For the two or three millionaires or third-world dictators reading this article, you could build yourself a power delivery system that would make even Donald Trump change his hair do. Check this out! For optimum performance, Isoclean recommends using two paralleled PT-3030Gs and a power bar filter per component. Depending on what AC cables and power bar filter you choose, costs could easily eclipse $10,000 just to isolate and filter one lone component. Oy veh!


The more I learned about the cost and complexity of this system, the more hesitant I became to see this review through to completion. First, I had no context in terms of price or performance nor do I posses the type of system to fully explore the outer capabilities of this fascinating gear. Before I drifted too far out into the Atlantic in my leaky skiff, our editor threw me a line and towed me back to safer waters. One of my more - er, high-heeled colleagues will cover these fine products in greater detail at a later date. Consider this a primer or sneak peek if you will. More to follow.


I was given three of Isoclean's power cables; the Premium II, Focus and Auto Focus. Each cable features pure copper-stranded wire sourced from the UK and custom-modified connections, which are hand polished and gold plated. The shielding for the Focus and Auto Focus consists of a "high density metal mesh", chosen for "flexibility and effectiveness in reduction of RFI/EMI". The less expensive Premium Plus II does not contain a shield. As above, silver solder is used where applicable and is applied at a specific temperature for optimum sonics. All three cable flavors are encased in plastic mesh sleeving and considering their girth, were remarkably pliable and easy to route.


As I mentioned, Isoclean recommends each component should have at least one PT-3030G with the optimum result requiring two per component. Since I was given only one transformer, I tried it on various components and eventually settled on my entire system being plugged into the 60A3 via Isoclean power cables, with the bar linked to the PT-3030G isolation transformer via an Auto Focus cable. I then plugged the transformer into my wall outlet with its hard-wired Auto Focus cable.


With my system fully connected, the results were staggering. The noise floor did not just drop. It went on permanent vacation. Elvis had left the building! I was shocked with massive across-the-board improvements in dynamic range, transparency and image density. Vocals and instruments were clearer, fuller, more focused and three-dimensional. Images were so tactile and tangible that I could have pulled out a kitchen knife and cut myself a big chunk of music out of thin air. I really don't know how else to describe this effect. Furthermore, the Isoclean system never gave the impression of constricting power flow nor did it thin out or bleach tonal colors as other lesser conditioners I have tried were guilty of. In fact, the exact opposite proved true with the Isoclean rig.


To say the 60A3/PT-3030G bettered the GutWire MaxCon and Blue Circle BC86 would be a gross understatement. Granted, considering the vast price differences, the comparison was completely unfair. But this just goes to show how sometimes, more money can get you more of everything. In this case, the mo' was way mo' as in, a completely different league or dimension.


There was a significant increase in output volume and sheer slam. Swapping all the Isoclean gear in and out several times confirmed this. The bass was linebacker solid and endowed with awesome weight and punch. Yet this didn't come at the expense of control or articulation. Dynamics both micro and macro were explosive. Music also remained coherent as I turned up the wick. With every system, there is a point where music starts to compress and images flatten out. Playback turns coarser and pinched, glare and harshness intrude. With the Isoclean, I could crank up the tunes far louder than ever before music became irritating. It's as if there was simply more power on tap. Ultimately, the Isocleans created far more musically engaging listening sessions than I could have anticipated in my wildest dreams. To call me unprepared is putting it mildly. The presentation was impossible to get up and walk away from.


The effectiveness of the PT-3030G and 60A3 made it difficult to isolate any sonic differences between the two. They both pushed the noise floor into the basement and offered significantly enhanced clarity and expression. However, on its own, the PT-30303G offered far greater weight, punch and image density. I would have loved to sample a pair of PT-3030Gs on each of my components!


The power cables reminded me of the GutWire Power Clefs. In fact, I'd have had difficulty picking them apart in a blind listening test. They all lowered the noise floor, enhanced clarity and offered a weightier and more dynamic presentation. However, the Isocleans struck me as encouraging a slightly richer and more euphonic character while perhaps not being completely natural though certainly quite intoxicating. Previously, I have noticed how thicker and more complex cables tended to exert a more mellifluous effect on system sonics. Like the GutWires, the Isocleans exhibited greater weight, scale and impact without interfering with musical flow or momentum.


The Isoclean cables displayed vastly different sonics compared to the Audience powerChords. The slim black snakes from Escondido/California major on speed, clarity and lightness of touch. The heavy-weight contenders from the Far East offered a darker, more richly hued presentation with a superior level of noise and grunge rejection. Just as there is no one spice perfect for every dish, there is no one power cable ideal for every component. In the culinary arts, one must experiment and choose the spice girl that best suits the meal and one's tastes. Keep in mind, the most expensive component does not necessarily mean the sonically superior one especially in the realm of cables. With certain components, I have frequently preferred cheaper cables to more expensive ones. As always, I recommend borrowing a handful from a dealer and trying them out in your system.


For me, the Focus offered the best value overall as it was sonically very close to the Auto Focus. It just missed the last degree of openness and clarity of its more expensive brother but is $300 cheaper. The $600 Premium II lagged noticeably behind, lacking the sheer weight, impact and transparent sonics of its more expensive siblings.


Is the Isoclean system the best you can buy? I have no idea. However, it elevated my system to a whole new level that I previously believed existed only in reviewer hyperbole and starry-eyed imagination. In the past, I have also been disappointed with several -- albeit less expensive -- power conditioners, finding them to limit dynamics and skew tonal balance. Isoclean has changed all that but for a very hefty price. In fact, I was so gob-smacked that I could not wait to go cold turkey and return my review samples lest I suffer painful withdrawal symptoms and do something stupid. The Isoclean was akin to audio heroin. I had to kick the habit pronto before the monkey firmly wrapped its tail around my throat. As Roy Gregory would so mildly put it, the Isoclean is unquestionably "ruinously expensive' but for those who can afford it, the PT-3030G, 60A3 and company might just be the cat's proverbial midnight song.


And while I was completely enthralled with the performance of these components, the pernicious question of value rears its ugly little head. Given my penchant for real-world products at prices that even Joe and Janet Lunchbox can afford, I have great difficulty recommending you go out and melt your credit card to the tune of $1300 for just a power cable. True, this is a system and one could buy a piece at a time as funds permit. For example, one of Isoclean's less expensive power bars paired with a Focus should offer respectable results. But let's not forget that the PT-3030G can end up costing well over $5000 depending on your choice of hard-wired cable feeds. Even with the cost of importation and distribution, I cannot help but feel that the retail pricing is a trifle unrealistic. However, value is in the eye of the beholder. I am sure one of my colleagues will weigh in on this very issue in a follow-up review. Until then, if your surname is Trump or Trumpette, the Isoclean is definitely worthy of serious consideration and might just drastically alter your notions of what state-of-the-art power conditioning can do. It did for me. Consider me a convert of zealous beliefs and no means to indulge 'em.
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