Wirewound UNITY mains power cable

Introduction

Power cables remain one of the most polarised topics in the high-fidelity world. While sceptics often dismiss them as secondary, seasoned enthusiasts argue they are foundational to a system’s noise floor and dynamic range.

The rationale for upgrading beyond a standard “kettle lead” is rooted in signal integrity. A generic cable is rarely designed to handle the complex, noisy electromagnetic environment of a modern home.

Ultimately, choosing a dedicated power cable is not about “adding” something to the music; it is about preventing loss. By replacing a basic connection with a precision-engineered conduit, you ensure your system receives the cleanest possible energy, allowing the true fidelity of your equipment to emerge. With this in mind, Michael Osborn at Connected Fidelity says;

The UNITY mains power cable range from Connected-Fidelity has been developed to offer an open sound with a relaxed transparency, good timing, and good dynamics across all frequencies; characteristics together that enable attached audio components to offer better musicality.

What is not to like about that? Can it improve the Reference System here at HF&MS?

Design

The Wirewound UNITY cable itself is constructed with double-earth wires that do not absorb much RF. It is made of a combination of two 600V different-rated cryogenically treated wires, at 32A and 20A, to achieve the power ‘conditioning’ Connected Fidelity wants. There is a lot of secret-squirrel stuff going on, but it seems that the power line construction is acting like a balanced signal line, rejecting ‘noise’.

The wire-winding principle used by Connected Fidelity, they claim, removes many of the issues associated with ‘dirty’ power supplies; this is basically conditioning the power supply without the loss of dynamics.

Of course, the idea is to facilitate better performance by a cleaner supply, offering a ‘quieter soundscape’.

The rope-weave outer layer does not provide much screening. Osborn does not like what 100% cable screening does to sound quality, as he claims it tends to ‘compress’ the sound; he’s not the first to describe this to me. There must be something to this thread (no pun intended).

Quality

The blue coloured fabric covered cable is thick and stiff, but can be eased into a relaxed line if required. The silk-touch blue ‘wirewound’ box at one end of the cable is screwed into place (and glued so it cannot be examined/copied).  Overall, the cable has a confidence to it.

Availability and Price

Performance

Review Equipment

I’m using the Reference System, described in this link. This is one of the occasions when I use the Tellurium Q Ultra Silver II loudspeaker cables for absolute clarity.

Physically

My Wirewound UNITY mains power cable has the blue ‘Wirewound’ block about 35cm after the plug, meaning it is floating in mid-air, as my wall plugs are a bit higher than would appear normal. Ironically, I feel the need to support the block on a pile of Atlas cable boxes to make the cable run a bit smoother. Otherwise, the blue coloured cable is stiff and reassuring.

Into the Atlas EOS Modular 4.0 Six-Way Mains Distribution System

The six-way block supplies unfiltered power to the power amplifier, while the preamplifier and DAC are powered from the filtered supply. Filtering is Atlas’s way of stabilising supply to constant sources, such as a DAC, whereas a power amplifier may require a surge of dynamic current. I might as well keep the premium Distribution Black with this enhanced supply.

Listening, specifically to a recent find, Antonio Forcione’s Tears of Joy (Tidal FLAC 24-bit, 44.1kHz), the system has a wonderful soundstage. The midrange has separation and clarity, and it is riveting. Swapping in the Wirewound UNITY mains power cable into the distribution block is similar, and to discern any benefit, I found I had to remove it and search for the improvement. Sure, enough re-installing the Wirewound UNITY mains power cable offers an improved bass string at 1’04” which has a degree of greater definition.

Turning to SAULT’s Glory (Tidal FLAC 16-bit, 44.1kHz), this has a wonderful bass line, and the Wirewound power cable lifts this forward. The improvements continue across the frequency range, with tracks like Jack Johnson’s Taylor (Tidal FLAC 24-bit, 44.1kHz) coming through with snappier guitars and vocals, and Rumer’s Blackbird (Tidal 16-bit, 44.1kHz) is so much softer and easier to listen to.

Overall, I feel there is an improvement here; much of it may be due to my confidence in the power supply for the whole system. I certainly know the EOS block is very capable indeed. This is one of those system improvements that I will be reluctant to send back to the manufacturer.

Just remember that these investments are just that, and, with all respect, spending nearly a thousand pounds on a power supply for a £350 WiiM Ultra network streamer might be a fraction excessive.

Music Playlist

I’ve settled on this Playlist, designed for another review but featuring Antonio Forcione’s Tears of Joy (Tidal FLAC 24-bit, 44.1kHz).

Nain Audio Upgrade Playlist

Overall

Just be clear in your mind that we are in the world of marginal gains with mains power cables; however, if your system is up to it, there is a positive gain to be extracted with this Wirewound UNITY mains power cable.