Same same. Amps create heat in a cable or fuse that limits it. Short burst of high amps doesn’t melt anything. Longer periods of high amps will do however.
Sure. I wouldn’t either. Just showed there alternatives out there. Others might think different.
Yes, but as Pete points out if you replace the PowerLine IEC plug ‘assembly’ with a C19 IEC plug, you lose that critical floating mechanism which is part PowerLine’s IEC plug.
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Yes, that is indeed inevitable if you want to have a PowerLine with a C19.
That’s the one.
Trying this power strip as I was bored and had a a spare Powerline. It surely makes a marked difference. However I am not sure how I feel about the change. I’ll keep playing for a few days and let it all settle down and then change back to my netzlieste.
What can be said is that it sounds quite promising and much like when putting a Powerline on a box but more. Which means darker, cleaner and more inner detail (if that makes sense). Darker might be a problem.
Despite my best attempts to ignore what it’s doing, I’ve had to give in and accept that the PowerHAUS allows me to enjoy music quite a lot more than I did before it arrived: it will be staying.
I had absolutely no intention of buying one - can’t really afford one given the Karousel and Radikal upgrades of a couple of weeks back (nice!) - but it’s not going to be possible to go back. Or, at least, I really don’t want to. So I’m not.
It’s just so wonderfully “Naim-y” in what it does and reveals musical strands that, cliche dictates, were previously not heard. If you pinned me down I’d say yeah, it does many of the hi-fi things better (separation, image solidity and depth etc.) but it is simply more musical and every attempt to categorise the improvements has resulted in playing another track and then another album. As it comes in a black box, I think I could refer to it as a black box-level improvement, but I think it’s probably more than that so strictly IMO and despite the sheer cost, it’s terrific VFM.
My previous observation about a possible slight reduction in dynamics disappeared after a couple of weeks of running in and, according to a quick back-to-back comparison, it’s not an issue.
Downsides? I’m going to have to send my Sarum T’s back to Chord for re-terminating, which will mean being without the system for a few days.
Added bonus? It means that the NAPSC on my Headline can now have it’s own dedicated spur rather than being relegated to the ordinary domestic mains socket it uses at the moment.
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M6 or S6?
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Great write up Dave. We agree once again with regard to Chord with Naim.
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M6, I’m afraid. I haven’t heard the S6 but Pete01’s impressions of his S6 closely match mine.
Yep, were you expecting this sort of improvement? It was a bit of a surprise to me.
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I was open minded but one of the halves at Acoustica (Ross) who has never let me down recommendation wise prepared me. I’ve also noticed that the sound has improved slowly but surely over two weeks.
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Yeah about the change. I don’t use the Chord but a Fezz audio Sculptor as pictured above and I to am surprised about the changes. I don’t yet know if it’s all good though. Of course the difference now is both a Powerline on the inlet of power strip compared to Naim standard on the Nerzleiste other than that it’s a more robust construction with rodium and a dc blocker on one outlet.
Powerline, DC blocker and Rhodium on their own are quite substantial upgrades 
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What kind of plating is used on the inlet and sockets of the Chord strips?
Dave,
Great to hear that you’re so pleased with your M6. When I had the dem at my dealers the M6 was clearly superior to the S6 - as of course it should be at twice the price - but in the end I felt I really couldn’t sensibly stretch to it. The Chord rep finished the dem with a Sarum T cable on the M6 which was superb. Alas I’m slumming it with a Chord Epic!
My feelings are the same as yours in that I couldn’t happily return to the system without the S6 in it. I sort of expected the hi-fi type improvements but I’m taken aback by the scale of the musical improvements it’s brought about. Had I not heard this for myself then I would find it difficult to believe that a mains block could do this. It’s the sort of really fundamental improvement you get when you put your system on a good rack - it just allows the whole system to sing.
Have fun!
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It’s nice to see that the arrival of the Chord power strips seems to make (even) more forum members aware of/believe the importance of mains and everything related to it.
I’ve spend a lot of time and effort in getting my mains as good as I possibly can (within reason of course). At the CU, spur, earth, power strip and power cords. The possible improvements are significant and indeed fundamental.
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RvL,
I confess I didn’t pay any great attention to it but as far as I remember (and I’d have to cut the power and unplug to check!) the pins were silver coloured. Whether they are silver-plated or nickel or whatever I don’t know. Suffice to say that Chord appear to have paid detailed attention to everything in this block so I’m confident that they would have chosen the best sounding input receptacle regardless of it’s actual spec.
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As long as the sound to our ears quantifies and qualifies our enjoyment, it’s all that really matters.
Absolutely Phil. And that’s something that can easily be forgotten amid impressive specs etc. One of the most fascinating things to me in this hobby is that frequently things that on paper should sound worse actually sound better - and vice-versa. This is why companies like Chord and Naim do so much listening when developing new products. Ultimately if something sounds better then it is better, regardless of any other considerations, except of course safety.
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