MusicWorks ReFlex Ultra Gen3 power distribution block

My dealer, Mike at Infidelity, got in touch last week saying he had heard this newly released power-block and was impressed. He’d ordered a demo version and wondered if I wanted to give it a try in my system. The oldest component in my system is a Russ Andrews power block, which has always served me well and the cabling within it matches that used for the dedicated rings-main I installed for my system many years ago, but I have given occasional thought to trying something different. And perhaps more importantly, I’ve learnt from long experience that when Mike says he impressed with something its definitely worth a listen so a home demo was arranged for Saturday tea-time and this is what he brought round:

After a quick orientation listen of the current system and a very brief power-down the block was installed and listening commenced.

Two songs in and….well, I pretty much decided there and then that I wasn’t going to let Mike take it away again! I’ll try to resist the usual hi-fi language but suffice to say that the improvement was very, very obvious. Initial impressions were of a cleaner sound but on prolonged listening I’d say the extension and articulation of bass lines is perhaps more noticeable. On a scale of improvement, which I think is sometimes easier to convey, I’d compare it to the sort of impact I heard when I demoed some Super Lumina cables in my system. So, while this MusicWorks power block is pretty expensive, it’s a fair bit cheaper than SL, and I felt the performance improvement in my system represented good VFM.

Given I’ve already got a good dedicated mains circuit (no pops or humming) and I use Powerlines on all components, I’m not sure why this product makes the difference it does. But, hey, I always trust my ears over technical explanations. So if any of you out there are thinking about upgrading your power block do give this beast a listen.