Essential Sound Products, Inc.

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In 1993, a few years after relocating to Detroit to continue pursuing my automotive career, it was again time for a significant system upgrade. I purchased a C.A.T. (Convergent Audio Technology) pre-amplifier. The C.A.T. had vacuum tubes for amplification and a detachable power cord connection. This component purchase was important for two reasons, 1) it provided the opportunity to easily evaluate different power cords, and 2) the professional relationship that would ensue with the product's designer, Ken Stevens. I was fascinated by the effect changing a power cord had on the performance of the pre-amplifier, and became somewhat obsessed to understand why. So, out came the physics and electrical engineering textbooks, and a "clean sheet" design approach was pursued. Later that year, I met Ken Stevens at a high-end audio show in Chicago. I mentioned my development work to Ken, who just happened to have a particular interest in the effect of power cords on audio component performance. We agreed to trade of a set of prototype power cords for a back-up set of vacuum tubes. Ken auditioned the cords, and liked what he heard so much that he offered to use them in his demonstration system at the next CES (Consumer Electronics Show), January 1994, in Las Vegas. I attended the show, hanging out in the "C.A.T." room much of the time. Fortuitously, the C.A.T. room was particularly popular that year, as Ken's pre-amplifier was named "product of the year" in a major trade journal...

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