From Cryotweaks
The "Power Conditioner" AC Cable
by Jim Grudzien

After reading Francisco Duran’s review of Cryotweaks’ Quantum Purifiers with Bybee filtration (in issue nine), I was intrigued. I contacted Mike Garner at Cryotweaks and asked to audition a set of plug-and-plays with banana termination. In addition to the plug-and-plays for my speakers, he suggested that I review his new AC cord with Bybee filters, a "line conditioner without the box."  

The cord that he sent was a demo unit, and already broken in, but the plug-and-plays were new and needed about fifty hours of playing time. Hooking them up was a snap—I just unplugged the positive terminals of my speakers, inserted the plug-and-plays, hooked the speaker cables to the plug-and-plays and let ‘em rip for a few days. I then spent a good deal of time A/Bing the plug-and-plays and the AC power conditioning cord, which I had hooked up to my CD player. Both devices gave similar results. With either piece in my system, I heard less grain and glare and a deeper, darker background, which allowed more music to come to the forefront. 

With both pieces in the system, the effect was similar to having the PS Audio Power Plant in my system a few years ago. I heard deeper, firmer bass, better inner detail, and cleaner, clearer—though not brighter—sound. A new smoothness and ease made music more relaxed, natural, and easier to listen to. Imagine yourself driving down a country road on a nice, sunny day, enjoying the beautiful scenery, until you accidentally hit your windshield wipers. The windshield that you thought was clean is now cleaner, and you can see all that Mother Nature has to offer. It was the same with the power cord and plug-and-plays—I heard what I had been missing! 

With Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours CD, a sheen that had been over the music was removed. All of the instruments and voices sounded much clearer, and the bass line was more pronounced, deep, and firm. The recording became more of a musical event. On Mary Black’s No Frontiers CD, her voice gained a new ease, and sounded much less forced. The piano sounded more live than recorded. Hans Theesink’s voice, on his Call Me CD, lost its grainy haze and sounded deeper, fuller, and much more like it was in the room with me. There was also better separation of the accompanying instruments, which made them easier to hear. 

I asked Mike about the advantages of his conditioning cord over a line conditioner. His response was that with a line conditioner, you are still at the mercy of your power cord, and all the EMI and RFI grunge that is on the line, whereas you can hook his power cord to your line conditioner, if you have one. If you don’t, the cords are $399 each, so you could buy several for the cost of a line conditioner. Go to www.cryotweaks.com for more information. I can only tell you that it worked in my system. Jim Grudzien