Getting Started

We begin with the Audioquest Powerquest 3 which is beautifully made and comes with a solid fixed power cord. The Powerquest 3 is a versatile power filter with as many as eight connections based on the ‘Ground Noise Dissipation System’ from the more expensive series.

This system is actually a combination of various filtering techniques that ensure that power contamination does not get a chance. Two connectors are specifically designed for video and TV and two others for heavy duty power amplifiers or subwoofers.

In addition, there are four regular connections for sources and the like. Additionally, there are four USB ports for charging a cell phone, for example. As if that were not enough, there is also a special safety system that kicks in when there are sudden excessive peaks or when there are problems with the mains.

With the Powerquest in the system we mainly experience more calmness in the reproduction. Nothing shocking but audible, especially when you take it out again.

Time for the most expensive cables. The digital Diamond aes/ebu and coax cables look great but will they deliver. These cables are made of silver and in addition to the DBS technology have also been given the ‘Perfect Surface’ technology which is supposed to minimize distortion. Immediately a number of things are clearly noticeable. Fortunately, because these beauties cost more than one grand each!

We take our notes. Livelier, more direct but also fresher we see. Fresh, however, is here without a negative connotation. There is just more detail and openness. And that takes some getting used to. Every element in the system is exposed and inferior recordings are more easily detected. On the Atc’s there is now even more insight and openness. Pure music as we would describe it. These are fine cables but certainly not cheap.

Time for the analog Water cables from the Elements series. We tested these cables earlier in our multi-test on the system in Haarlem. Hmmm, this is trickier. We don’t necessarily hear an improvement, it does sound different. We decide to connect the Supra Sword next to the Audioquest Water to the HPA4. In a direct comparison the differences are minimal What we do work out is that the the Water cable is just a bit more forgiving with sharper vocals than the Sword.

The tweeter of our ATCs exposes the least amount of sharpness and harshness and the Sword does not disguise this. The Water seems a bit friendlier without losing detail. In fact, we can’t put it any better than how colleague Harro Tillema put it a few years ago:

The Water has a warm, polished character and gives ambiance to the recordings. The soundstage is deep, wide and spacious. The warm character gives voice and instrument body and authority. The whole thing comes alive. Despite the slightly warm character of the interlink, the Water shows a lot of micro detail. Musical, easy, pleasant and above all clean; as healthy water should be.

Finally, we connect the Monsoon to the Morpheus. We know that the NRG-1000 (no longer in production) gets more out of this dac and are curious whether this Monsoon also brings an audible step.

It certainly does! Everything sounds even tighter and the whole thing is a bit more detached from the speakers. Great! Let’s connect a normal power cord again to be sure. Check. Everyone can hear this. On the HPA4 we hear it too but on the AHB2 we notice no difference. Not every device is equally sensitive to a different power cord

Tabula Rasa

We put our test list on repeat a few times and listen carefully. Some tracks we use to hear if sharp s-sounds are turned on, others for placement and soundstage. Still others to test the low end. After a few hours of listening, hard work we have anyway, we replace all cables and unplug the Powerquest. Let’s see what that gives us. Honestly, it is not too bad. The set was already well on point. But still. We especially miss the peace and flow we had with the Audioquest cables. In addition, it is a little less sparkling. The Atc’s still let through a lot but it is different. A little more direct and a little less loose too.