Hi,
just stumpled upon this thread. I posted some impressions on computeraudiophile.
I own 3 of them now, for about a month. Have tried various settings and am using them in conjunction with Mac, Amarra, Ayre QB9, Octave HP500SE (Pre), HMS Sestetto ICs, Lessloss Signature PCs, ADAM Audio Pencil (active).
I bought them because, the Powercords of lessloss had such an profound effect in my system and trusted, that the blackbodies have an equally profoundt effect. Well the effect is profound, but in another way than the power cords.
With the blackbodies I now hear the slightest details. Details I havent heard on other systems costing 2-5 times as much as mine. Spatial clues, slightest decay, more naturalness and more 3D.
The effect on well recorded acoustical records did transform my listening experience. Some recordings sound like they have been remastered. The overall size of recording venues on some records is doubled!!! When closing my eyes on some recordings it feels, like I can hear the boundaries of the room, hall, church. Not all records benefit from this!
Very interesting, was the experience I made, when I just upgraded my preamp (am still trying various). Without the preamp (running the qb-9 straight into the active speakers and using Amarras dithered volume control), the effect was there, but the difference was not as profound, as when using the blackbodies with the new pre. Without, the sound is excellent. With them, you suddenly hear, that e.g. on a jazz recording, the interplay of the musicians. It might be the microdynamics? This you hear easily when you focus on a hihat. Without the bbs I already hear the weight of an hihat (in most systems hihats do not sound like hihats) but with the bbs it is like you hear exactly where the hihat is hit. On one recording with Jack De Johnette, I was sitting there in astonishment. I allways thought, that he is a genious. But just how good he really is, with how much feel and how well he varies rythms, I can only hear with the bbs. Am I exaggerating? A bit.
A recording engineer (my brother), said the difference is night and day. Well on some recordings yes on others not. Probably depends on just how much information is in the recording. Night and day is an exaggeration!
What it does not make: It does not give me more weight. It does not transform a radio into a highend music machine (tried it with our kitchen radio ;-) ). It did not improve the picture of my TV (well but then again I am all ears!).
My recommendation: If you do not have a very good system, dont try them. If you have not yet invested in good powersupply do that first. If your system sounds thin and parched out and you want more weight, dont buy them (s.o.).
If you are interested in hearing things (not believing) you have not heard before, try them. Although I have not done any double blind tests, I am sure, I would have no problems discerning the difference (there is other stuff I bought, where I would be sure, that I would not pass this test. So if you are just after tweaks and dont know in which directions you want to go, I would not use them. I still have to get used to the clarity the bbs impose on some records!
At Rja, why did it get nasty? People probably asking for scientific prove? I actually do not care about that, I trust my ears. You all trust yours. I spend a lot of money until I learned how to trust them (e.g. abing is not a good thing to find out, if a component is musically satisfying in the long run).
Kedoades,
if you found the Lessloss PCs to be superb, then try the blackbodies.
Greetings from Germany
