[jmichael]

I used to use Black Diamond Racing cones under all my components and heard a difference. Now I use a product similiar to Blu-Tack. I use this stuff on my amps right on the wall under my plasma & dvd universal player on a rack to keep it from sliding. I wonder if this isn't a good idea, sound quality wise.

I think (hopefully) I have moved my multiple PE's around for the last time. I was testing them in different applications and have them settled in, where they are now, for best sound. When finances get better, I just might try a PE V. For now, I'm content & grateful for what I do have.

[Jim N.]

IMO, isolation is system dependent. I used myrtle blocks under my CDP before. They worked, but the sound was kind of dry or too much of mechanical sound.  Then, i tried Tenderfeet from Herbies' Audio Lab.  They stay under CDP until now. 

Note that i only have cheap rack.  Soon, i will acquire  maple platform to try out.

Where do i get purpleheart or myrtle plate?  Any link so that i can take a look?

thanks.

I use Herbie's Tenderfeet along with his no longer offered maple blocks with grungebuster dots on the bottoms (sets of 4, not 3). Work great. BDR stuff (and other pointy things) are not very stable. Also laid a quarter inch aluminum plate (bought off eBay cheap) on the top of my universal players (I have an Oppo and a Pioneer 79avi).

I have ordered a PE V SA/C (I think that's what it is, boy has this product line exploded!) to go with my PE 4, PE2 and pair of PE. I use solid brass wallplates. May try the purpleheart ones.

[zmanbands]

I bit the bullet today and ordered the new Reference Power Center for filtering all my components. I am anticipating "substantially bigger", sound improvements compared to fantastic sound from the 2 reference power cords [$175 ea.] just installed.  The same price of $350. I love big bang improvements that don't break the bank. Hopefully a few more will order now so we can compare break-in notes. Jen says the RPC at about 1/10th the cost, equals or significantly betters commercial and audiophile PLC's in the 2K-3K range per their comparison tests in the past year. For now I will leave the Belkin PLC in my system for Belkin insured system surge protection to feed the RPC. [The RPC does not contain surge protection.]   EXCITING STUFF!!!!!

[JenMaher]

Jim N.-
You ordered the PE V S/AC filter.  Most of the products have been in our arsenal for the past 10 years in various forms.  The Studio Reference series is repackaged and tweaked from our Silver Reference line under the Perfect Cable brand of the mid 90's.  The original Reference was also developed at that time, none of our products are fly by night, they have all been tested. researched, and installed in various commercial and private studios since the mid 90's. 

Hopefully things will go our way this year and we will be able to spend some time and capitol developing the Reference line.  As for the PE, the V series will be the last installment for now.


zmanbands-
The RPC is a fantastic buy, as I mentioned to you, Alan wanted to release another maximum bang for the buck product line, the Reference series over the years has proven to deliver massive improvements for the investment, after the series catches on I think everyone will be very pleased with the results.  The line is completely compatible with the PE series and both perform well together.  The RPC is designed to be a hub, it does not offer active surge protection.  Alan doesn't put a lot of stock into MOV protection, so instead he designed a natural suppression for spikes.  Surge and spike noise is reduced along the length of the Reference cable geometry, longer lengths provide better suppression.  The internal Ref One filter does an exceptional job of lowering main noise and crosstalk distortion between the receptacles.  Each outlet is damped and conductive treated to supply superior performance and lower resistance.  The strip lowers noise between dc-10 GHz -65db evenly across the entire frequency band.  Max load is 20 amps. 

Our Surge Interrupter is a much better option if you are looking for true surge protection up to 58,000 surge amps.  The SI can be installed in series or parallel and provide maximum circuit protection.  The filter is huge in comparison to the typical MOV across the line making it impossible to fit inside the RPC case.  As many of you already know and have experienced, the PE will also eliminate surge and spike noise if installed on each circuit of the same phase.  I think Paul has reported spike elimination after several PE's were installed on non-audio/video circuits.  Stratically placed around the home the PE series provides better noise suppression and protection than any all in one box product on the market. 

This year we plan to attack noise from every angle, I think by now we have addressed the a/c series, so now it's time to address patch cables between components.  The new IC's actively address all forms of noise (static, hum, hiss) up to 10 GHz -65db and provides true component isolation.  The Studio Reference IC brings the term active interconnect to a brand new affordable price range, we continued with our normal labor mark up to make sure we offered the best bang for the buck at any price.  More information will be available next month.  The SR IC will be released in RCA and XLR versions.


Note: New product pictures uploaded on our web site for the Reference One, Reference Power Center, Studio Reference v2 Power Cable, and PE V Surge Interrupter.

I will be out of town until Friday, if you have any questions email me and I will answer everyone at that time.  Thanks.

[zmanbands]

What is PRT treatment and what does it do?

[michaelv]

IMO, isolation is system dependent. I used myrtle blocks under my CDP before. They worked, but the sound was kind of dry or too much of mechanical sound.  Then, i tried Tenderfeet from Herbies' Audio Lab.  They stay under CDP until now. 

Note that i only have cheap rack.  Soon, i will acquire  maple platform to try out.

Where do i get purpleheart or myrtle plate?  Any link so that i can take a look?

thanks.

I use Herbie's Tenderfeet along with his no longer offered maple blocks with grungebuster dots on the bottoms (sets of 4, not 3). Work great. BDR stuff (and other pointy things) are not very stable. Also laid a quarter inch aluminum plate (bought off eBay cheap) on the top of my universal players (I have an Oppo and a Pioneer 79avi).

I have ordered a PE V SA/C (I think that's what it is, boy has this product line exploded!) to go with my PE 4, PE2 and pair of PE. I use solid brass wallplates. May try the purpleheart ones.

Jim,
 How does aliuminum plate help with video? I am curious. Do you still have a link to the place you buy the plate?

 When my finance permits, i may try PE V/IEC like Jen suggested.  In the meantime, i will try to put Reference One filter at the componnent IEC with cable liberator to see how it works. The reason i'm doing it because i still have PS Audio UPC-200 in the chain , even though i like what i hear right now. Can't resist

 

[zmanbands]

Trying to post a picture of my system. Have no idea why It's Soooo BIG?

[Paul_Bui]

I see how well you have taken care of isolating components.  Congratulations! And thanks for posting the photo.

Oayde SWO-GX+ and Shakti Onlines were received and installed yesterday, the duplex color matches very well with the purpleheart plate.  Michigan Maple platform (cutting board) cam today and replaced a Mapleshade platform, which has gone to the back to serve under the transport and PE V Pro Custom.     

Thing will need to run in for a while before settling in.  So far, listening to classical music has become very beneficial, as individual instruments shone through with heightened clarity and more vivid timbre.

[michaelv]

just installing two Reference One at component IEC (CDP and Integrated amp). I am not sure if it's my illusion or not, but noise level is almost none.

Jen,
   i know PE V/IEC is recommended at the component end, but for now, i would like to take use of what i have.  I was wondering if Reference One suppress or open the sound based on your experience.

  May be someone else can jump in.

  I wish cable liberator can be a better quality cable or something that i can DIY with my own cable.

Thanks

[zmanbands]

Paul, do you think the cutting boards help the sound as much as the mapleshades? I ask because the cutting boards wood is flipped 90 degrees ie on edge, and there are 7 or 8 vertical slabs glued rather than the 3 or 4 for mapleshade.

[Paul_Bui]

I didn't bother A/Bing the differences, but I like what I hear.  Up to today, the new duplex and Shakti Onlines have been installed for 2 days, and the new platform 1 day.  It replaced the Mapleshade counterpart just because its broader surface gives me more space for current components.  Now that the Mapleshade is under the SB2 transport, DAC and V Pro Custom, and the new Michigan Maple platform is under tube-pre and Patek amp, I hear improvements that didn't show when only the Oayde duplex and  Shakti involved.  Cork rubber Isoblocks are under Mapleshade platform, and ceramic cones under Michigan maple board.

When shuffling the two platforms, I found the 18x18x3.5 Michigan maple cutting board heavier than the 18x15x4 Mapleshade paltform not by a small margin.  I will keep an eye and ear on the sound for a week, but for now at $110 delivered the 31 lb. Michigan Maple platform looks, feels and sounds like a no-brainer.  When the economy gets brighter, I might even consider a custom 60 lb. platform from Dawn's Depot.

Following your advice I will order more platforms for my speakers.  Where can I buy quality brass cones at good prices?

[vett93]

Has anyone tried Purpleheart outlet cover? Did you notice any differences?

[zmanbands]

Paul, the platform for your speakers should be 1" to 2" bigger than the speaker base. Do you have carpet or hardwood? My sources for brass cones have dried up. Here is one that is cheap and looks small but might work. Link http://show.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fdm.pl?003&1107217970&item&Adona_corporation&4&5&6&http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/srch_fs.plQQANYAAKEYWAApurlsrchAAEXYAAstAAAAAAbrass   BTW, in my mega system picture above there are 4 isoblocks between the maple blocks and rack shelves below and 3 brass cones between the components and maple blocks. The speakers have 4 cones screwed into each speaker sitting on top of the block and 4 cones screwed into the bottom of the block to pierce through the carpet. 4 are used instead of 3 for stability.

[zmanbands]

Day 18 on the reference power cords, shows no further discernable sound improvement over day 12. Caveat: There was a severe thunder storm in the area and I shut my system down for 2 hours about 3 days ago.

[Paul_Bui]

Has anyone tried Purpleheart outlet cover? Did you notice any differences?

I did.  I installed several including main audio, main a/v, TV and most duplexes in main listening room.  After the PE networks in place, adding any tweaks bring subtle improvements and the purpleheart outlets are no exception.  In any event, the improvements that can be heard are even less "digital", less sibilance, instruments more "authentic timbre" sounding.  And may I repeat, at $13 each the exotic cover fits well with the new SWO-GX duplex, feels and looks good to me.

[Paul_Bui]

Paul, the platform for your speakers should be 1" to 2" bigger than the speaker base. Do you have carpet or hardwood? My sources for brass cones have dried up. Here is one that is cheap and looks small but might work. Link http://show.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fdm.pl?003&1107217970&item&Adona_corporation&4&5&6&http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/srch_fs.plQQANYAAKEYWAApurlsrchAAEXYAAstAAAAAAbrass   BTW, in my mega system picture above there are 4 isoblocks between the maple blocks and rack shelves below and 3 brass cones between the components and maple blocks. The speakers have 4 cones screwed into each speaker sitting on top of the block and 4 cones screwed into the bottom of the block to pierce through the carpet. 4 are used instead of 3 for stability.

Thanks for the heads-up on the speaker base and info on brass cones.  They're very helpful.

[JenMaher]

zmanbands-
PRT stands for Passive Resonate Technology/Treatment.  PRT is a combination microvibration control and  material, electrical, and conductive treatments.  Each product series applies PRT in different ways, many thought Skakti On Lines on the cable stood for PRT, but the On Line is only one small piece of the puzzle for the Studio Reference series, it has nothing to do with other models that utilize the PRT process.

The next day to compare notes is day 21.  The conductive treatment will start to harden and you will experience further upper detail refinement as the treatment goes through it's cycle.

"Caveat: There was a severe thunder storm in the area and I shut my system down for 2 hours about 3 days ago."

Power cords and power supplies all need to re stabilize after a shut down, this does nothing for the refinement stage, but the cable geometry will have to readjust and stabilize the magnetic field. 

A small note, the items on top of the speakers are altering the cabinet ringing character and shifting harmonics, I suggest you remove the items and see if the sound alters.  Try different materials on top if you want to experiment.  Chris da Costa makes small round discs out of exotic wood that are very effective if placed on top of the speaker.  We have used everything from Shakti On Lines to Purpleheart and Ebony discs and all bring something different to the table, but in the end we decided room placement was enough.  Speaker resonate tweaks are for people with limited placement options.


michaelv-
The Reference drops the noise floor -65db evenly from dc-10 GHz, so it's not suprising the sound quality dramatically improved when installed at the end of the power cord.  As mentioned before with the IEC filter, power cords inject harmonic noise if poorly designed.  Do yourself a favor and pick up a RPC and use it as your main electrical hub, the RPC provides Reference One filtering for 8 components.  4 and 6 receptacle versions of the RPC can be special ordered.


Paul-
Remove the cork blocks and try 4 large Cardas Myrtle blocks under the maple platform.  We use the large Cardas block as part of our isolation stands and it does a wonderful job of enhancing midrange and top end detail.  They work great under anything heavy.

[zmanbands]

Jen, thx for the PRT feedback and the speaker suggestion. I'm seeing these large myrtle blocks, set of 6 for $43. Is there a better price anywhere? They show they handle 1-80 lbs. What do you use for 123 lbs, which is my power amp + maple block under it? Jen have you actually A/B'ed the "MAPLESHADE" isoblocks and the large Cardas blocks or do you know someone who has?

[JenMaher]

Alan designed a series of isolation stands that use double layers of 1 inch acrylic shelves.  He used the Cardas block in between the two acrylic sheets and a set of 4 stick on soundcare cones on the bottom.  He has other versions of the same stand with a grounded shielding layer to help lower noise and ringing harmonics.  Both versions of the stand sound great, but he uses different materials in the two designs.  Each stand has been tested up to 600 pounds.  The non-shielded stand highlights midrange textures and offers a very natural and organic sound quality.  He uses this stand under a 200 pound isolated power conditioner.  4 brass audiopoints are used under the power conditioner.

I know he can go into this a lot more, but be careful when deciding feet for a component, each foot type has a specific weight range and optimum weight requirement to mimic the manufacture claim and spec.  For example, each vibrapod model will give a weight range, for example lets say between 10 and 20 pounds per foot.  The optimum weight to load each foot is 15 pounds.  If you listen to the foot, you will actually be able to hear small upper midrange tonal differences as the component weight increases and decreases above and below the optimum weight requirement.  All feet do the same thing, material and design do not matter.  Alan has played with 100's of feet designs since the early 90's.  We actually offered a couple designs under the Perfect Cable line that we were thinking of bringing back.  I have an idea, how would you like to demo a set?  I can send a set with your RPC order?  The set I have in mind tighten bass, open mids, and extends the top end.  They offer no added coloration like the rubber used in the cork sandwich.  The feet can be used in any combination up to 200 pounds.  Use 3 up to 75 pounds, 4 up to 100 pounds, 6 to 150 pounds, and 8 for 200 pounds.  Let me know how many you need.

[zmanbands]

To do my power amp(6), SACD(3), pre amp(3), Pre amp Pwr supply(3),= 15.  I'll give them a fair shake. Thanks! I spoke to Pierre, the tech "guru", at mapleshade. He agrees the cardas blocks work well under the actual components, but not under the maple blocks below them. He has A/B'ed them with isoblocks. The myrtle blocks are couplers and transfer vibrations well to the maple platform [vibration sink] below. You don't want to then couple the vibrations now trapped in the maple block to the shelf below so you isolate the maple block from the shelf with isoblocks which as the name implies are isolators.