Cardas Nautilus Power Strip Review
Manric Hock
For the last year or so the solution for my system was in the form of the $10,000 PS Audio P20. Yes, I went for teh big guns when nothing else worked to my satisfaction. While that P20 solved 90% of my issues, it did not solve 100% of them. After getting my room rewired by an electrician I sold the P20 to cover the funds for the re-wire. Pr0blem is the re-wire did not solve anything at all and I ended up without a solution and a system that was very bi-polar. One day it was gorgeous, next day it was flat, sterile and hard sounding.
This is a phenomenon within HiFi for many of us who listen to our systems with a critical ear. Some feel it is our own moods that cause this and others say it is the quality of our POWER causing this issue.
Over the last 2+ years I have battled noise issues with the power coming in from the wall into my HiFi Gear and it took me that long to find a 100% rock solid solution to the issues. I thought I had the issues fixed when I splurged for that PS audio P20, which is a power plant that regenerates all new electricity for your system. The P20 regulates voltage and supposedly eliminates all DC from the line as well (I do not feel it eliminates all DC).
When I started noticing the P20 humming from teh power I was feeding it from my home I knew there was something seriously wrong! I took the P20 to my mothers house an hour away and there it was silent as a mouse when plugged in but here, something was causing it to hum at times. It is after all an AMP itself with a giant toroidal transformer so if amps are buzzing it would make sense that whatever was causing the issue, it was causing the issue with the P20 itself.
Have you ever had an amp that had a hum or buzzing coming from it while on? That is usually transformer buzzing and it is annoying as can be when you turn on an amp and hear it. It usually stems from having DC on your power lines and yes, this is a thing. Sometimes we hear the hum or buzz up close, other times we hear it at our listening seat. It can be minor or it can be LOUD.
I have had a few amps come through here in 2022 that had a buzzing coming from the transformer. I assumed they were faulty so sent them back without review. Not all amps would buzz in here, but some did. It seemed odd and random and I could not figure out if it was truly the amplifiers or still issues with my power lines.
When I noticed a buzzing coming from my brand new Luxman 595 ASE I knew something had to be off with my power (with P20 Installed) as this brand new special piece from Luxman surely could not have a defective transformer?
I decided to have my room re-wired completely. Some of the old work was sloppy so having it redone would maybe fix some of the pollution issues, at least that was my thought. After spending a few grand doing this I removed the PS Audio PP20 from the system, thinking I could sell it to recoup the costs of what I just spent on the re-wire.
Well, I removed the PP20 after the re-wire job and the system sounded much different though I admit, I did a very quick audition. It was more lively, less warm. It had more details jetting out and was not as mellow. Hmmm, I liked this new sound (or so I thought) so I listed and sold my PP20 to recoup the funds that I spent on the re-wire. It sold within a couple of days. As luck would have it, the day after I shipped the P20 to the new owner I noticed my system sounding dead, flat, hard and way off.
It was too sharp, had no depth and no life. It was no longer sucking me into the music. The imaging was off, the sound was just not good. I brought in a Nordost QB8 power block I had on hand (which is not a conditioner or purifier, rather a nice distribution block that passively cleans up the power). That did not help with my issues or the sound variations at all.
All of the sudden I was noticing a louder buzz coming from my 595 ASE. I mean, this was as loud as I have heard it and I slightly heard it at my listening seat. Hmmm. Over the next few days I noticed as the buzzing went from loud to soft to loud again, depending on time of day. This also effected the sound and not for the better.
That purifier was the Puritan Audio PSM 156 with their Ultimate Power Cable. It was a basic looking black box with 6 outlets and it did come with the best power cable Puritan makes, which intrigued me as it was gorgeous and FLOPPY. I have never seen a power cable like this. As I was being told just how amazing this product is at removing all DC from the power line while also removing noise and crud, I was very skeptical.
The literature for the PSM156 states it will keep amps from buzzing as one of its feature sets by eliminating DC from you line. I have heard that before though as I tested cheap DC blockers that did nothing at all. I was very skeptical as always.
I have had conditioners from Audioquest here, the Niagara 1200 and 3000. I have had the mother of all regenerators here, the PS Audio P20. I once had a Thor conditioner as well as a nice $5k range Isotek. They all did something to the sound. The Audioquest added more shine and excitement, the P20 added richness, soundstage width and warmth. The Isotek seemed to do the least. The P20 did solve some of the hum issues but on some days the hum would still come through.
No matter what I used though, it never eliminated the buzzing from all amps that traveled through my doors. I even bought an Isotek Syncro which was supposed to remove DC from the line. Problem is the Syncro only seems to remove some of the DC, so it reduced the hum and buzzing of the 595 ASE but did not eliminate it. I tried the Emotiva $100 DC blocker and that did nothing at all. Not even a hint of removing the hum.
When a transformer is under stress from DC it vibrates, loosens up and starts to create a buzzing sound. When this happens that transformer is not performing at its best and therefore it seems it can even possibly alter the sound of your system, unless it is the other crud on the line doing these things to the sound.
When there is noise, grit and grunge on the line, this also effects the sound of your system. It may sound bleached, hard/harsh and/or just off. No depth, imaging suffers and we may even get smearing of the sound.
I know this as I went back to Glenn Poors Audio and bought that PSM 156 with the Ultimate PC. I was told if it did not do what it claimed to do I could return it within a week for a full refund. I bought it, took it home and set it up in my system. I truly expected it to not do a thing and I told them that at the shop. I wanted them to expect it to be returned.
I was told no one has ever brought one back, ever. Hmmm. Sales pitch or is there really something to this little black box that can do what no other power product has done for my system?
When the PSM156 was installed and I fired up The Luxman 595 ASE the first thing I noticed was it was 100% dead silent. No buzz, no hum. AT ALL! Even with the P20 there was a slight buzzing that started coming from the 595 and into the wall direct there was a loud buzzing from the transformer of the 595. Going to the wall was not an option for me here as it sounded the worst without question.
With the Puritan 156 and Ultimate PC installed and feeding all of my audio components including the amp, the buzz was 100% eliminated. The next thing I noticed was the complete lack of hiss or noise from the speakers. There was a blackness there that was deeper than it was with the 3X more expensive P20. I have never heard my system sound the noise free. It was pretty remarkable at how this changed the sound as I was now hearing everything layered on what was like a massive black hole in my listening space.
When I fired up the music the hardness was 100% gone. The edginess was 100% gone. The bass was back (this was dramatic) as was the richness, the beauty and holographic soundstage. Everything came back, and I swear it is even better than it was with the P20. I do think the P20 is a better unit overall as it also regulates voltage and in my system sounded more refined and smooth vs the Puritan. Even so, I was hearing more details and layering with the Puritan, while it stayed full and with body to the music.
I have had conditioners in here ranging from $1k to $10k and this little box with its unique floppy but superbly made power cord comes in at $3300 retail with the upgraded ultimate power cord. That may sound expensive for what looks like a glorified power strip but this thing is far from being a power strip.
I also highly recommend going the ultimate route here as what it did for my system was almost unbelievable. I still do not understand it but holy wow, this thing is one of those products within HiFi that delivers on its promise. It states that it will stop noise, buzzing and hums from transformers and it did, 100%. It states it will clean your power which will bring forth a blacker background and the absence of grit and noise. It did this 100% better than any other conditioner I have heard.
Even if you think you do not have power issues ask yourself if your system sounds different to you on different days. Does it sound amazing on some nights yet falls flat on some other days or nights? Does your system sound hard, compressed or bright? Is it flat without depth and a rich deep soundstage? Is it lacking bass in the mids and bottom? These variations can come and go, be there one day and gone the next.
If you have a dealer near you run to that dealer now and ask about testing one of these out. You may find that like me, it is a mandatory product that truly helps the music flow without those nasty power gremlins degrading your systems potential. For me it is just as important as the speakers, amp and DAC.
Where the P20 made me a 100% believer in power products the PSM 156 made me a 110% believer in power products. While I loved the PS Audio PP20 for its voltage regulation I feel it did not remove all DC from my line (or it was possibly removing it but creating small amounts of DC and injecting it back in). I am not sure as it reduced the transformer buzz in the affected amps by 90%. The Puritan removes 100% of the noise as well as eliminates all noise and hiss that was coming from the speakers. It does this for almost $7k less money than the big 105lb P20.
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