Clearer Audio Copper Line Alpha – Tacima CS929 Tried

[Anonymous]

Well I've got mine now and installed them yesterday on my TV and CD. I can see a definite improvement in picture quality on the TV - not earth shattering, but the picture definely looks cleaner and the colours more vivid - pretty pleased with that for £40 ish.

Only played the CD Player briefly so far - but as other people have described, the soundstage seems 'bigger' with more space between instruments.

I will definetely be back for some more cables for other bits of my stuff under the TV when the budget allows.

 

[clearer_audio]

heystak:Thanks Darren

I will keep the Alpha connected to the plasma for a week and then swap back to the original cable for comparison.

Am I best comparing on a SD signal or HD or doen't it matter? What improvement should I be looking for?

I have received email from you saying the figure of 8 adaptor is on its way so I will test the Sky box and blu ray in the next few days.

Hello heystak,

Apologies for not replying sooner.

It does not matter which format you compare as you should see and hear an improvement with both SD and HD. Typically improvements are to picture clarity, detail and colour rendering; also picture stability, improved contrast and better motion tracking.

I note from your later post that you still cannot see a difference. There is an element of burn in with the cables but they should be at optimal performance by now. Do any of your standard power cables have ferrites fitted to them?

All the best,
Darren

 

[clearer_audio]

cstanwhf:
Hi Darren,

Was looking at the online store for the Clearer Audio Copper Line Alpha power cord and when trying to order, I notice there was an option to choose the fuse rating or no fuse.

So which is the best option? The no fuse option, means that the part that hold the fuse is shorted? Or we have to add our own fuse?

Sorry, a bit confused about this.

Hello cstanwhf,

The fuse required will depend upon the component that you are powering. To ascertain which fuse you require firstly check the manual(s) to see if thet state any fuse requirement. If the manual does not state fuse requirement then check what rating of has been fitted to the factory supplied cables. Please do feel free to let me know which components you have (both make and model) and I will be able to help you.

The 'No Fuse' option is there simply for customers that require international plugs which do not require a fuse. We would certainly not fit a UK plug without a fuse as to do so is very dangerous. Also the fuses we fit have been carefully selected for quality and performance (using silver-plated copper throughout) so we always fit our own. We offer a free fuse replacement service if a fuse ever blows or needs changing for what ever reason.

Hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Darren

 

[Anonymous]

I got my Tacima yesterday, hooked both amp and CD player up to it, and wasn't immediately blown away. After a couple of hours on repeat I tried it again with a live recording with better results - lovely sense of space around instruments, great 'around the head' soundstaging, etc.

Whether that's partly down to the Tacima or not, I can't be sure. All of the kit is still very new - amp and headphones around 100 hours (though the amp is permanently powered up), CD player around 12 hours continuous playing (40 hours powered up). I'll let it all settle down for a few weeks, then swap back to the standard 4-way adapter for a comparison.

I'm still using the standard mains plug that came with the CD player, so will perhaps give Clearer Audio a whirl at some point.

 

[Anonymous]

clearer_audio: Do any of your standard power cables have ferrites fitted to them?

All the best,
Darren

Was just wondering what these do? My Panasonic TH-42PX80 has a ferrite at each end of the cable and is, from what I've read somewhere, double screened.

 

[cstanwhf]

clearer_audio:cstanwhf:

Hi Darren,

Was looking at the online store for the Clearer Audio Copper Line Alpha power cord and when trying to order, I notice there was an option to choose the fuse rating or no fuse.

So which is the best option? The no fuse option, means that the part that hold the fuse is shorted? Or we have to add our own fuse?

Sorry, a bit confused about this.

Hello cstanwhf, The fuse required will depend upon the component that you are powering. To ascertain which fuse you require firstly check the manual(s) to see if thet state any fuse requirement. If the manual does not state fuse requirement then check what rating of has been fitted to the factory supplied cables. Please do feel free to let me know which components you have (both make and model) and I will be able to help you. The 'No Fuse' option is there simply for customers that require international plugs which do not require a fuse. We would certainly not fit a UK plug without a fuse as to do so is very dangerous. Also the fuses we fit have been carefully selected for quality and performance (using silver-plated copper throughout) so we always fit our own. We offer a free fuse replacement service if a fuse ever blows or needs changing for what ever reason. Hope this helps. Kind regards, Darren

Hi Darren, thanks for the reply.

I intend to use it for the marantz SA8003, SR6003 and later the PM8003.

The power cables that came with my sets are the 2 pin EU type, therefore no fuse.

But locally, we use the 3 pin UK socket.

I guess a 3A fuse should suffice for each of these equipment. Or a higher rating fuse will have better benefits?

Thanks.

 

[Anonymous]

clearer_audio:
Do any of your standard power cables have ferrites fitted to them?

Hi Darren

My plasma TV has a ferrite attached to the cable.

 

[Anonymous]

I bought my Copper Line Alpha power cable a couple of weeks ago and after giving it that amount of time to run in, I tested it last night against the standard cable supplied with the Arcam - playing the same piece of music and swapping back and forth from one cable to the next.

Sorry to say (but for the sake of debate at least) I couldn't detect any difference between the two. I had an open mind of sorts - I wanted it to be better but was also prepared to accept if I couldn't tell any difference (at least for my own piece of mind I'd know, I reasoned).

I'm well prepared to accept that with the Arcam Solo Mini it just might not be sensitive enough to make any real difference and perhaps it would with a higher-end hi-fi set up.

The real test of this cable debate has got to be to get a group of people in a room and do a properly controlled 'blind' study where cables are swapped over and the participants don't know whether a standard mains cable is being used or an 'upgrade' cable but have to say at each test which they think sounds better. If the stats suggest there's no significant difference beyond chance (with enough people being put through it) then I'm afraid the debate would be over as far as I'm concerned. Again though, you'd have to say there might be a price point in hi-fi set up above which it does start to show up. Anyone know if such a controlled study has been done?

 

[clearer_audio]

cstanwhf:
I intend to use it for the marantz SA8003, SR6003 and later the PM8003.
The power cables that came with my sets are the 2 pin EU type, therefore no fuse.

Hello cstanwhf,

Fuse requirements as follows:

SA8003 - 3A
SR6003 - 13A
PM8003 - 13A

Hope this helps.

Best regards,
Darren

 

[clearer_audio]

heystak:My plasma TV has a ferrite attached to the cable.

Hi heystak,

The ferrite could be beneficial to your TV so we could fit a Super Suppressor to your cable. However given that you are not seeing a benefit on your other components such as Blu-ray player then I cannot be sure of the results. We have however done this for other customers with very good results.

In any event if you would like to return the cable for a refund then please do so.

Best regards,
Darren

 

[clearer_audio]

Jarnesque:
I bought my Copper Line Alpha power cable a couple of weeks ago and after giving it that amount of time to run in, I tested it last night against the standard cable supplied with the Arcam - playing the same piece of music and swapping back and forth from one cable to the next.

Sorry to say (but for the sake of debate at least) I couldn't detect any difference between the two. I had an open mind of sorts - I wanted it to be better but was also prepared to accept if I couldn't tell any difference (at least for my own piece of mind I'd know, I reasoned).

I'm well prepared to accept that with the Arcam Solo Mini it just might not be sensitive enough to make any real difference and perhaps it would with a higher-end hi-fi set up.

The real test of this cable debate has got to be to get a group of people in a room and do a properly controlled 'blind' study where cables are swapped over and the participants don't know whether a standard mains cable is being used or an 'upgrade' cable but have to say at each test which they think sounds better. If the stats suggest there's no significant difference beyond chance (with enough people being put through it) then I'm afraid the debate would be over as far as I'm concerned. Again though, you'd have to say there might be a price point in hi-fi set up above which it does start to show up. Anyone know if such a controlled study has been done?

Hello Jarnesque,

Sorry to hear that the cable has not worked with your Arcam Solo Mini. If you want to return the cable then please feel free to do so.

Indeed the best way to be truly objective is to conduct a blind test or better still a double blind test. We conduct blind tests during product development. To my knowledge there no peer reviewed study has been conducted. There are so many variables (e.g., hi-fi system, quality of the power supply, room acoustics, recording quality, participant listening preferences etc) at play which means that conducting a singular scientific study is very difficult. Hence we offer the 60 Day Money Back Guarantee to people can try in their own system and environment.

Kind regards,
Darren

 

[cstanwhf]

clearer_audio:cstanwhf:

I intend to use it for the marantz SA8003, SR6003 and later the PM8003.
The power cables that came with my sets are the 2 pin EU type, therefore no fuse.

Hello cstanwhf, Fuse requirements as follows: SA8003 - 3A SR6003 - 13A PM8003 - 13A Hope this helps. Best regards, Darren

Hi Darren, noted, thanks for the repy.