What Hi-Fi? Verdict
About the most startling upgrade £45 can make
Pros
- +
Allows greater detail, greater attack and greater dynamics
- +
Pretty affordable
Cons
- -
Squeezes the soundstage somewhat
- -
Can impact on treble adversely
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The latest iteration of a mains block we’ve liked for years, the CS947 is an unusual combination of the exotic and the prosaic.
The plastic it’s made from feels hard and smooth, and of no greater perceived value than a simple £5 mains extender.
Performance
Down at one end, though, where the captive mains cable emerges from the body of the block, there’s a window to show off the circuitry that your money is buying, which makes the CS947 an altogether showier proposition.
When it’s introduced into the chain between your mains supply and your electronics, perceived tactile value ceases to be an issue.
The CS947 releases the stranglehold the mains supply can exert over electronics, releasing the attack and timing our reference equipment is cable of.
Playing a FLAC file of Underworld’s Push Upstairs there’s an entirely more assertive performance from our system, greater positivity in transient sounds and a more convincing sense of integration.
Treble sounds are slightly thinned out, with a little less body than before the Tacima is introduced. The soundstage loses a little of its expansiveness, but the overall gains in midrange dynamics, detail preservation and overall timing more than make up for it.
Verdict
At £45, the CS947 is an excellent upgrade for any entry-level system.
