Corelli - really????

First, let me say I have no relationship with Akiko, or any audio dealer who sells them.  This merely is JMHO response to Anderock's question above.
A close audio friend of mine brought his Corelli to my house last night.  My system already sounds very good, but oh my, after we plugged the Corelli in, my jaw dropped, and I was left drooling on the floor.  It was obvious, and immediate.  Everything that was good about my system was made better.....and not just by a little.  Usually, with accessories / tweaks, one aspect, or area of your system's performance can change or improve, but another area may suffer.  As an example, the magic in your midrange may gain, but the top end may suffer and sound closed-in or muted as a consequence.  This is definitely not the case with the Corelli.  Everything sounded better, and NO downsides.  Tonally, the top end (wait until you hear the sound of mass violins) was beautiful, the midrange (listen to a male, and a female vocal) had texture and just sounded more real, the bottom end somehow now had the correct weight, and definition.  Another huge (and I really mean huge) improvement was the air provided within the soundstage.  That air was responsible for providing much more depth in the soundstage that was immediate, and noticeable.  Instruments and vocals clearly now had space between them, and were more easily identified as to where each were located within the soundstage.  Now, that air transports you into the room where the musicians are performing.  You can hear the boundaries of that room.  The word that coming to mind as I was listening to my system with the Corelli, was stunning.  Absolutely STUNNING.  Never had I hear my system sound so beautiful.  The better the recording, the more obvious the audible improvement.
Lastly, I want to reemphasize that all acoustic instruments in the recording sound much, much more real, or natural.  The sound of an acoustic guitar, the sound of human vocals, stand up bass, violins, etc, etc, all are much more realistic.  I don't own a Corelli (yet), but, after hearing the Corelli in my system last night, I guarantee it is going to be my next audio purchase!  
Oh, let me add, that we experimented using different power cords.  Although, the Corelli's magic was there with even an inexpensive after-market power cord, with the change to a more refined power cord, the Corelli's performance was even pronounced.  Once you hear this thing, you'll keep it!

@louisl   +1

I've had the Corelli in system for sometime now and can second your findings. I find that it very much responds to power cords.

The largest impact was when I went from the wall outlet (shared with the power distribution/supply) to direct into my power distribution unit.

Power conditioners can have a profound effect on a system.  Both positive and negative, so don't dismiss it out of hand.  Unfortunately, it's impossible to know without trying.  I hate to generalize, but I think they may be most effective for listeners who value tonality and low-level information, as many conditioners reduce noise, leaving more of a feeling of space and tone.  But in a high-powered system playing rock, I don't know.  I use an Audience conditioner and I'm very happy with it, but I haven't tried others.  

For those not familiar with the Akiko Corelli: It’s a passive conditioner and is not directly in the path of the current flow.

Hi everyone. I use an Akiko Triple AC Enhancer in the same outlet that feeds my power conditioner and use an Akiko Tuning Stick in an outlet on the conditioner. You think if I added another Triple AC Enhancer to the conditioner I would be getting towards Corelli territory? (They do seem to be cumulative.)  Also, what power cords seem to work best with the Corelli? Thanks.

@sbayne I can’t speak to your first question, however, regarding the power cords, I think the best approach is to test with what you already have.

Akiko Audio pairs the Corelli with their own Powercord HQ Gold, which may be worth considering if you are comfortable with the OEM’s choice with their unit.

@sbayne regarding your question about using multiple Akiko Triple Enhancers getting you the same benefits as using a Corelli, the answer is absolutely no.  The Triple Enhancer only addresses noise on the ground plane, where the Corelli addresses noise on all three planes.  The effect of the Corelli is immediately positive.
As far as what power cord to use, the Inakustik is 'the' power cord to use.  After experimenting with multiple power cords, the Inakustik simple brought out the best of the Corelli.  Other were just ok, but the Magic was music more evident using the Inakustik.

@louisl - Thanks. The Akiko products are interesting. I've been messing with them in different places in my system. I now have a Triple Enhancer, Tuning Stick and E-Tuning Gold MK II all on the same circuit by using a power outlet extender. The effect is much better than disturbing them on seperate circuits. I may still try a Corelli once I raise the funds. I haven't used a Inakustik power cord which I'll try to check out as well. 

Looks like a wonderful unit however i don't pay full list for anything.

Dear AudioGon Members !
I am kinda new in this forum but have been member for a while but I couldn’t resisted to respond or put my 5 cents contribution onto this topic due to my experience with Akiko ( Corelli ) conditioner. I was a hug fan of PS Audio Pruducts for many years, own many products lines range from Perrctwave DAC MK-II, PWT Player, PowerBase, P5 and P10. Until I bumped into Akiko Corelli power conditioner, I was and always think that my P10 is the world most valuable power converter and will not replace with anything else but P10. Well, that ain’t true anymore, Akiko is an eyes opennner to my system and anything else is history after that ! Right now I am a proud owner of Akiko Corelli for my two system and the music couldn’t be sounded better ever before, I never thought that a good power converters such Akiko Corelli could make that much different in my system but yes they did and I now a true believer in this product period. Further more, switching power condioner from P10 to Akiko Corelli seem like the whole of my system had upgraded but in fact the only thing I did was Akiko, for folks who thinking or hesitation to try Akiko you have my word of confidence “ your jar will drop “ once you have Akiko in your system. Another things you want to know the truth, I actually saved money by swabbed from P10 to Akiko and have better result, You can’t believed what I said until you actually hear it yourself.  Hope my 5 Cents will give you comfort and erase many doubts you have had before about Akiko, Please note that I had nothing related Akiko Corelli Company , friend, sale rep etc.... I am one of you who just loves the music and trying to spread good products to good audiophiles who earn their hard dollars and want their return of investment back to them in positive way. Good luck 👍🏽 

andrew67 - Thanks for sharing your experience with the Corelli! It really does help. Especially since it's your first post which means to me the Corelli really made a strong  impression on you!

I have been using the Corelli for about 8 months now. I find that using a high end (UPOCC) short power cable is best as well as plugging it at an outlet or power bar that actually supplies the source, pre-amp and amp . I use a DIY 0.5m Furutech 16 gauge cable with Furutech connectors at both ends. According to the manufactures the Corelli mainly addresses the higher frequency noises. They also recommend adding the Akiko DIY Harmonizer at the main breaker panel to enhance the Corelli's performance further. I find the combo of the Corelli and the Harmonizer does provide a blacker background than the Corelli by itself. I have experimented enough to conclude that the Harmonizer has a greater beneficial effect than the type of power cord used. I have been wondering as to why the Harmonizer at a remote place (power mains panel) would do this. I think it is possibly because this is where the ground and the neutral lines meet and the harmonizer prevents backwashing of noise from the ground into the neutral. To address the full spectrum of noise (high frequency as well as low frequency noise) I use active power (non-limiting) power conditioning for low frequency noises in addition to the Corelli which is a passive device that addresses the high frequency noises in the power lines. The combination of all these devices have reduced my background noise to such low levels that my volume setting on my amplifier is about 10 to 20 % lower for the same sound output levels (great for tube amplifiers with limited power) and as well micro details not heard before are now apparent.

To add to this discussion if I may. The Corelli is a marvelous unit, all of the reviews are accurate and it is the easiest upgrade to use ever.

 I have it plugged into a simple but robust power strip made by a company called BPI, the remaining components simply plug into the same strip.

 I have used a lot of gear, lots of power conditioners from Shunyata to PS audio, several from IsoTek,  and many others.

 The Corelli is simple and works wonders.   It seems to produce an overall improvement in all areas as opposed to “more bass” or “better image”, it improves all areas. Very easy to install and easy to perform with / without comparisons.   When I have had audiophile colleagues visit their responses have been consistent.   Easy to hear the difference and if given the choice would not want to listen without the unit in the system.

The only previous product I used that was similar and was very good as well from Nordost.   The QX power purifiers were great and produced a similar result to the Corelli. Problem was that they doubled the number of power cords you needed and they suggested multiple units.   I used to have 3 of these.

 The Corelli does it all in one box and is as easy as just plugging it into your existing power distribution.

 I would suggest getting their power cord as well, it seems to be an important part of the performance.

Additional benefits can also be had using Akiko’s “tuning chips” . I have been using these on power cords as well as what they call a “harmonizer” that connects to the ground wire of my electrical panel.

Very cumulative improvements and a real synergy when I began using these things together.

I have no financial interest of any kind in the Corelli gear, people seem to be mentioned such things in their comments.   But I am a giant fan and wouldn’t be without the Akiko products I have added to my system over the last 8 months or so.

Very interesting comments and our testing on the Corelli has come up with the exact same conclusion as several of the other people on this forum. After testing over 60 different conditioning systems I prefer my Akiko Corelli over any of the other conditioners I have tested. I believe that the system starts from the wall receptacle out or if you go one step further, your panel out. I now use a quality passive strip plugged into an upgraded receptacle with a very good power cord from the receptacle to the power strip. Then I like my Akiko Corelli plugged directly into the first outlet of my passive strip.

 

We are the North American distributor for Akiko and we did extensive testing before taking on the Akiko audio line. I have not heard many products over the past 40 years of listening that can produce improvements throughout your whole system like the Akiko Corelli does.

 

Cheers, Worldwide Wholesales

@worldwidewholesales.....what "quality passive strip" are you using?  I also use a high end power conditioner with the Corelli, but it would be interesting to try substituting a passive power strip to hear what the results are.  In advance, thanks!

Hi louisl,

Personally I have tried a few passive strips and I really like the Furutech e-TP609NFC ($1500) and the Verastarr ($3000). For less money there is the Furutech e-TP66 ($500). We do not distribute or sell these products but I have personally had very good results with all these passive strips in my reference system. I have also tried a few other passive strips that cost much more and with my 99db speakers I did not hear the benefits.

Where I could hear a difference was when I used a quality power cord from the passive strip to my upgraded wall receptacle. The other thing I noticed with the Corelli is as you eliminate all other types of conditioning and just use a quality passive strip and a Corelli, the sound was just more live and natural sounding. We tested the Corelli in 3 very high end systems and the results were the same in every system.

Cheers,

I would like to share my experiences with the Akiko Corelli and other tweeks from this company with all of you here. 

It all started with the Akiko AC Enhancer which made a substantial difference on several outlets and components within my listening room. Some conclusion were better than others with trade-offs as most tweeks in this industry have. I also purchased some tuning chips and rca enhancers that truly make a difference with experimentation with well oriented locations. Second last was the Akiko Harmonizer wired to my Furutech GTX-D Rodium outlet with wall plate and cover. That took some break-in time but when it did it was not subtle at all. I feel the system jumped 15-20% in quality never heard before. Then my doorbell rang and in came the Akiko Corelli........

The Akiko Corelli was definitely the component with the largest  improvement overall for all these reasons:

Everything just sounded more “real” and “live with music listening. The Space around the instruments and band members had more airiness, focus, imaging and macro detail. You could actually precisely measure band members placement within inches on stage which I’ve never been able to locate before. Midrange bloomed with solid, carved, rich tones. Lower frequencies had no bloat, mudiness and overhang but became extremely tight with razor sharp palpable authority when asked upon but also very subtle and controlled when needed with delicate passages. The achievements that are made with this Akiko Corelli are just astonishing.

I have experienced a handful of conditioners from the top Audience Adept, Isotek, Synergistic Research Powercell,  PS Audio, Core Power Technology’s and they all had drawbacks and trade-offs. But the Akiko Corelli had none of these negatives(side affects).

 With carefull planning of components, wiring, speakers and placement, tweeks, passive strips and outlets, all of us here can say that this Akiko Corelli is the one component that “can not” and “will not” be unplugged and taken out of the system..........It is that good..........

Cheers and happy listening.......

Great series of posts! Really terrific getting direct and personal feedback from all of you on the Akiko Corelli. Thank you.

Im using 2 Audience 6tssdox units one for amp one for preamp,cd,turntable.Where to i put Corelli can i use 1 unit do i keep Audience units as well??

@ebm   Do your Audience units condition the power?

Maybe @worldwidewholesales  can also respond?

Audience is a passive unit it is top rated by Absolute Sound and several high end magazines and it sounds wonderful i have tried going into the wall with my amp and it sounds best going through the Audience 6tssdox.Thanks!!

If it is passive (and is not a conditioner), you should benefit from using the Akiko Corelli. As with most stuff audio, let your system and ears lead you.

I'm guessing the importer will be able to shed much more light and detail as to how you should approach adding a Corelli and what the benefits might be.

All the best.

It just plugs into the unused receptacle of the duplex, or another outlet on the same circuit, or, I think, into an unused socket on your power conditioner/distribution box.  Supposedly mild effect throughout the whole house?!?

Hi ebm,

We were the Canadian distributors for Audience and yes they do make good conditioners but all units we tested were capacitance based and not passive. I tried to find your Audience conditioner and could not find that model on the Audience website. If your Audience unit is totally passive than just plug the Corelli into the Audience piece but if it has capacitors, especially Teflon than go directly to the receptacle that your Audience piece is plugged into on the wall.

Best results are achieved with a simple, quality power strip. Plug all electronic components into the power strip and plug the Corelli into the same power strip. I have my Corelli plugged into the first receptacle on my power strip that is closest to the outlet of my power strip.

HI,Im using 2 units one for preamp,cd,and turntable and 1 for amp which is 18 ft away were would it be best to plug in Corelli??And yes Audience has Teflon caps.Thanks.

MY Audience is AR6TSSOX just look for it under AR6.Thanks.

Who has the phono booster and how do you like it in a high resolution system??

Hi ebm,

There is a very high end turntable company that is located in Memphis TN that has bought several of the Corelli and phono boosters Perhaps you could contact them for a reference.

Merrill Williams Audio LLC

1722 Chelsea Ave.

Memphis, TN 38108

Robert Williams

Telephone 901 237 1654

We have literally sold 100's of the Phono Booster and the Akiko Corelli's but we can not just give out end users email address without their permission..

Depending on where you are located, The Cable Company and Jaguar Audio both carry Akiko products in the US.

As I said previously, I think Audience makes very good conditioners but I do prefer a total passive strip versus Teflon caps with the Corelli. Although both locations would benefit a Corelli, your front end would be the best location, preamp, CD player and turntable location.

Thanks very much for the great advice.Enjoy!!

I re-read this discussion and comments from the distributor. I went ahead and got a Corelli. Glad I did! As people tried to tell me, multiple AC Enhancers on one line may be excellent but the Corelli by itself is even better. I’m using Akiko’s power cord. I tried a couple of other cords but the Akiko is the best. I’m using a E-Tuning Gold MK II with it which also makes an audible difference. It's on my system page if you care to see it. I put a DIY "tube light" on top of the Corelli to add a little "art" to the black box. ha,ha

@sbayne  Great to hear! I may order their PC to free up one of my PCs.

Recent changes on the power side of the system allowed me to test a different configuration for the Corelli. I finally used my top power cable since I have an extra one available due to replacing separates with an integrated amp. 

Not sure if it is the new config or the PC or a combination of both, but a noticeable improvement in the current setup. 

Once my components are settled and fully run in, I will be able to test placement and PC pairing impact properly and will report back.

 I have 3 dedicated lines. One for my all my digital, another for my subwoofers and the 3rd for analog equipment (Including preamp and tube amps).
 If I was to buy the Akiko Corelli, which dedicated would it work best on?

ozzy

Has anybody used the Corelli in conjunction with High Fidelity mc-0.5’s or compared it to them?

Ozzy - that's a tough question. Trying it on each of your dedicated lines and leaving it where it sounds best is the logical answer. Especially most people , if they are like me, if they have a dedicated line it feeds the entire system. The same is true if its plugged into a power conditioner that feeds the entire system. So, its very hard to say what component its improving the most. @worldwidewholesales or Jaguar Audio Design may be able to give you some better insight. 

t_ramey,

That's a good question, because that is what I intend to do.

sbayne,

I did send a message to the ones you mentioned, but it's the weekend so hopefully I will hear back early next week. The obvious answer would be to buy one for each line, but....

ozzy

3 Corellis, that’s only 6k+ I say go for it! haha

Hi,

In response to your question Ozzy, the Corelli works best off a good passive strip with everything plugged into that passive strip and the Corelli plugged into the first outlet of the passive strip. But when this is not possible then use the Corelli with your front end and it will still affect all your dedicated lines. We have literally sold 100's of the Corelli and I have only seen 2 on the used market in the last year. The technology is very different but the most effective conditioning result we have heard and we have tested over 60 different conditioners. All the conditioning systems we tested from $24000 down had positive effects and negative effects but the Corelli only did positive things. I run one personally in my reference system and if you email me I will send you pics of my reference system.

email; info@worldwidewholesales.com

It is one of those things you put in your system and cannot take out and yes I know that sounds like sales.

Cheers,

@worldwidewholesales - Don't mean to intrude with your conversation with Ozzy but your answer intrigues me. So use the Corelli on the line that the front end is on and it will affect all his other dedicated lines? I haven't seen this advice before. How did you determine to treat the front end line versus using it on a line that his preamp or amp are on, for instance? Also, its been recommended to try moving the Corelli as far away from components as possible. What's your findings in that regard? Thanks.

Hi sbayne,

If you contact me at this email address, I would be happy to send you pics of my system; info@worldwidewholesales.com

I tried my Corelli in several different locations and I very much prefer my Corelli on my rack with my other equipment. We also experimented with many different power cords and we found the power cord had a huge effect on the Corelli. This has been very consistent with many of my friends that own a Corelli. I can't speak for all my clients and stores as I do not actually know what end users are doing with their Corelli. It would be interesting to get other people's opinions on placement and power cord preference with their Corelli.

In regard to the front end. If you don't have your front end right than it does not matter what you do further down the chain so I always start at the front end. We have found just plugging the Corelli in and having it in the same room as your system, helps bring a system to life and once you unplug it and take the Corelli to another room, the system loses some energy. Not sure exactly how it works but I will never take my Corelli out of my system.

 

Cheers,

Thanks @worldwidewholesales . You seemed so definitive in your response regarding using it on the front end line that I had to ask. As to physical placement of my Corelli in my system it doesn't seem to matter if I have it by other equipment or not.  The effect doesn't change as long as I have it on the same line as the rest of my components. That's why I was surprised you told Ozzy it will affect all his dedicated lines.

worldwidewholesales, sbayne,

Thanks for the replies and advise.

ozzy

It appears that the Corelli is nothing more than 3 tubes filled with crystals.
Sort of like the SR equipment but without the outlets. I don’t see how just having it in the room could affect anything. That approach reminds me of the Acoustic Revive R888.

I do intend to get one though because I am curious and such a sucker for new tweaks.

ozzy

@ozzy 
Would appreciate it if you do the testing for us....lol
Very intrigued indeed but $2k?
Need a lot more convincing first.....

Agreed. I don't think just having it in the room makes a difference especially with the crystals being inside that steel case. It needs to be plugged into the line where equipment is plugged in to. Also, like you indicate, Its not like an Acoustic Revive R888. The R888 generates a Schumann Resonance which is a different controversial audio topic. I've used crystals and Schumann generators in my system for years.

Just for my reference
Where would I insert one into my system.
I have a CPT Equicore1800 which feeds everything. This is fed by a high quality pc from a dedicated line wall receptacle.

@uberwaltz - I would plug the Corelli into the same wall outlet you use for the CPT Equicore 1800.

Sbayne
Thank you, what I would have guessed at but better to ask

@uberwaltz - If you haven't tried the Akiiko Audio products and don't want to spring for the Corelli right away I would recommend you try a Triple AC Enhancer. Just plug it into the wall outlet with your CPT.  Its gotten great reviews and certainly worked in my system. 

It sounds like they would do a similar job to the high fidelity mc-05 units?

uberwaltz-

That’s what I’d like to know. I’ve been plugging in mc-0.5’s to my system as money permits and what it’s done for my two channel listening as well as the picture quality for my tv are pretty amazing and sound similar to what people here have described the corelli doing. But I’ve probably spent more than $2k on the mc-0.5’s to get where I’m at but it sounds like ozzy might be able to give some comparison if he does indeed get the corelli.

-I'm sorry, I just noticed you were probably referring to the ac triple enhancer but I'm still interested in ozzy's opinion when the time comes on the corelli vs mc-0.5