The LAB12 gordian power is a multifuction power distributor/conditioner that is a very cleverly constructed and so far showed a great sonic potential. According to the developer, Stratos Vichos, it is “basically a unit that is designed to clean up your mains supply without affecting the dynamics of the system” – which I can fully confirm.
Gordian incorporates an industrial grade power analyzer which lets you inspect all the aspects of the AC power signal. Among other things it provides data about:
• Frequency (accuracy 0.0005%)
• Total Harmonic Distortion (THD – accuracy 0.005%)
• RMS Voltage/Current
• Power Consumption
• Power Factor
• FFT (Frequency analysis)
• DC Voltage
and more…
You can use this data to trace the AC signal of your provider, inspect the power consumption of your audio system, investigate problems on your local electric network (eg find household devices that affect the quality of your power source) or decide on the optimal filtering mode.
During listening tests it immediatelly smoothed out some rough edges and provided a sense of natural warmth which was actually the absence of any “cold” sounding artifacts caused by the industrial and other pollution, in the electrical network and surrounding “air”.
Troughout several days of use the display showed the distortion spectrum varied greatly but the LAB12 gordian ensured a consistently high performance levels. Nothing important was taken away except for the “grunge” which is very positive. The sense of vibrant energy in the music was absolutely enhanced and this helped to portray a very believable sonic picture. The micro and macro dynamics were notably better which is an excellent sign.
The inner resolution of instruments and voices was lifted to another level and one could hear the details very deeply into the back of the recording venues. The transparency was also improved by a substantial margin and all this without a hint of any harsness or stridency.
To fully appreciate what LAB12 gordian does to your system, one needs to remove it to experience the sad situation which we usually confront with unfiltered electricity. Depending on where you live, the results may vary but in my case the effect of cleaner and more stable electric power was impossible to overhear.
What is very interesting with this conditioner is that the filtering topology is highly configurable. The end user can choose between several modes of operation or just let Gordian choose the optimal configuration for the characteristics of the power line based on the metrics that has been gathered by the power analyzer. The same applies for the power factor correction as well. It is quite impressive to see Gordian automatically adapting its filtering configuration when the quality of the power changes for some reason (e.g. when noisy appliance gets into operation).
All in all a very promising device that will be thoroughly examined at Mono and Stereo.
TECHNICAL
Specifications:
• 20A KNACK AC power cable included
• Adaptive EMI RFI filtering
• Adaptive Common and differential filters
• Adaptive Power Factor correction
• Overvoltage protection
• FFT analysis
• DC voltage analysis
• THD analysis
• Power consumption analysis
• AC voltage, current analysis
• 2 High Current filtered outputs
• 4 Low Current filtered outputs
• Auto On / Off display system (system current monitoring)
• 20A High Current Input
CONTACT
Lab12 – Handcrafted High-End Audio.
Lachana 12 Neo
Irakleio
14121 Athens
Greece
Tel: +306972234227
