˻ PREMIERE ˼

⌈ AUDIO PHONIQUE is a Polish company founded in 2018 by two enthusiasts, MACIEJ LENAR and WOJCIECH MURAWIEC. However, it was not until 2022 that it unveiled its complete range – twelve products at once. We are testing the AC power cable from the DESIRE series and it is its premiere review. ⌋

THE AC POWER CABLE manufactured by the Polish company Audio Phonique, which you will read about in this review, belongs to the more expensive of its two series, called Desire. Its components, i.e. interconnects, speaker cables and power cables, bear the same name, to which only the element specifying the type of cable is added – IC, SP or Power. This strategy is used by many companies and seems to work well in this case. This would be in line with what companies such as Shunyata Research and Synergistic Research are doing, to stay on the North American continent.

As demonstrated by our review of a speaker cable from this series, published last December, it is aimed at people looking for high-end, top-of-the-line products. That's not all. The manufacturer's website is only available in English, which indicates that the rather wealthy, demanding customer is likely to come from outside our country. The same is true for the company's AC power cable, which was developed using the same technology as the speaker cable.

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| A few simple words…

⸜ MACIEJ LENAR
Co-owner, designer

⸜ The whole line of Desire cables

EVERY CABLE IN AN AUDIO SYSTEM should be designed according to its function. Interconnects operate with high impedances and low currents, which makes them extremely susceptible to external interference. Speaker cables handle low impedances and high currents, while power cables must cope with both high and low impedances and a wide range of currents – and they also generate interference that can negatively affect other components in the audio system. Furthermore, devices in the audio path interfere with each other through shared power lines. A suitable power cable should therefore effectively reduce this interference without imposing any restrictions on the flow of energy. This is what makes its design one of the greatest challenges in audio engineering.

Following the success of Audio Phonique Singularity AC, we set ourselves an ambitious goal for the Desire AC series: to create a significantly better cable that would set a new standard in power transmission, and not only for us. This is extremely difficult, and the most challenging stage turned out to be the development of the geometry and topology of the conductors. During our research, we conducted detailed measurements of the RLC parameters of the prototypes, as well as an analysis of THD distortion in the output signals of devices powered by different versions of the cable. These tests allowed us to precisely assess the impact of the cable's design on the sound and effectively minimize its negative influence on the audio signal.

The key element of the new design has been the use of our proprietary PLMAg-5N silver with a large cross-section and our ultra-pure PLMCu-7N copper in the form of a precisely selected bundle of ultra-thin wires. Thanks to our proprietary metallurgical processes, we have achieved a unique material structure that optimizes conductivity and reduces interference. This unique combination guarantees exceptional clarity and dynamics of sound, while ensuring excellent energy stability of the system.

Hundreds of hours of listening tests and refinement of successive prototypes have allowed us to find a solution that stands out in an indisputable way – both in terms of technology and sound. ML

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▌ Desire Power

THE TESTED AC POWER CABLE looks like an expensive product. This is thanks to details such as high-quality packaging, reminiscent of covers for expensive tires, and a wooden element with product information. The cable itself is also attractive – the black mesh reveals the golden surface of the screen, and the whole thing is topped off with expensive Furutech plugs. Interestingly, I did not find a certificate of authenticity inside the case, as if the people at Audio Phonique were not afraid of counterfeits. Almost, as they did a bare minimum as there is a hologram sticker on the wooden sleeve we mentioned earlier.

The manufacturer presents the cable as following:

The Audio Phonique DESIRE POWER cable will transform your perception of audio equipment power supply. Devices can interfere with each other through power lines, which is why the power cable has such a significant impact on sound quality. Our proprietary DESIRE POWER cable design effectively eliminates these interferences while leaving the energy transfer process unchanged. Words cannot convey what can be heard and experienced. Try it, and you won’t be disappointed.

⸜ The DESIRE AC Power cable, → www.AUDIOPHONIQUE.com, accessed: 31.03.2025.

As we mentioned in our speaker cable review, the Desire series cables are constructed using two types of conductor. These are wires made from, as stated in the company's materials, “ultra-pure silver” and “ultra-pure copper.” Their brand names are PLMAg-5N for silver and PLMCu-7N for copper. Let us quote the entry in the Technologies tab:

We cast our own silver monocrystal in a continuous process using silver granules with a purity of 5N (99,999%), followed by heat treatment and polishing. The entire process is carried out in-house, as complete control over every stage of production is essential to ensuring the highest quality product.

Each phase of silver conductor production requires meticulously developed procedures, refined over our five years of expertise. Our silver conductors are distinguished by their exceptional softness and perfectly smooth mirror-like surface. Only wires crafted to this standard can transmit signals without distortion, preserving the full musical image.

⸜ Cable Technologies, → www.AUDIOPHONIQUE.com, accessed: 14.11.2024.

According to the manufacturer, the copper is also made based on their design and produced by an external manufacturer. It is 7N OCC copper (Ohno Continuous Casting, 99.99999%), polished and coated with lacquer. Polishing helps ensure the uninterrupted flow of high-frequency signals, and this process is used by all major cable manufacturers, mainly in Japan. The lacquer coating, on the other hand, is intended to prevent the cable from oxidizing.

Manufacturer shares very little about the design of Desire Power. All we know is that the cables are routed in “medical grade” Teflon tubes, as we read, in the presence of air. The proprietary topology is called Extended Air Geometry (EAG), and the cable is “full-bandwidth” shielded, adds the manufacturer. The whole thing is stiffer than cables made of twisted pairs, so I assume that it is a multi-Litz design, i.e. with multiple separate solid-core cables. The manufacturer states that they are available in lengths from 1.5 meters upwards.

The cable ends are fitted with connectors that are found in the top power cables: Furutech FI-E50 NCF R on the power outlet side (power strip, conditioner) and FI-50 NCF R on the powered product side. All metal components are made of non-magnetic materials (OCC copper) coated with a layer of rhodium and subjected to the Alpha process (demagnetization and cryogenic treatment). The body is multi-layered and combines non-magnetic stainless steel with silver-plated carbon fiber braiding and a damping layer made of acetate co-polymer.

These plugs belong to the NFC series. They are made of a material called Nano Crystal²-Nano Crystalline, which contains carbon dust and NCF ceramic nanoparticles. Each one costs almost PLN 2,000, just so that you know what we're talking about. Desire Power is available in several lengths, starting from 1.5 m.

▌ SOUND

HOW WE LISTENED • During listening, the Audio Phonique Desire Power power cable was connected to the Ayon Audio CD-35 HF Edition (№ 1/50) player and compared to my reference, the Siltech Triple Crown AC power cable. The test consisted of AA/BB/A comparison, with known A and B, using short, two-minute samples from a given album. The intervals were approximately 40 seconds long.

Both cables were plugged into the Acoustic Revive RPT-4EU Absolute AC power strip, which in turn was powered by a 2.5-meter Acrolink Mexcel 7N-PC9500 AC cable. The Acrolink was connected to a Furutech NCF wall socket, which is fed by a separate power line with its own HPA fuse. This line is made of a 6-meter section of Oyaide Tunami Nigo cable.

» RECORDINGS USED FOR THE TEST ⸜ a selection

⸜ PETER, PAUL AND MARY, In The Wind, Warner Bros. Records/Audio Fidelity AFZ 181, „Limited Edition No. 0115”, SACD/CD ⸜ 1963/2014.
⸜ CHARLIE MINGUS, Tijuana Moods, RCA Records/Original Records Group ORG 174-3, SACD/CD ⸜ 1962/2015.
⸜ LIGHTNIN' HOPKINS, Last Night Blues, „Bluesville Acoustic Sounds Series”, Craft Recordings | Prestige Bluesville CR00799, CD ⸜ 1961/2024.
⸜ EVA CASSIDY, Songbird, Blix Street Records/JVC VICJ-010-0045, XRCD24 ⸜ 1998/2010.
⸜ ELVIS PRESLEY, Elvis is Back!, RCA/BMG Japan BVCM-37088, „Elvis Paper Sleeve Collection”, CD ⸜ 1960/2000.
⸜ AQUAVOICE, Flow, Audio Cave ACD-008-2024, Master CD-R ⸜ 2024.

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I DID NOT LOOK AT MY NOTES, I did not read the Desire SP speaker cable review, and yet when I heard the first strum of the guitar in the left channel, followed immediately by the right channel, and then the vocals of Peter Yarrow and Paul Stookey, who together with Mary Allin Travers form the trio PETER, PAUL AND MARY, I was certain that the power cable I was testing was “cut from the same piece of cloth” as the “SP.” What's more, I could perfectly “feel” what this cable was and what it was not intended to be.

This small epiphany was possible because the Polish cable sounds incredibly smooth. There may be more important things, such as color depth and selectivity, but it was precisely this smoothness and silky texture that struck me the most. “Struck” is not entirely the right word in this context, because there is nothing in this sound that pushes, irritates or pulls us out of where we are mentally.

It's not about boredom or lack of dynamics. Indeed, initially, after switching from such an evocative cable as Siltech Triple Crown, the sound from Desire Power may seem subdued. But it isn't. The calmness, or rather the impression of calmness, comes from the fact that the attack with this cable is like a caress on the cheek of a loved one, delicate, yet full of energy. That's why the whole thing seems so charming, so well-arranged and orderly.

Anyway, the album itself, released on SACD in 2014 by Audio Fidelity, with an excellent remaster prepared by Steve Hoffman, seems to be just that – deep, silky, energized more “internally” than “externally.” In other words, quite different from what CHARLIE MINGUS's Tijuana Moods brings to the table. The latter is saturated with extroverted energy, packed with tempo changes and melodies that suddenly emerge from the rhythm and vice versa. With the Polish cable, these transitions, mainly in the high frequencies, often changing in a matter of moments, were clear, within reach.

Perhaps not “within reach,” because the cable slightly distances the foreground and does not provide strong, tangible foregrounds, choosing instead a vivid and deep panorama. What I meant was that although the sound from Audio Phonique seems pastel and silky, it has a lot of fire inside. When you hear the castanets right at the beginning of 2 Ysabel's Table Dance, they are strong, dynamic, and have a great tone. A more pleasant and deeper tone with high resolution.

In the sense that it is not a cable that draws our attention to details and nuances. There is plenty of both in this performance, but they are not emphasized. This is interesting because, compared to the ultra-dark and tangible Siltech, the Polish cable sounds more detached, yet slightly clearer. When Mary Travers joined the men earlier in 1 Very Last Day, she was clearer and more accentuated with Desire, yet she was shown further away in the scene.

THERE IS SOMETHING IN THE MUSIC listened to through the tested cable that makes us sit back comfortably, but with expectations. This clash of energy, the immediacy of the leading edge, and a kind of “departure,” or a moment of reflection on that impact, seemed perfect for my next choice, LIGHTNIN' HOPKINS’ Last Night Blues, released last year in an excellent manner on CD by Craft Recordings (also on LP).

This is an outstanding album with excellent sound. And that's how it was presented, as a combination of art and technology. Its sound was smooth, like the previous ones, but it was also open, not bright, but open. The stereo image was slightly narrower than with Siltech, but the depth of sound remained intact. When I talk about stereo in this context, I am of course thinking of something like a panorama, not real space – this is an album recorded in the old left-right style, with no sound in the middle. That's how stereo was imagined at the time, or rather how the audience imagined it, because real stereo had been around for many years.

Anyway, Desire Power delivers a very dynamic but slightly distant. It is tonally rich and has an open midrange. This openness is more informative than brightening. Hopkins' vocals were clear and distinct, and it was easy to pick out the distortion at the beginning of the second minute of the song 2 Got To Move You Baby (and later on as well). The guitar and harmonica, fairly bright instruments, were presented strongly, although without sharpness.

But it is this combination of smoothness and openness, without artificially extracting sounds from their natural “habitats” that is so engaging with this cable. Indeed, even the brightly recorded 2 Wade in the Water from EVY CASSIDI’S Songbird album was not too bright, but clear, and ELVIS PRESLEY's deep vocals from Elvis is Back! was not deprived of depth. On the other hand, in both cases the sound drawing was clear - silky in attack, yet clear in outline.

▌ Summary

AND AGAIN - I DIDN'T LOOK, I DIDN’T CHECK, and yet I'm sure I said something similar regarding the SP: this is a cable for mature people. Musically and sonically mature, “taught” what a good system should sound like. For those looking for immediate dynamics, it will seem too sedate and withdrawn, and for those wanting to nap in an armchair, too expressive. In reality, it is neither.

This is a cable with very deep tonality, which came out wonderfully with the last CD I listened to with it, the AQUAVOICE Flow. It has a very well set tonal balance that does not tilt the timbre in any direction. If anything, one may say it opens it up in the midrange, which gives that, aforementioned, clarity. In turn, the attack of the sound is slightly warmed with it. This does not mean, however, that it is blurred. I could go on on this type of contrasts but it makes no sense.

The key point is that it is a top power cable offering an outstanding performance. ●

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THIS TEST HAS BEEN DESIGNED ACCORDING TO THE GUIDELINES adopted by the Association of International Audiophile Publications, an international audio press association concerned with ethical and professional standards in our industry, of which HIGH FIDELITY is a founding member. More about the association and its constituent titles → HERE.

→ www.AIAP-online.org