "outrigger" ground wires are spread at least 6" to the left and to the right of the double helix power conductors.
