Mr A . L  - London 12 July 2002

CONTACT: 020 8421 9826  www.audusa.com    GUARANTEE: 3 YEARS

SOUND jjjjj  VALUE jjjj £99.00 (incl VAT for 1.8m length)

This is another fairly high-tech cable that features a special weaving and shielding filtering system that is said to protect against the mains garbage that adversely influences sound quality.  The conductors are 10 gauge, making it quite difficult to terminate, and insulation is made from genuine PTFE.  According tot he manufacturer there are two kinds of PTFE, and many use the less expensive known as FEP which allegedly sounds inferior to the proper stuff.  The cable is supplied in a heavy-duty outer jacket to prevent sharp bending of the internal conductors which might create small fissures that lead to reduced performance over time.  A heavy duty Heil IEC socket is fitted, with a hospital-grade mains plug at the other end.

Subjectively LAT AC-2 proved itself among the best of the group, delivering a bright crisp sound with a good firm bass.  Unlike other bright-sounding Cables, AC-2 seemed very focused, allowing one to hear deep onto the mix without smearing or edginess.  Clarity was excellent, and overall the music sounded clean and easy to follow with good rhythmic portrayal and crisp attack.  Being of woven construction, AC-2 should increase in effectiveness with length.  So, although it’s possible to save money by going for the 0.9m version, it might not sound quite as good as the 1.8m version tested here.  Despite being slightly more expensive than most of the Cables in the test AC-2 deserves an enthusiastic recommendation

Quote from page 37 September 2001 Issue of Hi Fi Choice - review of the PS Audio Mains P300  Conditioner - "With an LAT mains cable in place, high frequency percussion sounded crystalline and silvery in its pin point brilliance; going over to a standard mains cable, this silvery brilliance turned grey, losing the sparkling immediacy noticeable before. Surprised? You bet! I felt the improved supply would've reduced such differences. But there you go. Inevitably, this throws up questions about mains purity, and what it is that specialised mains Cables actually do. 

RECOMMENDED PRODUCT SEPTEMBER 2001

Note: Cable conductors are Silverfused and 10 awg. Price quoted in review is for 1.8m length

CABLE MAINTENANCE

Jon Marks goes cable-hunting with three specialist mains leads from Campaign Audio and LAT International.

 LAT INTERNATIONAL AC-2

One point to note about this cable is that the lengthy recommended burn-in of 80-100 hours for the three silver-plated OFC conductors and their shield isn’t and exaggeration.  The LAT was feeding MVL’s Integral A2s for a good two or three weeks before its sound quite suddenly opened up.

Replacing the AC-2 with a standard mains lead produced a clearly audible effect on sound, as Nick Drake’s guitar playing on Pink Moon took a step back in a shrunken sound stage.  Imaging was fuzzier too, his guitar well defined in the space between Magneplanar’s SMGa loudspeakers.  Swapping to dEUS’ The Ideal crash album, I found the differences even more evident.   Electric bass was a lot slower and muddier, and complex tracks had a habit of tripping over themselves.

Returning to the AC-2 with Whistler’s eponymous CD restored the sense of spaciousness, harmonic richness and dynamics, especially in the bottom-end.  For the money, that’s no mean feat.

Review Date
November 22, 2001

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

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Summary:
I will keep this short. There is no need for a lot of flowery hype words. It is simply the best power cord that I and my friend have ever tried. My friend has tried more than I have and many in the mega-buck price range. We compared it to the one my friend owns which is the Tara lab, The One ISM – retails for $1200.00, he got as a dealer demo for $875.00. The LAT simply excels in all the usual standards of performance. It gives a far better simulation of a live performance than the Tara. “Nuff said” One last point; I agree with Phillip the last review prior to this one, you have got to be patient during the burn in period. It needs way over 100 hours to completely burn in before it pops into place and starts performing like a champ. So, I also agree with Phillip where he says that Tom (about three reviews below this one) must not have given the LAT enough burn in before writing his review, since the Cables he compared it to are some that my friend compared it to and says, no contest.

Strengths:
Coherent and revealing throughout the whole range, unbelievable performance for the price.

Weaknesses:
The fact that LAT does not advertise enough to let people now they exist.

Price Paid: $129 at Lat web site

Product Model Year:
2000

Summary:
I was in the market for a power cord and while price is important to me I was prepared to pay for top of the line pricing $600.00 to $800.00 if necessary since I wanted to get one of the best cords out there. I had heard so many raves in chat rooms and from friends about this Lat power cord that I just had to try it. Let me first say that I would give overall ranking of those I tried above as follows: number one is the Lat followed in order by Magnin, Electra Glide Reference, Synergistic Research (their top of the line), TG Audio HSRi and last, Absolute. Strange isn’t it that the LAT is less expensive than all of them except the Absolute and by a considerable amount. It is also interesting that I noticed that Tom, in a review below, also reviewed the Lat. The interesting thing is that he compared it to the Absolute and TG Audio HSRi. We also compared the Lat to these same cords and at first listening we found exactly the same comparisons and criticisms as Tom did but not for long. Lat manufacturer says that the burn in time is 100 hours. But we found that it did not burn in until more like 150 hours at which point, it suddenly blossomed into a completely different sounding cord. Gone was the heaviness and looseness of the bass that Tom also found. The entire frequency range became fully integrated and tonally even from top to bottom. It now has a vitality and transparency that surpasses all of the above Cables I compared it to. The bass is tight and accurate. Mids and highs are crystal clear and smooth with no fatiguing no matter how long I sit and listen. Instruments are easily discernable from each other in both identifying what instrument it is and where it is across and back into the sound stage. No doubt, Tom did not allow the cord to completely burn in. The difference once it hit the 150 hour point was sudden and dramatic. This long burn in is apparently a trait of Lat Cables since my friend says he found the same long burn in time necessary for their speaker Cables he owns. I would guess that this is probably attributable to the PTFE Teflon insulation they use.  Back to some comparisons: The Magnin is the only one that gives the Lat a real test. The Lat though does just barely edge it out. Even if they were equal, what about $800.00 for the Magnin vs. $129.00 retail for Lat?

My system consists of the following: CD Oracle 2500, DAC Bel Canto Design DAC-1, Preamp Blue Circle BC21, Amp Bel Canto Design EVo 200.2, Speakers Joseph Audio RM22si.

Strengths:
Overall unsurpassed clarity and transparency from highs to deep bass. Fast transients, and resolution of detail with great dynamics. Fast transients with high detail resolution.

Weaknesses:
None I have found

Review Date
February 21, 2001

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Reviewed by: Andrew, Casual Listener, from United Kingdom

Price Paid: $100 at Custom Cable Service and AUDUSA& Co

Product Model Year: 
2000

Summary:
Russ Andrews Accessories was responsible for bringing the importance of mains quality to my attention. I've always been sceptical about how this could influence the sound quality of my Hi-Fi, and it's not something that's talked about often in the UK Hi-fi press. However, with the 3 Cables I tested having money back guarantee trial periods, I thought I'd give them a go.

Mains Cables need up to 500 hours of running in (LAT recommend at least 80 hours for the AC-2), although improvements tend to be obvious much quicker than with interconnects or speaker cable. The YellO Power, which was the cheapest cable ($45 for 5ft) showed the least improvement. The Kimber High Current PowerKord ($200 for 4ft) had the largest soundstage and marginally better resolution than the LAT AC-2, but had a grainy, poorly defined image wih inaccurate timbre and a hint of sibilance with vocals. The overall effect was slightly vague and unsatisfying in my system, and the lack of impact meant it only really worked OK with classical music. I've read that this could be because the cable is so good that it's highlighting deficiencies in my system. I'd say that I want a cable that makes my current system sound better rather than me having to spend hundreds on buying a new system to suit a cable!

Now on to the star of the show. The LAT AC-2 cable I tried was 4ft in length, terminated at one end with an MK Toughplug and the other with a nickel-plated Otto Heil IEC. The conductors used are PTFE Teflon-coated 10 gauge Silverfuse . This cable also revealed a more expansive soundstage over the standard starter cable, although it seemed much deeper than wide. This was my only real criticism of this cable, but it was something that wasn't too much of a concern given that there was still a significant improvement. The enhancement of dynamics and bass response was substantial and great for any high-energy music. These qualities were noticeably better than the PowerKord which was dry in comparison. It was no slouch with classical music either, since the background was the quietest of all, the definition the most precise and the tone and timbre superbly realistic. Vocals in particular were spot on and very well projected. All this in addition to an ability for resolving fine detail and ambience, made the whole listening experience so much more musical and enjoyable; it's that simple. The improvements were most apparent with my amp and CD player, while my MD didn't open up it's soundstage quite as much, probably because of the compressed nature of the format rather than a fault of the AC-2. For $100 it made a more positive difference to my system than any other type of cable I've tried, interconnect OR speaker cable - that's what I call value.

I appreciate that people have strong opinions about the efficacy of specialist mains Cables (nearly always negative in the UK!), and that the effect may vary between systems and possibly different regions depending on local mains quality and interference. I'm no electrical expert as I'm sure you can tell, but I can see how a simple unshielded copper starter cable might act as an FM antenna and feed RF into a system, which then distorts the signals in sources and amps. As I mentioned earlier, these Cables all had no-strings-attached trials available, so if you're feeling sceptical as I was , just give them a go! I was so impressed by the LAT that I bought 3 AC-2s and a 6-way distribution block externally and internally wired with AC-2 cable (also recommended!). I hope this will provide a decent foundation for assessing a new pair of speakers in the near future. Buying these Cables has saved me a lot of money because now I don't feel the need to replace all my five year-old kit. It's been given a new lease of life and I'm able to hear more of it's potential and see what I really paid all that money for! After all, the Cables can simply be transferred to my next component when I eventually choose to upgrade. I thought the LAT AC-2 was the best value mains cable I'd listened to, being half the price of the Kimber and out-performing it in the majority of key areas. It is without doubt the most cost-effective upgrade I've made so far. Go ahead and trial one today - what have you got to lose?!

Strengths:
Enhances everything about the sound - simply more musical. Great value compared to the competition. Robust construction and high quality terminations included in the price.

Weaknesses:
Soundstage could be a touch wider

Similar Products Used:
Russ Andrews Accessories YellO Power, Kimber High Current PowerKord