Audience, out of San Marcos, CA, is one of the most respected companies in the power conditioning arena, with their line of adeptReponse series consistently getting rave reviews from the audio press and end users alike. I reviewed the adeptResponse aR6 conditioner, and subsequently purchased the review sample, as it enhanced my system in every conceivable way sonically. I cannot imagine my main system without it at this point. The company, headed up by CEO John McDonald, also produces award winning cables, speakers, and electronics. I reviewed the Audience ClairAudient 2 + 2 Loudspeakers and was highly impressed. Last, but not least, they make state of the art capacitors, which they call AuriCaps. They also make a Teflon version called AuriTeflon. Aside from using them in their own products, they also supply them to other high-end audio manufacturers, along with ...

Ask audiophiles what the most difficult part of a system to control is, and many will probably answer the power supply. A few decades ago, such a response would be rare and likely viewed with great suspicion. Slowly, folks began accepting the premise that clean and consistent power was a logical first step toward higher fidelity. The problem was how to get it. In most households, the battle to share power never stops. Toasters and microwave ovens joust with clock radios and TVs and hair dryers and more, all putting demands on the AC power supply. Take a look at all the appliances and devices plugged into your outlets and you'll quickly understand why power conditioners and distributors were developed. Then consider that you share power with neighbors who have their own devices plugged into the grid and the problem ...

Just before Thanksgiving 2010, several boxes arrived at my house – the latest round of gear to review. Among them was Cryoparts Power Strip. As I showed my dad and wife the newest goodies, they both asked with no lack of incredulity, “How do you review a power strip?” I tried to explain the function of audio strips and how they can make a good system even better, but the eye rolls stopped me before I could really get going. That skepticism got me thinking, however. Making Contact – and Keeping ItA power strip is designed to distribute electrical current to one or more devices without imparting a sonic footprint of its own or somehow impeding the flow of electrons. To do so effectively and efficiently, there needs to be secure and jiggle-free contact between the male AC prongs and ...

The product category of power conditioners is one that often stirs debate, for and against, in the audiophile community. Some argue that a properly designed power supply needs no additional components to perform well, while others believe that the quality of delivered AC determines the quality of the audio performance.  I have heard some audiophiles proclaim a conditioner is an indispensable piece of gear, and others claim it makes their systems sound worse. What makes this review interesting is that I have no experience with conditioners. I normally plug my tube amp directly into a high quality AC receptacle, and my preamp and sources into a passive power strip free of any surge protecting devices or fuses. So I am calling this the “clean slate” review.To greatly simplify for the sake of everyone, a power conditioner is an electrical device ...

Cables have always been a subject of skeptical scrutiny for me.  Many, many years ago, cables were simply cables; absent of any dissection of quality.  My weekly discussions with fellow installers were always spent on vehemently arguing over equipment performance rather than the cables running said components.  These days, cables are the subject of rampant discussion and choosing the correct cables often means wading through lengthy manufacturer diatribes to let your ears make the correct choice.  Liudas Motekaitis (aka Louis Motek), the managing director of LessLoss, was kind enough to send us over a batch of 10 dynamic filtering power cables (DFPC) in a variety of lengths.  Packaged tightly in plastic bags, the cables made the overseas trip from Lithuania safely and landed on my doorstep the following week.  The cables are generally tough to damage to begin with and ...