Neil McCauley
03-11-2016, 11:22
There’s an old saying that you can judge a person by the company they keep. It’s a truism and a cliché but that doesn’t mean it’s incorrect.
Applied to the hi-fi industry, you can make a reasonable stab at the true nature (behind the carefully crafted façade) of the maker by the claims they make, or if you prefer, the things they don’t say. It’s transparent evidence of a refusal to ‘play the game’ - simply because they don’t feel the need to do so. That’s EWA – in a nutshell.
EWA are Mr. Alan Elsdon and Mr. Colin Wonfor who, between them, have decades of success in the industry. Both are truly grounded in science and design engineering and not media-manipulation. In a hype-ridden industry, this is a rarity; rather eccentric in fact and yes, I like this approach. I explain why, below.
A clean review process
EWA make no outrageous claims regarding the MC5 power cord. In fact, they don’t make any claims at all. It’s a refreshing change. So the review was not influenced - as is so often the case in this industry - on, trying to either substantiate or ridicule claims made by the maker.
This means the review process is entirely clean i.e. the product stands or falls on its own merits.
Comprehensive
I applied the MC5 in different situations, predominantly driving various CD players including XTZ, a vintage Marantz and a recent Meridian. I also tried it with various amplifiers ranging from an entry-level Accuphase, vintage Yamaha and a borrowed recent Arcam. I was also curious to see if I could hear any difference when used between solid state and valve amplification and so I used my Manley Stingray Mk1.
No form of mains power treatment was used. By this I mean the MC5 was plugged into an LAT extension block straight from a standard 13 amp wall outlet. Time didn’t allow me the opportunity to try this with PS Audio mains regeneration but …. I may get around to it one day.
Music
Music used included in no particular order, both electric and acoustic blues, a bit of jazz, classical (mainly Mozart piano) and some not particularly well recorded but rather exciting (to me at least) live rock.
The time of day
Reading Max Townsend’s observations re the subliminally distracting effects of inaudible ambient noise has convinced me. He has a point in that the time of day one carries out critical listening is crucial to the quality of the outcome. By this he means that the ambient noise generated by traffic @ < 17Hz (and lower) and other interferences can have a detrimental effect on the review process and thus, the conclusions must inevitably be inadvertently corrupted.
Consequently, most of my MC5 listening was undertaken quite late at night when as best I could judge, the ambient noise was at its lowest.
Breaking-in; fact or self-delusion?
The subject of breaking in of audio equipment, irrespective of the price band, remains a deeply contentious issue. Some take the view that it’s all nonsense while others are convinced that breaking in - over some extended period - means the item being auditioned will sound precisely as per the designer intended.
Perhaps the most contentious of all aspects is the alleged positive effects of breaking in of power cords.
To the unenlightened and the sceptical and many others, the whole concept of this seems ….. utter nonsense. Not only this, but many feel that the whole aftermarket business of replacement power cords is nothing short of outright intellectual deceit, to say nothing of being a blatant financial scam.
Continues @ http://www.hifianswers.com/2016/11/ewa-mc5-power-cord-test-review/
ALSO ..... http://www.elsdonwonforaudio.com/
Applied to the hi-fi industry, you can make a reasonable stab at the true nature (behind the carefully crafted façade) of the maker by the claims they make, or if you prefer, the things they don’t say. It’s transparent evidence of a refusal to ‘play the game’ - simply because they don’t feel the need to do so. That’s EWA – in a nutshell.
EWA are Mr. Alan Elsdon and Mr. Colin Wonfor who, between them, have decades of success in the industry. Both are truly grounded in science and design engineering and not media-manipulation. In a hype-ridden industry, this is a rarity; rather eccentric in fact and yes, I like this approach. I explain why, below.
A clean review process
EWA make no outrageous claims regarding the MC5 power cord. In fact, they don’t make any claims at all. It’s a refreshing change. So the review was not influenced - as is so often the case in this industry - on, trying to either substantiate or ridicule claims made by the maker.
This means the review process is entirely clean i.e. the product stands or falls on its own merits.
Comprehensive
I applied the MC5 in different situations, predominantly driving various CD players including XTZ, a vintage Marantz and a recent Meridian. I also tried it with various amplifiers ranging from an entry-level Accuphase, vintage Yamaha and a borrowed recent Arcam. I was also curious to see if I could hear any difference when used between solid state and valve amplification and so I used my Manley Stingray Mk1.
No form of mains power treatment was used. By this I mean the MC5 was plugged into an LAT extension block straight from a standard 13 amp wall outlet. Time didn’t allow me the opportunity to try this with PS Audio mains regeneration but …. I may get around to it one day.
Music
Music used included in no particular order, both electric and acoustic blues, a bit of jazz, classical (mainly Mozart piano) and some not particularly well recorded but rather exciting (to me at least) live rock.
The time of day
Reading Max Townsend’s observations re the subliminally distracting effects of inaudible ambient noise has convinced me. He has a point in that the time of day one carries out critical listening is crucial to the quality of the outcome. By this he means that the ambient noise generated by traffic @ < 17Hz (and lower) and other interferences can have a detrimental effect on the review process and thus, the conclusions must inevitably be inadvertently corrupted.
Consequently, most of my MC5 listening was undertaken quite late at night when as best I could judge, the ambient noise was at its lowest.
Breaking-in; fact or self-delusion?
The subject of breaking in of audio equipment, irrespective of the price band, remains a deeply contentious issue. Some take the view that it’s all nonsense while others are convinced that breaking in - over some extended period - means the item being auditioned will sound precisely as per the designer intended.
Perhaps the most contentious of all aspects is the alleged positive effects of breaking in of power cords.
To the unenlightened and the sceptical and many others, the whole concept of this seems ….. utter nonsense. Not only this, but many feel that the whole aftermarket business of replacement power cords is nothing short of outright intellectual deceit, to say nothing of being a blatant financial scam.
Continues @ http://www.hifianswers.com/2016/11/ewa-mc5-power-cord-test-review/
ALSO ..... http://www.elsdonwonforaudio.com/