The other day I was thinking about what Mark Coles (Sablon Audio) had told me about how a quality AC power cord noticeably improved the sound of a turntable.
Improving a system's sound by using a high-performance AC power cord on the turntable wasn't an intuitive hot-rod mod for me, and I sort of wondered if I added a high-performance power cord if I would even be able to hear an audible difference, given it was just providing AC to the turntable motor.
It was a bit of a moot point for me anyways, because I really didn't have enough room behind my turntable to fit a jumbo-sized high-performance power cord.
The Acoustic Revive RAS-14 TripleC NCF Power Conditioner.
Then I got to thinking about the Acoustic Revive RAS-14-TripleC NCF Power Stabilizer that I reviewed back in Positive Feedback Issue 91.
The RAS-14 TripleC NCF AC power conditioner is an interesting device, as it looks a bit like a short high-performance power cord, but it is really a hybrid device that melds the performance concepts of the Acoustic Revive RTP Absolute NCF power distributors, which use a combination of vibrational dissipation and passive AC filtration that is achieved through clever applications of materials science, and the Power Reference TripleC NCF AC power cables, which are ultra-performance AC power cables.
Unlike a jumbo-sized high-performance AC power cord, while ogling the space behind my turntables I realized the RAS-14 TripleC NCF AC power conditioner was small enough to fit.
Generic AC power cord that came with my Artisan Fidelity Thorens TD-124 Statement turntable.
Also, after I reviewed the RAS-14 TripleC NCF AC power conditioner Ken Ishiguro told me I should try it with a generic power cord, he thought I'd be impressed with how it could transform a generic power cord into a high-performance power cord, like the one that came with my Artisan Fidelity TD-124 Statement turntable (above).
Trying the Acoustic Revive RAS-14 TripleC NCF AC power conditioner seemed like the perfect opportunity to put both Mark Coles and Ken Ishiguro's suggestions to the test!
Johnny Cash's Solitary Man.
I put Johnny Cash's Solitary Man on the Thorens and gave it a listen.
Then I added the Acoustic Revive RAS-14 TripleC NCF AC power conditioner to the generic power cord of the Thorens and gave it another listen.
The Acoustic Revive RAS-14 TripleC NCF AC power conditioner on the Thoren's generic power cord.
Well, it turns out that both Mark and Ken were exactly right, as adding the Acoustic Revive RAS-14 TripleC NCF AC power conditioner yielded an easily audible difference.
Overall, it's like a veil was removed from the music of Solitary Man. There's more clarity and apparent detail, more of a sense of space, better dynamics, and Johnny Cash's voice sounds more present and "real" in the room.
Timbral textures are more apparent, and there's more musically meaningful nuance in timbre, tone color, dynamics, melodies, and interestingly, the music even sounds a little louder.
I was impressed enough with the result that I grabbed my previous version of the RAS-14 and putt it on my Garrard, which you can see in the photo above, but it's a little blurry.
I'll cut to the chase and tell you the result was much the same on the Garrard, with everything improving musically & sonically, in the same sort of way a high-performance power cord does for a preamplifier or amplifier.
Acoustic Revive RAS-14-TripleC NCF Power Conditioner.
Acoustic Revive RAS-14 TripleC NCF plug end.
Acoustic Revive RAS-14 TripleC NCF plug end.
If you want to read more about the Acoustic Revive RAS-14 TripleC NCF AC power conditioner, you can read my article in Positive Feedback Issue 91.
I'm rather impressed how well the RAS-14's worked to improve overall sonics & musicality of my turntables, it was much more than what I was expecting!
As always, thanks for stopping by, and may the tone be with you!
