Ice Age Audio Series “The FrankenCable” by Greg Voth

At the suggestion of Positive Feedback Magazine’s Stu McCreary, Rick Parker, the owner of Ice Age Audio, LLC (IAA), reached out to Stereo Times to ask whether we might consider reviewing some of his products. I was fortunate to have been offered the task. After bouncing back and forth on the required cable lengths, Parker and I had a phone conversation shortly thereafter.

A father-and-son maker of affordable cables, Ice Age Audio, tried to break into the High-End TV market, offering Cryo-treated TV power cords and HDMI cables. Parker then pivoted to include power cords and interconnects, adding other specialized cables as they gained traction. One of the few audio makers to offer sleeving and shrink-wrap color options with a product purchase, Ice Age found its niche as user demand increased and repeat customers were willing to wait on a waiting list.

Rick Parker is the founder of Ice Age Audio and the designer of its product line. He has been in the hobby for 45 years, and in the industry for the past 14. Parker spent over 5 years studying the two cable makers he admired, experimenting with various wire offerings and configurations before settling on the wire he chose to build his product line. With a cryogenic supplier located just down the road, it was “a no-brainer” to include such tech with his offerings. To this day, Ice Age remains the only cable manufacturer Industrial Cryogenic Engineering works with, offering a proprietary cryo-treatment process. Their Cryo Treatment facility has a reputation of being a cut above in the Cryo industry, offering better performance.

The Ice Age business model was built with his son Brodie’s participation in mind. A stickler for detail, he currently assembles 80% of Ice Age orders. Parker is very proud of his offspring’s work ethic. Orders are filled with the pair working together in their large at-home operation. When Parker came up with a more demanding configuration, he ran the idea by Brodie, who, frankly, wanted nothing to do with it, as the design demanded days of stripping long lengths of wire. When offered considerably higher pay for his time on those cables, his son enthusiastically came on board, jumping at the opportunity to earn more.

Product Line

All Ice Age Audio (IAA) OFC Series products are constructed from Cryo-treated, soft-drawn, solid-core, 99.9999% pure oxygen-free copper wire made in the USA. The OFC Series Power Cable, aka “The FrankenCable,” under review has the purchase option of standard body (metal) or black plastic plug body (discounted), the difference being visual and monetary, as performance is identical, according to Parker.

IAA’s power cables are available in both 15- and 20-amp versions, with pure-copper RCA jacks and a pure-copper plug set. They offer both their affordable entry-level Copper-Copper Plastic Bodied power cable hardware and the FrankenCable/OFC model under review, as well as a more expensive but still very affordable Silver-Silver US Aluminum Body built from their 10-gauge silver-plated copper wire, with an aluminum body, Silver Plug Set using a U.S. Male Plug and C-13 IEC. Ice Age’s balanced cables have gold-plated male hardware. Their Cryo-Treated Oxygen-Free Copper HDMI cable is gold-plated at both ends.

The store features many national/international plug types, including US, EU Schuko, AU, and UK hardware and cable variants of Copper-Copper, Copper-Silver, Copper Rhodium, and Silver-Silver. The plug body choices range from the affordable plastic to aluminum or carbon fiber. The online Ice Age store also has USB A-B and USB A-C cables, video-tv-gaming cables, and DIY products, and will soon offer instrument cables. An HDMI V2.1-8K cable is also available.

Cable Treatment and Ice Age Choices

Quoting from the Ice Age Audio site, “We offer Cryo Treated Audiophile and Videophile Power Cords and Accessories [… in their] ‘No Smoke-N-Mirrors’ product line. As we like to say, a product that works, at a fair price.” The business has grown and expanded into new products and categories, thanks to a growing customer base. Continuing, “All of the products offered on the Ice Age Audio site have been run through their Proprietary Cryo Treatment Process. Cryo Treating is a Metal Treatment Process [that] alters the Metals Structure, allowing a Signal or Current to flow with less resistance. The end result is Larger Sound Stage, improved performance, Less Noise, Better Sound, Better Picture.” [Capitalizations, theirs]. Ice Age offers customers a choice of cable-sleeving colors: black, denim blue, beige, gray, or carbon. All include additional black heat shrink on plugs, etc., except their denim blue sleeving, which offers blue shrink.

Burn In

It was recommended that I put 200 hours on the FrankenCable/OFC cables before any serious listening. To that end, I stumbled on a forum post about the Hagerman FryCorder2 ($199.00) and clicked the link, where I purchased one immediately, planning to burn in each power cable before installing them in my main system. I’ve alternated burning in the Ice Age power cables with my own, one by one, or 2 at a time if they’re very short (in series, not in parallel). I ordered two more FrankenCable/OFC power cables from Ice Age, which arrived promptly (thanks, Rick), to give my system a more realistic sense of what the cables do en masse.

The FryCorder2 sends frequency sweeps through the wall-connected power cable, enhancing its performance in days rather than weeks without engaging every component of the system. A yellow LED indicator flashes, mimicking the frequency changes as the FryCorder2 operates. I had bought the FryCorder2, unaware of the company’s other products. My brother-in-law, Tim, investigated Hagerman Technologies further and found that they also make the FryBaby3 device ($289) for burning RCA, XLR, and speaker cables, components, and headphones. As well as phono stages, buffers, accessories, and kits (https://hagerman-audio-labs.myshopify.com).

The FryBaby3 comes with a pair of speaker cable adapters. Extra speakers and XLR adapters are available for purchase if one wishes to burn in a pair simultaneously. Accessories to adapt the FryBaby3’s AC power supply for use in other countries are also included with the purchase of the unit. On the Hagerman Audio Labs site, customer responses extol the virtues of both devices, even when used on cables that have been in a system for years.

When my wife asked what I’d like for Christmas, I quickly responded, “A FryBaby3.” Thanks, Santa! Burn-in efforts continued throughout the holiday season and into February 2026.

A week into the new year, as electricians continued upgrading the wiring in the loft, I gave myself another audio gift: having them add a second single-duplex receptacle to my solo audio circuit, allowing me to keep my power amp between the speakers while connecting with a 3-foot power cable. Completed, I banished my long 10-gauge cryo’d power cable to a basement drawer.

Since this review has become a primer on the Hagerman burn-in devices, I’ll share a couple of tips. One: info on the site suggests that silver cables take twice as long to burn in as copper cables – I take this to mean both solid silver and silver-plated cables. They suggest a minimum burn-in of 48 hours for copper cables. Two, if you have a mix of both balanced and unbalanced cables, buy two XLR adapters with the FryBaby3, not just one. You can use an RCA cable between each XLR adapter in both Voltage and Current modes to accelerate the burn-in of your cable collection. Male-to-male adapters can also be used to connect the XLR adapters to the FryBaby3 if all your cables are balanced. Keep in mind that these balanced adapters have exposed circuit boards, so handle them with care, especially when plugging in and removing cables.

A Full Loom

I chose 100 hours of burn-in as a compromise for critical listening. With the preamplifier, DAC, Memory Player, amplifier and speakers all connected with Ice Age power cables, and balanced and unbalanced ICs, save my 19 foot run of balanced from the preamp to the power amplifier (Anti-Cable Level 4.1 solid silver XLR), and using an OFC Series RCA Interconnect as a coaxial cable from he Memory Player, I was now ready for some well-deserved listening sessions. I’ll be using Tekton Double Impacts, as usual.

When Parker asked whether all of his FrankenCable/OFC cables were now in my system for review, noting that a full loom would offer the best sound, I admitted that a couple of my cables were still in service. I found it hard to ask Ice Age to provide a length as unique as my AntiCable 4.1 balanced interconnects at 19 feet; these silver reference-grade cables reach from my preamplifier to my power amp, which sits 14 feet or so away. Parker then said, “If we’re going to do this, let’s do it right.” True to his word, the balanced cables were shipped promptly, two days later. A massive snowfall in January prevented their prompt delivery, but they did arrive.

I found yet another cable to replace and installed a 3-foot Ice Age OFC 3-footer with a Voodoo 20A to 15A adapter between the Puritan PMS 156 and the wall, rather than using the stock “Ultimate” 20A to 15A power cable that came with the Puritan, making certain this loom was entirely Ice Age OFC Series product.

Listening

The initial impression of visitors hearing some of the Ice Age cables mixed in with my own during an early listening session was enthusiastic, as all the cables used were burned-in or consistently used in my system for years. This presentation was rendered very musically, with ample bass, dynamics aplenty, and snappy transients and air. Listeners visiting were duly impressed by the Naiu Laboratory GmbH Ella MKIII amplifier driving the Tekton Double Impacts. At 24 hours of burn-in of the last power cable delivered, I began a short listening session using my SBS S2 Pro Class AB amp. The attributes heard of note were: extended soundstage, instrumental warmth, added separation and detail, and air. Instruments had a denser presence, with the overall stage dimensions wider, deeper, and taller. I then plugged the cable back into the FryCorder and continued burn-in.

At 92 hours of burn-in, that task was nearly complete. Further burn-in had wrought accents and shimmers of sound which floated both around and well above the Double Impacts. This texturally rich presentation delivered a well-balanced, deeply satisfying soundscape, with low frequencies woven through the music with elegance and weight. This full loom of Ice Age Audio cables and cords delivered a lovely and inviting presentation. At 96+ hours, I started listening to specific tracks critically, first using my SBS S2 Pro power amplifier. I returned to Nik Bärtsch’s work, specifically his Ronin Rhythm Clan’s 2024 release, “Moonday” (Ronin Rhythm Records). Modul 22 delivered a rhythmic feast – a bass-driven groove with complex rhythms, quick transients, and ample dynamic drive. Well-grounded in PRAT, it felt like the system was, itself, enthusiastic and determined to please! As the song progressed, the bass clarinet growled, and the trombone brayed with urgency, well rendered in our large physical loft space. Instrument delineation was superb, and the transients actually surprised me.

When listening to Ibrahim and Ekaya’s Calypso Minor, from 2011’s “Sotho Blue“ (Sunnyside Communications), now through the Ella MkIII power amplifier, time seemed to literally slow down, allowing me to appreciate the sound quality more, a truly wonderful distraction. Timbre was more refined, horns were rounder and warmer, and bass possessed more dynamic and punch. As good as the SBS S2 Pro amp is, listening with the Ella MkIII delivered a richer picture. The space between instruments expanded, and the stage grew deeper.

Untitled#1, from Phonesis’ 2007 “Organic Warfare“ (Jasper Høiby), opened in a big way, with the stage deep, width plentiful, and the trio’s delivery glorious. Quickened transient response caught my attention. What a tight unit they are! Moving on to the title track, I really appreciated the spatial cues, as the band members’ telepathy kept their musical thoughts flowing. The drums were particularly well-recorded on this one, with the drummer’s ticks, taps, and pops emanating explosively from center stage.

Eric Bibb’s latest, “One Mississippi“ (2026 Repute Records), is a texturally gorgeous and expansive album, presenting a large stage both between and beyond the speakers. The instruments and vocals are rendered with care, and the mix is acoustically intriguing, in part due to the care taken in crafting this loom of Ice Age cables. With this OFC Series’ use of cry-treated oxygen-free copper, Ice Age Audio has delivered a noticeable sonic improvement to my reference rig.

Viewing

I installed the Ice Age HDMI V2.1 2-meter cable from my cable box to our LG 55-inch TV and was immediately met with a sharper, somewhat denser, and more realistic picture.

The Wrap

There is no doubt that the performance of my system has been enhanced and elevated to another level by this full loom of OFC Series Ice Age Audio power cords and cables. Early on in this review, Parker asked if I thought the Ice Age cables would be staying in my rig, and I can now confirm that they will be, but with the likely return of the Grand Activation SP-2000 speaker cables ($2500 a pair, review to come), experienced just before beginning this fruitful assignment. That’s not to say the Ice Age Audio speaker cables are lacking (they’re lovely); the Grand Activation speaker cables are a wholly different, more costly product.

If you’re in the market for high-quality, affordable power cords, interconnects, and speaker cables, consider the Ice Age OFC Series.

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Specifications:

Product reviewed: Ice Age Audio FrankenCable/OFC Series Power Cables, OFC Series Speaker Cables, OFC Series RCA and XLR Interconnects, and HDMI cables

Prices:

* US Power Cable FrankenCable/OFC 15Amp and 20Amp lengths start at 18”. A 3-ft. length is $229.95 (plastic body), and a 6-ft. length is $289.95 (plastic body) as reviewed. Other lengths available. Add +$30.00 per cable for Standard Metal body.

* OFC Series RCA Interconnects start at $175.00 for a 3-foot pair, $235.00 for a 6-foot pair, etc. Other lengths available.

* OFC Series XLR Interconnects start at $225.00 for a 3-foot pair. Other lengths available.

* OFC Series Speaker Cables start at $250.00 for a 3-ft. Pair and $530.00 for a 10-foot pair. Other lengths available.

* HDMI Cable V2.1-8K starts at $39.95 for a 3-foot length, $49.95 for a 6-foot length. Other lengths available.

Note: There is a $50.00 minimum order to receive FREE DOMESTIC SHIPPING within the USA. Please check the Ice Age website for their International shipping requirements.

Custom Lengths and custom cables are available upon request.

Contact:
Rick Parker
Ice Age Audio, LLC
Traverse City, Michigan
Website: https://iceageaudio.com
Email: rick@iceageaudio.com