OK, thought I would post my thoughts on the Dezorel.
If you don’t want to read everything, I think it did improve the sound of my system. Whether it is worth the cost is a subjective thing.
I’ll give it a performance = 6, cost = 6 (but I’m just pulling numbers out of the air)
Evaluation system consists of Stan Warren modded SACD 1000, a DIY pre using a SB transformer volume control from Bent Audio. This pre is not the Bent Audio kit, I bought the transformer and used RCA jacks and silver wire from Bent, other parts came from different sources. Amp is a Quad 306, speakers are Tyler Acoustics Taylo Reference Monitors. IC’s and speaker cables are Stan Warren designed DIY. PC’s are Stan Warren and another recipe DIY. Preamp does not require power, so only the 1000 and my amp are plugged in. 1000 has the SW PC, and the amp has the other DIY PC, which is a four wire braid.
The amp is plugged into a Topaz ultra isolation transformer, which can supply 500 Watts of balanced power. The 1000 is plugged into the wall. I use two different AC outlets for the system, Topaz/amp is plugged into an Eagle hospital grade outlet, and the 1000 is plugged into a Pass Seymour outlet.
I plugged the Dezorel into the Eagle outlet, so it shared the outlet with the Topaz/amp. I listened with the 1000 plugged into the wall, then into the Dezorel. I think the 1000 sounded a little better in the Dezorel, but the difference was small, and I am not sure if I could tell the difference in a blind test. I thought things sounded a little clearer and cleaner.
With the 1000 plugged into the wall, plugged the Topaz/amp into the Dezorel. Listened to a Keb Mo song, the lead in guitar part. Guitar has playing some kind of high notes, and with the Dezorel, sounded more like somebody picking strings, without the Dezorel lost some of that effect. It was a subtle but noticeable change. Heard the same effect in guitars on other songs. I also think it cleaned up vocals and other instruments as well, but it was easier to hear on guitars. Also, the background seemed a little blacker, but this was also subtle.
I plugged my amp directly into the Dezorel, and took out my Topaz. Sounded better than with the amp in the wall, but not as good as with the Topaz.
Plugged everything into the Dezorel, and a very small improvement over having the Topaz/amp only plugged into the Dezorel. Again, not sure if I could pick out the difference in a blind test.
Listening was done with Keb Mo CD, Alison Krauss “Forget about it” SACD, Christ Baron “Steppin” SACD, Chris Isaak CD and a couple of other songs. I should also say I never heard anything negative when I had the Dezorel connected, no loss of dynamics that people have heard with other power products.
So, what do I make out of all of this? I have seen posts where people say you will get more improvement by putting power conditioning or filtering on your front end stuff. That’s not what I heard, for me, there was a bigger difference on the amp. In fact, I would not buy this for the improvement I heard on my 1000, but I might for the improvement I heard on my amp.
I think it comes down to the components in your system. My 1000’s power supply has been somewhat tweaked. The power supply that generates +/- 12 volts, which is used for the output stages, has Jensen and Black gate caps in it, and better bridge diodes. It also comes with two power supplies, a switcher for the transport and decoding stuff, and a linear PS for the DAC/output stage. Maybe that makes a difference too.
My amp’s PS is basically stock. I did change out the big electrolytics last year, but I only put in something from a surplus store, nothing fancy. I only did that because the caps were about 15 years old, and due for a change. So, maybe my amps’s power supply is not is good at filtering out noise, so the Dezorel makes a bigger difference there.
So, where does that leave me? Not sure. Unfortunately, I have a new amp on it’s way (I hope). A Stan Warren modded Adcom. But, I do not have it yet, so I cannot try it with the Dezorel, and I do not know if the Dezorel will improve the Adcom as much as it does the Quad. I also wonder if you added some Blackgates or other quality caps into your components, if you could eliminate the need for a Dezorel or other power filter.
I will probably end up passing on it. It did help my system, but not getting to hear it with the SW Adcom makes it hard. I have a limited annual audio budget, and at this point, I think I would rather put the money into blackgates/superclock for my 1000, or see if I could further tweak the Adcom.
Oh, and I would think my power is pretty bad. I live in the hills, but in LA, which is obviously a big city, with lots of things to mess up your power.
One last recommendation. Try it. For $20, and one way shipping to somebody, you can see what it does in your system, and decide for yourself if it is worth it. At the end of this, we are going to sell it, and you will get at least part of the $20 back.
I’ll take it to UPS tomorrow for Dino. Should only take a day to get to him, since he is pretty close by.
Randy
