In the first part I described how the power cables and power conditioners designed by Garth Powell can steer a system towards its maximum sound quality, even when the power supply topic had not been treated with neglect before. In this interview you can read what the developer has to say about his solutions and learn about my experiences with Niagara and Co. 

In the meantime, I've got used to the Thunder and Tornado cables as well as the Niagara 1000 and 7000: My system sounds more open, spoils me with larger – partly virtual – rooms, and above all it fascinates me with dynamic capabilities that are simply closer to the live experience. I am not alone with this almost enthusiastic verdict, by the way; I had invited Roland Dietl to listen to my newly acquired Chord Electronics M-Scaler. This colleague had already experienced the advantages of upsampling to 705.6 and 768 Kilohertz respectively during the BLU MkII test. Therefore, after one or two songs, it was clear to him that the quite significant improvement could not be attributed solely to the extrapolation of the data with the one-million-tap filter. He suspected that there must have been further changes in my system and discovered the Niagaras and the intertwined cables on closer inspection. It’s always reassuring when one’s own judgement is confirmed by a connoisseur of the sound system at hand.

However, my enthusiasm was not completely unclouded after I had enjoyed an LP in peace again: I was carried away by the gripping dynamics and increased the volume a little bit every now and then. When the disc was finished and I had raised the tonearm, a slight noise was audible – not the usual hum of the phono branch, but slightly higher in frequency. Until now, Einstein's balanced phono preamplifier had neither bothered me with such a thing nor with the slightest hint of hum. I then checked once again whether the power cables of the two were also plugged into a group of the Niagara together with that of the preamplifier. That was the case. Even the attempt to use a separate group for the bearing heating and tube power supply of the record player and the two mono preamps could not solve the problem. That’s why I left everything as it was, as firstly, the sound was only audible when the volume control was turned way up and secondly, Niagara developer Garth Powell had announced that he would visit me. I could then clarify the problem with the expert. One or two weeks later I also connected the Studer: As soon as I selected the appropriate input, a slight hum would be audible - even though the machine wasn't even switched on yet. The problem disappeared, however, as soon as the Studer took its power from the same group of sockets and filters as the preamplifier; another task for Garth Powell. Until his visit, I kept my hands off the tape and the vinyl, but that wasn't difficult considering that playing music files in previously unknown quality compensates for that.