Cable Asylum: REVIEW: Audience powerChord Cable by Rod M

I've tried different power cables on my DR-9 amp in the past and none did much for me. While there were differences, the impact on my preamp and other components were more noticeable and worthwhile. I came to the conclusion that maybe it just wasn't too picky or had a power supply that was less sensitive to cords. Enter the powerCord from audience. Richard asked me to try one so I obliged.

The cord is your typical audiophile approved fat snake with a hubbel connector on one end and wattgate on the other. Unlike some cables, it's fairly flexible. I plugged it in and forgot it.

Yesterday, I persuaded a friend to help me move things around and do an A/B comparison with the stock Belden type cord. We listened to one cut of Jackson Browne and then I switched back to the stock cord. Danny's first comment, 'What did you do?' I changed the power cord. 'No! I don't believe it', says he.

With the stock cord, the music was decidedly flatter and sounded more compressed. On 'These Days', Jackson's voice was noticeably not as deep and took on a rough edge. The music was somewhat coarse and irregular, chaotic if you will, like instruments playing but not together.

Ok, let's switch back. Immediately, the pace was more musical. The rough edge was gone and voices were sweeter and smoother. While richer, the sound was more natural with more body. The bass took on a seemingly more powerful sound with more energy. It was also more defined and controlled. The music in general seemed to blend into a deliberately molded whole with a delicate laying of the sound. Where it was chaotic before, images and instruments become rock solid in their space and overall coherency was restored. Dynamics improved especially micro dynamics.

Moving up into the treble, the first impression was that the sound was a bit softer but more natural. Concentrating on the cymbal and snare, the drum kit has moved back in space. The cymbal had both the splash and the decay and was anchored in space where before it was uncontrolled and at odds with the music adding a rough edge. The treble generally was more delicate, smoother and more musical with the powerCord. The sound fill became complimentary, instruments playing together rather than disjointed sounds.

My friend Danny, after picking up his jaw from the table, was amazed that a simple powercord could make that kind of difference. I too hadn't expected the difference to be quite so obvious. Danny's final comment, 'It's like listening to two different stereos'.

Highly recommended.

REVIEW: Audience powerChord Cable Review by Rod M at Audio Asylum