This is not intended as yet another power cord topic but to share this weird discovery I went through the past week. And also as a ‘sorry but I’ve been wrong guys’ to this community and Naim in a way. Insert mind-pic of an AA introduction circle… 
Besides the streamer, I purchased my current kit 13 years ago replacing Olive boxes. When the Power Line arrived I auditioned it extensively at my dealer and at home. It didn’t convince us at all. I recall some healthy debates about it on the old forum. Long story short, I ended up with NBS Dragonfly III cords on all my kit and never looked back.
Fast forward to a week ago. My current dealer had a Power Line demo sitting on the counter and while chatting over a coffee, I got curious again. So I took it home and put it on the ND5 XS2. You know, just for fun. It was one of those moment I’m sure you all recognise… within seconds after hitting play you have that ‘WTF?!… experience’. No, don’t start listening right away. Let it settle down overnight playing radio in the background. But I already knew I was up for something.
About a week on, I’m blown away by the Power Line. It sounds so good! As if everything snapped into place like it should. I’ve put it on the 200 and CDX2 too. Same result, albeit a bit less pronounced on the amp. Still in disbelief and to make sure I’m not losing it, I got an AudioQuest Monsoon XTRM and a KE Reference from a friend to compare. Nope, not even close. The Power Line has a natural sense scale and coherence that is hard to describe but very easy to hear. Nothing sticks out, either overblown or underlit. No esoteric high-end dressing poured over every dish (Audioquest). With the Power Line, the instruments seem to play together like they should. That’s how it sounds at least. And above everything else, it has that impressive ‘snap’, drive and rhythm the others can’t match.
Still puzzled, what has changed making this outcome so vastly different the 2nd time around?
- different house & room
- different - much better - dedicated spur & earth
- Fraim added
- my NBS power cords deteriorated?
- my ears are 10 years older
So that’s me out of the confessional. Scrapping funds to buy 4 or 5 Power Lines over the next few months.
Richard