So, what's in a mains power cable? After-all, it’s just that black “kettle” lead you need to plug the thing into the wall, isn’t it?

I beg to differ! Hopefully, I can convince you otherwise over the course of the next few paragraphs...

What follows is a quick review of the Naim Powerline mains cable, which I brought home from our Audio T Brighton store with me this weekend to audition and check out any improvements that may come my way.
So what are my conclusions after a short listening session, having wrestled the remote away from my children? Read-on to find out.

Out with the Lite and in with the “Full-fat” Powerline . . .

Currently, I have the Naim Powerline Lite that came in the box with my Naim Uniti Nova. Plugging in the “full-fat” Naim Powerline brought some subtle, but significant changes. What I will mention before going into sonics, is the connection to your socket on the amp requires some care because of the stiffness of the fitting. No biggy, just it is easy not to get the full electrical contact of the plugs if it isn't inserted all the way in. I suspect that the firmness of the fitting and tight contact may explain some of the sonic differences I will describe forthwith.

All cables sound the same, don’t they?

So, the first thing to note, is the additional body that the sound gains once the Naim Powerline cable was introduced. Now I would never describe the sound of the Nova as thin because it certainly isn't, but when you plug in the Powerline, instruments do seem to fill out. They get meat on the bone! There's an added layer of subtlety to the way detail is presented. It's not that there is more detail, it's just the way the micro-dynamics are portrayed, and the tonal characteristics seem to be more “real” than before.

Jazz gets more real . . .

This is especially noticeable in the jazz pieces that I listened to for this session.

I am particularly partial to the wonderful 1959 recording, Gerry Mulligan meets Ben Webster, which I highly recommend. Recordings from this era of jazz have a beautiful air of nostalgia and are often unedited in sound. You can almost smell the cigarette smoke when playing them!

From the aforementioned recording, on both, “The Catwalk” and “Who’s Got Rhythm?”, the Powerline added some additional nourishment to the sound of their instruments; Ed Thigpen’s cymbals and brush sounds gained an additional layer of detail and became more fully fleshed out and lifelike, sounding less like crumpled paper, which was unexpected and a pleasant surprise.

the oscar peterson trio - “we get requests”

Listening to Oscar Peterson's, “You look good to me”, and “D and E”, from the album We Get Requests, his piano was less jangly and warmer in texture. Bass-lines became tauter and with more apparent extension than before.

To my ears, this does seem to be a consistent sonic feature of the Powerline, in that the sound gains some fullness of tone. Swapping back the Powerline Lite made the differences all the more obvious - this is often a recommended technique because you often appear to “lose” more quality of sound than one “gains” the other way around.

A surprisingly significant upgrade to sound . . .

In summary, the Naim Powerline seems a worthwhile upgrade to the sound of a system, not in an “in-your-face” way, but with finesse and long-term benefits that will become evident as one listens more often.
Albeit not cheap, certainly for the Uniti Nova I own, I would still suggest that this is a valuable upgrade to add to your system.

Contact your Audio T dealer for a home demo.

Thanks for reading - Ade - Audio T Brighton

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