Isolation transformers. Batteries. To disconnect audio power supplies from the mains has long since been a holy Grail for manufacturers who are intent on maximizing performance. Yet the battery route limits itself to low-level circuits and is somewhat impractical to adapt to high-current amplifiers. What to do? Enter a small company in the UK which does business under the tantalizing moniker Never-Connected. They offer a power supply claimed to never connect directly to the AC mains, perhaps rendering exotic filters, after-market power cords and line purifiers obsolete or less effective than otherwise. In the business of licensing their invention, Fenson & Company Ltd. thus far have Trichord Research and J.A. Michell Engineering Ltd amongst their users and hope to penetrate the HighEnd audio market with their solution claimed to outperform any existing ones "cost no object".


I was introduced to the concept by Stephen Balliet of Reflection Audio who is currently investigating Never-Connected. I was privy to his gripping yet rational explanations over a dinner wine-infused compliments of HighEnd collector Doctor Jim Langham and his way-deep stash of rare bottles. Being a laughable lightweight when it comes to alcohol, I now only recall something about cleverly sequenced switched capacitor banks that seem timed such as to create a virtual disconnect from the power line whenever the active device is drawing from the supply to create immunity from line-based noise components. Rather than relying on my nebulous recollections of this concept, manufacturer curious enough are simply advised to contact the UK company and decide for themselves whether their claims are credible and whether the real-world impact of their product is cost-effective and a superior (cheaper?) solution than battery-based supplies.