Chord PowerARAY Noise Reduction Plug

Chord PowerARAY noise reduction plug is the newest mains conditioning unit from Chord. This noise reduction plug can be plugged into an unused mains socket. The socket should be close to the one that feeds your audio equipment. In this way the noise reduction plug is designed to provide a low impedance path to ground. Its designed to reduce high frequency noise and interference and as a result, Chord say you should be able to hear more of the music with less potential ‘mush’.

A ‘noisy’ environment

High frequency noise is around us all the time. This noise can worsen the performance of your audio equipment, hiding detail and creating a ‘mushy’ sound. The power distribution system that feeds your house is subject to all kinds of interference. Moreover, all of the appliances in use, add noise to the ring mains in your house. Mains cabling is unshielded and high frequency noise can be picked up by the live, neutral and earth wires.

How does mains noise reduction work?

The PowerARAY works by providing a low resistance path to earth, for high frequency noise. Each of the mains wires is effectively shorted to earth, at high frequencies. This removes any noise, close to where your audio power feed is. It should be placed as close as possible to the said feed, or in one of the sockets of a distribution block. There should be a worthwhile improvement in the clarity of sound.

The plug operates in parallel to the power feed it is not in series, as this can affect the impedance and power delivery of your system. Finally, digital signal processing, that is used by DACs, can produce high frequency noise, this is also eliminated by the PowerARAY plug.

Why mains conditioners?

Several types of mains conditioners and noise reduction units are in use. Chord specialise in mains conditioners. For example, they offer the M6 mains distribution unit that has built in filtering and protection. Each internal bus has RFI filtering. Additionally, there are various filter units. Such as Silencers. Silencers are placed close to the audio systems power feed. They can also be placed close to the source of interference, such as a fridge.

Purifiers work on a wider bandwidth and will filter out broadband noise. Broadband noise can make the sound ‘mushy’. Audio equipment itself can produce RFI, such as Class D amplifiers that use a high frequency carrier, as well as digital signal processing in Streamers and the like.

The third type of mains conditioners are known as Clarity conditioners. These are designed to work on the earth system of your home. The earth system can carry a lot of ‘hash’ from many sources both inside and outside your house. Clarity filters remove any noise and give a significant detail improvement.

Who are Chord?

Chord are renowned for high-end audio cables as well as mains conditioners. The Epic power cable is hand built in the UK and uses Chord’s ARAY conductor technology to reduce noise pickup. Moreover, they make speaker cables with pre-fitted plugs as well as a range of balanced and unbalanced interconnects.