Member Review – Purist Audio Design Limited Edition Power Cord

Review: Purist Audio Design Limited Edition Power cord
by bo1072

I started to work in audio in July 1998. The first day I started to work in a specialty shop in sound and vision, I started to make notes from the differences between all the speakers. Here it all started of doing tests in audio. After a few months it became so addictive for me that I was busy with audio for 80 hours a week. I started testing in the evening after I worked. Even on my free Monday I visited distributers so I could listen to the stuff we did not have. I Always take my own music with me, wherever I go. You need to know the music very well when you want to test.

After doing tests for many years I started to call these items: sources, amps, cables, speakers, conditioners: TOOLS. When you test a lot after time you can give the different tools the properties/qualities they own. This made it so much easier to use them at the max. I use these tools so I can create the sound I have in my head. Audio is all about making the best/perfect combination. It is the art of sound what makes the ‘absolute ‘sound possible. Doing thousands of tests in all these years I did train my brain very well. Without knowing I now have a photographic memory in sound. When I listen to 1o seconds of my own music I know were all the instruments/voices are standing. As I know how much detail there is, and the sound. And how much depth there is. When I go to a second audition after adapting a part I can compare them exactly. This makes audio so much easier to understand. So I can create a much higher level in sound.

What is the ‘absolute’ sound? It is like a blueprint of the Original. So what is needed to create this what I call TOTAL SOUND. Which parts needs to be there?

Sound realism; I want instruments to sound like they sound in real. Sound is very important how it influences your emotion. I love the sound of a violin in real. I hate demos with violins when they sound so different. Another example is when you use a recording with 2 different acoustic guitars. I want to hear exactly the difference between them. For this part I love Pass Labs amps who can do this very precise.

3-Dimensional soundstage; I love those speakers who are able to create a stage what is far behind, beside and even in front of the speaker at the same moment. This gives you the freedom on focusing on every single instrument or voice of the recording. This is priceless. This makes listening so much more fun. It gives me a big smile on my face all the time. I want to hear the room where it was recorded. The level of decay makes the image wider and deeper.

A sharp individual focus of instruments and voices, or what I call “intimate sound;” Listening to instruments and voices during intimate concerts learned me how small they are in proportion. This part is also very important for the extra emotion it can give. When instruments and voices (at many shows this mistake is made often) are too big in proportion the distance between you and the music is bigger. There is less emotion and you are not pulled into the music as it should be.

Blacks; The space between the instruments and voices with their acoustic information of the recoding room. The level in blacks make a very big influence in what it does with your emotion. Instruments and voices become so much more apparent. Just like instruments and voices are playing in front of you. You can touch them and point out exactly where they are. The Germans use the word Darstellung to explain this.

Timing/speed: The better the speed is better for the overall sound realism. I had often less acoustic problems when the speed became better. It gives you many different layers of the lowest frequency.  Every part of the recording becomes so much easier to hear. More details become apparent. Professional room acoustic measuring gives me the first time of what I call ‘Stealth’ low frequency. This makes the subwoofer fully disappear. And even the energy of an instrument comes from the place were it was recorded.

Resolution; You want to hear as much information/details as possible. But… the details must be placed at the right place of the recording. Often you can hear lots of details, but you don’t know exactly were they come from.

Air: you need the air around instruments/voices to hear them loose and separate from each other. This level in separation makes listening to music much more appealing.

A big frequency response; How low your system goes or how much more information of the recording you can hear. This extra information gives us humans a more emotional feeling then when a system does not go that low. Hearing to 20khz max. higher frequency will still influence our brains. Above 20 kHz can also make a difference.

Articulation of voices; this is what got my attention after using professional room acoustic measuring. This became so much more apparent then I ever could hear. Even at shows and many demos with the most expensive high-end it was not this easy to hear. We are talking about word endings like sss, ttt and th. but also the breathing of singers and even the moving of lips.

Highs; you want to hear the differences in highs of voices and instruments. When you use the best cables this part becomes so much easier to hear.

Now I go back to power cables. To be honest I started testing many power cables in 2002. Before this time I did not test them a lot because there was not a lot of discussion on it. But we were wrong. It surprised me how much influence it has on the overall sound. I started doing blind tests for clients with expensive sources and amps with normal priced power cables against a lot less expensive sources/amps with expensive cables. It was so much easier to get a better end result with less expensive amps/sources with expensive power cables then with more expensive amps/sources with normal prices power cables. Clients were all surprised. I had so much fun of doing these tests. My focus is always on creating the best end results.

At shows and also at many visits I made at high-end sets of clients, I often heard the same limitations:

– Often they do not have the right combination of audio and cables. When you do not understand the properties/qualities of the different tools you don’t know what you are doing.

– Secondly, they use cheap cables or not the right ones with the properties you need.

Let’s talk about the Purist Audio Limited Edition. When you have done tests with many of the best power cables on this planet you are aware how good they are.

They are in a league of their own. That is why I call them the Pagani of power cables. These handmade power cables by Jim Aud are made with a dedication and devotion to die for.

What makes them different compared to all other power cables?
For that I can give a very easy and clear answer; THERE IS NO POWER CABLE WHAT CAN POSITIVELY INFLUENCE THE OVERALL SOUND SO DRAMATICLY.

I never heard a power cable giving so much more AUTHORITY AND GRIP over the overall sound. Many power amps that are 2 times as expensive as their cheaper ones do not give this improvement in authority and grip.

It has grip from the lowest freq (for my set this is 16hz)
to the highest freq. The lowest frequencies are so well controlled and give you all the different layers you want to hear. The same I can say about the speed, it is dry and fast as a rocket.

In the mid freq. Purist also makes a big difference compared to others. They are much more open and you hear more flavors of the whole mid freq. compared to others.

The high freq are extremely open but never sounds harsh like some competitors. I could hear many new details I never heard in my own set or during shows and other demos in almost 16 years of time.

Blacks; Purist Audio and only one other brand are the best in the high-end market by far in my opinion. Singers and instruments have a stunning level in standing in front of you just like in real life.

3D stage; Mannnnnn what can I say! I play far behind, beside and even in front of my speakers at the same time. It is playing my beloved music fully loose from my speakers.

Sound; Purist Audio is also the master in a realistic musical sound like in real. A violin or cello give me the emotional feeling as it should be.

Conclusion; These cables are essential parts to the ‘absolute’ sound. Without them you miss too many important parts what need to be there. Even with sources of 50.000 dollar you cannot solve it. For me they are the best you can get regardless of money.

Bobby

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