I recently had the chance to test out one of Alan's newest products, his Infinity Pulse Gen filter. My review follows.
Also, at the end of this review are my listening impressions on a tweak Alan suggested to me using his standard DIY Infinity filters which I think everyone owes it to him/herself to try if they like what the Infinity DIY does when installed on the circuit breaker. Basically, Alan told me to try sticking (with double-sided tape) one of the DIY Infinity filters over an empty outlet on each of the non-audio circuits in the house, let it settle for a day or so and then listen. More on this at the end of the post; first,
What I experienced with the Pulse Gen filter:
All listening was done after installing the Infinity Pulse-Gen plug-in into an outlet on the circuit which feeds the computer with the printers on our home network (audio system is on a separate dedicated line).
After about 1 hour of settling: Bass is deeper and more solid-sounding. The sound stage has deepened, but in an intriguing way. It appears as though the musicians have taken a few steps towards me out of the front of the speakers. That is to say, the rear of the soundstage is still in the same place, but the musicians at the front of the orchestra are now closer to my listening position than I remember (really wrap-around holographic sound). Listening to Telemann?s Wassermusik (I think it?s the 2nd track that has a lot of recorders), I feel as though I could just reach out and pluck the recorder from the musician?s hands. Things sound slightly brighter/more glassy at this point as well, however.
Days 2-3: Well, things have certainly changed from the 1 hour post-install assessment, and not for the better. The brightness is further accentuated and everything seems to have kind of a sheen to it. Upper frequencies are very prominent and the nice tonal balance I had before is gone. Soundstage is no longer as deep. Nice taut deep bass is also gone. Overall, sound is rather thin.
Days 4-6: Initial brightness/harshness is now giving way to enhanced detail. Can readily hear musicians breathing on recordings where this was never before apparent. Can easily hear every nuance of different bowing techniques/styles. Instruments seem to stand out more distinctly as individual entities. Still sounds a bit bright, though. Oboes sound kind of nasally and have too much ?bite?. Recorders also sound a bit shrill compared to before filter install, yet at the same time, these instruments stand out more clearly than before.
Days 7-8: Shrillness is now gone on recorders. This has been replaced by an amazing sense of 3-D space or air around the instruments, like the musicians are standing right in front of me. The nasally quality to the oboe is now gone as well, replaced by a very clear and accurate timbre which is very lifelike.
Days 10-15: The sound has now taken on a decidedly sweeter, richer tone which possesses complete timbral accuracy. This has made CD?s much more pleasant to listen to. Even those which were previously overly ?hot? or bright sounding, have now been tamed to some degree. For example, EMI?s Red Line CD of Yehudi and Jeremy Menuhin playing Beethoven?s violin sonatas is a fantastic CD artistically speaking, but the violin always sounded a bit too edgy to really sit down and enjoy this CD. I would always find myself fidgeting and getting up to take the CD out after a few tracks because of the edgy quality to the sound. With the Pulse-Gen in place, Yehudi Menuhin?s violin playing is now reproduced in all its glory with the sweet, rich tonal quality it should have, with lots of ?wood? in the sound, not just the sound of the metal strings. It is now easy with almost all CD?s to just close one?s eyes and become completely engrossed and enveloped in the sound, quickly forgetting that you are listening to the stereo and not a live performance.
As to placing the Infinity DIY?s over the outlets:
After only 24 hours, subtle details and sounds that were never audible before are now very clear, yet without any of the increased brightness that often comes with enhanced detail.
While listening to Jacqueline du Pr? playing Beethoven?s cello sonatas with Daniel Barenboim, someone began coughing and sniffling and we thought it was our son in the next room. We went to investigate and discovered that our son was outside. After reading the liner notes and re-listening to that section of the CD, we realized that this was a live recording and the sound was actually coming from someone in the audience! With these filters installed only over outlets on non-audio circuits, the reproduction of piano has become mind-bogglingly realistic. The sound is just to die for. The soundstage has also taken on a bit more detail with respect to being able to locate musicians in a precise position on the stage, and even to locate the person in the audience with the annoying cough
This is a must-try tweak, especially at only $25 per filter. This is not even in the same ballpark as products like the Quietlines.
I hope these reviews/comments are helpful to those of you interested in improving the sound of your existing system. Both of these "tweaks" are more like equipment upgrades!
Best regards
Chris
