Where Were We?
In our last blog post, we compared the Grand Activation power cords against their AC-55 bulk power cable terminated with Furutech NCF ends. The Furutech terminated AC-55 faired pretty well against the Grand Activation cords, but after listening at length the differences that the MMAT treated Grand Activation cables (including their terminations) proved to have more of the magic naturalness and dimensionality that I prefer.
Taking a Longer View
One needs to live with a cord, or any cable, for some time to fully understand it's effects on a given component and system. My perceptions and thoughts changed over the last few months of listening to the HGA2000, 6000, and the Furutech terminated AC-55. Initially, I had favored the AC-55 cable over the GA HGA2000. Over the long term however, the HGA2000 won out over the AC-55 in terms of overall balance and naturalness. When I originally wrote the post, I felt the AC-55 with Furutech ends held the advantage. The AC-55 with Furutech is indeed warmer sounding, but at the expense of a slightly looser, less controlled bass. The forwardness of the high frequencies that initially revealed itself when several HGA2000 were in the system abated, and they became more balanced. The performance had surpassed the AC-55/Furutech combination in my system over time.
The HGA6000 continues to sound exceptional, but it is a little subdued in it's presentation. The stage is set further behind the speakers, but still extends beyond them in all directions. Perhaps not as far as some other cords. But the naturalness, and image density it offers up still make it my favorite power cord to date.
A New Journey
Today we start our journey with the new QSA treated Wattgate 320 and 5266 connectors. We will be testing them on the Grand Activation AC-55. This will create an MMAT treated cable from end to end, just like Grand Activation, and Lanedri for that matter. I will give you my preliminary impressions, and follow up in a month or so.
I have, to date, made AC-55 cables with Yellow, Red, and Black/Red QSA terminations. I removed the Furutech connectors on some of the AC-55 cables in order to at least have a broken in wire to begin the QSA connector listening process with.
Futzing With Wattgate
The Wattgate connectors aren't made for large diameter power cable. To get the AC-55 to fit through the bottom of the body of the Wattgate connectors, one has to remove the black washer and gasket at the bottom opening of each connector. It's easy to do, all you need is a flat blade screwdriver. Place it under the washer and with a little upward pressure it pops out, exposing the rubber washer below. Once those two pieces are out, it is possible to fit the cord by applying some force. I actually went further and used a step-bit and my drill to widen the opening at the bottom of the connectors just a bit more. It was just enough to allow the cable to go through without forcing it, thereby streamlining assembly and lowering frustration.
Fortunately the individual hot, neutral and ground wires fit the connector wire openings. With a little patience and skill, one could get the wire in the opening without the wires fraying.
I would recommend shrink tubing to cover the ends and the wire. You will need a 2" (I think) 3:1 shrink ratio tubing to get the width to fit over the connector, and the "shrinkage" to shrink down to the cable diameter.
I would say this is a semi-advanced power cord build.
On to the listening
The Wattgate connectors minus QSA treatment aren't all that spectacular. They tend to sound a bit glassy. Pair them with a wire that is a little subdued in the 2-3kHz range (or features strong bass/midbass) and they can work quite well.
The Grand Activation bulk cable is a little subdued, but not very. It would not be an ideal match for an untreated set of Wattgate 320 and 5266 connectors as it does allow some of that "glassiness" to pass through.
Fortunately the QSA treatment counters the glassiness for the most part. I will need to listen longer, and allow the connectors plus the treatment to break in fully before rendering my final judgement. But below are listed my auditory observations on the relatively new connectors.
Yellow QSA Connectors ($272 for a full set, $572 for a 2m cord) - The AC-55 fitted with the QSA Yellow connectors were similar to the Yellow fuse. There was a definite increase in dimensionality, and naturalness, with a slight increase in low level resolution. I still, at the time of writing, heard the signature of the connector about as much as the signature of the QSA treatment. There was a touch of that glassiness, but overall the sound was really good. Approaching that of the Furutech NCF. The biggest thing I noticed was the bass tightened up over the Furutech, but the furutech had an edge due to it not having the glare of the QSA Yellow. This may change as the cable breaks in.
Red QSA Connectors ($1472 for a full set, $1772 for a 2m cord) - With the Red in place and doing my initial listening, the increase in resolution over the Yellow was huge. All of the sudden there was air and space filling in every corner of the room. Density would be a good word to describe the effect. I could hear some of this with the Yellow, but with the Red it was way more fleshed out. The "sound" of the Wattgate connectors was far less apparent, but still audible on some tracks.
This cord is different than the HGA2000 in that I think, at least at this stage, it has more resolution. The soundstage is a bit wider and deeper.
It will be interesting to hear how this may change over the next month or so.
Black/Red QSA Connectors ($2892 for a full set, $3192 for a 2m cord) - With the fuses, the Black/Red is where the QSA sound really starts to transform the presentation of one's system in a very dramatic way. As it should for the price. Here was no different. There was a significant leap forward in density, resolution, naturalness and 3-dimensionality. The sound now emanated from wherever in the room the artists were, not from the speakers. The normal Wattgate 320/5266 glare was not there, it was rendered inaudible.
This version of the AC-55 has the potential to be more competitive with the Grand Activation HGA6000. I can't say it is better at the moment, and it may end up never quite reaching the performance of the HGA6000, but right now it is nearly as good, but also different. It lacks the organic midrange that makes whatever component the 6000 is powering render vocals and piano so beautifully. I would say the Black/Red and AC-55 combo has more sparkle and a touch more air in the high frequencies. The bass is also tighter and more detailed than with the Furutech FI-50 NCF series.
Conclusions, For Now...
There is no doubt that the QSA treatment significantly enhances the performance of the entry level Wattgate connectors. The questions to answer will be:
- Will the break-in process offer further improvement?
- Are the improvements worth the expense? I mean $2892 is a heck of a lot to spend on connectors, even an entire power cord. But, people do spend that, and more? Will the QSA provide the value that makes it competitive?
- What level QSA + AC-55 cord offers the best value?
I am going to let these cables run in over the next month and report back on the changes that occur while the connectors, and the QSA processing breaks in. It should be a wild, and interesting ride. Stay tuned!