X8 Block with Evolution-300 review
Wednesday, 15th November 2023
Online magazine audiograde.uk reviews our X8 Block™ with the Evolution-300 PowerKord™ - an ideal all-in-one mains package for anyone with a mid-range system upwards, offering excellent value for money given the sonic benefits.
X8 Block™
*** STOP PRESS ***
Since this review, Audiograde also awarded the X8/Evolution-300 combination their 'Best of 2023' Award in the Mains Products category!
Andrew Simpson, reviewing, begins by noting that X Blocks sit in the middle of our mains extensions range, sandwiched between our entry-level PowerBars and the high-end Signature PowerBlock.
As such, it offers the best overall price/performance ratio and he goes into a good amount of detail regarding the specifications of both X Block and Evolution-300 PowerKord, noting the impressive quality of materials and construction reflected in both.
Evolution-300 PowerKord™
X Blocks are available with 2, 4, 6 and 8 sockets. Andrew chose to review the X8, allowing him to supply his complete system, but note that the components are the same throughout the range, so what’s true of the X8 is true of the rest.
Before he even started to listen to music, he was already impressed with the way in which his Musical Fidelity M6 PRX amp responded.
Fed by the X8/Evolution-300 combination, he detected a noticeable drop in audible noise from the amp and suggested that: “the MF seems to revel in the supply it’s being fed, much more so compared to the off the shelf mains block I’d been using previously”.
Testing was carried out with 16-bit/44kHz (CD quality) recordings via the Qobuz platform and the most immediate difference seemed to be reflected in the way he was able to follow the flow of the music more closely.
Elements such as a clearer separation between instruments and improved timing seemed to reduce the effects of blurring in the presentation and provided “greater degrees of stop/start precision”.
“Everything sounds that little bit crisper and better articulated”, he writes. The overall effect he describes is one of opening up the sound so there’s no sense of it “being stifled or held back”.
The significance of the improvements brought by the addition of the X8/Evolution-300 setup leads Andrew to observe that these kinds of upgrades are often underestimated when, “in fact they’re just as important as every other investment in hifi cables or accessories… bringing benefits to every component they collectively serve”.
In concluding, he reiterates that the overwhelming experience with this combination is that they allow your system “to truly perform as it should without sounding held back” and states, quite categorically, that they are “recommended without hesitation”.
Media: Audiograde online magazine
Publication date: November 2023
Verdict: Recommended/Best of 2023
Click here to buy X-Blocks
Click here to buy Evolution-300 Powerkord
Written By Simon Dalton
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