HiDIAMOND D4
text and photo: Marko Pecotic, January 2016
product: HiDiamond D4 power cable
manufacturer: HiDiamond S.R.L., Italy [www.hidiamond.eu]
price: 2 meters = approx 2.400 EUR
This is HiDiamond's top of the line reference power cable. The D4 power cable has conductors that are an alloy of copper and graphite. The cable was made with a 4VRC proprietary technology, which refers to a copper that's cooked four times at different temperatures in order to obtain the reduction of the values of inductance, capacitance and resistance (as the folks at HiDiamond say, most other manufacturers use a two times cooked copper). During this cooking process the copper becomes cleaner, until it reaches the almost 100% purity.
All the actions regarding the conductor processing (copper cleaning, spiral geometry making etc) are made using professional machines, and during that process the copper gets mixed with graphite.
This cable is available in 1.5 meters, 2 meters, 2.5 meters and higher lengths. And this is the right approach, it's good that lengths shorter than 1.5 meters are not available, because (too) short power cables should to be avoided. Power cords are not like speaker cables and interconnects where shorter is better. Power cords are a sort of a filter that'll not work good if the cable is too short, so any length shorter than, say 1.5 meters will degrade the effectiveness of the shielding and filtering capabilities.
The phase is not marked, you should rotate the female connector into the D letter and use the screwdriver with lightbulb, the phase is the lower hole.
Sound quality
I've tested this cable in two different Hi-Fi systems (the first system was on the open side, the other was warmer) in order to get to know it from different corners. As the manufacturer says, this cable needs like 200-300 working hours to fully burn in. The cable was sent for a review directly from the manufacturer.
Forget the pictures, they can't tell you enough, in reality, this cable looks like a million dollars, it's a big-toys-for-big-boys category.
Apart from being massive, thick and visually impressive, this cable also requires, say half a meter of space behind the rack. Due to its' massiveness and weight, the male side of the cable will slightly hang from the wall socket, however, during the reviewing not once did it fall out of the socket.
A frequently asked question is: will a certain power cable work better with amplifiers or with sources? I've tested this cable with both CD players and amplifiers, the sound improvements were clearly audible both with sources and amplifiers.
This is a cable with an excellent sound quality (so is the price). With this cable in my system, the sound flew into a new dimension, becoming richer and more of a higher quality in all aspects. In general, this cable will best fit into neutral, open and bright Hi-Fi systems, I would not recommend plugging it into warmer sounding systems.
One of the very first things that strikes the eye is the size of the sound that this cable will deliver. However, this is not the artificially increased soundstage (no loudness effect), it's more about system's ability to breath more easily. This cable will provide a clearer insight into all parts of the soundstage. The stage itself is well organized (focus), it's not blurred.
It is not only impressive the size of the soundstage, but also what's inside that soundstage, the richness and fullness. The music sounds very dense and rich, sort of like a dense weaving. Each note has its' fullness and almost physically palpable weight. The details are there, they're not covered with a blanket, although in general, the midrange and treble area should be a bit clearer.
Next thing, closely related to the previous paragraph, is the sound coherency that is there inside the soundstage. The cable will not emphasize the left or right channel, it will rather deliver the sound as a whole. The coherency between channels, with no holes in the center of the soundstage. The homogeneity of the sound instead of separating sound into a series of desultory details. The details are there, but they are not in the forefront.
The sound is settled, coherent and balanced. Settled like healthy, not aggressive sound. Settled, but not boring, dull or blurred. Settled like a sound that'll put the thing into their place, settled like a sound that's not assailant or artificial. This cable will not emphasize any part of the frequency spectrum. It will not insist on bringing out the inner-details or microdynamics, at the same time it will deliver great (macro)dynamics.
How does a grand piano sound like? It sounds - grand. How big will the soundstage be, that's entirely dependent on the quality of the recording. The cable will clearly show (lighten) the space behind the piano. The grand piano sound is clear and dynamically thrilling. The piano keys are not glassy, dry or thin. The body of the piano is palpable, large and full. In general, the sound of the piano is clean, clear and healthy, without information being added or taken away, with excellent sustain. The highest piano keys are not clearly shown, they have a shorter sustain.
Bass area (bass pedal, floor tom, double bass) is deep, palpable, fast and agile, at the same time voluminous. It's that full and juicy bass, bass with plenty of punch and attack.
Snare drum has a great body, with a clear definition and destinction of each hit of a stick. At the same time, the drum snare wire lacks a little bit more sustain.
Large choirs recorded in a cathedral sound - large. Male vocals sound grand and clear. Particulary impressive is the ability of this cable to clearly display the space behind the choir. Due to a mild closed middle area, this cable will not insist on bringing out the sibilants or addind the irritating presens. The breath of the catedral (and the tape hiss) that is heard in the first few seconds - before the choir begans to sing - is clearly audible. The choir sounds big, opulent, rich, dynamicly convincingly.
Conclusion
This cable has a very good performance at the price, my final score is 8/10.