SoundStage!
Marc Mickelson
June 1997

More Is Better: Marigo RMX Reference
Ultra Power Cords

Think back to . . . March. Bill Clinton was President, Hi Fi ’97 was just a gleam in many an audiophile’s eye, and I reviewed the Marigo RMX Reference Ultra power cords. I found the Ultras to provide definite improvement to my system, even though I had just two cords to use. Enter Ron Hedrich, Mayor of Marigonia, who, like a politician, was full of promises, namely to send me three more cords and a Marigo RMX Reference AC Distribution Center so that I could power my whole system with them and thus get the complete picture of the Marigo treatment.

The additional cords and power center arrived shortly after the review was published. I won’t say more about the Ultra’s construction or materials–see the original review instead. The AC Distribution Center has its own integral Ultra power cord, and this provides a level of passive conditioning to the power it, uh, distributes to six hospital-grade outlets (you can order it with up to 14 outlets or have them added as your system grows). It has a handsome case—it looks like a DAC but it’s really nothing more than its name implies: a routing device for your system’s power. Maxigo can add 20,000-amp surge/spike protection to the AC Distribution Center for $100. The unit I received (and have subsequently purchased) didn’t include this.

In my original review of the Ultra cords, I noted the increased dynamics and sense of power wrought by a pair of the Ultra cords. Having five cords in my system along with the AC Distribution Center just put me further down the same road; I was especially surprised at how much more airy and open my system sounded–and these were not subtle differences.

The American/Infinite Zero remastered CD version of Devo’s New Traditionalists keeps the too-warm sound of the original vinyl that I used to have intact. With the full Marigo setup in place, however, the CD opened up in ways the vinyl never could.

So some things in the never-never land of high-end audio do make sense. Two Marigo Ultra cords are good, and five with the AC Distribution Center are even better. I wrote it before and I’ll write it again: the Ultras aren’t cheap, but they’re worth their lofty price given the improvements they bring to the music.
Marc@soundstage.com