John, we agree on the importance of power to get great
sound. I consider it 1/3 of the
equation, equally as important as the room and system components. It’s also a very complex equation, like a
puzzle where you can’t really see the pieces.
I find the most effective approach differs with each system, depending
on power grid conditions and component synergy and I’ve found trade offs with
everything. I combine different types
power and tweak devices at almost every point in my system.
I started with Balanced Power, which sounded good in my
early systems, but in more recent years I tried using a BPT Signature 3.5 and
had the same impression as 6Moons, that it grounded the sound and sucked out
some of the air. Balanced power kills
noise like a champ, but I’ve avoided offering this technology because of its
tendency to bind up sound with a lot of gear.
Battery power…great sounding and economical, but current
technology limits applications to low power demand.
The problem I have with Bybee filters is I don’t believe
they’re a good value, way too expensive for what they deliver. Another company I’m privileged to work with
is Wywires. They built me a 36ft mains
cable (running to a dedicated outlet).
This cable has in-line high current Bybee filters, but I was
disappointed I didn’t hear much of an impact.
It may well be my electrical grid is not giving much of what they filter,
but Wywires no longer offers Bybee with their cables and they’re not concerned
about it. The real key to Wywires is
their phase alignment techniques…anyone who’s heard their rooms at a show would
be amazed how they run dirty hotel power through their Power Broker and
everyone else is using a $10k power conditioner. I might agree with Bybees at a certain choke
point (like the mains cable or conditioner inlet), I just don’t find it to be a
solution that’s both effective and economical.
Many filter tweaks kill sound effectively. Most of the walwart shunt devices, such as
the old Audio Prism (and several others that look like it) are too ham handed
and not acceptable with high-ended systems.
The true test of filtration is how well it rids what you don’t want and
keeps what you do. It wasn’t until I
encountered Akiko Audio that I found a device under $1,500, substantially
effective, without killing sound. It’s
not perfect, but Akiko is a world-class expert when it comes to filtration that’s
both effective and precise. I get very
holographic, room-filling sound with two Triple AC Enhancers in my system. I suspect in your case one of your components,
perhaps your DAC or amplifier was not agreeing with the combination.
I’m currently using the two Triple units with a PS Audio P10
power regenerator. I favor the PS Audio
in my systems, because it does some nice things like regenerating the waveform
and regulating the voltage and almost never does any harm. However, the P10 doesn’t do much to kill
noise. I use the Triple with the P10 and
still get some noise in the middle of the day.
Thus I’m moving to the Corelli/P10 combo going forward.
