⌈ ESSENTIAL AUDIO TOOLS is a Dutch company focused on the designing and manufacturing of power related products - AC power strips, AC power cords and filters. All its products are made in the Netherlands, in Rijswijk, near the capital of the country, The Hague. ⌋

HE ARE MANY PRODUCTS RELATED TO POWER SUPPLY for audio devices available on the market and yet there are still new ones coming. There is no longer any doubt that the quality of the AC supply voltage, in short, the voltage in the electrical socket, is a key to achieving optimal sonic results. The products that serve this purpose include power strips, conditioners, cables, filters, and anti-vibration elements. In each of these categories we will find products that we tested in "High Fidelity" and which we use in our reference system. They are also offered by the Dutch company Essential Audio Tools.

▌ MYNI

THE TESTED POWER STRIP is a very interesting product in several respects. The thing that catches your attention immediately is its compact size. On its website, the manufacturer says that it is "the smallest power strip on the market". And indeed - it is really small. And yet it offers as many as four output sockets. This was achieved thanks to a trick - instead of Schuko sockets, standard for most countries, IEC C13 female sockets were used. To be honest, I've never seen such a solution before.

In addition to the dimensions, the Dutch company pays attention to one more aspect of its choice:

The type of outputs is chosen because of the high contact pressure, which becomes obvious when putting in or pulling out electric plugs. Increased contact pressure and optimal contact surface create a low resistance value. This is indispensable for great power distribution.

⸜ www.ESSENTIALAUDIOTOOLS.com, accssed: 23.01.2023

The second thing signaling a well-thought-out approach even to this entry level product is the use of several stages protecting the powered devices. The first is a fuse. It protects all sockets and, as usual, it is worth replacing it with a fuse offered by one of the specialists. The second stage of protection is a proprietary system called Pulse Protector. It is integrated into the IEC C14 input socket and protects all output sockets. It counteracts rapid voltage changes (peaks) and pulsating changes.

And there is a third protection this time only for two sockets. These are high-frequency filters. They cut off (short circuit to the "ground") high frequency noise. The other two sockets are, as we read in the press materials, "unfiltered". So, in fact, they are filtered only in the Pulse Protector system.

The quality of Myni's built is also important - it is really good. The body is made of milled blocks of black anodized aluminum. The quality of finish and attention to detail are exceptional. The rigid body offers good vibration damping and protects against EMI and RFI. To improve its effectiveness, an additional layer of copper sheet was used inside, forming a Faraday cage. At the end of this part, let's say that the internal wiring is connected in a "star" style to balance the potentials in all sockets.

⸜ CABLES Along with the strip, we get an AC power cable, 1.5 m long, and two cables that connect it to the devices (50 and 75 cm). The former is branded Current Conductor S and can be purchased separately. It is made of three shielded OFC copper strands. The whole thing does not look particularly sophisticated, but it is only an appearance. The manufacturer points out that it is as important as shielding to prevent interference between the wires.

Therefore, Current Conductor S features two layers of shielding. The outer one is a tin-coated copper braid to prevent copper oxidation. Under this layer there is an aluminum foil wrapped around the cables inside, giving - as the manufacturer assures - 100% coverage; it is designed to protect the cable against RF interference. The screens are connected to the ground wire only on one side, from the side of the Schuko plug.

The plugs used by the Dutch one are solid and in the industry they are chosen by companies that care about such details. However, these are not audiophile plugs. To remedy this, the plug features a body made on CNC machines from a material known as POM. The manufacturer informs us that all the leftovers generated during production are returned to the supplier and reused.

Along with the main cable, we also get two cables connecting the strip with audio devices. They are very short. We have to use them, because the male IEC plug, the one on the side of the strip, is unusual for audio and I am not aware of any such a power cable being offered by any other company. The cable itself is identical to the one in Current Conductor S. The manufacturer explains why these cables are so short:

The Mains Multiplier Myni is specifically designed to be positioned next to your audio equipment. This is possible by an integrated cage of Faraday made out of pure copper, which has excellent conductive characteristics. This luxurious addition is one of a kind within the world of high end audio in this price range. (Ibidem)

As the manufacturer says, the idea is to keep the resistance of the power cables as low as possible. In my experience, the opposite is true, i.e. the longer the power cable, the better it affects the sound and a length of 1.5 m is the minimum for me. However, Essential Audio Tools is an experienced, serious company and it may be that short cables work best in this arrangement.

In conclusion, let's say the strip looks "cool". The cables are also very nice. All components are manufactured in the Netherlands. On the website we will find information that the company uses sub-suppliers located a short distance from its headquarters.

▌ SOUND

⸜ HOW WE LISTENED Since Myni is not only a power strip, but also cables, I treated them as a set. I plugged the Schuko plug of the power cable into the Furutech NCF wall socket. The second one was connected to the plug of the Acrolink 7N-PC7300 power cable, which connects to the Acoustic Revive RTP-4EU Absolute power strip (review → HERE). I conducted the test using the Ayon Audio CD-35 HF Edition player, usually powered by the Siltech Triple Crown cable.

⸜ Recordings used for the test | a selection

⸜ JOHN COLTRANE, Blue Train, Blue Note/Universal Classics & Jazz UCGQ-9031, SHM-SACD (1957/2022).
⸜ WES MONTGOMERY, WYNTON KELLY TRIO, Smokin’ At The Half Note, Verve Records/Analogue Productions CVRJ 8633 SA, Super Audio CD (1965/2013).
⸜ GEORGE MICHAEL, Older, Epic | Aegean/Sony Music Labels SICP-31544-5, 2 x Blu-Spec CD2 (1996/2022).
⸜ MICHAEL JACKSON, Thriller, 40th Anniversary Expanded Edition, Epic/Sony Music Entertainment SICP-31586, 2 x Blu-Spec CD2 (2022).

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THE TEST OF THE ESSENTIAL AUDIO TOOLS MYNI'S POWER STRIP took place at a time when I was in the middle of listening to subsequent releases of JOHN COLTRANE's Blue Train album, from the first European release in 1985 to the latest, SHM-SACD from 2022. I was particularly captivated by the monaural version of the latest remaster. This is because its sound is full, large and incredibly resolving.

Plugging the reviewed strip and cables into the system instead of the reference components changed the sound for the worse. It changed it in an abrupt and big way. But that's normal, I didn't expect anything else. The reference system is almost a hundred times more expensive. The changes mainly consisted in lowering the resolution and flattening the dynamics. And yet the Essential Audio Tools didn't make the music sound bad, so to speak.

The Coltrane’s album sounded in a really strong and "big" way, the strip didn't lose it. What's more, the tonal balance was also preserved, with the cymbals at the back, and the double bass placed closer to me and, in the front, the solo instruments. The strength of the tested power strip lies in playing music in a coherent way. In its interpretation, it is a collection of sounds that harmonize with each other, not discreet events that WE have to put together in our heads. So we have fluidity.

The second thing is the already mentioned tonal balance. The strip with the stock cables presents the full band. It does promote the midrange a bit, with its lower range, but it does it so discreetly that I had no problems with it. Even with WES MONTGOMERY and WYNTON KELLY TRIO’s Smokin' At The Half Note. The leader's guitar is outstanding in its density and warmth on it. It is shown in the extreme left channel at arm's length, it could not be placed any closer. The tested power supply system handled it really well.

I spoke at the beginning about calming down the dynamics. That's true, but not all of it. Listened to in out of context of the several dozen times more expensive reference system, the Dutch power supply system does a very good job. The track opening the album was recorded during the concert and we get energy, explosiveness, palpability - everything that is characteristic of live performance. Apparently, what I was talking about, after accommodation, no longer bothered me. The more so that in the macro scale the power strip handles the dynamics perfectly.

The new reissue of GEORGE MICHAEL's Older album, reviewed some time ago, confirmed the tendency of the tested system to play with smooth and low bass. The disc in question was recorded using the RADAR computer system and has typical features, such as softness, strong and dense bass and a rather delicate treble. The "High Fidelity" reference system, powered by Myni's Essential Audio Tools, presented it exactly like that.

This means that the Dutch system is really resolving and differentiating, at least when we consider its price. Because the cymbals were placed quite far back, the clear, but warm vocals were a bit closer, and the dense, low bass sounded above all. Its lowest range was slightly undercut and did not go as low as with the reference system, but still it did not lack anything.

Perhaps because with the tested products we get a big sound image. What is the biggest mistake of the power supply systems from this price range, is slimming the sound, this is not the case here. I would even say that the Myni slightly weights down the lower midrange and that is why the presentation is big, the songs are played with panache.

This was the case with all previously mentioned albums. This was also the case with MICHAEL JACKSON's Thriller, in the BSCD2 version released for the 40th anniversary of its premiere. The hard-played beat on Billie Jean, initially just a kick and snare drum, had a strong kick and "claw". The wide and quite deep panorama was also well drawn. The strip tends to bring the sound closer to us, but it does not forget about stereophony, it does not narrow down the sound, nor does it make it particularly shallow.

▌ Summary

THE POWER SYSTEM by Essential Audio Tools called Myni surprised me with its sophistication and maturity. It is not for those who are looking for details and subtleties in the sound. All these elements are there in its sound, but underneath, they are not imposed on the listener. The strip promotes fluidity and dense colors. The sound is based on the lower midrange and upper bass, which results in a presentation with momentum and fullness known from much more expensive power systems.

The resolution is quite good, so the differentiation of recordings is very nice. That's why you can listen to music with this system very comfortably. High macro dynamics keeps us awake. The attack is rounded, but clear - such a paradox - that's why the presentation is well differentiated dynamically and shown in discrete layers on a large, wide sound stage. Affordable, well-made and exceptionally music-competent power strip and eye-catching cables. ●

▌ Technical specifications (according to the manufacturer)

Protecting: phase-neutral, phase-earth, neutral-earth
Maximum voltage: 250 V
Maximum peak voltage: 2500 V
Maximum peak current: 4500 A
Maximum peak energy: 3 x 65 J
Response time: <25 ns
Maximum continuous current per socket: 5 A
Maximum total current: 5 A
Dimensions: 183 x 54 x 43 mm (L x W x D)
Weight: 0.48 kg