A little history about how I came across this cable... I was looking for a new power cord when I got the Audio Magic mini stealth, which lead me to posts on Audiogon concerning the Empowered cord and how it was better than the Nite and Elrod. Risky usually to trust these things, but at $200 it might be worth a shot; I was curious (again). Can a $200 cord really compete with well established cords like the Nite and Elrod?
The cord is made by K Works which is just a person, Igor, who does audio consultation and custom work for systems. He modifies and makes a variety of products for use in his consultations and this power cord is just one of the products he makes himself (along with isolation devices, room treatments, etc).
The cord itself is very simple no fancy wire or even very fancy plugs. It has a network built into the plug along with a shield that has a ferrite attached at the end. Both of which is really to tackle noise. It is only 14 gauge wire and is pretty flexible. Very easy to use.
How does it compare to the Elrod and Nite cords?
The Empower cord was said to work the best on digital, and it replaced my standard Elrod EPS2. The Empower extracted considerably more information than the Elrod (used on the transport), thought it does not give the fullbody midrange sound that ribbon cords tend to do. This fullness was actually really bothering me in my system, where to me, it was always sounding "loose", soft, and adding too much bloom to instruments. The greatest trick of the Empower cord is its high end articulation and detail without sounding hard or edgy. That's where it really shined over the Elrod, which had a nice smooth high end but lacked a bit of extension, and was not nearly as detailed. I sold the Elrod very early on since the EPS2 is only limited to being used on digital.
Next up is the Nite. From when I first got the Empower, I thought that it has a very similar tonal characteristics compared to the Nite since it is also a cord that gives a good amount of top end detail. But there are differences that make each cord have it's own "voice".
The comparison was through changing the cord on the Audio Magic mini Stealth.
The Empower is overall a very "focused" power cord, more so than even the Nite (which compared to Elrod is more so). It gives a very solid, tight feel to the sound throughout the spectrum. This gives the ability to articulate notes very well giving it the ability to define and place instruments very easily. It has great amount of microdynamic detail and is a bit faster sounding than the Nite.
On the other hand, the Nite, gives a bigger more rounded presentation. Instruments are just larger and more forward than they are with the Empower. The more rounded sound gives more a sense of body, and more resonance to instruments.
The Nites personality can give a sound that is a bit diffused maybe even a bit muddy versus the Empower, masking the articulation of notes and instruments. This is especially true in the top end where the Empowers resolution is even greater than the Nite both having the same degree of extension. The plucks of strings are just more distinct, easy to follow, the Nite can sound somewhat lost and vague. The Nites tend to have some of the sound, especially in the mid, low mids "bleed" into the sound causing details to be obscured. What the Nite does give is a greater sense of body and resonance to the instruments where it can sound richer, producing a more reverby/echoy effect.
On the low end the ability to focus and the ability to resonate/create body also holds true for both cords and sometimes makes it difficult to tell what is "better". At times the more focused the bass the more impactful it sounds, and sometimes the bigger, rounder, resonant sound gives the bass more presence. It depends on the cd.
To me the Nites bigger sound emphasizes the mid to low end size a bit much. Instruments can be too forward, too big, where it starts all playing on the same plane. The Empower places it much better but due to having the instruments in a smaller scale, can cause one to think where did it all go?
For how much this cord costs and what it can do, I feel it's really a great value. I am sure that it won't work for all systems and all tastes. If you have a brighter sounding system this might not be the greatest cord since it will reveal more top end detail. Or if you have a leaner sounding system this might not be where you want the sound to go. It is easier to work with and not heavy like the other cords that have made it difficult to use isolation devices.
I have talked to the person who mentioned this cord on Agon, and for him only an Elrod 3 signature was better for his power amps (having had both a EPS 2 signature and Nite before).
The effect of this cord vs the Nite can also be described as the same comparison from say a Grado RS1/MSP to a HP1000 series headphone. One gives pleasing characteristics with a rounded sound and the other is detailed and focused.
The cord is made by K Works which is just a person, Igor, who does audio consultation and custom work for systems. He modifies and makes a variety of products for use in his consultations and this power cord is just one of the products he makes himself (along with isolation devices, room treatments, etc).
The cord itself is very simple no fancy wire or even very fancy plugs. It has a network built into the plug along with a shield that has a ferrite attached at the end. Both of which is really to tackle noise. It is only 14 gauge wire and is pretty flexible. Very easy to use.
How does it compare to the Elrod and Nite cords?
The Empower cord was said to work the best on digital, and it replaced my standard Elrod EPS2. The Empower extracted considerably more information than the Elrod (used on the transport), thought it does not give the fullbody midrange sound that ribbon cords tend to do. This fullness was actually really bothering me in my system, where to me, it was always sounding "loose", soft, and adding too much bloom to instruments. The greatest trick of the Empower cord is its high end articulation and detail without sounding hard or edgy. That's where it really shined over the Elrod, which had a nice smooth high end but lacked a bit of extension, and was not nearly as detailed. I sold the Elrod very early on since the EPS2 is only limited to being used on digital.
Next up is the Nite. From when I first got the Empower, I thought that it has a very similar tonal characteristics compared to the Nite since it is also a cord that gives a good amount of top end detail. But there are differences that make each cord have it's own "voice".
The comparison was through changing the cord on the Audio Magic mini Stealth.
The Empower is overall a very "focused" power cord, more so than even the Nite (which compared to Elrod is more so). It gives a very solid, tight feel to the sound throughout the spectrum. This gives the ability to articulate notes very well giving it the ability to define and place instruments very easily. It has great amount of microdynamic detail and is a bit faster sounding than the Nite.
On the other hand, the Nite, gives a bigger more rounded presentation. Instruments are just larger and more forward than they are with the Empower. The more rounded sound gives more a sense of body, and more resonance to instruments.
The Nites personality can give a sound that is a bit diffused maybe even a bit muddy versus the Empower, masking the articulation of notes and instruments. This is especially true in the top end where the Empowers resolution is even greater than the Nite both having the same degree of extension. The plucks of strings are just more distinct, easy to follow, the Nite can sound somewhat lost and vague. The Nites tend to have some of the sound, especially in the mid, low mids "bleed" into the sound causing details to be obscured. What the Nite does give is a greater sense of body and resonance to the instruments where it can sound richer, producing a more reverby/echoy effect.
On the low end the ability to focus and the ability to resonate/create body also holds true for both cords and sometimes makes it difficult to tell what is "better". At times the more focused the bass the more impactful it sounds, and sometimes the bigger, rounder, resonant sound gives the bass more presence. It depends on the cd.
To me the Nites bigger sound emphasizes the mid to low end size a bit much. Instruments can be too forward, too big, where it starts all playing on the same plane. The Empower places it much better but due to having the instruments in a smaller scale, can cause one to think where did it all go?
For how much this cord costs and what it can do, I feel it's really a great value. I am sure that it won't work for all systems and all tastes. If you have a brighter sounding system this might not be the greatest cord since it will reveal more top end detail. Or if you have a leaner sounding system this might not be where you want the sound to go. It is easier to work with and not heavy like the other cords that have made it difficult to use isolation devices.
I have talked to the person who mentioned this cord on Agon, and for him only an Elrod 3 signature was better for his power amps (having had both a EPS 2 signature and Nite before).
The effect of this cord vs the Nite can also be described as the same comparison from say a Grado RS1/MSP to a HP1000 series headphone. One gives pleasing characteristics with a rounded sound and the other is detailed and focused.
