Dezorel Audition Sign-up Sheet

DVV · « **Reply #60 on:** 11 Jan 2003, 05:43 pm »

Any news on where the unit is now? Who has it?

Cheers,
DVV

Beezer · « **Reply #61 on:** 11 Jan 2003, 07:39 pm »

Hopefully it's arrived on the West Coast and and is sitting in some UPS warehouse, waiting for a Monday delivery to my home. I suppose Nathan could confirm the actual day it was shipped, but I expect to see it Monday, or Tuesday at the latest.

sjd and JohnR, we'll probably need to arrange a mid-week audition for everyone - maybe Tuesday night? Let me know what will work for you guys. Anyone else in the Bay Area interested?

Beez

nathanm · « **Reply #62 on:** 11 Jan 2003, 07:52 pm »

I was kidding, I didn't actually ship it out. I still have it! It's filtering the AC to a series of floor lamps around which my newly indoctrinated cultists are standing and staring at. They are mostly caught in a catatonic swoon, but occasionally I will hear them mumble, "The Light....so diffuse..." or "Fuller, yet not brighter...60Hz is the true way, not 59.875..." They are doing quite well. Soon we'll be flying the Great Magick Kite to the Pure Dynamo In The Clouds Of Nicotine where we shall splendor in the grace of The One Miki Up High.

Either that or it was shipped out on 1/7/03.

DVV · « **Reply #63 on:** 11 Jan 2003, 09:08 pm »

Quote from: nathanm

I was kidding, I didn't actually ship it out. I still have it! It's filtering the AC to a series of floor lamps around which my newly indoctrinated cultists are standing and staring at. They are mostly caught in a catatonic swoon, but occasionally I will hear them mumble, "The Light....so diffuse..." or "Fuller, yet not brighter...60Hz is the true way, not 59.875..." They are doing quite well. Soon we'll be flying the Great Magick Kite to the Pure Dynamo In The Clouds Of Nicotine where we shall splendor in the grace of The One Miki Up High.

Either that or it was shipped out on 1/7/03.

So speaketh brother Nathan, better known as brother Theodore. And yea, those who fail to hark the wisdom of his new Bright 60 Hz cult shall shrivel in the dark. And ye shall not ask where doth he begat that wonderful suntan, for strange are the ways of brother Nathan, and if his skeleton be visible, that be for the clear x rays he passeth through his wordly body to purify it.

And ye shall remember his saying - 'tis a pure soul in this most sinful body.

Amen,
DVV

Beezer · « **Reply #64 on:** 14 Jan 2003, 05:06 pm »

DZ has arrived on the west side. I'll do some listening over the next couple days and post my impressions by Friday. I will also send it to Randy by then.

Beez

JoshK · « **Reply #65 on:** 14 Jan 2003, 05:15 pm »

I thought I was due to get it next?

Maybe not....but last I heard it was expected here on 1/11.

JoshK · « **Reply #66 on:** 14 Jan 2003, 05:16 pm »

Quote from: audiojerry

Ok, Josh, I got you. At this point, you will be getting it 11th, after Briley in NC.

Oh, that means I am 11th on the list....hehe

not that I am getting it on the 11th.

nathanm · « **Reply #67 on:** 14 Jan 2003, 06:23 pm »

And it didn't STINK when you got it, did it Beezer?

DVV · « **Reply #68 on:** 14 Jan 2003, 06:46 pm »

Quote from: nathanm

And it didn't STINK when you got it, did it Beezer?

Why do you ask?

Have been naughty with it?

I done told you to get some better grass ....

Cheers,
DVV

Beezer · « **Reply #69 on:** 14 Jan 2003, 07:37 pm »

Actually it had a faint odor of cheap cologne, as if some socially-deprived audiophile had been cuddling up with it.

Very strange...

Beez

DVV · « **Reply #70 on:** 14 Jan 2003, 07:50 pm »

Quote from: Beezer

Actually it had a faint odor of cheap cologne, as if some socially-deprived audiophile had been cuddling up with it. Very strange...

Beez

Bless you, Beezer, you just made my day.

Cheers,
DVV

nathanm · « **Reply #71 on:** 14 Jan 2003, 08:25 pm »

Lysol, perhaps?

I figured that was a bit more pleasant than cigarette smoke and lung particles from DeZorel HQ!

Guan · « **Reply #72 on:** 15 Jan 2003, 01:32 am »

No, probably not lysol but some perfumed foam cut-outs. When I got my filter it did smell rather strongly of tobacco smoke, despite the perfumed foam cut-out in the box! But the smoke smell went away after a few days. Thank goodness!

Guan

nathanm · « **Reply #73 on:** 15 Jan 2003, 04:08 am »

Ahh...foiled again! That DeZorel stench cloud is a tougher opponent that I had imagined. Curses!

Jay S · « **Reply #74 on:** 15 Jan 2003, 04:49 am »

Sounds like the break-in may have to be preceded by a bit of fumigation/aeration!

DVV · « **Reply #75 on:** 15 Jan 2003, 10:46 pm »

Quote from: nathanm

Ahh...foiled again! That DeZorel stench cloud is a tougher opponent that I had imagined. Curses!

What flavor would like it to be? Why not poll it and let the deZorel guys know, you know, vanilla, chocolate with a cherry topping, or some such?

Jeez, I want mine smelling of Tabasco and shishkebab ...

Cheers,
DVV

Beezer · « **Reply #76 on:** 17 Jan 2003, 08:09 pm »

I have had the DZ for a fews day now and I guess I'm ready to write about its effect on my system. First off:

My current system:
- Rega Planar 3, Origin Live modified Rega RB-250 arm, Dynavector 10X4 mkII cartridge
- Philips SACD1000 CD/SACD/DVD player
- Conrad Johnson PV10B and Audible Illusions M3A preamps
- Odyssey Stratos dual mono amplifier
- Chapman T-7 speakers (full range, 3-way, 90db, 4 ohm)
- Bolder M-80 and Zu Varial interconnects, and Zu Wax speaker wire
- BPT Balanced power conditioner on the source components (BPT)
- PS Audio Ultimate Outlet (20amp, high current) on amp (UO)
- JohnR brought over his DIY John Risch line conditioner (JR)

Music
Peter Gabriel - So - Mercy Street
Holly Cole that JohnR brought
Choral music that JohnR brought

JohnR and I actually listened together. We tried assorted combos of the BPT DZ, UO, and JR conditioners. We knew which conditioners were being used (no blind testing). Hopefully, JohnR will contribute his impressions.

Let's start off by saying the JR did not work in my system. We hooked it up on the front end with the UO on the amp, and it just sounded awful. the overall presentation was very flat (flatlined?) - rolled off highs, weak bass, limited dynamics, too much congestion on the choral track. It was so bad that John thought there might be something wrong with it. Enough said.

We then tried the DZ and BPT on the front end with the UO on the amp. Here the BPT was the clear winner. While the DZ might have been a wee bit tighter on the low end, the BPT had a much more relaxed and natural presentation with a deeper sound stage and better instrument seperation. Mercy Street has a great assortment of different sounds, both forceful and delicate. With the BPT, each were easily discernible and came together nicely as a whole. The DZ sounded slightly congested in comparison. Piano and voice on the Holly Cole track were more natural and realistic sounding with the BPT. Not a lot, mind you, but certainly enough to notice. The choral piece gets pretty busy at some points with voices soaring and the symphony cranking, and it was just easier to keep track of itall with the BPT. One factor that may have contributed here is the lack of individual filters and outlets on the DZ for digital and analog sources. It only has one outlet and so there may have been some digital hashish leaking into the analog source.

We then compared the DZ and UO with the amp. Here the differences were much more subtle and ultimately preference is more dependent on individual taste and system. The DZ was a bit more "reserved" than the UO with better instrument seperation and a mcuh cleaner sound. I felt like the bass on the Holly Cole track was more substantial and solid with the DZ. However, the UO seemed to provide better pace to the music - the toe tapping factor was higher, the music more engaging. Hoewever, the overall presentation was not as clean as the DZ. The differences here were very subtle. John and I switched back and forth multiple times to confirm our observations and at the end of the day I can't really say which one I preferred. John felt a bit differently, but I'll let him post his observations.

We then hooked up the BPT and UO to the DZ. We were spent in terms of critical listening, but initial observations were pretty positive. We seemed to be getting the natural, engaging presentation of the BPT/UO combo with the clearer delineation of the DZ. This is actually what led us to think that perhaps the lack of seperation between the digital and analog inputs on the DZ may have been an issue.

I held onto the unit for another couple days to audition it with my new AI M3A preamp and only listened with the BPT and UO plugged into the DZ, or else the DZ out entirely. I came to the "conclusion" that the DZ wasn't really beneficial in this set up. The AI is quite a bit more transparent than the CJ preamp, so I think any added image specificity and delineation the DZ offered with the CJ is largely lost with the AI. With the BPT and UO, the DZ seemes to take just a little bit of excitement out of the music. Perhaps, the power is being "overfiltered" at this point and I'm hearing the effects. Unfortunately, without a multiple brick DZ, I can't really make the final comparisons I'd like to make, which would be to compare the BPT and UO versus the DZ.

As it is, I will not be purchasing the unit I auditioned. Maybe at some point in the future, I will get a chance to audition its big brother and my conclusions will be different.

Many thanks to Audiojerry, DVV, and Miki for arranging everything. I'll be sending the DZ to Randytsuch today.

Beez

DVV · « **Reply #77 on:** 17 Jan 2003, 08:43 pm »

Quote from: Beezer

I have had the DZ for a fews day now and I guess I'm ready to write about its effect on my system. First off:

...

Beezer, that's why I have the Audio Reference Senior. To remind you, this is a multiple filter unit, with three sections, each feeding two receptacles. This gives me the same filtering as on LF-A1, but also with separation between components connected to different filter units. In addition to filtering, this also gives me practically speaking complete isolation among components AFTER filtering (at better than -120 dB, or 1,000,000:1, according to DeZorel, I'd say what's left over is of purely academic value).

Personally, I view the small models, LF-A1 Mk.2, LF-P1 Mk.2 and Audio Refernece Junior, as sor of starter models, great for your TV and maybe your whole home theater, but for audio, which is a serious thing to me, only a multiple section unit is good enough.

On the other hand, while discussing it with Jerry, I said I felt the small LF-A1 unit was what was needed to give an idea of what you're dealing with without going overboard with a joint investment.

Therefore, it's obvious I completely agree with your assessment that a real, full size test would have been a multiple filter unit. Also, to gain a proper perspective, one would also need to compare prices; to use a blunt example, a 1% gain in sound is simply not worth me paying 100% extra in price. Very personal, of course.

Cheers,
DVV

JackStraw · « **Reply #78 on:** 17 Jan 2003, 09:40 pm »

Quote from: Beezer

- BPT Balanced power conditioner on the source components (BPT)
- PS Audio Ultimate Outlet (20amp, high current) on amp (UO)
- JohnR brought over his DIY John Risch line conditioner (JR)

Great review, Beez. It's especially interesting since you were able to compare this unit to some other notable power products. Which BPT unit was this?

Beezer · « **Reply #79 on:** 17 Jan 2003, 09:53 pm »

Jackstraw, thanks. The BPT unit was a custom deal but has 3 outlets with seperate transformers and a 4th with just basic filtering (no transformer).

Beez