Thanks for the post, the EVS Music Purifiers sound interesting along with a pretty solid demo period. Anyone else use these?
EVS Music Purifiers - Amazed by how much improvement they make! Anyone else try them?
A few years ago I had Ric Schultz at EVS modify a VTV Class D amplifier for me. As part of that mod I bought a pair of what he calls ‘Music Purifiers’. Small black cylinders with + and - wires to attach to binding posts of your speakers. I put them on my Gallo Strada 2 speakers, but with the new amp and other streaming equipment I was adding at the time, I never did careful A/B listening tests to see if they improved my systems sound quality or not.
Fast forward to 2023, when I hooked my old VPI Scoutmaster back into my system for the first time in years. I quickly fell in love again with the sound of well recorded records and set out to upgrade my analog gear. Early this year I bought a Sutherland Little Loco phono stage, a Lyra MC cartridge and a Schiit Kara preamp to handle volume control. The path I traveled to arrive at my current analog system involved many rounds of A/B testing to find what gear sounded best. The new set of components is now more musically satisfying than my DAC or streamer and I’m spending more time each week listening to new records and old favorites.
One afternoon while fooling around with my speakers (with EVS Music Purifiers attached and Audience Au 24 SE speaker wires), I decided to
A/B test to see if the Purifiers improved the sound as EVS claimed.
So I played one of the tracks I’d been using frequently for my earlier A/B tests, to see if having the Purifiers attached improved the sound. After I disconnected their positive leads from the speaker terminals, I played the title track from Joni Mitchell’s Court and Spark. I could tell immediately that something special in the sound was missing. I quickly reconnected the Purifiers positive lead on both speakers and cued the track again. Playing the track with the Purifiers reattached restored all of the SQ characteristics I’d come to love in Joni Mitchell’s iconic song.
The 3-D feel of the sound stage space, greater detail and so much more involvement in the music were all back. I was blown away to find how important these inexpensive Purifiers were to hearing all the sound quality my new components were capable of producing! Additional A/B tests with other tracks I love and know inside out confirmed the first test. My experience so far makes me suspect that the better a given systems sound quality, the easier it is to hear the improvement these Music Purifiers make. Using the Music Purifiers gives me so much added musical enjoyment there is no going back. Listening without them is not an option.
The results of my listening tests with the Purifiers has been so surprising to me I’d like to hear from others on Audiogon who have tried them. I’m curious to learn if you have found them as important to enhancing your systems sound as I have in mine. If you do like what they do in your system, I’d love to hear what aspects of musical quality they improve and how much.
Thanks for any feedback! If there is interest, I can post some further details about the tracks I used, and what things I noticed as improvements in each test.
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This sort of sounds like the older days (70's) in the auto industry when the transition from Carbs to fuel injection and stringent emission controls was occurring. Devices were being sold that hooked up in various places that claimed to increase power or fuel economy. Without having some idea of what it is, how it works, or the technology involved, I would find it a little eyebrow raising. Not speaking to this particular example, but the audio industry is rife with some particularly dubious gear. Someone invents a problem and then offers up, at great expense, a remedy. So, what is a sound purifier and what does it achieve. |
@llg98ljk They’re offered with a 30-day trial period so very little risk to just try them. Ric has been around for decades and isn’t in the business of selling snake oil products so wouldn’t surprise me at all if there’s something significant to them. |
Almost 8 decades......I am 76. I did not invent this thang.....just tweaked the design for hours. Enacom made the first version of this thing in the 90s. Then Walker Audio made a version and then updated it later (later versions were something like $650 a pair), then Merlin made some that came with their $10K speakers. All the above no longer available. Stein Music makes the "Speaker Match" that sell for $700 and a super version that sells for $1800........and you see what mine sell for. By the way, a second set will cost you a big $100.....this includes a free pair of Ground Enhancers with each set. My versions use multiple tiny surface mount resistors in parallel and a modified small film cap. The end of the surface mount resistor pile is soldered directly to the modified caps tinned end. The ground wire is soldered directly to the cap body on the other side as well. Very delicate work....and the most transparent parts I know of. The wire itself is the connector......so the shortest signal path I can do. All constrain relieved in a hard thick paper tube (fireworks tube). Every single thing you do affects the sound. So, all resistors, capacitors, solder, wire, connectors, damping, etc. affect the sound of everything you do and these things are no exception. So what the heck is it and how does it work? It is simply an RC filter. It is a single pole filter that operates above 200K (yes, it is measureable). So why would it matter if noise enters your speaker above that frequency? I am not an electron. I cannot tell you how much better it must feel when it does not have those nasty high frequencies along for the ride....he he. All I can do is describe what it does to the sound. There is only one person who returned these things stating he could not hear a difference. I returned his money along with the shipping charge. All he paid was the $8 to mail them back. And immediately I sent them to someone else who loves them. I had a new experience with these things about 10 days ago. I very recently made a new open baffle speaker (to be described and shown on my website soon) and I am bi wiring it. I had a Music Purifier on the Planar mid/tweet but did not have one on the two 12 inch woofers. The woofers have a 2mh coil on them so they are starting to roll off the highs at around 300hz........so I did not expect much difference when adding a Music Purifier right before the coils. I put the second pair on the woofer wire and OMG.....I about fell off the chair. The purity and ambience went into another level. So, if you are bi wiring or bi amping you REALLY want two pairs.......and more if tri or quad amping. What is so cool is that these are super cheap and super universal. They work on every kind of speaker and at any price point. So a $2k system will sound better and a two million dollar system will sound better. As long as you have speaker wire that act like antenna....then you have noise going into the speaker. If you have speaker cables that already have filters built in.....like some of the Transparent and MIT speaker cables do....or some ground/shield biased wires like the expensive Audioquest wires, then you might not get any benefit from these things. But that is about 1% of audiophiles have those wires......so that leaves at least 250,000 audiophiles worldwide that could benefit from these things and pretty much all of them can afford $125. Happy listening! Loving and enjoying this very moment is the key to happiness. |
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I use the Walker High Definition Links and would not want to be without them. They seem to remove an edge that you’d otherwise maybe not notice. Is it RF noise? I don’t know. Mine are across the speaker terminals- I have a long length of wire (~24 ft), so maybe the long length is more susceptible to noise- maybe it’s system dependent. A smidge of liquidity is lost when I remove them.
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tvad.......yes, two pair. James......never tried the discontinued $724 Walker things, but many of my customers report way more difference than what you describe (which is what I hear, as well).....way lower noise.....ambience, hall sounds, decay trails, separation of instruments, more harmonic rightness, more inner detailing, air.....etc. However, some only hear a little improvement......at any rate, they love them. These are not like a zobel that would be in a speaker. Those are operating at lower frequencies and are generally used to made the xover see a more pure resistive load. The Music Purifiers do not effect the speakers impedance and are operating way above the audio bandwidth. Was just talking to an audio buddy and he said his daughter told him that only "old" people use the dot dot dot thing that I love. Yes, I am an old dude.....and.......and......and.......he he. |
Yes ricks are very similar to synergistic research . i have been making them for over 5 years I rarely advertise they use a resistor as the load to the amp and a capacitor to filter all upstream noise from components combined , the difference is in the quality ,to be perfectly honest both use average parts quality at best. Anyone that knows audio knows aftermarket parts are much bigger and cost $$. I use the latest VH Audio Odam capacitors which replaced the Duelund capacitors for transparency and detail, and Worlds best Path audio resistors ,quality Copper connectors , these are so expensive to make a company would charge 4x the cost or over $1k .I am semi retired and make them out of passion ,for they make Every Loudspeakers that much better, I had a Audio store overseas for a decade until 2010 . I have a good following especially in Asia and parts of Europe . With these latest Flagship models I may advertise. I only build custom models per Loudspeakers brand,model. ,it’s impossible for a one size fits all since speakers can vary from 2 ohms to over 12ohm . |
The $449 Carbon XOT Synergistic thangs are advertised as being based on their proprietary technology....they are not normal rc filters. Would be interesting to A/B my super tweaked $125 things with theirs and also see if they work together in tandem. ....along with my Ground Enhancers (that are free!) The parts I use are tiny and non inductive. I doubt even Odam caps (which need a teflon copper Vcap bypass cap in parallel for best high frequency sound) and Path resistors are more transparent (have not done an A/B with them). Those large parts would have to be put into a super large container and like you said....would cost a ton of money. The load of the speakers has very little to do with how these work. Every speaker that has been tried has been improved (except the one case where the person heard nothing...as noted above). |
@ricevs Have you sold any to Australia? BTW my Bitdefender doesn't like your website and won't let me open it. |
If any want to dive into the why and how of this topic a bit deeper, run through this thread and this thread and this review by 6moons. |
+1 @james_edward I have been using Walker High Definition Links as well for years and I agree I wouldn’t be without them. They clean and focus the sound in an amazing way, and truly add to a well balanced system. Whenever I see them on eBay I buy them. If this product is anything like them it’s a winner. |
@audioman58 @ricevs Some solid state amps have zobel networks at the outputs. Can your devices interact negatively with amps of this type? Thanks. I have the Walker things (I was one of the first five Walker dealers in the US). If I have some time, I'll get Ric's Purifiers and compare. I've done business with @ricevs several times over the last decade. 100% happy customer. This man has remarkable ears and patience. |
My custom units are made to not interact with anything Xover related or cable like AQ active shield or mit, they are made for your specific ohms rating impedance curve . I don’t say anymore on its design ,these new ones give a richer tone density as well as clean up the signal . I do the majority of business in Europe and Asia for I owned a Audio store in the U.K until 2010 then moved back to the U.S.A. I will be putting up ads possible by the weekend ,mine are not the lowest in cost but have the highest. Quality parts quality everything is matched to under 1% tolerance,and has a mfg lifetime warranty for workmanship. |
Interesting that you mention the FX of signal above 200KHz. Some years ago, a long technical discussion (I have a physics/engineering background) with the designer of Audioquest's sophisticated Niagara power conditioners convinced me that noise in that region could indeed spill over, directly or indirectly, into the audible range. In fact, one goal of the Niagara design was to mitigate the effect of such noise. Regardless of the theory behind the product, my own Niagara setup profoundly improved the sonics of my system, so those guys may have been onto something. My question for you is: Do you see much value in adding Purifiers to a system that has already been configured to reject noise above 200KHz? If so, given your return policy, I would be strongly tempted to make a purchase. By the way, you weren't kidding about BitDefender. After jumping through multiple BD hoops, I was finally allowed onto your site -- only to be confronted with a 404 Error. There seems to be no way to get there. It's possible that all you need to do is convert to to https and make sure your certificate is current.
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The zobels inside some transistor amps are very similar to what I use. By limiting the highs right at the output, the amp will "behave" better and be more stable. Having another filter at the end of the speaker wire filters the noise that the speaker wire is picking up and further cleans up any noise coming out of the amp. Many transistor amps do not have these filters....and very few tube amps have them. We CANNOT get enough PURE noise filtering. It does not matter if your are using an inverter (off the grid) and a modded Puritan line filter and a separate ground rod and ground filters and star grounding and and and and.....My friend with his super modded Apogee speakers has all that.....but when he puts the Music Purifiers and Ground Enhancers directly on his speakers.....the sound is way better. Noise is distortion....distortion is noise. This is the game we play......reduce the noise and what you are left with is MUSIC.....and the lower the noise.....the higher the goosebumps. Yes, I am swamped. I was already doing some other work for another company that needed to be finished.....and then this happened (me happy!).......and so......anyone ordering right now is looking at a 2-3 week wait. I will email tomorrow (Sat.) morning all those who ordered already (and all those who will order after this moment) and try to give an approximate ship date. If you wait to order....the wait time may extend. Some people have been waiting for their Caladan speakers since Nov....and they paid over $3000 in advance. This is a lot more palatable. It will be worth the wait. |
Thanks @audioman58 @ricevs |
a question for @ricevs. You mentioned that certain speaker cables may not see a benefit with the EVS music purifiers. I have Nordost Valhalla 2 speaker cables. Would you expect improvement with these cables? Thanks. |
Yes, your expensive cable has no filtering or shielding. The only cables that MIGHT not benefit are ones with networks or heavy filtering/shielding built in. This would inlcude MIT, Transparent, Townsend and some bigger Audioquest......and? So far, no one tried these things with any of the above cables.....so, is just a guess. Could be, it makes some of the above sound better. You have to listen to know anything about sound. Not much risk in trying. |
Thanks @ricevs |
I've had 2 pair of Music Purifiers in my bi-wired pair of Eminent Technology LFT-VIIIB's for a couple of months now. I liked what I heard when I first put them in, more spacious, sound sources were better defined and separate. BUT like the OP (Bobfitz1), I find the best way to evaluate a change is to revert back after I have gotten used to the new sonics. What I heard when I disconnected the Music Purifiers was a more diffuse and less specific sound-field that had many of the sounds anchored on the speakers. The level separation and definition I had come to treasure had dropped. Music became less enjoyable and less engaging. Reconnecting them immediately brought back the benefits. When I say separation and definition, one thing that I listen for and that brings enjoyment to me is hearing the inner detailing of the interplay of notes, how they are played/sung, and emphasized/synced with the other instruments/singers, melodically, harmonically, and temporally. This increases my emotional connection with the music and the intention of the musicians. When these subtle details are audible, I often lose myself in the music listening to their artistry, as I did last night when I only intended to have the setup on 15-20 minutes while preparing to audition some upgrades... and stayed to listen for another couple hours. I know everyone here has had seminal audio experiences, like my 1st time hearing a setup with then-high-end pretentions back in the late 1970s... a well-regarded Kenwood table with a Black Widow arm hosting a top Grado, Apt-Holman preamp feeding an Audio Research tube amp, and a pair of LS3/5As. I never knew a stereo could sound so good. What I heard started me down my audiophile path. Another was at a mid-80s Chicago CES... Pink Triangle turntable with a Kiseki Blue, Rowland pre and amp (it was their room), and the fabled, beautiful, and rare Xstatic speakers. The sax on track 2 of Bernie Krause's Citadels of Mystery, "Heights of Machu Picchu" was the first time that reproduced music brought tears to my eyes. AND that launched me on a search to bring that to my system, which I only realized when I added tubes into the mix. BUT the one that I was reminded of while I was listening to my setup with the Music Purifiers was during a tour of Audio Research back when I lived in Minneapolis. The local audio society arranged an annual tour of either ARC or Magnepan (with Wadia thrown in the mix those years when it was active nearby). While what I heard in the ARC listening room on my 1st tour was impressive, it did not compare to the 2nd tour a couple years later. I forget the turntable and cartridge but remember the Magnepan Unitrac arm and the Warren Gehl platter mat, IMHO one of the best ever. ARC electronics and cables of course, an SP-11 and a pair of M300's as I remember. Speakers were a pair of the then-fairly-new Infinity IRS Betas. They played "Mean Daddy Green" from Radka Toneff's Fairytales album. Beautiful. BUT what struck me after I listened to most of the piece was that I was hearing how she physically sang... the final phrase of the piece are the words "Mean Daddy Green" and I heard how she opened her mouth, held her lips, and moved her tongue. WOW! I've worked to gain that level of insight into the music since then, in the mid-1990s. While I have had glimpses of it, the Music Purifiers made it gell. AND not only on well-recorded Audiophile recordings, but on many mass-market jazz, pop, and classical recordings too. That setup (I have 2)... DIY'd digital front end with bits from Allo.com, Ian Canada, and Uptone Audio, with the endpoint and DAC powered off the grid via a massive amount of Ultracaps (~20,000F!) and batteries. S&B TX102 transformer volume control. PS Audio BHK-250 Amp and P15 AC Regenerator. MIT MI-330 Shotgun and MH-750 cables. Eminent Technology LFT-VIIIB speakers. And lots and lots of tweaks. Finally, I've been both a customer and a follower of Ric at EVS since the early 2000s. Have purchased several of his amps and modified DVD players and used techniques from those and what he shares online (and privately) along with purchasing various bits from him, like that S&B TX102, in my own DIY efforts. Thanks Ric! Greg in Mississippi |
Just made a pair of RC filters. 10 ohms resistors and .01uF caps connected in series. Duelund Silver/Graphite resistors, Duelund pure copper foil caps, Mundorf banana plugs, and Jupiter Condenser Co. solid copper leads, for a total of $80/pair. Positive lead to the capacitor side and negative to the resistor side. Just started listening. Nothing jumps out just yet but I certainly don't perceive any negative effects in the sound. I will let them run in for a few days and then remove them and listen for any changes. |
Here is a link explaining RC filters, as used in the Walker links. BITD (early to late 2000's) there used to be quite a bit of DIY-type discussion over on Audio Asylum with some fairly knowledgeable people. It was a good place/time to learn some stuff about why/how things work. |
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I have the Enacom version from back in the day. They did some of the nice things mentioned above in this thread. I’m not running them currently though, because they squashed dynamics, especially macro dynamics, and also tended to smear, a bit, leading edge transients. Given my experience, I’m not sure it’s worthwhile for me to try out a later day version. Has anyone compared the current ones with the Enacom ones? |