PF-2 Mk2 EVO Filtering Power Strip By GigaWatt

The GigaWatt PF-2 EVO is the improved version of GigaWatt’s most advanced filtering power strip designed to power and protects Hi-Fi audio and video systems. The PF-2 EVO is made using high-quality components. The distortion is filtered in an RLC filtering block. It is built using metalized polyester capacitors with low inductance and an IP (Iron Powder) filtering core. The PF-2 also uses the highest quality capacitors manufactured by Miflex according to Gigawatt specifications. All components of the filters are mounted with silver solder on a massive, double-sided printed circuit board with very large cross-sections.

The strip doesn’t have typically protective elements, such as fuses or thermal fuses, which throttling the free flow of current to the protected circuits has a negative effect on the sound… Protection against over-voltage and power surges is guaranteed by a multi-stage protection circuit, composed of plasma sparks and a new generation of UltraMOV varistors. Those elements, working together with a well-designed, modern power grid, warrant a complex protection against over-current and over-voltage.

The PF-2 EVO uses an innovative current distribution system, being a proprietary development of the company. It is based on massive power distribution bars of 2nd generation, made of polished, high purity, cathode copper slabs (Cu-ETP). This system distributes the current directly to each pair of output sockets, using crimped and screw-tightened connections and GigaWatt Powerlink inner cabling with a cross-section of 4.0 QMM. The use of the star wiring topology and the high conductance and massive cross-section of about 30.0 QMM of each of the bars warrants an equal and stable power distribution regardless of the load on any of the strip’s outputs.

The PF-2 EVO power strip is equipped with six high-quality power sockets GigaWatt NEMA 5-20R, designed and manufactured by the company. The brass connectors of those sockets are silver plated at the factory, without the usage of intermediary metals, like copper or nickel, which could introduce unfavorable series resistance and voltage loss. The increased area of contact and the thick layer of silver guarantee sure contact with the plug pins. The sockets were additionally subdued to cryogenic modification and a demagnetizing process. In order to effectively protect children, the sockets are equipped with integrated anti-surge shutters (increased protection against touching, conform with VDE 0620).

All internal elements of the power strip are closed in a double metal chassis. This enclosure is a perfectly tight shield against RFI and EMI noise. The strip is also equipped with a LED indicating proper operation of the device and a circuit indicating wrong polarization of the power line or wrongly connected grounding.

The strip is also equipped with a high-quality IEC socket, allowing its user to connect any power cable. The power strip is equipped with the power cable LC-1 EVO with a 1.5m length. To fully utilize the maximum potential of the PF-2 EVO we recommend the usage of the LC-3 EVO or LC-2 EVO power cable.

All GigaWatt products are covered by an insurance policy for the connected equipment, with a total insurance value of 1000000 PLN. The insurance does not apply to the United States and Canada

Srajan Ebaen
“Getting this relatively raw & unplugged a sonic delivery from the Pole with comprehensive protection insurance was unexpected but most advantageous.”

“The acid test: Having in the ModWright deliberately chosen my beefiest specimen, how would the GigaWatt survive being compared against raw utility power? Exceptionally well. It was noticeably superior. The PF-2 delivered higher resolution which in this context suggested a lower noise floor. Wall direct was fuzzier, duller, opaque and somewhat hooded. Even bass was weaker, less defined and more portly/soggy. Reverting to the GigaWatt upped crispness and definition factor without—and this was key—introducing nervousness, brightness or that hyper focus of etchiness. The soundstage with its layers was more illuminated and developed.”

“The Polish power strip was unambiguously better. At this juncture I became convinced that Adam Szubert really knew his job. Substituting his copper power cord with a silver/gold Crystal Cable Ultra merely drove that nail home [above]. The Crystal cord moved things into lighter leaner more lit-up turf and with that introduced a small touch of what now seemed artificial glinting in the upper midrange. Without wishing to support urban myths, this did follow common preconceptions on the ‘sound of silver’. Let it suffice that I preferred GigaWatt’s own (and far cheaper) cord.”

“What I do know is that the combo of 6-outlet power strip and power cord for all of €1.290 did not have me lust after the far costlier Walker Audio Velocitor S. In a context of equivalently good but different pace setter performance for the GigaWatt—more suitable to my present system needs in fact—peace of mind from protection against catastrophic surges seems thrown in for free.”

“My first exposure to the Polish GigaWatt company now set to conquer the Americas mirrors the esteem my colleague at the helm of HighFidelity.pl has for it. Clearly patriotism did not get the better of Wojciech.”

“Minus the snazzy—some might say misleading—marketing terms, magic dust and signal cables, GigaWatt might be viewed as Europe’s answer to Shunyata Research. This heats up the competition in the serious sector of this component category. The discerning consumer wins with more options, here specifically between the Shunyata Guardian Pro Model-6, BPT’s Pure Power Center and GigaWatt’s PF-2.”

“For Poland and music lovers first there were Fryderyk Chopin and Henryk Wieniawski in the 19th century, Henryk Gorecki and Witold Lutosławski in the 20th. Hifi fans can now add GigaWatt for the 21st. That’s the global village concept in action. Bravo!”

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/gigawatt4/1.html
 

Marcin Olszewski – “audiostereo.pl”
“With Gigawatt the sound of my system became, not more palpable, but more natural. It was like stepping closer to the stage. Being closer to the musical event, have the performers at the touch of your hand by having better seats on the auditorium. To date, I had a similar effect only with some tube amplifiers like the Air Tight ATM-1s.”

“Music was one condensed, homogeneous and complete whole, but one, in which you could effortlessly follow the individual instruments. “Foo Foo” boiled with energy and joy. The solos of Benny Rietveld on the bass, of the ones Carlos made, sounded in such a way, that sitting still without moving your limbs was close to impossible.”

“In general Gigawatt puts more weight to the sound, but at the same time it causes no darkening. It is just that after plugging the PF-2 in our system we not only hear, but also feel more of what is happening in the lower registers. Readability, diversity and rhythmics of this subrange also increases. It is important, and I’ll underline that, that the tested power strip does not try to beautify anything.”

“For dessert I left myself something symphonic, with a big “S”. “Also sprach Zarathustra” R. Strauss under Frits Reiner and “The Planets” Gustav Holst under Herbert von Karajan. Descriptions like ‘spectacular’ or ‘apocalyptic’ will be fully justified. The might of symphonic orchestras was not only heard, but also felt (and judging by the face expressions of my neighbors not only in my apartment). The listening session reminded me of driving a truck with a speed known from Formula 1. Nothing stretched, nothing boomed. If a kettledrum had to sound low, then it reached almost the Hades, and then immediately returned to make place for the strings, or brass sections, testing our ability of hearing treble.”

“The longer I listened with the PF-2, the more respect I gained for this product. I know, how little voodoo is inside, and that the effect is the result of thought through topology and proper current distribution. I am thinking how to write, that a power strip costing almost as much as conditioners from other companies, introduces changes comparable to changing the loudspeaker cables costing a few thousand zloty. And this was a very positive change. Of course at this moment, people not believing in cables, or not hearing its influence, may think, that PF-2 cannot have any influence, because this is the last meter after kilometers of cables on poles, in distribution rooms and in walls, that are far from being “audiophile approved”. But I encourage people with open minds to try the top power strip from Gigawatt in their systems. One final remark: if you do not want to spend any money, you’d better cure your attack of “audiophilia nervosa” buying some discs, otherwise your bank account may get thinner.”

Filip Kulpa
“The vast majority of votes in favor of the GigaWatt strip is nothing peculiar. Since many years Polish manufacturers are successful in manufacturing conditioners, power strips, protection strips and power cables, however the GigaWatt strip stands out with very good craftsmanship and splendid protection circuitry, which will prevent anything bad happening to the attached gear (effective surge and overvoltage protection). But most of all, this is a strip, which will not ruin the sound of the attached audio system. It will not compress dynamics and not soften the bass. This distinction is even more interesting, because last year, the prize went to the cheaper strip, the PF-1.”

“AUDIO ACCESSORY 2009/2010 – AUDIO Video Magazine”

HI-FI i Muzyka
“The PF-2 power strip is not much larger than the cheapest model from GigaWatt, so we were not prepared for such a quality jump. This is really something special – a power strip that not only does not damage the sound in any way, but actually improves it. Progress can be observed in terms of dynamics and transparency. GigaWatt is a splendid proposition for all those, who want to protect their system and improve its sound, and for any reason did not want to go for a conditioner.”

“AWARD OF THE YEAR 2010 – HI-FI i Muzyka Magazine”
 

Petr Wolf, Martin Justan
Adam Szubert of P.A.LABS is one of those who believe that a success in building of audiotruth raises and falls with a feed of clean power. Though there is a lot of believers, only a handful of manufacturers has managed to seriously address the issue and even less of them remained serious (in terms of marketing claims) and sane (in terms of pricing) after their very first commercial success. I am pleased to introduce a company which is perfectly serious and perfectly sane: welcome to GigaWatt.

HOW THE SERIOUS POWER STRIP LOOKS LIKE…

“The PF-2 represents in the GigaWatt´s portfolio the highest passive power strip as more sophisticated units are regular power conditioners. In my point of view Adam Szubert found nice balance between overall built and functionality of the strip. It is hefty enough to please the audiophile in us and subtle enough for easy placement.”

“I liked couple of details with the PF-2. First, the quality of its assembly is top notch and exceeds standards of the industry.”

HOW THE SERIOUS POWER STRIP SOUNDS LIKE…

“The presence of the the GigaWatt in the system was readily identifiable. Music acquired a sense of more weight and I was receiving improved spatial information in all directions. Jeff’s voice was now supported by his body unlike before (direct-to-the-wall) when the sound of the voice had been created rather by his mouth than by his chest. Lateral stage became more relaxed and a tad more organized whereas the depth underwent quite a transformation – not that the soundstage was necessarily deeper but individual sources of sound were more distinct and it was more apparent that both the singer and instruments have a 3rd dimension, a body.”

HERE COMES ELVIS…

“Through the PF-2/LC-1 the track was nicely focused, the power strip locked the musicians into proper positions within the soundstage, not leaving them wandering around, like when the system was powered directly-from-the-wall. I was enjoying the same song over and over for circa 15 minutes when I disconnected the LC-1 cord and swapped it for the LC-2. Now, let me say, that I was not prepared for such a change! And it is not just a reviewer’s polite statement. Literally everything had improved; the instruments only now came alive and jumped out of the speakers with believable three-dimensionality and their separation in the soundfield grew significantly. While with the LC-1 we had a nicely defined chorus in the background, with the LC-2 there was no doubt that the chorus consists of individual people. The somewhat ´unisex´sound of the LC-1 became much more balanced tonally with the LC-2, the major improvement however was in terms of its dynamic extension: soft sounds became softer and more textured, loud sounds were louder without any perceivable limitation on the top end and richness of the song just filled the listening room with radiating warmth and emotions. Having achieved such a state of pure indulgence I cannot but assign my highest recommendation to the GigaWatt power system.”

FINAL THOUGHTS…

“GigaWatt offers such a solid base and improvement in the sound quality that the money we have to pay are easily justifiable. Honestly speaking, until now I have not come across a power strip that would be sonically justifiable (apart of the benefits of surge protection and multiple connectivity, of course). The PF-2 is the only such a device – to my ears at least – that actually brings performance of any audio system one level up without any notable side-effects. As said, just go and get it, but be prepared for one extra investment: without the GigaWatt LC-2 powercord you might be missing a lot. Audiodrom was using the PF-2 as one out of two power distribution units during our extensive power cords test, and, quite surprisingly, as we had many reputable wires on hand, the PF-2 performed always the best with the LC-2. Hope this piece of information saves you some time…”

Tomasz Karasiński
LISTENING IMPRESSIONS
“Until now I dealt with only two strips, which improve sound: PowerTower and Fadel Art Hotline. Now I need to add a third position.

The PF-2 arranges the sound, as if the instruments would appear through its doing. It cleaned the stage and hung a black background, so it is not unusual, that the performance of the artists became more readable. Resolution, dynamics and space relations – in all those aspects sound became better compared to the wall outlet. Without any harshness, extracting details and proving anything forcefully.

Before the listening session I wondered, if the difference made by the power strip will be significant enough to justify the price of the PF-2; over one thousand Euros is not nothing for a distribution box. But now I do not have any doubts. This is a very successful device.”

CONCLUSION
“A further Polish product worth recommending. And this is only the beginning of the line of power products by GigaWatt.”

Filip Kulpa
“A solid power strip. An audiophile power distribution box for over one thousand Euros, of Polish origin, must be a solid piece of equipment. And it is…”

“GigaWatt proposes 5 models of conditioners and two power strips. We liked the cheaper one very much, and our Readers liked it, giving it the title Accessory of the Year 2009 in our contest.”

“Compared to the PF-1 the 2 is much more solid and heavy. The quality of manufacture is brilliant, just like in the cheaper model. Attention to detail (very nice user manual, a phase detector as accessory, aesthetic packaging) should also be noted, as well as a million zlotys insurance coverage for equipment connected.”

PERFORMANCE
“Compared to the much cheaper strip, PF-1, which affects the sound in a very small extent, the model PF-2 behaves much better. The transparency of the sound stage is much improved.”

“We should also note, that the quality of the cable before the strip is not indifferent. The question arises: if we change the LC-1 to a better cable with the PF-1, can we get the same sound like the PF-2 + LC-1? The answer is no, at least to the extent of economic profitability of such a comparison. The PF-2 is much more transparent (and profits from a better power cable), reproduces bass more thoroughly and resiliently, and no compression is audible at all in the sound. It does not change anything in terms of timbre (…) .”

OUR OPINION
“Over one thousand Euros seems a lot for a strip, but when we compare the performance of the PF-2 to competition from abroad, or to prices of good conditioner, then it will turn out, that we cannot find anything better for this price.”

“RECOMMENDATION – AUDIO Video Magazine”

Wojciech Pacuła
“The GigaWatt strip clearly changes the sound. Although my system costs a lot, I think that this is the level, where the PF-2 can show what it can. In general the sound with the GigaWatt is much more resolving, and at the same time more palpable, one could say “warmer”. This last statement is not fully true, but this is the perception of the changes at first.”

“(…) after unplugging the GigaWatt we get a set of random sounds instead of a coherent sound stage. I exaggerate somewhat, because on the long run the differences wear away, but repeating the experiment after some days immediately showed the same, and even led to a better understanding of the character of those changes.”

“Nothing is brightened, everything has its place, but under the condition that those, so different elements, are glued together. Unfortunately, the Audionova, at least in comparison to the GigaWatt, had no chance and showed everything is a kind of chaos, I mean maybe clearer – this is the mentioned emphasized midrange – but at the same time worse, with less defined attack and definition of the sounds.”

“PF-2 shows everything in a very coherent way, without departing from the speaker line, but giving more freedom to the sounds within their space, without making the impression, that every detail “lives” in its own world. And that was true for every disc listened to.”

“I confess, that although I am not a fanatic lover of peripherals like cables, strips, absorbers, etc, because I think that those are much too expensive, but I experience the need of using them. Like with the GigaWatt. This is an expensive peripheral, but if one hears how the system sounds with and without it, it will be difficult to sit down quietly. So I recommend not to try it, unless we are prepared for such an expense. Power strips of the kind of the Audionova or Artech, that I tested at the occasion, are inexpensive and work well, what means, they harm as little as possible. But they cannot do some things. Already the exchange to the power strip from Supra brings improvement, that is appreciated more when the system is improved. GigaWatt goes in similar direction as the Swedish products – the sound gets more organic, coherent, slightly warmed, but this comes from erasing the metallic “emulsion” between the sounds, from deepening them rather than from underlining any of the frequency ranges. It does not have a negative impact on dynamics, it even allows for stronger playing than with a common strip, due to the full transfer. And it gets rid of the slight underlining of the midrange, that can easily be mistaken for higher resolution. I think, that only the most expensive power strips from Fadel, a leader in this area in my opinion, can fight the PF-2.”

“For now I am fully convinced, that this kind of expense is fully justified.”

Arkadiusz Ogrodnik
“The tested conditioner PC-3 left a good impression. Now it was time to have a closer look at the power strips offered by the Polish company GigaWatt. So we took on the more expensive one, called PF-2, which looks are already reassuring.”

“Devices of this kind do not always make us enthusiastic – power strips can be a good protection for audio and video devices attached, but the beneficial influence on sound and vision is not always there. In case of the PF-2 we noticed a significant improvement of the picture on our LCD TV. Not mentioning even a traditional CRT, where the 50Hz picture was as fluent as if it would be a 100Hz one.”

VERDICT
“PF-2 will prove itself in places we look for a solid protection of A/V devices.”

“BEST BUY – HI-FI CHOICE Magazine”

http://www.gigawatt.eu/pdf/Hi%20Fi%20Choice%20luty%202008.pdf

Available socket types: EU (Schuko), US (Nema 5-20R), AU (AS/NZS 3112)
Line voltage: 220-240 VAC / 50-60 Hz or 110-120 VAC / 50-60 Hz
Maximum output power : 3 680 W
Maximum current load: 16 A
Absorbed impulse current: 13 000 A
Dimensions (L x W x H): 420 x 90 x 94 mm
Gross weight: 4.9 kg