Early Listening Impressions...
Actually Paolo, after listening to some familiar tracks, I now believe the Black Hole & Materik are even more effective when plugged into my rather robust 10 socket balanced mains supply where I have everything powered. Sound plausible to you?
In addition to sounding more natural & present, I just think my system is even more revealing with the addition of your filters. More discernible than what I experienced with several others like Vera-fi Puron, Mainstream, Snubway & Ansuz Sparkx. Very nice indeed!
Additionally, I feel the Black Hole & Materik are more effective together as you suggested Paolo. It's too obvious for me to reach that conclusion despite knowing your recommendation in advance.
Where I placed both filters at first.
Looking at the filters individually, with the Black Hole only plugged into the dedicated line quad wall receptacle, there is an easily noticeable increase in micro details as a result of a quieter background. Depth of soundstage increases & musicians are firmly anchored on stage.
When paired together...
Of course when adding the Materik, which was initially plugged into a decent strip that is plugged into the wall outlet, things quiet down even more while adding a layer of shimmer to the highs, as well as more fleshed out mids & vocals. Center image benefits from greater focus.
The Materik alone builds on the Black Hole's improvements, however, when paired together, I'm hearing a more cohesive presentation that I don't fully appreciate with only a single filter in the mix. Take them both away, even with my selectively optimized system, the soundstage begins to shrink.
Serious Eye Candy!
The design & build quality can't be overlooked. Not only are they unique & pleasing to the eye, they definitely look up to the task!
Oh yeah I forgot the enhanced mids & vocals. More detail especially at lower volumes where you may be missing that little something. Vocals are more forward with more space between musicians all combine to create a deeper soundstage.
At your convenience Paolo, I would like to try a 2nd Materik plugged into dedicated wall outlet.
As always, thanks for your insight & first rate customer service!
Mac
Update...currently the Black Hole & Materik are plugged into the first receptacle of balanced mains supply where they seem to make the most improvement to noise floor, headroom, dynamics, resolution, attack & decay, low level listening. I like what I'm hearing so much that I ordered a 2nd Materik to plug into the wall outlet of dedicated 20a circuit.
Date of experience: July 12, 2025
