The Chord Company PowerHAUS S6 Mains Block Review
I recently reviewed the Highly Recommended Chord Company Power ARAY plug which is part of the new range of MainsARAY power products from this well established cable manufacturer based in Wiltshire in the UK, I found significant improvements in the sound quality that I was hearing when I introduced the PowerARAY plug into my system, with this they have refined their noise reduction technology improving your AV and Hi Fi sound quality, it is not classed as filtering but instead through their extensive research into noise reduction and how noise can have a negative impact on the sound that you hear through your Hi Fi and speakers they have created their own unique sound improving technology (MainsARAY) by absorbing any high frequency and earth noise from your mains supply.
The Chord Company have sent me the PowerHAUS S6 to review and this is their starting point for the mains block distribution tech which has been adapted from their latest MainsARAY technology, it then moves up to the M6 flagship unit which is the top of the range of the mains blocks. PowerHAUS stands for Power Hybrid ARAY Unfiltered Supply, Chord have been using their own mains blocks in their demo rooms for years but now feel that they have successfully produced products which can benefit all audiophiles with the S6 (Studio) and M6 (Master) mains blocks and other power ARAY products.
Build Quality and Features
The PowerHAUS S6 is extremely well made with the main chassis built from aluminum and gives the unit a strong and robust housing which also helps prevent against any RFI and mechanical noise being introduced into the signal path, featuring a heavy duty 16A power input connection and earthing point it looks extremely sleek in its black finish, no fancy lights or any switching is done inside the S6 as this can all have a detrimental effect on performance. It features six outputs to connect up your components and all the main wiring inside the unit is made up of heavy gauge and well shielded Chord ARAY cables, feet on the base of the unit allow the S6 to be raised off the floor slightly but also keep the mains block from moving thanks to the rubber damping on the bottom of each footing. The PowerHAUS uses three isolated bus bars in series to connect to each of the six sockets as Chord have found this approach yields the best results in eliminating high-frequency noise, with impressive build and looks this is by far one of the nicest looking mains blocks I have had plugged into in my system.
More information on the PowerHAUS mains blocks can be found from the official press release HERE
I currently use a Sounds Fantastic mains board which has served me well over the years protecting my equipment from any unwanted power surges or spikes in the mains supply.
Connecting up I am using some Chord Company power cables and a few other makes which I have gathered over the years, connecting the 16 Amp power cable to connect to the mains output.
For evaluating the PoweHAUS S6 I will be listening to a variety of music via my Cyrus Audio 82 Integrated Amplifier and CD8SE CD player, also connected is my BlueSound Node streamer and Chord Electronics Hugo2 DAC, my system is completely wired with Chord Cables.
Sound Quality and Performance
For my first album I am playing a band I know and love so well and an album which I use regularly to test and review new HiFi equipment, it was recorded at London’s Earls Court back in 1994 with this version which is in high resolution 24bit 88kHz, Pink Floyd’s Pulse, i also own the CD & DVD of the concert which is not just an aural delight but also visual one too and strongly recommend it, Track 1 Shine On You Crazy Diamond is a masterpiece of music that I never tire of hearing, it has always impressed me on my system and settling back for some serious listening I immediately noticed a more lively and dynamic sound, the soundstage is spread wider with some excellent imaging, instrument separation is also improved with an almost holographic feel to the sounds floating in front of me, also the depth of the soundstage with the crowds cheering is vast and spread around my room giving a better sense of the scale from this concert. Track 4 Learning to Fly is a percussion dream with huge dynamics and big drum sounds, at about 3 minutes into the track the surge in dynamics from the speakers and the drums is quite dramatic and on a capable system can frighten the hell out of you but in a good way, then David Gilmores vocals come in and having an emulating echoey sound which is more emphasised than I have previously heard it and therefore more enjoyable and as intended from the recording. Track 7 Hey You is simply stunning with such a large scale sound and incredible vocals but the finer details are also more defined, at about 3min 20sec into the track there is what can only be described as bees buzzing around the soundstage from left to right to great effect, I am hearing more of these finer details in the music than I did before.
I switch back to my Sounds Fantastic mains block and I am proven right in what I have heard, the sound is less dynamic and not as enjoyable, the soundstage suddenly becomes smaller and more shut in and the depth is not as pronounced as it was with the PowerHAUS in situ also the finer details are not as easy to hear, so you are hearing less of the recording, it’s as if the veil has been lifted and you get to hear all of the recording when the S6 is plugged in.
On to my next album and this is something totally different to what I usually use for review purposes but it is so well recorded and of such a high quality I just had to use it for this review, purchased from the guys at Audiovenue in London it is a recording of various artists on the Extended Dynamic Experience Volume 1 on CD, I have been listening to this album on repeat more or less since I got it as it is that good and features some excellent music, so listening to this with the Chord Company PowerHAUS S6 in play has proven to be a worthy exercise and great to hear the differences in sound from what I had previously heard on my system. Track 3 taken from the 2003 Yello album The Eye and Don Turbulento which is an incredible sounding track from this epic band and if you know their music it is a samplers delight with so many different sounds and mixes thrown in to make the sound come alive, the opening sounds reverberating from left to right and around the soundstage in such a deliberate but realistic way that you can’t help but be impressed, again the detail retrieval on offer from this CD is simply stunning and with the S6 in place the staging of the music is wider from the speakers and gives improved detail resolution from the music, the bass also has more texture to the sound than before. Track 7 Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Roughest Place in Town is next and this is one of my favourites on this compilation for the beautiful music that it is and for me typifies what music is all about and that is the enjoyment it gives you and what a good HiFi system can offer, from the opening drum beats to the electrifying guitar sounds, imaging has pin point accuracy as if the fine tuning dial has been dialed in to reveal all of the music with a startling clarity, it’s clear that noise in our mains supply and equipment is our enemy and can mask a systems true potential and without the PowerHAUS in place this clarity and focus gets lost masking the systems outright fidelity and has a detrimental effect to a systems overall performance.
Conclusions and Final Thoughts
It’s clear that the Chord Company PowerHAUS S6 Mains block has had a profound effect on my systems overall performance allowing my systems electronics and speakers to play what I can only describe as giving me pure musical pleasure, it’s clear that noise is a HiFi’s enemy and was in my system before the S6 was introduced and now that it has been removed the focus on the music can be heard and enjoyed as it should be, with stunning build quality this is a highly polished product from the Chord Company and I thoroughly recommend anyone who sits on the fence with these type of products to get a demo for themselves to hear the benefits of what the S6 mains block can do for their systems performance.
The Speaker Shack awards the Chord Company PowerHAUS S6 Mains Block with a 5 stars Highly Recommended award !
Price at time of review £1,200
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