Thread: Cullen Cables ?

Patrick makes a very good cable for the money and is one I would recommend if you are not wanting to spend stupid money for a PC. Good build quality and very good sounding. Try his Crossover power cord- its a very good cord regardless of price. I use them in parts of my system. They take about 50 hours to break-in, but he offers a 30 day money back guarantee on them.

gjg

You might want to investigate the quality of other value offerings before you buy Cullen. For example, compare outer jacket, braiding, and dielectric materials used by DH Labs compared to Cullen. The quality and design of these materials can make a long-term difference and do not necessarily result in excessive cost.

Having heard both the DH and Cullen, I prefer the Cullen cables. The gauge of the power cord (assuming its greater than 14 gauge) actually has very little to do with the overall sound of a PC. The distributed capacitance of the wire will have the the most significant impact on the sound of a power cable, followed by the type of conductor used, use of shielding, and ends/termination used. Both Triode Pete's and Patrick's power cord have a significant amount of distributed capacitance in their power cords- one reason I like the sound of both of them. I will be interested in what you think of the Cullen cables.

gjg

ggraff, since you've had both Triode Wire Labs and Cullen cables, cost aside, if you were to choose a set to audition, 10-plus or Crossovers, which would you choose to start with? Both have 30-day returns. This is for a desktop computer system, i.e., Maestro outlet to computer and for two powered speakers (Focal CMS 40). Thanks,

They are both excellent cables and only differ in the flavor they give. Patrick's cables are more on the analytic/neutral side while Pete's are slightly more tube like in their presentation. Both are an exceptional value and I would not hesitate to recommend either for someone not wanting to spend what I call stupid money.

I replaced my Cardas Golden Reference and Shunyatas power cords with Patrick's. I got a significant performance increase and made money at the same time. I ran into Pete's last year when we showed with him at THE Show (and subsequently at RMAF) and thought it made our equipment sound significantly better than previous cords we had used from another well know vendor I will not name (but it wasn't Patrick's). Pete and I have been missing connections so I could put one in our reference system and judge its full merits. But based on what his did in our show system, I have every confidence in recommending it to people.

For full disclosure, I have since replaced most of Patrick's wires with ones that we developed based on our speaker wires. Those will not be coming to market because they would be just too expensive to compete effectively with the plus $2,000 crowd. Besides, we don't want the product liability issue you can have with power cords.

Since they are both friends, I will not recommend one over the other. Even if they were not friends, I would hesitate recommending one over the other since the differences really come down to the flavor you are looking for.

Sorry I could not be of more help. I guess one way to look at your question is do you think your desktop would resolve the differences between the two? If not, I would go for the cheapest.

gjg

Originally Posted by ggraff

They are both excellent cables and only differ in the flavor they give. Patrick's cables are more on the analytic/neutral side while Pete's are slightly more tube like in their presentation. Both are an exceptional value and I would not hesitate to recommend either for someone not wanting to spend what I call stupid money.

I replaced my Cardas Golden Reference and Shunyatas power cords with Patrick's. I got a significant performance increase and made money at the same time. I ran into Pete's last year when we showed with him at THE Show (and subsequently at RMAF) and thought it made our equipment sound significantly better than previous cords we had used from another well know vendor I will not name (but it wasn't Patrick's). Pete and I have been missing connections so I could put one in our reference system and judge its full merits. But based on what his did in our show system, I have every confidence in recommending it to people.

For full disclosure, I have since replaced most of Patrick's wires with ones that we developed based on our speaker wires. Those will not be coming to market because they would be just too expensive to compete effectively with the plus $2,000 crowd. Besides, we don't want the product liability issue you can have with power cords.

Since they are both friends, I will not recommend one over the other. Even if they were not friends, I would hesitate recommending one over the other since the differences really come down to the flavor you are looking for.

Sorry I could not be of more help. I guess one way to look at your question is do you think your desktop would resolve the differences between the two? If not, I would go for the cheapest.

gjg

Great advice.

ggraff, I sent you a PM first, not wanting to put you on the spot here, then realized it wasn't going to be delivered because I'm new to AudioShark. Your answer actually does help a lot. My system is Ciunas dac, Focal CMS 40 speakers, Teresonic Clarison silver ICs and Maestro outlet, so it shows the difference between cords and cables quite well. And I've listened to a few: Pangea, MAC HC, Shunyata Venom 3, Grant Fidelity and WyWires silver. Plus, I have sensitive and critical ears. Since I'm more a music than 'sound' person (in the common audiophile sense of the latter), I favor tube-like timbre more than the analytical, other dimensions being equal or close. And that would complement my desktop system well. I do note, though, that Patrick describes his Crossover cord as tube like (unlike his other cords), but as an independent listener I take your thoughts for good coin. I also have a 2.0 TV system - Grant Fidelity TubeDac-11, AE 5+ speakers (for the remote volume control), Silflex Toslink and Tersonic ICs. Maybe the Cullen's would work better there. Their price certainly does. Thanks.

I have a Triode Wire Labs 10 Plus on my amp and it's one of the best I've had. I find it very transparent and clear..and very musical.

Nice to hear. I've been using a 10+ as my computer cord off a Maestro outlet for the past week, roughly 125 hours of music alone, and am very pleased. Right off, even compared to the nice WyWires silver the difference in transparency and staging was stunning, and as the week progressed the ragged edges have disappeared, allowing the cord's warmth to develop. Have a pair of Cullen Crossovers coming soon to compare, before deciding what to put where (TV system too). One thing that intrigues is the possibility of using Cullen's power box with a crossover cord. Would love to find a box that doesn't turn everything steely and cool/cold.

I should add that the latest version of JPlay (5.2) is a real improvement, and Vincent Burrell's VB ASIO Audio Bridge and Virtual Cable is a great idea, allowing JPlay to be used with Spotify, Pandora, VLC, Zoom Player, the web, etc.

Wires in general and power cords in particular are very system dependent. I hope that you find that Patrick's are what you are looking for. I have had MANY power cords in my system over the years and think Patrick's and Pete's are among the best I have heard for under $1K. Since we are a wire manufacturer, we finally decided to build our power cord- for our personal use only. That is the only reason I no longer use Patrick's cables in our reference system. We took distributed capacitance one step further than either Patrick or Pete and the results were better IN OUR SYSTEM. I will be interested in what you think if you decide to get one of Patrick's PCs.

Happy Holidays

gjg

Pete makes a very good power cord that does not also require you to take a second mortgage out on your house. The best thing is that he is also a real gentleman. I really like to support the "good guys" in this business.

Happy Holidays

gjg

Originally Posted by ggraff

They are both excellent cables and only differ in the flavor they give. Patrick's cables are more on the analytic/neutral side while Pete's are slightly more tube like in their presentation. Both are an exceptional value and I would not hesitate to recommend either for someone not wanting to spend what I call stupid money.
...
Sorry I could not be of more help. I guess one way to look at your question is do you think your desktop would resolve the differences between the two? If not, I would go for the cheapest.gjg

It turns out my desktop system was able to distinguish between Patrick's Crossover and Pete's Ten Plus cords (and a couple of others) more or less readily. That is, less so with my TV system, but still enough to make a decision to go with Pete's for now. In what follows, I wish to emphasize that power cords really do seem to be system dependent. For example, where the Cullen sounded forward in my 2.0 TV system (w/ dac), they were unbearably recessed in my desktop one.

Here's a summary of what I found common to the Cullens in all configurations and both systems after 350 hrs of burnin. Also involved in the testing were Shunyata Venom 3's and a WyWires Juice 2 (silver).

- Tonality: Patrick has a very good ear
- Smoothness: excellent, about the best I've heard (wish Pete's had a little bit more of this, esp. up top and down low)
- Clarity (quiet) - very good
- Bass - very good
- Very listenable

OTOH, I've found those qualities to be limited or undermined by a palpable sense of constriction (heard from Day 1), which I noted in the following areas:

- Bloom ("air") - voices and instruments sounded limited no matter what position I put the cords in; this is awfully important not just on its own merits, but also because it is tied to a sense of dimensionality and detail. It was very frustrating, given their good qualities
- Dynamics - a little less "explosive"
- Detail - seems partly related to limited sense of bloom/air
- Soundstage - not bad in depth, but a bit narrow compared to the others in width

While I know some would say that comparison with cords costing in the $350-430 range is unfair, to me that's not relevant, plus I don't get the sense from Patrick's Audiogon ads that he sees his work and what he's aiming at that way.

Again, power cords seem especially to be highly system dependent (I just changed the power fuse in my TV dac and wish I had thought of doing so while the Cullen's were here).

Btw, Patrick was great all the way through, a pleasure to deal with.

Check out Chis' (VH Audio) Flavor 4 power cable sometime.
I think you might like what you hear compared to the other 2 you mention.
A little more expensive, but not so "equipment dependent" as the other 2 designs.
Just something to consider, awesome "bang for buck".

Since I need a couple more cords, I've also asking around about DCCA for the same reason

I've decided to buy a pair of Pete's speaker cables.....cant wait till they get here. I'm sure they are as good as his PC I have.

Originally Posted by Rantzmar

I've decided to buy a pair of Pete's speaker cables.....cant wait till they get here. I'm sure they are as good as his PC I have.

Hi Brotha B,

And since I know you've these LS Cables in your system, isn't it time to update your findings!, come on........., sharing is caring!.

Peace,
O_oh

Originally Posted by Kt77

Hi Brotha B,

And since I know you've these LS Cables in your system, isn't it time to update your findings!, come on........., sharing is caring!.

Peace,
O_oh

Sure bro!

The cables are...well how can I put it.....like no cables at all! They seem to have no sound or influence on the sound. All you hear is natural, correct tones. Like I said, its like music, real music is in the air. These cables are a real bargain!

Originally Posted by Rantzmar

Sure bro!

The cables are...well how can I put it.....like no cables at all! They seem to have no sound or influence on the sound. All you hear is natural, correct tones. Like I said, its like music, real music is in the air. These cables are a real bargain!

B,

As you know how I feel on most of these topics as they relate to ones cabling loom and so on, I for one believe there are bargains to be had at any given price point, yet some only think it's often done at the more expensive end, when there are in fact a few lower costlier cables or cords out there very deserving of any music lovers attention, and like you........., I've found TWL to be one of them.

Snob factor need not apply, but if one is seeking a very very very involving cabling loom at the faction of the cost of some of the cables mentioned elsewhere on this forum!, please do yourself a favor, and at the very least audition these cables in home........, I think you'll come away quite surprised with their overall sense of musicality, and more importantly - having saved a few thousand dollars in doing so, between these and the wires from Cable Research Labs and Wywires, some of you can in fact have found a home at dearer prices, where you might be content enough to say aloud, enough is enough!.

In your own ears/senses one should trust.

Hear before you knock!, only then shall the truth be known!. Either one can hear!, or they can't?.

Peace,
O_o scar