The Article

UNITY POWER WITH WIREWOUND

10th June 2026

Connected-Fidelity continues its cable explorations with the new Unity power plus wirewound technology. Paul Rigby plugs in…

You’ve heard the old cliche, I’m sure. “The best cable is no cable. The next best cable is a single piece of wire.” or “The best connection is a straight piece of wire with gain.” What does that even mean? Also, why are those sayings so wrong?

Because you can buy a simple wire power cable from Amazon or eBay or the office supplier, Staples for £2 a pop. Should sound great according to the above. It doesn’t, though. It sounds bright, screechy, no detail and on and on. I’ve done multiple tests. I know. My ears are still sore.

BECAUSE…REASONS

Problem is that parasitic noise clings to all electrical devices. HiFi systems included. Cables too.

Both the C15 and C19 termination variants

Parasitic noise refers to unwanted electrical signals that are picked up, generated or transmitted by a cable in addition to the audio signal it is supposed to carry. These effects are called “parasitic” because they are unintended side effects of the cable’s physical construction and environment.

The C15 version

Main sources? Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) from electromagnetic fields from power supplies, mains wiring, Wi-Fi routers, mobile phones and more. Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) can be demodulated by electronic circuits. They include radio transmitters, mobile networks, Bluetooth devices and more. Ground Noise arises when different components have slightly different ground potentials, unwanted current can flow through cable shields and signal grounds. Triboelectric Noise results from the movement of the cable itself. It can generate small electrical charges as insulation materials rub against conductors (which is why the much derided cable riser exists). Microphonic Effects when cable constructions convert vibration into tiny electrical signals. And so on.

The C19 version

All of this stuff hangs on to, swamps and completely drowns your basic cable from B&Q. None of that matters if you’re boiling a kettle for a cuppa. It does matter if you want to listen to the best that music can generate, though.

The MS HD power plug is used for the C15 termination. Japan’s Furutech is used for the C19 termination.

Hence the reason HiFi cables are constructed with different shielding strategies, low-noise components, etc. to reject this rubbish. Hence, a good cable doesn’t produce great music from within itself. A good cable rejects the parasitic rubbish to allow the music that’s all ready there, to shine. That’s it really.

UNITY UNITES

That’s what UK outfit, Connected-Fidelity is looking to do with its Unity cable range. There’s several models in the range, right now. The Unity Mains Power Cable With Wirewound Technologies (quite the mouth full, eh?) is the latest release from the company.

This power cable is a solid device with a box in the middle. And what’s inside? As the company states, “Our wirewound technologies do not make use of any conventional designs or components, nor unconventional crystals or rare earth products. Rather, a wire-winding principle that we have found to remove many of the issues associated with ‘dirty’ power supplies.”

And that’s all you’re getting on that score. The rest of the cable uses high purity copper wire, sheathed in a thermoplastic resin. Conductors are wound together so the individual twisted strands in each wire lay broadly in line against each other, a ‘rope weave’ form.

Cynics amongst you will be immediately triggered. And I don’t blame you.

The lack of information is based on one thing, though. Fear. Connected-Fidelity is a small UK business. I remember talking to a one-man operation, many years ago in a HiFi show in Hammersmith, London. He had produced a USB cable. He said he wasn’t telling anyone about his new cable’s construction either. I asked why. He said that, the last time he did that, a large cable company copied his ideas and dared him to sue. He couldn’t. He just didn’t have the money. They did. End of story. Stealing tech? It happens. So I don’t blame Connected-Fidelity on this one.

So how does this power cable sound then?

SOUND QUALITY

To begin, I turned to the finger picking guitar of Leo Kottke, listening to several CD albums, some with just his own acoustic, others with bass guitar and percussion in the rear of the mix.

The discs were played through an Audiolab 6000CDT via a Benchmark DAC. The 6000CDT was powered by a Titan Audio Eros cable (I also brought in a TCI Boa Constrictor for another viewpoint during the tests but the comments below apply to the TCI cable too). It was here that I decided to target, replacing the Titan with the Connected Fidelity Unity-Wirewound, as I will call it for short (and I wish Connected Fidelity would do the same).

VS TITAN EROS

Now as much as I love my Titan Eros – and it has been my Audiolab reference for some time now – I have to declare that the Unity-Wirewound did a better job of rejecting noise.

The amount of extra air and space around the mids and treble was quite startling, I have to say. The associated benefit was an enlargement of the overall soundstage. That is, the music was playing from a larger room now. Bass was nicely balanced in the mix, sitting easily amongst the other frequencies and never dominating while, vocals were smoother now with a more emotive delivery.

The same could be said when playing vinyl. Hooking up the Unity-Wirewound cable to my two-box Icon Audio valve phono amplifier. Playing Stereolab’s Peng! LP, I noted the instrumental separation – the space between each instruments – which had now increased. This meant that heaps of detail could now be heard at the edges of each. That is, there was no blurring. Notes started and stopped with a brisk, crisp manner.

UNITY-WIREWOUND C19

I then grabbed a second Unity-Wirewound power cable. This one had a C19, high-current termination. I plugged that into my Air Audio AC-2K balanced power supply.

To get a cabling result from a balanced power supply is, you would think, impossible. After all, that’s the job of the balanced power supply isn’t it? To reduce noise, improve sonics and all that? Right? Even so, I gave the Unity-Wirewound power cable a go.

The results were quite fascinating. Yes, there were definite sonic improvements here. How to explain what was going on? Imagine throwing a batch of super dirty laundry into your washing machine. Your football kit. From that mud-laden 3-3 draw you battled for last Sunday. That laundry.

In such circumstances, it’s often recommended that a pre-wash be performed to dislodge the really soiled areas and to effectively loosen the rest of the grime to allow the main wash to do a more efficient job.

See the Unity-Wirewound as a sort of pre-wash, in sonic terms. The result was a much more confidant sounding playback. Noise was lower, as before, but I also found the sound to be better structured and characterful via the balanced power supply. This was down to an increase both in clarity but also definition. Almost as if the sound had moved from standard definition to high def. The focus and precision of the bass was increased, mids were now clearer and more insightful while treble was both sparkling but also controlled.

In effect, the Unity-Wirewound power cable was a perfect foil for the balanced power supply.

CONCLUSION

I have always known the effectiveness of a good power cable and I am also aware that some cables are better than others. The Connect Fidelity Unity-Wirewound power cable is up there with the very best. And yes, it does what the cliches demand.

You can ask the company about their Unity cables at the next Hi-Fi show in Cranage, if you’re in the area.

It gets out of the way. It allows the music to sit, front and centre. Noise is removed, masking is removed and music dominates. That’s all I can ask from a HiFi cable. And, thanks to Connected Fidelity, that’s what I have. Wonderful stuff.

CONNECTED FIDELITY UNITY POWER CABLE WITH WIREWOUND TECHNOLOGIES

Prices: start at £969 for 1.0m (with 0.5m increases thereafter up to 4.0m. Longer lengths are made to order.)

Website: www.connected-fidelity.com

GOOD: low noise, midrange clarity, bass control, sparkling treble

BAD: nothing