Blue Circle BC-86 III

Hi Bmwhaus.

At the previous 2003 CES Kevin Allen gave me a demonstration of the effects of one, then two Noise Hounds in the Blue Circle room. They were hooked to a little contraption that Gilbert Yeung built, and I was pretty impressed, they had a dramatic affect on background noise.

I've had a Blue Circle MR1200 Music Ring for a couple months and have noticed some of the same positive gains/losses. The background is noticeably blacker in my system, and detail and air have increased. In some ways there is actually more detail than I usually care for, but I also installed a set of Blue Circle cones at the same time under my preamp and the extra detail may be a product of those little pointy guys.

One interesting thing. Ever since I bought my Kora Hermes DAC two years ago to match with my Theta Pearl transport, a faint clicking became audible whenever my changing tracks on a CD. Strangely, the Music Ring has eliminated that.

I recently purchase one and the improvements is oblvious if you have dirty lines,if you have clean lines I doubt you will hear any results,its not a dramatic impact but subtle "elimination" of surface top riding RFI.I had a slight problem with a low noise hum during the day,its still there but I noticed a more rounded presentation,cymbals has slightly more extension.I plug my right into my conditioner which seems to offer the most improvement,I tried a downstream recepticle and the improvements barely was noticable.Would two help?..probably not if you have dedicated treated lines,but if you need a device that will strip another film of dirt from the house lines I recommend this product,considering tweaks are a hit and miss in the audio world I condsider the Blue Circle BC 86 III as bargain.IMHO any improvement of a home audio setup starts at the source,like they say " garbage in,garbage out".

I think you're findings are pretty indicative of "professional" reviews I've read, and other users such as yourself.

If one has clean power running through their home, the Noise Hounds might not have a lot of work to do and therefore won't have a dramatic effect.

Some testimonials I've read mentioned that adding a second unit furthered the benefits brought by the first unit. But then again I'm guessing that would depend on the level of clean power in your listening room.

I've noticed the same gains you've reported with my Music Ring.

Long live, Blue Circle!

Im waiting for my Hubble(porter port) recepticle to come in,its surprising that I heard a difference on my friends system when he installed a pair.He's actually waiting for my comments regarding the Blue Circle before he buys one.Like I indicated eariler some listeners wont notice any significant improvements that a BC86 III may provide,BUT on my system there was a improvement that justified this purchase so much so I might consider additional one.Any potential buyers audition it before buying,try different placements of this unit,it has a approximate coverage of about 20 feet..my unit works best when its close to the source,others I heard found improvements pluggin it in 20 feet away,I guess it depends on the selective line your system is cycled.

I too have the MR1200. However, I can hear it hum at times; when it starts the hum is not very audible, but it builds up over about 30 to 60 seconds and then fades away. Its most noticeable when I play music at night at low volume and has been somewhat annoying. I mean, why spend on a conditioner to keep the noise out of the stereo components, if its just going to show up in the conditioner, especially considering that the MR1200 has filtering built-in. I wonder if a BC86 III would eliminate the noise.

I've asked BC about this and the response was that I must live in an area where the AC is particularly dirty and/or that the hum may be a product of a major appliance like the furnace cycling on/off at this time of year. I don't recall hearing anything similar with a Monster conditioner, although my system has changed considerably since I switched to the MR1200 (I am very happy with the BC21.1 and BC22 I acquired last Fall).

Gilbert has suggested I have my BC62 power cord retro-fitted with a 'quiet device' and so far I have hesitated. Anybody have thoughts.

Max

P.S. I'm moving to a new house in a few weeks and will have a dedicated line which will be used to plug in the MR1200. This is one of the reasons I'm hesitating about a BC86 or the retro-fitted power cord, as I wonder if a dedicated line will provide stabler/cleaner power.

Max,

I think it's a good idea to wait until you make the move to the new house and you and your audio system have had time to settle in. Who knows, you may find you don't need to have the BC62 fitted with the 'quiet device'.

Good luck.

Gunbei,

Thanks for the sound advice. Better to be patient, although it won't be easy.

Max

I recently hooked up two in my system. I was getting alot of noise when I had various appliances running. The BC86's seems to have fixed the problem. Worth the money!