Finally, a conditioner that works with 'little' penalty - the Audience aR1p

TheChairGuy · « **Reply #40 on:** 29 Jun 2008, 03:05 am »

Gary/GBB - sure thing, I'd love to compare the two...and also see what my buddy Paul/occam has been cooking up the past couple years

Robin/satfrat - I'm not or was not anti-conditioner...I merely found the 5-6 previous stabs at it (except for the PS Audio Noise Harvester and Enacom AC filter...which frankly I'm not sure they are doing anything

...but didn't make things worse) were dead ends. The Monster Cable and Brickwall did not have transformers in them (at least I think in the case of the Brickwall), but they, too, were power limiting (the Monster severely so).

The Audience is a whole system conditioner....in which I currently have an industrial metal outlet strip plugged into it...and my components (2 x 50 watt tube amps, SS preamp/tuner, CDP and TT) into that.

Regards, John

satfrat · « **Reply #41 on:** 29 Jun 2008, 03:15 am »

Thanks for explaining your stance John but I was just funnnin' with ya.

No one who is a power conditioning naysayer would even waste their time trying as many conditioners as you have. I'm just happy for ya John, that's all.

And thanks for clarifying the usage. I would imagine these units are really meant to be used with a power strip so to cover more than just 1 component. I didn't know that. I just took it for granted that 1 outlet meant 1 component coverage. I was quite shocked when 1800watt coverage was mentioned, I had no idea this wall conditioner was that potent.

Cheers,
Robin

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #42 on:** 29 Jun 2008, 03:29 am »

Robin...

If you ever make it to one of Phil's Raves, you can check out his Audience adeptResponse12 power conditioner. Seems to work very well...

John....

Good to hear the aR1p is working for you...hope that you do get together with Gary to compare...it would be interesting...

satfrat · « **Reply #43 on:** 29 Jun 2008, 03:31 am »

Quote from: lonewolfny42 on 29 Jun 2008, 03:29 am

Robin...

If you ever make it to one of Phil's Raves, you can check out his Audience adeptResponse12 power conditioner. Seems to work very well...

John....

Good to hear the aR1p is working for you...hope that you do get together with Gary to compare...it would be interesting...

Ahhh Chris,,,, last december,,,, I was there,,, remember?

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #44 on:** 29 Jun 2008, 03:33 am »

Quote from: satfrat on 29 Jun 2008, 03:31 am

Quote from: lonewolfny42 on 29 Jun 2008, 03:29 am
Robin...

If you ever make it to one of Phil's Raves, you can check out his Audience adeptResponse12 power conditioner. Seems to work very well...

John....

Good to hear the aR1p is working for you...hope that you do get together with Gary to compare...it would be interesting...

Ahhh Chris,,,, last december,,,, I was there,,, remember?

I forgot....

....kept thinking at Mike's/toprounds only....

rydenfan · « **Reply #45 on:** 30 Jun 2008, 01:39 pm »

So, if I have two duplexs next to each other (total of 4 outlets) how much space would this Audience piece take up?

Big Red Machine · « **Reply #46 on:** 30 Jun 2008, 02:01 pm »

One would overlap the bottom two outlets. Ground pin on bottom.

It can't be opened and the plug rotated (I tried) but you could always use a short ext cord or fancy cable to open up the other outlet.

ted_b · « **Reply #47 on:** 30 Jun 2008, 02:08 pm »

Mine takes up almost all of it. It points down, so the bottom outlet is covered (can't start at the bottom or you won't have room for the new power cord, assuming your outlets are at standard height to the floor). The two outlets beside it are compromised slightly but a standard 3-prong male end will fit....not a hefty aftermarket pc though. I own 2, the one on the ceiling is no problem. But the one for my amp required me to trim the heatshrink around the male end of the Audience Power Chord (as per Audience's recommendation) to make it more flexible for a 90 degree turn or it would not fit and turn at the floor. YMMV. Still, with all this bs...very worthwhile.

I am going to redo that double box and put the outlets in upside down (could they be installed at 90 degrees??...is the box a square? hmmmm...). Will free up two more outlets and allow the pc to have room up the wall (or along the wall at 90 degrees would be best).

rydenfan · « **Reply #48 on:** 30 Jun 2008, 02:29 pm »

My outlets are about 2-3' off of the floor so I think I would be OK with placing one on a bottom outlet. I can afford for it to take up two but lets, but not 3

Big Red Machine · « **Reply #49 on:** 30 Jun 2008, 02:33 pm »

I'll try and post some pics tonight.

ted_b · « **Reply #50 on:** 30 Jun 2008, 02:36 pm »

Quote from: rydenfan on 30 Jun 2008, 02:29 pm

My outlets are about 2-3' off of the floor so I think I would be OK with placing one on a bottom outlet. I can afford for it to take up two but lets, but not 3

You'll be fine. You'll have the top outlets at least.

Big Red Machine · « **Reply #51 on:** 30 Jun 2008, 02:51 pm »

http://www.whateverworks.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=K8342&GEN1=&SKW=outlet&PageNo=1#zoom

TheChairGuy · « **Reply #52 on:** 30 Jun 2008, 03:29 pm »

Quote from: Big Red Machine on 30 Jun 2008, 02:01 pm

It can't be opened and the plug rotated (I tried) but you could always use a short ext cord or fancy cable to open up the other outlet.

Yup - I tried rotating the plug, too, couldn't do it either

Gotta' upside down the outlets

....which takes a bit more time (as you need to shut off your circuit breakers first and turn back on afterwards). Fortunately the wiring in the wall is typically long enough that all one has to do is flip the duplex upside down and re-attach with screws.

You typically don't have to re-wire the pos, neg and ground points on the duplex again.

I still hear it working without dynamic constrictions or added tizziness. Quite a product and by audiophool standards....not budget-busting given that it does work. John

rydenfan · « **Reply #53 on:** 30 Jun 2008, 03:42 pm »

Quote from: ted_b on 30 Jun 2008, 02:36 pm

You'll be fine. You'll have the top outlets at least.

Perfect, thanks ted. i think one I get the Spectron in house and see what I think of it then I will try one of these on it.

TheChairGuy · « **Reply #54 on:** 11 Jul 2008, 08:10 pm »

So, I've had the Audience aR1p for about 3 weeks....and it is the first conditioner that did not sound 'irritating' (in less or more abundance, dependent on the conditioner used - refer back to my first entries in this topic for some background as to that).

I suspect the Audience is not fully fleshed out as yet...it has maybe 150 hours of playtime on it now (200+ is the norm for new caps I've found).

On my CD/Redbook front end the result thus far is a very pointy thumbs up

The entire presentation sounds cleaner, purer, smoother - with wider and deeper images. It's a near total success to these ears

However, I am forever smitten with the greater level of naturalness and normalcy that vinyl offers over Redbook (or even it's improved digital cousin, DVD-A). I have a minimal vinyl playback chain.....(upgraded and tweeked) direct drive with a (tweeked) Grado cartridge...which I have found to be the most natural sounding cartridge I've yet heard. The 5mv cartridge runs straight on to a low noise, dual mono MM stage of my Mitsubishi DA-C20 preamp/tuner...avoiding excess rca joints for feeble cartridge voltages to hop over. I am a firm believer that in order to fully enjoy the benefits of greater resolution and exceptional treble response over CD/Redbook, one needs to keep it all as simple and pure as possible.

Vinyl is already plagued with so many irregularities and non-linearities (additional gain stages and equalization hampers it further - potentially)....you really have to try to keep it very simple for it to be a better front end choice. That's my opinion, at least.

This very pure, simple vinyl transmission line eventually ends up at my (modded) Linaeum Tower speakers....which offer up, at it's price, the most natural sounding treble I've yet to hear for anywhere near the money. It's addicting...and the speakers have dusted off contenders many times it's price here...they remain faves for me. For small rooms (mine is 12 x 15' or so), it remains my firm favorite.

I can clearly hear the truncated treble of CD/Redbook with them and other issues. In all ways that CD/Redbook could be potentially improved....the Audience aR1p seems to.

However, with vinyl - the result is different. It is slightly blunted in reality and dynamics...the naturalness offered with no conditioning in the path is slightly preferred. It's just alive sounding without...and it adds just a hint of unnatural overtone and some small dynamic shading and blunting to the process in my particular rig.

So, thus far (with 50+ hours of break-in needed) I can unhesitatingly recommend the Audience aR1p for 'digital' playback. At the current time, for analog/vinyl playback, I prefer bare back (no conditioning).

Based upon your listening preferences, it may tilt your opinion of it's use

I'll apprise you all of my final findings shortly. Nonetheless, I can conclusively say that this is the first conditioner that I had to carefully evaluate the pro's and cons of it... the prior ones tried were fairly clearcut to me....they ended up as creating a far less enjoyable experience for me, overall. The shading here are far more nuanced...pretty clear that it improves the inherently unnatural sonic fabric of CD/Redbook....and screws up the delicacy and alive nature of vinyl only a little.

Thanks, John

some young guy · « **Reply #55 on:** 11 Jul 2008, 09:02 pm »

Interesting reading here... I've been thinking about this very subject lately.

I've been using an Isoclean 105F II for the past couple years. It replaced a BPT unit, which replaced a big Triplite unit which replaced a PAC Idos. I've been very happy with the Isoclean, but you know... I'm always thinking (that seems to be where the trouble starts).

Last week I sold one of my Elrod Signature power cables in order to buy a different Elrod. While I wait for the new one to be built, I decided to plug my CDP directly to the wall. It sounded pretty decent at first. However, after a some listening, I can easily tell there's something missing. The big difference seems to be a lack of refinement, especially in the HF and the upper-mids. The bass isn't quite as full and clean either.

So, I guess the Isoclean is still making things better to my ears. But I'm also thinking about the Acoustic Revive RPT2 Ultimate and now possibly the Audience aR1p... or perhaps I'll try an Oyaide R1 in the Isoclean...

TheChairGuy · « **Reply #56 on:** 14 Jul 2008, 03:28 pm »

I do need to more fully break the Audience in, but I was playing FM yesterday in the background....and thought I preferred hearing it without the Audience to with it. FM is a fairly poor quality format (at least with my non-aligned Mitsui tuner) but, I was enjoying it a bit more than I have for the past 3 weeks with the Audience.

With CD/Redbook, it seems the Audience improves it markedly.....tho naturalness has never been the forte of any Redbook player I've heard or owned

However, with 'digital' devices (even those with regulated linear power supplies as this one has) it seems the Audience does a lot for the sound.

I have to say, without qualification, that alone among all the conditioners I've tried (I should probably list them all for your help sometime) the Audience aR1p is closer to proving to me that power conditioning is a worthwhile investment (especially for it's relatively reasonable under-$500 cost of entry).

Sorry Occam/Paul - I'm back to something more like my original belief on the subject 3+ weeks ago. If you cracked open your old Empire TT again, you might hear the same with power conditioning on analog components

So, right now at least, I think I'll use the Audience as a dedicated conditioner solely for my CD player...and run the rest nekked

I have realized for some time that a potential area of improvement in my system is replacing my 3 decade old Radio Shack 6 outlet power distributor (with has a nice steel case, 14ga captive cable...but suspect low quality wiring, cheap outlets, an on-air switch and circuit breaker...all probably not helping matters).

So, late last week for $200 I bought a BPT Pure Power Center....all copper casing, 6 outlets (with high quality Hubbell 5362 outlets and 12ga cabling) and upgraded wiring to BPT's litz. I'll use my old Odyssey litz power cables on it and hope to realize a nice benefit. The PPC seems to be quite a deal next to many of the power distribution blocks on the market today

http://www.b-p-t.com/pure_power_center.htm

el-cee · « **Reply #57 on:** 14 Jul 2008, 07:09 pm »

The stock BPT PPC with Furutech 15 amp IEC and Hubbell outlets is built like a brick. It just didn't make sense to plug the aR1p into a $39 Wiremold strip. Yes, the stock PPC may be overkill for a power strip (Chris has a host of options, including filtration and surge suppression), but its build quality, including star wiring, is a good value, IMO. With the PPC plugged directly into a dedicated 20 amp circuit (without aR1p) via a 22" diy cord (Belden 83803 cable, Marinco/Wattgate plugs), connecting to the PPC was like plugging directly into the wall. Nothing lost, and despite no perceived sonic gains, the copper shielding, additional outlets and vice-like grip of said outlets, is a definite advantage. Feeding the PPC with an aR1p is a nice step up. In this configuration, the PPC feeds a DAC and a BPT Jr., which effectively isolates my SB3. With digital playback, especially female vocals and piano, there is a marked improvement in pitch and timbre. I have to agree with TGC, the overall sound of digital with the aR1p is more natural and a bit more relaxed, without sounding rolled off. FWIW, I had been using a diy hot box with Pass & Seymour outlets, prior to the PPC. I have experimented with power conditioners from Vans Evers, PS Audio, Llano, BPT, and Monster. The Audience aR1p is a keeper.

TheChairGuy · « **Reply #58 on:** 14 Jul 2008, 08:18 pm »

Hey, great input el-cee...thank you

Actually, I think I'm going to only run my CDP/outboard power supply & isolation transformer into the Audience aR1p for now...I'm listening to it now and it just sounds so right this way. Personally, I find redbook treble response to be so frightening (no matter the make...it's the technology itself) that if the highs are rolled off - all the better - as long as it is more enjoyable. As it is now - with the Audience in there.

It also keeps the CDP fully warmed up and ready at all times....whereas it seems to take over 30-45 minutes each time I stoke it up from dead each day to sound it's best. It seems to take only 10-15 minutes for my preamp and amps to settle in each day, however.

But, on the analog front end side...I have my tuner/preamp, turntable and amps plugged into the el cheapo Radio Shack strip now....and that sounds the best. The BPT Pure Power Center (with upgraded litz...I didn't upgrade to fancier IEC...maybe I should have in retrospect...oh well

)

Hopefully, it will be here by this weeks end to see if eliminating the el cheapo Radio Shack distribution block will help matters further. I believe it will, or I'd have not bought one.

Regards, John

TheChairGuy · « **Reply #59 on:** 22 Jul 2008, 11:26 pm »

The Audience is now only dedicated to the digital side.....where it provides pleasant benefit.

With any of the other components I heard a tinge of etch with it...but all means better than anything else that has been here...but there still the same. Nonetheless, I am happy with it.

I bought a new power strip that everything (but the DCP) is plugged into. It sounds a little better than my 3 decade old Radio Shack strip....but I'm most impressed with the size and construction of this thing for $200.00. It's one of the more satisfying purchases I've made in a while. The solid copper body is really luxurious.

If any of you have seen it in pics...it's WAY bigger than it appears. Here it is next to the old Radio Shack strip - which in itself is not as small/skinny as many out there. BPT's Chris Hoff really did a nice job with this one....