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Published LessLoss Reviews Now Number Over 697

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DFPC Series [Reference]

Date Added: 09/12/2013 by Alan Carruth
I recently received the New DFPC Reference cables and wanted to share my experience with them. I am a long term fan of Louis Motek and the LessLoss products. I have enjoyed continual improvement in listening pleasure as I have added and upgraded my system. I began with the DFPC Originals, the DAC 2004 Mkll and Digital Cable. I have gradually upgraded with DFPC Signatures, 12 Blackbody Conditioners, 2 Firewall Power Conditioners in series to a power distributer, a Tunnelbridge Interconnect system and finally 2 pairs of Anchorwave Speaker cables (speakers are biwired). I didn't think I could be happier with the sound, but I learned long ago to stop saying, "I don't think the sound can get any better." Well, I trust Louis and was excited to try the Reference power cords. I ordered 7 cables but decided to try just 2 for a start. I put them in front and in-between the Firewalls and started listening to all my familiar music. The improvement in the sound was immediately obvious! With NO burn-in, the Reference cables are amazing! I hurriedly put the rest of the Reference cables in place and was astounded by what I heard! These cables are a great improvement over the Signature cables. I'll spare you the descriptive adjectives. I've never heard anything closer to live music! I'm talking in the recording studio or concert hall listening quality. If you are wondering whether to buy these cables, the answer is YES!!!! You will not be sorry!

I want to add a time frame to describe my impression of the sound changes as the Reference DFPCs burn in.

*Initial impressions: Much improved clarity and definition over the Signature DFPCs, but the sound stage is a little forward and bright. There is a slight digital edge present.

*30-40 hours: Brightness and digital edge are fading. Sound stage is not as far forward and beginning to open up nicely.

*60-70 hours: Brightness and digital edge are almost gone. Sound stage is open and deep, more natural. Vocals and instruments sounding life like!

*100 hours: The sound is rich, lush and very accurate. No digital edge and no noticeable noise floor! Sound stage is hugh. Highs and lows seem to go forever. No listening fatigue!

*150 hours: The music is astounding!!!! You are there!!!!

*200 hours: The sound is hypnotic!!! Even the most complex symphonies and choral music are no longer a challenge to listen to. This is TRUE High Fidelity!

*400 hours: The listening experience continues to improve. Sound stage continues to become more realistic. Very relaxed and natural and yet very detailed and defined. It almost feels surreal. I am experiencing these old recordings as if for the first time. I just can't believe music can sound this good!

Update:

I've now had about 1700 hours of signal time on the DFPC References, and I think things are pretty stable now. Even at 800 to 900 hours there was a transition of a slightly harsher/digital sound which started to disappear at 1200 hours. My goodness! I'm sure I never would have appreciated this on a lesser system! The listening is now sublime! It is smooth, musical, and ultra defined with an enormous sound stage. I couldn't be happier!
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DFPC Series [Reference]

Date Added: 09/14/2013 by Mark Bartlett
We have been using the LessLoss DFPC Signature cables in our Hi-Fi system for more than two years now, so when I received a Newsletter from Louis Motek notifying me that they had developed a new, higher performance power cable there was quite a sense of excitement.

Firstly, a bit of background on how I arrived at LessLoss. I did not merely get lucky and immediately stumble across the LessLoss brand. It was suggested to me by a friend who similar to me had gone through various other cable brands with mixed results and limited success.

Having tried and tested several other power cables up to the £1000 price point, the better of the group offered some fine attributes, but they ultimately ended up behaving as tone controls.

This does not mean that power or signal cables should not be carefully chosen for your system or tastes, to the contrary. However, you might not be aware that the power cables in your system whether of Copper, Silver with top Rhodium plugs or additional exotic enhancements are getting anywhere near the best from your system.

I finally took the step and loaned a LessLoss DFPC Signature and swapped out a cable in the system. With LessLoss installed on source component (CD player) the music became “less choked”, considerably more musical, coherent, open, and spacious sounding. Needless to say, the loaned cable never went back! Further LessLoss Signature cables were installed with similar results each time, and collectively these cables had significantly improved my listening pleasure.

With the LessLoss Signature cables I felt I had reached very close to the top of the tree in terms of power cable. Satisfied I had concluded that any additional upgrade to power cables was either going to be both very subtle and expensive.

So when the new LessLoss Reference cable arrived yesterday I made the same cable switch as I had originally done, and it took me seconds to hear an immediate appreciable improvement in sound. What I first noticed was how the sound became more coherent, freer, improved spatially, the finer details in the music plucked out and less noise (very low noise floor).

It is that very low noise floor, absolute coherence that enables you to get an unprecedented insight into the recording, dragging you in and completely submerging you, making that “emotional” connection. It allows you to wind the volume up a notch, then a notch further than you would normally dare to go and the music remain intact, wholly listenable and free from hash.

I would encourage anybody to take a serious look at the LessLoss power cables. Once the noise is gone, all that's left is the music!
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DFPC Series [Reference]

Date Added: 12/03/2013 by Karl
Extraordinary!

I recently replaced two DFPC Signature power cords with a pair of DFPC Reference. These now power the Preamp and CD player. I still have DFPC Signatures powering the monoblocks. The improvement is really quite significant. Introducing just these two DFPC Reference power cords sounds better than using an $8000 line conditioner I had a few years ago. For several years now we have been using your DFPC Signature throughout the entire system. Now, having heard the new Reference power cords I would like to order two more. I have to find out what an entire system, including the pair of monoblocks, sounds like when fed by these new cords.

I don't think I can add a lot to the very insightful reviews of the DFPC Reference that have been provided by other articulate customers. I should note however that whenever people talk about the blackest of black silences little "caution flags" pop up for me. In my experience many times those black backgrounds are achieved at the expense of the subtleties and nuances which constitute the heart, soul and very life of truly extraordinary music reproduction. In short it is very easy to block out not only unwanted noise but in the process go too far and kill some of what is desirable in the music. In my opinion you have masterfully avoided this pitfall with the DFPC Reference. In fact you have not only avoided this insidious trap, but you have done what you set out to do, you have made it possible to further enhance the enjoyment of the heart and soul of extraordinary music. Congratulations!

If you have read this far and are still considering trying the DFPC Reference, I would encourage you to take the plunge. They are really something quite special.

Karl
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DFPC Series [Reference]

Date Added: 02/13/2014 by Neal
20 minutes out of the box, connected to my preamp, and I am very impressed -- and after some 40 years as an audiophile, I do not impress easily. More to follow after I experiment with different sources and longer burn-in, but there is an IMMEDIATELY audible sense of greater quietude, more natural and "present" voices, and greater, more organic instrumental detail. And the Reference cord replaced one of the stars in the PC firmament. This could be a game changer. I thought the DFPC Signature was a great PC, but the Reference is an entirely new dimension. It is also a physically beautiful cord, and aesthetics count. Kudos.
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DFPC Series [Reference]

Date Added: 03/02/2014 by Karl
Addendum to my review of 12/03/2013.

I now have all my equipment powered by DFPC Reference power cords. They were burned-in for nearly 300 hours prior to connecting them to the monoblocks. I have had two Reference feeding the CD player and preamp for several months now. Knowing what they do for the music I VERY anxiously awaited the arrival of these additional two Reference power cords. I am not disappointed. This is a real treat. I love them.

I had not expected a significant improvement because my monoblocks have always worked better without any line conditioning. From what I am hearing the DFPC Reference seem to be acting like very powerful line conditioners and not just simple power cords. I have finally found something that helps my amps............actually helps them a lot. I would say what impresses me the most is the significantly improved air, sustain and decay which of course contribute a great deal to musicality. It should be noted that bass and mids are notably improved as well.

I must admit these results were quite unexpected. What I am hearing is the kind of improvement I have previously experienced when upgrading caps in the system........not what I have heard with previous power cord changes. To my ears the improvement with everything fed by the Reference power cords is something like going from really good caps to "approaching-magical-caps". A wonderful surprise............"astonishing" would actually be a better description. I delayed sending this feedback a week or so because I wanted to be sure............and yes this really is what I am hearing. Louis and his team have come up with something quite extraordinary here.

We all know that just like building your house on a good foundation, each element of an audio system is built on the stages before it and the AC powering a system is right there in the foundation. The DFPC Reference appear to establish an astonishingly solid foundation for everything else. I would definitely encourage others to try the Reference DFPC. I felt really quite guilty about ordering these last two Reference.........especially when my wife saw the bill. I bravely defended my purchase all the while feeling that in truth I was being over-the-top extravagant. After all wasn't I likely getting 90% of the benefit of the Reference by using them on the CD Player and preamp? Well, at least in this system I would say it was more like 60% of the possible benefit. Let me repeat that and underscore it...............even though I was very impressed with the first two DFPC Reference.........."I would say it was more like 60% of the possible benefit." with only two Reference in the system. Definitely don't feel guilty now.

I also love video and editing pictures. After trying a Reference on both the TV as well as my picture editing computer monitor I had to order two more.

Karl
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DFPC Series [Reference]

Date Added: 03/11/2014 by Erick
Your DFPC Reference cables are really too good to describe.

The Reference differs greatly from the DFPC Signatures....more transparent ...more air....more details...very very good control (on high volume).

The improvements are from the bottom end to top end.

Thanks again.
Regards,
Erick
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DFPC Series [Reference]

Date Added: 05/10/2014 by Rainer Weber
I am totally stunned ​how unbelievabl​y​ good the DFPC Reference power cord is.

I installed a 2m sample to connect my Thrax Dionysos preamp and could not believe it. Everything sounds as if it​ ha​d​ more power, more dynamics​ and especially more speed and pace. On the other hand,​ also​ the tone colours are massively improved - it sounds so right!

I did not expect so much improvement on the tone colours but it must be due to less power line interference and modulation with the music.

The staging is deeper and more 3D and the clarity on the stage extremes (back and sides) is hugely better. Now you can easily identify what is going on on the very far end (side and back).

I can not ​​higher​​ recommend a cable like this one and will try to swap more cables into my system.

PS:
My old cable (which was outperfo​​r​med by the DPFC Ref​erence​) is in the price​ ​range of 7000 Euro. ​​​DPFC Ref​erence​ is a real deal.

All the best​,​

Rainer Weber
Techn​i​cal Director Kaiser Acoustics
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DFPC Series [Reference]

Date Added: 07/06/2014 by Anthony C
As a user of the Devialet D Premier dac/amp, I am pleased I purchased the DFPC reference cable.

It wasn't that I set out to make a general system upgrade - but that's what I got, I'm glad to report.
I had originally sought to cure certain treble distortions and thinness of sound by introducing some tone control for added warmth through cabling changes. I had a headache about what to do for the best.

Happily Mr Motek stepped in with some gentle 're-education' on the difficulties of putting our perceptions into words in any meaningful way - and the absurdity of tone controls. So I flashed the plastic.

Ever-sceptical, I confess it was more in trepidation than excitement [oh what fun we have] that I hooked up the Reference PC. I needn't have worried. The result was wonderfully portrayed music - just so much better in every aspect than I heard [even] on the £500 cable I had in my system.

As to the aforementioned treble issues, it didn't disappear, but at least I know where to look for the cure.
I am taking a long, hard look at the source, [MacBook Pro SSD] and the good news is the Mr Motek with his vast experience has offered to assist. Can't say any fairer than that! Anthony C.
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DFPC Series [Reference]

Date Added: 10/17/2014 
Today I use the LessLoss Reference power cord, and to be quite honest, I do not think this product has serious competition. I'm using it with Devialet. It is so much better than anything else I've tried!
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DFPC Series [Signature] [Reference]

Date Added: 10/17/2014 by Algis and friends
Over several days and at different times during burn in, I hosted an intensive power cord shootout in my prime listening room. My room was custom built according to plans drawn up by our best local acousticians. The dimensions of the room are acoustically generous. After acoustical modeling with specialized software, repeated measurements were made during different phases of the building and installation process, to ensure that real-world results indeed follow.

This space is some 6.5m wide, 10m long, and 5m high (21 ft. wide, 33 ft. long, 16.5 ft. high) in size. The side walls are not parallel, nor the front and back walls. The structural ceiling is actually some 1.5m above the acoustical ceiling one sees in the picture. The walls, too, are acoustically purpose-built structures built some 1m in from the actual carrying walls. It's really a venue for the top possible reproduction of comprehensible, intelligible and controlled sound.

I'm a life-long audiophile. I've gone through myriad changes to my systems throughout the years. In this one, I spent the past 10 years fine tuning the interplay between the various components. Special attention was given to the equipment stands/feet as well as to cabling.

We compared six fine power cords:

#1: Atlas Eos from Scotland
#2: Nordost Valhalla upgraded with Oyaide 004 connectors.
#3: LessLoss DFPC Signature
#4: Siltech Ruby Double Crown
#5: LessLoss DFPC Reference
#6: Nordost Odin

In terms of price (least to most expensive):

#1: Atlas Eos (246 USD)
#3: DFPC Signature (1149 USD)
#5: DFPC Reference (1824 USD)
#2: Nordost Valhalla (5800 USD)
#4: Siltech Ruby Double Crown (13,500 USD)
#6: Nordost Odin (19,600 USD)

Upon first listen of the DFPC Reference, without any burn in, our first impression was promising. We decided to connect it somewhere to burn in for about four days without further listening for the time being.

In the meantime, the Nordost Odin and Valhalla, the Siltech Ruby Double Crown, the Atlas Eos, and the DFPC Signature were already all burned in long before and had been part and parcel of my system for years. Their sonic characters were intimately known to my group of friends, and recognizable on different pieces of gear throughout the system. We've been listening here together for years.

After four days of burn-in, now in direct comparison with the DFPC Signature, we found the DFPC Reference obviously superior. So superior, that it only took the first couple of notes in the music to clearly tell. This opinion did not waver throughout the evening.

After the next few days, what became apparent was that the DFPC Reference burns in differently than any other cable we tried previously. It seems that even after 8-10 days, an unmistakable evolution in the sound quality was still being perceived. Presumably this has to do with its very low noise floor, which is immediately evident.

After this second, longer interval of burn-in, our comparisons began in earnest. First, special attention was given to draw comparisons between the DFPC Signature and the new DFPC Reference. It (the Ref) gave a huge leap forward in terms of dynamics, lowered noise floor, and the fact that individual instruments seem to free themselves more than ever from one another. At first with the DFPC Reference, it seemed that the sound was somewhat lighter in character, but it also revealed during the course of the evening to be still morphing into more colorful tonalities, even after the 2 weeks of burn-in before. We decided to keep burning it in for another few days before comparing to all the others. Also, this would give our local group time to organize the arrival of more listeners from Berlin, Riga, and Kiev.

21 Days In

Finally, after three weeks of burn in, everyone felt that the performance of the DFPC Reference had settled. It was now time to compare to all the others. It was an unambiguous result: the DFPC Reference topped all our other cables.

When the Odin was introduced, it seemed at first that its dynamic characteristics were better than those of the DFPC Reference, but through a constant coloration of those dynamics, we found ultimately to be less organically musical and more harsh and irritating in sound. We decided to keep the Odin in the system and give it a longer listen. Fatigue set in. Switching back to the DFPC Reference, the music now sounded more organically musical, had more color and emotional content. So we decided unambiguously that the DFPC Reference topped the list! And we lost no detail.

On subsequent days, we tried the DFPC Reference on various pieces of equipment (DAC, CDP, amps), and it proved its excellence regardless of what gear it was powering.

If anybody would like to hear how the DFPC Reference sounds, they are welcome to come over for a comparison with the Odin, and you'll find it sounds better than the Odin. And we are talking about a 1:12 difference in price.

In my main system I also use the LessLoss Tunnelbridge.

Algis
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LessLoss History From the Very Beginnings

LessLoss started its business on Audiogon in late 2007. Within the first couple of month, word about LessLoss spread like wildfire among Audiogon members. Here is the feedback received from our clients during our first year of operation. This is from even before we had our own website.

Louis is one of the best in the business, truly professional and very fast production and delivery. I am very satisfied by your superb service. Many thanks.

Positive by Buyer Sebastian (135) on 07-29-2008

Excellent transaction with Lessloss on dynamic filtering power cord. Good communications & fast shipping. A+++++

Positive by Buyer Sennett (45) on 07-03-08

Bought 3 pc's from Liudas in Jan/08. Outstanding product as advertised. Performance is everything and more than I expected. Kudos to Lessloss cable for a great product. Very highly recommended...A+++

Positive by Buyer Phillykid (33) on 06-19-08

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