Oyaide L/i15 Figure-8 (IEC C7) Power Cable Review: How Does It Sound?

At the Yahoo! Shopping sale on 24th March 2008, I ended up buying the Oyaide figure-8 power cable L/i15dpc — two of them, in fact.

The L/i15dpc is a long-running Oyaide product released in 2001, and at the time it was one of the very few power cables built to the C7 standard (figure-8 plug) specifically for audio use. Back then, figure-8 power cables marketed for high-quality sound were almost nonexistent, and sourcing parts for a DIY build was a question mark too — quite a different world from recent years, where the range of products has expanded and DIY has become much easier. The conductor is OFC, if I recall correctly. The early version came with gold-plated plugs, but a minor revision later switched these to rhodium-plated plugs. The one I got is the rhodium-plated type. (Note: After this, the conductor was changed, and the cable went through further minor revisions — to the L/i15 EMX with PCOCC conductor in 2010, and then to the L/i15 EMX V2 with “102 SSC” conductor in 2017.)

The appearance is, well… honestly, it puts me in mind of a kotatsu power cord. The green is rather attractive, but the plugs have a distinctly Showa-era domestic-appliance feel to them, giving the whole thing a rather old-fashioned air. It is an extremely flexible, floppy power cable that is very easy to route around, and from what I gather the successor model L/i15 EMX is similarly floppy despite using PCOCC.

The sound of the L/i15dpc also strikes me as Showa in character — warm, soft, slightly narrow in range, and natural, with a quality that is hard to come by in the thin, hi-res-style Hi-Fi sound of today. Sense of speed and information density are on the restrained side, though the rhodium plating seems to ensure a minimum of clarity and definition, so overall it is an unassuming, self-effacing cable that is easy to live with. I have been using it for many years on my CD-R recorder MARANTZ CDR630 and FM tuner DENON TU-1500N. With older-design audio equipment, pairing it with a modern wide-range, high-resolution cable tends to dilute the flavour of the original sound, so matching the right cable to the right component does matter. The successor L/i15 EMX uses a PCOCC conductor, so I imagine it is cleaner and more forceful — more conventionally Hi-Fi in character (though I have never done a direct comparison).

OYAIDE L/i 15 EMX V2 1.8m 電源ケーブル

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PCOCC is no longer available from its manufacturer (Furukawa Electric), so the L/i15 series was redesigned from 2017 as the new L/i15 EMX V2. I do wonder what the sound will be like with the 102 SSC conductor in its place. Contrary-minded Hi-Fi enthusiasts — myself included — tend to want something the moment it is discontinued, so the outgoing L/i15 EMX may well attract a modest premium before long.

小柳出電気商会 メガネ型パワーケーブル 1.8m d+Power Cable C7/1.8

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Below it in the range is the more affordable moulded-body NEO by Oyaide d+ Power Cable C7. Either cable should prove handy for giving a quick one-notch improvement in playback quality to PC audio systems, Blu-ray recorders, DVD recorders and players, mini systems, and the like — all devices that cannot accept a full-size three-pin power cable. Even on something like a BOSE Wave Music System or a similar all-in-one, the difference is quite audible, so personally I consider it something of an essential.