Harmonix X-DC2 Power Cord Review [Editor’s Choice]

Hi-Fi Choice Magazine

Perfect Domino

Carefully thought out from the beginning to the end, Harmonix X-DC2 comes close to ideal.

Product: Harmonix X-DC2
Type: Power Cord
Price: 2,600zl (1.5m)
Contact: www.mojeaudio.pl

Harmonix is part of Japanese Combak Corporation. It offers interconnects, loudspeaker cables, digital cables, power cords and various sorts of equipment supports for vibration damping. It is worth mentioning, that many Harmonix products are used in JVC Studio during remastering process of XRCDs, which are excellently recorded compact discs. The X-DC2 tested here is the basic model among power cords offered by the Japanese. There are two other, more expensive ones from the prestige “Studio Master” family. We do not know much about construction of X-DC2. The manufacturer gives out information about high quality Furutech plugs and internal wires made of OFC copper. The rest is secret. Harmonix cables are closely related withJapanese Studio Industry and their design includes time consuming tuning process. The materials, the layout and relative positions are not accidental. The company principle of resonance harmony is related in precisely chosen parameters. X-DC2 is relatively flexible but not as ,much as for example Isotek power cords. This is partly caused by dense outer nylon braid, protecting the cable from scratching by sharp edges.

SOUND QUALITY

In the manufacturer’s promotional materials you can read about the company philosophy and about approach to power cords, treated as part of audio chain influence the sound (in negative or positive way). This is indeed proved by reality. Substitution of a standard power cord – without screening, not to mention too small a cross section – with a specialist power cord always brings in positive results, and in some cases the changes exceed our expectations. Such things as contact elements, type of conductor, employed materials define the cable quality. There are lots of solution on the market, some work better, some work worse. The changes in sound introduced by X-DC2 are similar to the effects of employment of a higher quality source or tuning an amplifier. So far the Nordost Valhalla power cord has impressed us the most. That cable changed practically everything, improving bass and offering very well layered soundstage. X-DC2 behaves in a similar way and comes close to that ideal, but costs a few times less. Immediately after connecting it into the system ( in our case it was a CD player) reproduced sound become much cleaner, even in the most delicate layers at the top of the audio spectrum. After connecting the cable to the amplifier results were similar: bass was lighter, less heavy, but still very powerful, and it seemed that the lowest range was even fuller, but not in the sense that it was heavier but in the sense that it had better timbre. At the top end, instead of sharpness, we could hear delicate sweetness without any loss of detail. X-DC2 does not impose its own character and behaves in a fairly neutral manner, a feature highly required in the case of power cords. HFC

VERDICT

SOUND  
PERFORMANCE  
BUILD  
QUALITY/PRICE  

FOR:  Solidity built power cord with grand sonic aspirations, able to cope with the most demanding audio systems.

AGAINST:  A grumbler always has something to say against.

SUMMARY

It raised the bar very much high, it is very hard to find a rival at this price level. The Japanese power cord is for the purist those who want to extract the best sound from their systems. No matter what kind of equipment is connected, the effect is absolutely certain.

Hi-Fi CHOICE

OVERALL RATING  

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