Most readers don't know this, but I am measurer. I own oscilloscopes and distortion analyzers and have been measuring amps and speakers for nigh on 30 years. But when I hear some audiophiles say that all cables—and especially AC power cords—sound the same, it makes me reach for the Tequila and pistols. Folks, ya gotta relax, breath air, and listen—the effects are not subtle. And that's what I did in the MoFi Distribution room, where Jonathan Derda (the nicest guy in audio) was demonstrating two power conditioners from IsoTek, the $795 Sirius and the $1995 Aquarius, and one IsoTek AC cord, the $149 EVO Premier C15 Link.
Notice in the picture how soft, thin, and coiled-up those Premier power cables appear to be. Most manufacturers' power cables are thick and stiff—and I hate thick and stiff audio cables. IsoTek's are soft and pliant.
We listened first to Chris Jones, using the Primare DD15 transport ($1495) driving the Primare I15 Prisma amplifier ($1995), connected to the Home Depot plastic plug strip and the $1 power cords—and Chris Jones sounded richly toned, fresh, and enjoyably alive. Then we switched to the Premier power cords, then the Sirius conditioner, and then the Sirius conditioner plus Sirius cords. Then, Jonathan went all out and inserted the $1995 Aquarius power conditioner. Finally, he reversed the process. Each step of the way up, the sound got clearer, more distinct, more lens-focused, and less fuzzy-noisy. Never harder. And most important of all, with the IsoTek products, the music was never staid, sterile, or mechanical. Quite the opposite: Music become more intimate and free-flowing.
At every show where he's exhibiting, I stop in and visit Scot Markwell of Elite Audio/Visual Distribution, just because I want to listen to some fine vinyl—this year on the Kuzma Stabi M turntable ($19,225) and 4Point 9 tonearm ($3995). At AXPONA 2018, Scot was also using the $5895 Kuzma CAR-50 moving-coil cartridge (reviewed by Michael Fremer in the March 2018 Stereophile) driving a Plinius Koru SS phono stage ($3450), feeding a Manley Labs Jumbo Shrimp tube line preamplifier. The power amplifier was the Plinius Audio SA-201 200Wpc stereo ($6545.) This year, Elite AV had eight stacked pairs ($650/pair) of the HRT Stage speakers, with two REL S/3 powered subwoofers ($1999/each). Cables were by Furutech. Scot asked me, "So Herb, what do you think?" I told him it sounded big, but didn't overload the room (Scot is an expert at setup), and I loved the Jumbo Shrimp! (I also loved the Analogue Productions LP reissue of Masterpieces by Ellington!)
Mark Audio-SOTA's flagship two-way, stand-mount Viotti One loudspeakers ($2495 with stands) are described as combining "Italian style with British engineering." Their company's slogan/philosophy is Hear Our Difference—and when the elegant MarkAudio Viotti Ones are playing, I always listen closely and I do hear the wholeness and continuity created by the combined small and large full-range drivers (one acts as a tweeter, the other as a mid-bass driver, with a simple crossover between them). No glare, blare, no edginess—just full, open, and relaxing sound.
The Vioti Ones—the speakers with the black baffles in the photo above—were powered by a PS Audio S300 power amp ($1499) and an AR music player, with cables by Zantara.
D Digital describe themselves as "Chicagoland's Sound & Vision Experts," and they had a hero of mine, Kevin Voecks (who once worked for Snell, a company I have venerated forever), playing Anne Bisson and Yello via the Voecks-designed Revel PerformaBE F2288BE floorstanding speakers ($10,000/pair). Bass scale and quality were off the charts. Punch and purity were provided by a Mark Levinson No.585 integrated amplifier ($12,000) sourced by an Auralic Aries G2 wireless streamer ($3900) and WireWorld cables. If I were a different reporter, I might say the midrange was hard and somewhat colorless. But I am a fanboy and I doubt the legendary Voecks would allow that to happen.
According to Bricasti Design's Brian Zolner, the new polished nickel and brass Bricasti Platinum Series M21 digital to analog converter "represents a new level of polish both inside and out." The feature-rich Platinum M21 can switch between three independent and user-selectable D-to-A signal paths: either delta sigma or a ladder DAC for PCM conversion, and, for DSD playback, true direct DSD.
While I listened, Brian switched back and forth from ladder DAC to delta sigma DAC—and that felt a little like switching from analog to digital versions of the same recordings. Very interesting.
At every show where he's exhibiting, I stop in and visit Scot Markwell of Elite Audio/Visual Distribution, just because I want to listen to some fine vinyl—this year on the Kuzma Stabi M turntable ($19,225) and 4Point 9 tonearm ($3995). At AXPONA 2018, Scot was also using the $5895 Kuzma CAR-50 moving-coil cartridge (reviewed by Michael Fremer in the March 2018 Stereophile) driving a Plinius Koru SS phono stage ($3450), feeding a Manley Labs Jumbo Shrimp tube line preamplifier. The power amplifier was the Plinius Audio SA-201 200Wpc stereo ($6545.) This year, Elite AV had eight stacked pairs ($650/pair) of the HRT Stage speakers, with two REL S/3 powered subwoofers ($1999/each). Cables were by Furutech. Scot asked me, "So Herb, what do you think?" I told him it sounded big, but didn't overload the room (Scot is an expert at setup), and I loved the Jumbo Shrimp! (I also loved the Analogue Productions LP reissue of Masterpieces by Ellington!)
Mark Audio-SOTA's flagship two-way, stand-mount Viotti One loudspeakers ($2495 with stands) are described as combining "Italian style with British engineering." Their company's slogan/philosophy is Hear Our Difference—and when the elegant MarkAudio Viotti Ones are playing, I always listen closely and I do hear the wholeness and continuity created by the combined small and large full-range drivers (one acts as a tweeter, the other as a mid-bass driver, with a simple crossover between them). No glare, blare, no edginess—just full, open, and relaxing sound.
The Vioti Ones—the speakers with the black baffles in the photo above—were powered by a PS Audio S300 power amp ($1499) and an AR music player, with cables by Zantara.
D Digital describe themselves as "Chicagoland's Sound & Vision Experts," and they had a hero of mine, Kevin Voecks (who once worked for Snell, a company I have venerated forever), playing Anne Bisson and Yello via the Voecks-designed Revel PerformaBE F2288BE floorstanding speakers ($10,000/pair). Bass scale and quality were off the charts. Punch and purity were provided by a Mark Levinson No.585 integrated amplifier ($12,000) sourced by an Auralic Aries G2 wireless streamer ($3900) and WireWorld cables. If I were a different reporter, I might say the midrange was hard and somewhat colorless. But I am a fanboy and I doubt the legendary Voecks would allow that to happen.
According to Bricasti Design's Brian Zolner, the new polished nickel and brass Bricasti Platinum Series M21 digital to analog converter "represents a new level of polish both inside and out." The feature-rich Platinum M21 can switch between three independent and user-selectable D-to-A signal paths: either delta sigma or a ladder DAC for PCM conversion, and, for DSD playback, true direct DSD.
While I listened, Brian switched back and forth from ladder DAC to delta sigma DAC—and that felt a little like switching from analog to digital versions of the same recordings. Very interesting.
