Musical Bliss power distributor PMU 1 and power cord M1

Recently, I spoke to Beach Mercer of Sonic Synergy, Uk, and I discussed with him my hifi setup. He concluded, the bottleneck in my system was the power distribution. At this point in time, I used a Gigawatt PF2 power strip together with a Nordost Valhalla V1 pc to the wall.

Beach introduced me to the Musical Bliss power distributor PMU 1 (power management unit). When I heard the RRP of 6800 GBP I was quite appalled. So much money for a so called power management unit? Well, I got the opportunity to test the unit for free (without any obligation) and I took the chance although I was very sceptical about power distributors in general.  In addition, Beach pursued me to review the “entry level” power cord of Musical Bliss, the M1 with RRP of 4850 GBP.

Four days later, both the PMU 1 and the M1 arrived (brand new). I connected the M1 between the wall and the PMU 1, and I connected my equipment with the PMU1.

The sound quality was so much better with the PMU1/M1. Much more resolution and stage, basses had much more quality. Actually, the sound improved in all areas. The whole system played at least one level higher. Most important, the music still played in a relaxed manner. Trebles had a much higher resolution but were still musical and not over pronounced. To put in a nutshell, I was very happy with the results. At this point in time the PMU1 and the M1 played about 100 hours (full playing in time of the PMU1 is 2000 hours according to Musical Bliss).

I thought I need to compare the PMU1 with another power distributor (just to double check my investment). In this regard, I had the chance to review the Ansuz Mainz8 D2. The unit was brand new (burn in time >200 hours). I waited 50 hours before I gave it a try. Then the battle began.

Both setups (PMU1 and Mainz8 D2) had exactly the same configuration (same cabling, etc). I can make it short, the PMU1 won by a very high margin. The Mainz8 D2 had a very very high resolution but it lacked the smoothness and musicality of the Musical Bliss. Pls be aware, the Mainz8 D2 finally had 60 hours of playing in time only. The sound of the Ansuz would have improved, this is for sure. However, I doubt it would have reached the musicality and smoothness of the PMU 1, and the Musical Bliss unit was not played in either.

For me, the findings were pretty clear. That is why I decide in favour of the PMU1. Should I have waited the full 200 hours playing in? Maybe, but I wanted to come to an end (for me the decision was clear).

Furthermore, I compared the Musical Bliss power cord M1 against the Ansuz Mainz C2 (connected from the wall to both power distributors). This was an even shorter call. The M1 was so much better. The tonality of the fully played in C2 was similar to that of the Mainz8 D2 (high resolution but with lack of smoothness and musicality). In comparison, the Musical Bliss power cord revealed dynamics, resolution, warmth and liquidity at the same time. There was no comparison... I received same findings with both power distributors.

As a result, I decided to buy the Musical Bliss power cord M1 as well. Otherwise, I would always have thought about the performance losses from not using the right power cord from the wall to the distributor. All in all, a huge investment for me (PMU1 and M1). Anyway, I am very happy with my decision to buy the PMU1 and M1 and I guess they will stay forever in my system.

Finally, I would like to clarify; the Ansuz C2 is an excellent power cord, especially when connected to my amplifier (even in comparison to the M1). My previous conclusion (C2 vs M1), therefore, only refers to one application, the connection between the wall and the power distributor.

The conclusion/findings can be stated as follows:

- In general, power distribution has a very high impact in higher level hifi systems. In my case, the PMU1/M1 improved the sound quality in all areas by at least one level

- Power distributors as well as power cords change the sound/tonality. Reviewing before buying is recommendable

- The power cord from the wall has by far the most important impact (this power cord should have similar price tag as the power distributor). Take the best power cord you can afford. The remaining power cords do not need to be that expensive (more expensive pc can be added later)

- Sometimes, high quality power cords fit with distributors of other brands very well (the M1 was a very good complement/upgrade to the Mainz8 D2). So give it a try

- My phono setup took more advantage of PMU1/M1 than my digital setup

- With the PMU1/M1 in place I can far better hear differences between power cords

In the near future, I might provide a further review on the M1 (more detailed comparison with other power cords). Maybe then I will have two M1 in my system and I could review the performance of the M1 with each component in my system.