I have been thinking about power conditioning for awhile and with most everything we receive various info, so yesterday I went in to my dealers shop to replace a defective toslink cable and they sent home with me a Transparent power cord ($199.) and Power Bank 6 ($599.) to play with. I had recently unplugged the toslink when I switched out my processor and when hooking it back up it would not keep a lock on the signal. I was surprised that one could go bad or be damaged so easily.

First off let me say I do not believe that power of suggestion crap. At least it isn't true for me, I do not want to spend more money on anything than I have to. I try to be open minded and objective. Before, trying these products I didn't think the power cord would make any difference. I expected the P6 to have some effect because everyone raves about power conditioning and the improvement it can make.

Here's what I found. I started with the cord because it was less hassle to unplug one at a time oppose to several components. I put the power cord on my cd player first. I dropped in Nora Jones. I listened to it with my stock cord first and then switched to the Transparent. I was surprised to hear it made a nice improvement. I thought my cd player, a Krell 280cd, sounded good before but with the upgraded power cord the presentation was more natural sounding and added a warmth to the recording. In comparison Nora's voice glared on the stock cord. Piano and cymbals smoothed out with the upgrade. The recording seemed to be more lively and much more enjoyable. I wouldn't say there was more detail, I just think the background was quieter so the detail was more evident. I tried the cord on my amp but then had to put the stock cord back on the cdp. The difference with the amp was more subtle. I want to get another cord so I can listen with one on the cdp while I compare cords on the amp. I haven't had time yet but I plan to also listen for improvements on my phono preamp with an upgraded cord. I spent a lot of time going back and forth with these cords on my cdp because I couldn't believe what I was hearing. A power cord, can, make a difference. Maybe by the time I got to putting the cord on my amp I was fatigued or maybe the impact is more noticeable on smaller signals.

Now to the P6. This is a power strip with 6 outlets and is supposed to clean the power signal as well as provide surge protection. I plugged my amp and cdp into it. I was thinking maybe this will do what the power cord done and I only have to buy this unit and can plug 6 components into it. Well, think again. The change I thought I heard was subtle and to me seemed to degrade the sound slightly. The P6 can handle 15 amps so I don't know what to attribute my results to. It seemed to take some of the punch out of the bass, the sound stage got further away and I had to listen harder for subtle details. This is the opposite of what I was supposed to hear, right?

My conclusion, the power cord is on my cd player and will remain there. The P6 is going back to the store. And I plan to see if the power cord upgrade helps any of my other components. I'm really looking forward to putting it on my AcousTech phono stage to see what happens.