⌈ ABSOLUTE is the top series of cables from the Japanese company Acoustic Revive. There are currently three products in it: analog interconnect (RCA and XLR), AC power strip and AC power cord. We test the latter, the Absolute-Power Cord. ⌋

f there was any place where marriage of industry and music could be a normal state of affairs in daily life, it would be Japan. I do not know any other country - maybe accept for Switzerland - where research results and technologies development would be used so often and with such a good effect in products designed to reproduce music. I believe that this is happening for one reason - the Japanese are extremely meticulous and are able to reject prejudices and are not afraid to take a chance. And changing the mindset in the audiophile world is always risky.

We receive regularly news coming from the Japanese islands about new solutions, techniques and technologies, originally developed for industry, medicine, defense industry, etc., which, if properly applied, contribute to improving the sound quality. Let me point out to such ideas as a power filter originally developed for a computer mouse with an optical sensor, or an artificial mass, a widespread use of crystalline materials, and work done in Japan on copper suitable for audio cables, and so on.

Most of them were initially perceived by the rest of the world as charlatanism, at best as a quirk. With time it turned out that the people from the Japanese Isles were right and that the rest of the world wasn't simply ready for those innovative ideas. Sometimes it takes many years for us to realize that there really is something in such ideas, and that we actually can't live without what them.

One of the people particularly active in this field is Mr. Ken Ishiguro, the head and chief designer of Acoustic Revive. I have been using his products For years and I believe that the AR is one of the most important companies of this type. Founded in 1997, from this moment on it has been regularly offering following products, without which it is difficult for me to imagine contemporary audio setups, such as: anti-vibration platforms, Schumann wave generators, demagnetizers, and finally signal and power cables.

| ABSOLUTE-POWER CORD

In December 2018 I reviewed RTP-4EU Absolute power strip, that replaced in my system the previous version called Ultimate. Simultaneously Acoustic Revive introduced also a new power cord - the Absolute-Power Cord (that's exactly how manufacturer calls it but I shall use a simplified name - „Absolute”). While both power strips look quite similar, the new power cable attracts attention with a metal cylinder placed in the middle of its length.

Historically, this type of "boxes" placed on cables have been known in audio for years. These are usually passive filters for correcting the amount of high frequency noise, sometimes for phase correction. The new Ishiguro-san's cable is different. Its design is based on the well-known Power Reference Triple-C, but with some changes and tuning.

It features solid-core copper conductors with an oval shape (2.8 x 2.4 mm), created in a forging process similar to one of making swords - its surface is repeatedly hit, which changes its crystal structure. Hence the name: Triple-C. Silk tubes are used as a dielectric. According to Mr. Ishiguro, these are produced by one of the best Japanese companies, that also cooperates with the Paris Fashion Week (Paris Fashion Week). The shielding is provided by a flexible copper tube insulated with a Teflon tube, developed jointly by one of the industrial manufacturers and Acoustic Revive.

The new model utilizes the same Furutech NFC plugs as the less expensive model. Same connectors are used also by Siltech in their power cables and some other brands. In the tested cable, however, inside there are discs made of a rhinestone, placed over each of the three wires both on the IEC plug, as well as Schuko's end. They are used to reduce noise and vibrations. The already mentioned aluminum cylinder, is also a completely new element. It is not fixed and can be moved along the cable, which means it is not electrically connected to the cable.

KEN ISHIGURO
Owner, designer

For the Absolute-Power Cord we used a technology called „Dagawa method MD” (Mag-Noise Supressor). A tunnel-like structure unit in which a plurality of special shaped magnets are alternately combined, then this unit is covered with a blend of natural ore particles. By passing the power line through No-magnetic tunnel, the current energy is amplified, and only the noise component is absorbed and extinguished by heat conversion. This is a very new and epoch-making system.

Degawa method MD unit absorbs all kind of noise (a high-frequency noise, low frequency noise and noise in audio band) on the power line and on the earth line as well. At a same time, it demonstrates the booster effect that improves the supply capability of power source energy, and realized a sense of silence and energy that could not be achieved anyone else. ■

The module using "Degawa method MD" is a magnetic suppressor of thermal noise. The phenomenon of thermal noise is commonly known as Johnson-Nyquist noise. It was discovered and measured by John B. Johnson at Bell Labs in 1926, and was described by his classmate, Harry Nyquist; their names were used while naming the phenomenon.

Thermal noise is caused by the chaotic collision of electrons and is a function of resistance and temperature during the flow of current through the conductor in an electrical system. This noise has been a research object for years. Under laboratory conditions, much attention is devoted to reducing them and thereby to improve the precision of the measurement systems. One of the solutions is "Degawa method MD". As Ishiguro-san says, it is patent pending in Japan.

During the test I compared the Absolute-Power Cord with three other cables that I use in the "High Fidelity" reference system and I used it in three different applications:

|1| First, I compared it with my reference cable at the time, the Acoustic Revive Power Reference Triple-C; I use this cable with Soulution 710 power amplifier.
|2| Secondly, I compared it with Siltech Triple Crown; I use this cable with my Ayon Audio CD-35 HF Edition Player.
|3| Thirdly, the 2,5 meters long Absolute-Power Cord I compared with the 2,5m Acrolink Mexcel 7N-PC9500, that connects Furutech's wall outlet with power strip's inlet.

Finally, I listened to the full Acoustic Revive power system, which I simply named Absolute Power System that consisted of: the Absolute Power Cord (2.5 m) → RTP-4EU Absolute power strip → Absolute Power Cord (2 m, for preamplifier and power amplifier) + the RPC-1 plugged into the strip + anti-vibration platform RST-38H + RAS-14 Triple-C filters on all Acoustic Revive cables. I placed a crystal signed by Mr. Ishiguro on top of the power strip – he uses the same crystals in power systems in his own home.

Recordings used for the test (a selec- tion)

• Puer natus est, wyk. Stile Antico, Harmonia Mundi USA HMU 807817, SACD/CD (2010)
• Aquavoice, Silence, Zoharum ZOHAR 168-2, Master CD-R (2018);
• Chet Baker, Baker’s Holiday, Verve Records B0003279-16/SUHD 009960, Test Press SACD (1965/2004)
• Mateusz Franczak, Night-Night, Too Many Fireworks Records 2mf027, Master CD-R (2018)
• Nat ‘King’ Cole, The Nat King Cole Love Songs, Master Tape Audio Lab AAD-245A, „Almost Analogue Digital”, Master CD-R (2015);
• Rosemary Clooney, Rosemary Clooney Sings Ballads, Concord/Stereo Sound SSCDR-007, „Flat Transfer Series”, Master CD-R (1985/2016)
• Stan Getz/Joao Gilberto, Getz/Gilberto, Verve/Lasting Impression Music LIM K2HD 036, K2HD Mastering, „24 Gold Direct-from-Master Edition UDM”, Master CD-R (1964/2009)
• Suzanne Vega, Close-Up. Vol.1, Love Songs, Amanuensis Productions | Cooking Vinyl COCKCD521, CD

|1| Absolute-Power Cord vs Power Reference Triple-C

The description you could read in the first part of this test shows that the technical differences between the two top Acoustic Revive power cables are not overwhelming. Apart from the cylinder placed on the cable, which however is not electrically connected in any way the cable, that features no ferrite rings, but only magnets that lift each other's magnetic fields, these are almost the same cables. But the differences in performance...

If I could suggest something to you, as a piece of general advice, never reject something that you do not understand just because you can't comprehend it. Even more so, when it comes to the Japanese and their ideas for audio. The differences between these cables are essential. And at the same time their sound character is almost identical. The basic power cable, the Power Reference Triple-C, is excellent, it's - in my opinion - the first power cable from this company that offers the same level of performance as the best cables available on the market. And yet ...

There are too many three-dots, I know and I'm sorry for that. However, I wanted you to think about it for a moment - and that's the purpose of using this punctuation mark, it mainly suggests something unsaid. What is not said here is everything that is most important in audio and what the Absolute cables brings to the table.

At first it is a bit confusing - the sound seems louder with it, and by a lot. I've never heard anything like this before. In a moment however, it turns out that in fact everything is a bit quieter and we can, without hesitation, increase the volume, "pump up" the sound without feeling of any fatigue or irritation. The initial impression is correct, as in a way it is a far-reaching sound, but the second impression is also true, because everything is a bit quieter.

What I have called the "far-reaching" is a result, as it seems to me, of a higher energy of the sound that I got with the Absolute. The presentation is more vigorous with it, if I can say so, it is more multidimensional, just more resolving. When more things happen in the sound, it seems to be louder. And that's exactly what will happen every time you switch to the Absolute from the Power Reference or almost any other cable. But its higher resolution and better differentiation make the sound deeper, more natural. This in turn means that the sound is less direct, less obtrusive. And yet the Power Reference is definitely not obtrusive, it is - I would even say – a smooth and warm sounding cable.

It does, however, seem more direct when compared with the Absolute. The new Acoustic Revive cable presents an incredibly vivid and deep sound and beautiful imaging. It seems unusually soft, but when needed, that is when it is s in the recording, it is able to deliver a very fast punch. The softness comes simply from resolution and the fact that nothing is overdone. It's still a bit warm sounding cable, with slightly emphasized midrange. But it is also extremely open and dynamic.

|2| Absolute-Power Cord vs Siltech Triple Crown

Siltech Triple Crown is, in my opinion, the best power cable available on the market. If there is an even better one - I am still to hear it. That is why I was curious how the latest cable from Mr. Ishiguro-san, which - let me remind you – costs half as much, fares against the best of the best.

In such an extreme level comparison, the Acoustic Revive cable confirmed everything that I heard before, but I could also hear more of what it introduced to the sound itself. This is a cable that focuses listener's attention in the middle part of the band to a greater extent than Siltech. The latter delivers well extended band's extremes – both bass and treble. The AR withdraws foreground and shifts the entire presentation back. While Siltech presents saturated, juicy vocals, the Japanese cable changes the perspective as if we were not sitting anymore in a small club, but rather in a large room, in the fifth, maybe sixth row

Such a change in perspective creates a possibility to shape the system's character in a different way. It's not about it being better or worse, but about it being just different. Yes, the Siltech is more resolving, slightly softer in the middle of the band, but surely these are not as big differences as the price difference would suggest. It's really similar presentation, punchy, slightly soft (naturally soft) in the bass, but in the case of Acoustic Revive a bit harder in the upper midrange. The Japanese cable greatly differentiates recordings and releases, without focusing too much on the technical side of the music we listen to. It is full-blooded, impressive sound.

|3| Absolute-Power Cord + RTP-4EU Absolute

All the advantages and disadvantages – after all every product made by man is imperfect – of the Ishiguro-san's new cable were also clear when it was used to power the entire system replacing the Acrolink Mexcel 7N-PC9500. Once again, I listened carefully to the selected recordings, and with a lot of certainty I can say that these are two high-class, excellent cables with a very similar way of “voicing” the sound. They have common features, but they are not the same. Therefore, what seems more important to me is what is what makes them different.

The Acoustic Revive cable shapes the tonality differently and it is probably the most important difference. Although it sounds low, full, with a delicate top, only now I could hear that Acrolink delivers even lower, even warmer sound. It saturates the colors and tunes them up. In such a comparison one can also hear clearly that it is a slight transition to the warm side of power, but also that the Acoustic Revive sounds in a more open and detailed way. The resolution of both is similar, but this shift of the accent changes the perspective from which we observe the music.

With the Acoustic Revive the presentation is even more exciting and seems faster. This is not the case, and yet the emphasis on the attack, slightly larger than in Acrolink, evokes such an impression. The Absolute cable is also more open at the top of the band, there is no doubt about it. It is still smooth and delicate, but there i simply more of everything there.

Acrolink in turn, shifts the tonal balance down, it delivers a more weighted bass and lower midrange. This brings the foreground closer to the listener - not by much, but the change is noticeable. We get a larger volume of sounds with it - if something is closer, it seems bigger. Also, the space seems to be bigger with it, again due to a larger presence of the bass in the sound. And the bass is even better extended.

A system with the Acoustic Revive as the main power cable is very resolving, open, transparent and dynamic. But it is also silky smooth and vivid. It is not a cable that would harden the attack or add more contour to the sound. It is rather about combining individual elements of the presentation, about the best transition between them. The background here is absolutely black and only two other cables do it equally well – the Acrolink in question and Siltech Triple Crown. It's density and velvetness in one.

ABSOLUTE POWER SYSTEM

The Absolute-Power Cord is the last element of the top Acoustic Revive power system. The first two were filters: RAS-14 Triple-C , a linear filter, a kind of "switch" between the powered device and the power cable, and the RPC-1, a parallel filter, that is plugged into the power strip next to the power devices. The second element is the RTP-4EU Absolute. The third, and last one, is the reviewed cable. This system is completed with the RST-38H anti-vibration platform, that the strip and the RPC filter are placed on and the RCI-3H cable supports.

That's the system I put together at home, and the icing on the cake was a beautiful crystal ball, with a wooden, lacquered stand, signed by Mr. Ishiguro, that I was to place on the power strip. This is one of the two ultimate power systems I know, along with the Shunyata Research system with the Triton v3 power conditioner.


The Japanese system delivers a remarkably resolving, incredibly dynamic and open, sound, while remaining - it's a feature of top products - on the dark side of "power." It flawlessly reproduces low tones and fantastically pictures vocals, with warm, thick timbre. Its upper treble is slightly withdrawn, but it is not rounded. The system sounds a bit soft, although it's more of a natural softness than artificial softening. Differentiation is excellent with it. It is energetic and dynamic, though still on the silky side.

It's is a beautiful, wonderful sound, perfectly matching my vision of sound, one that in my opinion is the best. Hence the GOLD Fingerprint award for the whole system - this is one of the best ways to power a high-end audio system - not the only one, but one of very few.

Summary

The Absolute-Power Cord is the best Ishiguro-san's product so far. On the one hand, it is open and clean and on the other hand it is slightly soft and silky. It delivers a strong top and bottom, though not as spectacular as the Siltech Triple Crown does. It presents the foreground a bit further away from the listener compared to Siltech and Acrolink, it also has a more distinct upper midrange - it's just a bit different.

However, it is still one of the leading power cables and a beautiful testimony of the audiophile ethos associated with a faith in what one can hear, in spite of all techno idiots, with top technological solutions confirmed by "hard" data in the form of measurements, in spite of other idiots, this time those from the world of perfectionist audio. Acoustic Revive is one of those companies that made this type of cooperation the basis of its work, which makes it a role model for other companies, same as the aforementioned Siltech and Acrolink. The ABSOLUTE system is simply remarkable, period. ■