PREMIERA

⌈ |1| ‘A POWER DISTRIBUTOR AC’ – is a block of electrical sockets that attaches to the end of a flexible cable (typically with a mains plug on the other end), allowing multiple electrical devices to be powered from a single electrical socket.
|2| ‘POWER CABLE AC’ – is an electrical cable, an assembly of one or more electrical conductors, usually held together with an overall sheath. The assembly is used for transmission of electrical power. ⌋

he oldest mention of the products of the Pabianice-based company SOLID CORE AUDIO, which I found in our own "News" section, comes from August 2016. It says that it is a new company and that its first product is the Power No.6 power cable ("High Fidelity", August 2016, accessed: 07.10.2019). And it seems that it were power cables that were the most important item on the menu, which seems to be also confirmed by the main entry on their "home" page:

It is widely known that high quality power plays a fundamental role in the audio world. We know it very well, that's why we've prepared a series of power cords. Power cords are designed to show that not only Hi-end systems can spread wings. With proper power supply, replacing a power cord supplied with a component for one of ours will result in a huge qualitative leap.
source: solidcoreaudio.pl

But this is probably - in part - the past, because looking at its current offer we will come to the conclusion that we are dealing with a classic cabling manufacturer. Solid Core Audio currently offers analog and digital interconnects, AC power cables and AC power strips, plugs, as well as accessories - a phono mat and wooden stands for audio devices.

Still, Mr. Mateusz Kęskiewicz, the owner of the company and its chief designer, decided to send us power-related products for testing - the top AC Power Supply Purist power strip and, also the most expensive in his lineup, AC Power No. 1 Pro. Usually, when we talk about "top" and "most expensive" products that's exactly what they are – very expensive items. This time, however, we are dealing with a company that focused on low-priced products that are intended for budget to medium price systems.

MATEUSZ KĘSKIEWICZ
Owner, designer

An inspiration to create the brand in 2016 was primarily a long-term passion for music, combined with my lack of acceptance for the pricing policy of power products. This is how my small workshop started to develop power cables whose impact on the sound of the system would be spectacular while the price would not ruin the wallet.

The beginnings of our activity were focused on selling products through a network of Polish audio shops, including Q21 and Audioneo. It was a great idea for introducing a young brand. The downside of this sales policy was the lack of direct contact with the customers and their feedback on the cables we manufacture, as well as a lower quality/price ratio because of audio stores' margins.

From the very beginning, we focused on the production of products that would have two main common features - natural timbre and analog character, while not being overly analytical, tiring, or having any digital artifacts. Each item from our offer has been prepared according to this concept, because we approach each model individually and keep working on it within the assumed budget until we achieve the desired result. We prefer multi-strand designs, mixing materials from different parts of the world and experimenting.

The new model is subjected to several months of testing and auditions before it is launched for sale. The most important thing is the audible end result, not the specification in the advertising leaflet. The products are sent for listening to anyone who wants to listen to them in their own system, because there is no other way for the customer to make the right choice. Production takes place in Poland, all products are made by hand with full repeatability. A three-year manufacturer's warranty is provided on each sold item.

As the head of the company, I still take it upon myself to convince many skeptics that power supply has a significant impact on the quality of the music they listen to. Their skepticism often results from the poor price-quality ratio of competitive power products. Many customers choose to buy a better / more expensive component device and on top of that they ass a price of a power cable. I hope that our products will change this approach and that the equipment purchased by you will play at 100% of its capabilities. ♦

| POWER SUPPLY PURIST PRO

In the description of the strip, the manufacturer point our attention to its aesthetics. And it is understandable - for less than 1000 zlotys we get a well-made, really nice, solid power strip made of aluminum and wooden elements decorating the side walls. Anyone who has some experience realizes that it is not about decorative effect, of course, but about vibration damping.

More and more manufacturers of power components for audio come to the conclusion that next to the problems associated with RFI and EMI interference suppression, the most important task of the power supply system is suppression of the cable's own vibrations and those coming from the power line. Although it would seem strange, actually vibrations in the cabling are the greatest enemy of good sound. Take a look at Quiescent Technologies' products to get an idea.

The AC Solid Core Audio Power Supply strip is, according to the manufacturer, a "purist version of a more expensive strip devoid of a switch and fuse", which - interestingly - has the exact same name. This is a strip with five power sockets with silver-plated brass contacts, bolted from above to the aluminum C-shaped profile. The IEC socket comes from one of the best specialists, Furutech - a rhodium plated NFC version of the FL-05 model. Internal wiring is made of American (no company specified) solid-core copper cable (and we already know where the company's name came from) with a diameter of ø 2.5 mm, in a PVC sheath.

The "hot" pins are marked in red on the sockets. Although user has to connect the power cord properly to actually make it so. The manufacturer provides a leaflet about how it should be done, all you need is a polarity tester. The Audio Power Supply measures 85 x 375 x 125 mm (height x length x width), weighs 1.5 kg, and its load capacity (continuous) is 16 A.

| POWER NO. 1 PRO

AC Power No. 1 Pro is currently the most expensive Solid Core Audio power cable. Its mechanical structure is quite complicated and resembles what we get with much more expensive KBL Sound cables, such as the Synchro Master Power. These are of course different designs, other materials and components were used, hence the price difference, but that also hints that we should treat the Power No. 1 Pro seriously.

It is different from other cables in this price range because it is very thick with its total cross-section of 40 mm2 and the copper conductors of 21.75 mm2. It is built of five, separately insulated wires, twisted together in a spiral shape.

There are two wires for positive and negative run, with 6N copper wires and tinned 6N copper. Each such wire is made of two runs: 3 x 2,0 mm (6N copper) and 2 x 1,5 mm (6N tinned copper) solid-core type. The fifth wire is not connected and is used for mechanical stabilization of the structure. The protective cable is made up of five wires wrapped around the positive and negative (and "stabilization") runs. The shield is made of 6N copper, but we don't know whether is is wrapped or braided. The outer jacket is made of PVC and Teflon.

The cables are terminated with solid plugs with contacts made of gold-plated brass. The "hot" pin is marked with red dots, so one has to remember to plug a Schuko plug correctly into a wall socket. The description of the cable, with model and company name, was marked on heat shrink sleeves with a golden marker.

I believe it looks very good. The manufacturer states that the cable's load is 16 A - it's all about the IEC plug. The cable and strip are delivered in simple cardboard boxes.

| HOW WE LISTENED TO IT

The Solid Core Audio power strip and power cord were listened to in the "High Fidelity" reference system. The test was divided into two parts. At first I looked at the power cable connected to the Ayon Audio CD-35 HF Edition SACD player (№ 1/50), and then to the Mytek Brooklyn Bridge streamer. Its sound (of course, it is about changes introduced to the sound, but I will refer to the sound to simplify the description) was referred to the Siltech Triple Crown Power (Ayon) and Acrolink 8N-PC8100 Performante Nero Edition (№ 1/15) power cables (Mytek).

In the second part of the listening session I compared the Power Supply strip to the reference strip, i.e. Acoustic Revive RTP4EU Absolute. I listened to four tracks with the system connected to the reference strip, switched everything together with the cable running to the wall socket (Acrolink Mexcel 7N-PC9500) and listened to them again. And I repeated that several times. In both cases, it was an A / B comparison with A and B known.

| Power No. 1 Pro

The power cable offers a very nice, balanced sound. Marcin Oleś' double bass, recorded with microphones place in a fairly short distance, but with added reverb, sounded a bit closer than with reference cables, i.e. the decay was not so clear. But the proportions between the instrument and the reverb have been preserved, which resulted in a convincing performance. And, in fact, it's always about the "internal coherency" of the sound, there is no such thing as "perfect sound" - it's just a postulate and not reality.

But, as I've mentioned, what I like most about it was tone. This is not a warm-sounding cable, that is, it does not warm up anything, but we will never catch it brightening brightening sound either. The point is that it shows the upper midrange in an open, fresh way. It results in a nice perspective and allows recordings to breathe. The foreground is placed behind the line connecting the speakers - it is a cable for those who do not like instruments "coming out" towards them and who like air in the recordings, an extensive sound stage and the right distance from performers, both in the size of phantom images and dynamics.

I didn't even notice any brightening of the sound on the Diana Krall's All for You. This is one of the earlier recordings of this singer and pianist, still in the jazz idiom. The version I listened to came from Mr. Kazuo Kiuchi, the owner of Combak Corporation, and the XRCD24 technique. In this case it is a XRCD24 in the "Refined Digital" version. this means that the original high definition digital signal was converted to analog and again to digital form, but using the K2 encoder (more HERE).

The version I listened to is as open as the original, but bodies are more precisely outlined and is also sound richer. And the Power No. 1 Pro showed it well. It did not brighten anything up, but it did not round or hide flaws either. It also presented dynamic relationships very well. Compared to expensive reference cables, the whole was slightly calmed down, that's true. But not at all as much as one would expect from an inexpensive cable.

The leading edge, if I were to delve into it, was slightly rounded, but not enough to hide details. So the Jim Hall Trio's These Rooms sounded very well, with delicate its "loose" (i.e. with good, but not exaggerated selectivity) and "golden" treble. It was recorded in New York at the Sorcerer Sound Studio, supervised by Mr. Tatsunoro Konno, a representative of the Denon company that released it. The recording was made directly to two tracks, without overlays, and the mastering was done by Denon, which had already 20 years of experience with digital recordings in 1988 (you will find more about digital recording HERE).

Anyway, the album sounded very nice - this is probably the best term. The depth of the stage was very decent, while the edges were slightly narrowed - at least compared to the reference cables. But, for this price range, the sound was great. Even more so considering that everything had right proportions, was internally harmonized and nothing stood out, it was an even, good sound. And only with dynamic, well-played and well recorded rock from the T.Love album I could hear that the whole presentation was slightly calmed down.

| Power Supply Pro

I haven't written about it before, but the Solid Core Audio power cable offers a nice, low bass. After switching to the strip the bass got even deeper. This is not some particularly well-controlled part of the band, but everything is within the limits of good taste, nothing lags or drags. The T.Love disc also proved that the rest of the band has good timbre and proportions. The reference strip sounds much more resolving and more dynamic, which was to be expected. For 1000 zlotys we get a really good performance and there is really nothing to complain about.

I confirmed also listening again to the Diana Krall's album. With the Polish power strip, the hissing sounds in her vocals, present in the recording, sometimes quite clear, have been softened and soothed. It was still an open sound, there was no clear modification of the timbre, but the sound attack was a bit rounded with the power strip, which makes such problematic recordings quite pleasant. The more that a lot is happening here and better recordings will not lose much with it.

The sound is internally complex, there are no clear simplifications, and the phantom images have a solid position on the stage, without their separateness being unduly emphasized. With purist recordings, such as from a Denon disc or Master CD-R containing material for the unreleased album Alone Together by Oleś Duo, you can hear that the stage is bit narrowed and our attention is focused on the axis. But let me tell you this – at this price range power strips usually do something else, that is, blow up the space hence losing focus. Here we get a very well-balanced proportions between what is general and what is specific.

| SUMMARY

It's easy for me to evaluate these products because they fit into the sound concept that I try to promote at High Fidelity. The sound can't be bright - and it isn't. It can't be foggy, devoid of selectivity - and it's not. It must have offer a timbre and proper weight - and that's what we get in this case.

This is a very orderly sound, both with the power cord and the power strip, with strong, low bass and golden treble. The midrange with the cable is more open than with the power strip, and the latter has stronger bass. But both products show an internally complex, dense, rich world of music. Try them out for yourself, no matter what amount of money you plan to spend - it's really worth it. ■