MY NEW SYSTEM (By Rich W.)
I. Daydreams
Tell me if you don’t do the same: as the working day drags, I construct imaginary hifi systems. These are usually cost-no-object assemblies. What do they sound like? Who knows? It’s fun, and makes the day run a little faster.
The other day, for example, I thought about the new MartinLogan Neolith. http://www.martinlogan.com/neolith/index.php. As you see, it’s another attempt to mesh electrostatic top elements with dynamic woofers. To drive this exotic beast, I picked the
Purity Audio PSE 300B monoblock amplifier,
http://www.purityaudiodesign.com/PSE300B.html, and the Statement preamplifier, http://www.purityaudiodesign.com/statement2014.html, also from Purity. I have had those products in my system, and they’re quite wonderful.
In only a few minutes, I had spent almost an imaginary USD 150,000, without adding a source or the wire loom. The project was harmless, completely impractical, and absolutely never going to appear in any listening room within a hundred kilometers of me.
II. “Show Sound”
Over the years, I had made my reference system into a precise, analytic tool; the sort of display one hears in the more expensive rooms at the better shows. I had gradually emphasized the attack of the note, and paid less attention to the complex harmonic envelope that follows.
Here’s an example: Gould’s 1981 traversal of the Goldberg Variations (Sony 37779) employs staccato fingering. When played through my “best of show” system,
the effect was too angular, so that the Steinway piano sounded a good deal like a harpsichord.
Over time, common sense prevailed. Real music does not sound like the shiny, heartless presentations one hears at shows. That sort of thing may attract dealers and get favorable mention in magazines, but it’s an illusion.
III. Righting Wrongs
A few years ago, Dr. C. C. Pong at Monarchy Audio sent me the AC-Regenerator, http://www.monarchyaudio.com/AC_Regen_frm_Main.htm. There are many such boxes, but this modest unit smoothed the irritating edges without rendering the music unrealistically soft. The only problem was power. The Regenerator could clarify 100 watts – enough for a preamplifier, perhaps, and digital converter. Phono stage? Not enough to share. Enormous power amplifier? Not even worth considering.
Since then, I’ve explored bigger power conditioners, and found them to be a mixed breed. The Dussun 1600, http://www.dussun.com/english/x-serial.html, made the music softer – all of the music took on a very relaxed presentation. The Walker Velocitor, https://walkeraudio.com/velocitor-power-line-enhancer/, took the opposite approach and emphasized detail, speed and focus. The PS Audio P5, in my system at least, had the curious effect of making the music itself appear regulated: the natural flow of note to note was interrupted.
Of course, there are dozens of these devices. I wasn’t sure I could ever achieve the proper balance of musicality and control. One of my friends suggested the Isotek GII Nova might be a good choice, so I tried it.
IV. I Did Not Go To Engineering School
The subject of this review has an impressive rationale, which is given here: http://isoteksystems.com/cgi-bin/downloads.pl?com=getFile&id=13
Although my ears tell me that the product works wonderfully well, I caution you not to
get caught up in the manufacturer’s explanation; every product made by every company, from power cord to turntable to isolation device, has a well-considered, extensively argued, rationale for why the audio problem can only be solved this way, and no other.
Push all of that away. The measurements – usually with oscilloscope tracings – may satisfy engineers, but they don’t correlate well with listening to music, and that’s what we do.
V. My New System
The Isotek does not change your system so drastically that you cannot recognize it; instead, it removes some annoyances and brings some virtues closer. On the Landowska reading of the Well-Tempered Klavier, the vinyl’s scratchy background remains; but background hum (cutting head amplifier?) which I have pushed out of mind is brought under control. This is a not seismic change. The records are about fifty years old, and sound it. Now I don’t have to concentrate to exclude distractions.
Bernstein’s Serenade, as performed by Isaac Stern and the composer, is both cleaner and presented with greater depth. Stern’s visceral approach to the score, bringing out both pathos and humor, is a little clearer. Of course these elements were always present, but now they are easier to apprehend.
In this new system, which passes every active component through the Isotek except power amps, I have the music’s attack but the trailing harmonic envelope as well. For this transformation, I paid $5,000 – not cheap by any means, but far less than the spectacular, chimeric copulations that spring to mind several afternoons per week, and one that took a few minutes to install, and less than a weekend to insure that it did what I hoped.
Which makes me wonder: what happens if I put Isotek’s largest conditioner, which does accommodate power amps, into the system? I suspect the result will be both more detailed and more relaxed – as live music sounds.
If you have a good system, one that presents the music honestly, I think that you should consider the Isotek.
Rich W