I have heard this is a SOTA line conditioner. Does anyone have experience with this product? What are the true SOTA conditioners out there today? Thanks,
It is being used happily in my system. Tried a few others and once it was put in on a demo, it just sounded right. Might there be others that are as good or better, sure, but when something works so well for me and gives me what I want from it, why keep on looking?
Based on Brent Rainwater's (Rainwateraudio.com) enthusiastic recommendation, I bought one of Sound Application's Reference Line Stages and two of their newer RLSs. They significantly lowered the noise floor in my three dedicated AC lines and transformed the sonic landscape, top to bottom, of my audio system for the better. Tons of AC contaminations were removed. It was a sonic revelation. I'm very happy with the enhancement.
I have had a few of these and I think they are great for the price used. I have owned the Hyrda, Power Plant, BPT 3.5 sig, and Audio Magic Matrix. I'd say the SA is as good as any of them, plus it has 12 outlets and doesn't hog up a rack space. My only concern is that if you are thinking of the CF-X model just make sure you get at least serial number 700 series. I found them to get a lot better at that point. They seem like a steal on the used market at this point.
I did have an earlier model (plain X,I think) Sold that puppy,pronto.(( It did retail for 4300,but I never understood why.)) I moved on to the Adept Response and am still happy after 2 years.
I owned the original Hydra and recently tried the PS Audio Power Plant Premier but the SA XE-12 bested them by quite a large margin: more liquidity, more natural tone colors (not as dry as with the PS Power Plant) and I can no longer hear a slight hiss that I had in my system with the Hydra. I'm using it with MAC Wire Delta PC which I like better than the Elrod EPS 3 Sig.
Thanks for all the comments so far. It's interesting that there is no concensus as far as these devices go. It appears to be somewhat system dependent. I put the running springs conditioner on my old front end and at the time it was nothing short of amazing. Probably the single biggest leap in system performance I have had. Now that I have better everything (preamp, amp,cables, dedicated lines) the running springs ruins the soundstaging. There are still some elements of the sound that are better with it in place, but in general, it is better without it now. There are other line conditioner manufacturers out there, but one rarely hears much banter about them with the exception of Shunyata, which I found to not perform as well as the running springs in my system. I have seen a burmeister, nordost, accuphase, etc. Anyone try these? More thoughts on the sound application welcome as I have ordered one to demo. BTW the price has gone up on these things. It better be great!
Essentialaudio, I did own the Sound Application XE-12 and the Reference Line Stage at the same time and A/Bed them. There is no comparison; the Reference Line Stage is far superior to the XE-12. I sold my XE-12. I also own 2 Sound Application RLSs; they are definitely a step up above the Reference Line Stage: lower noise floor, greater apparent resolution, cleaner transients, better dynamics, etc. I understand that SA now has an upgrade to the RLS that lowers the noise floor even more; I hope to try it soon. The only other line conditioner that I'm aware of that may come close to the RLS is the Isoclean at twice the cost of the RLS. Aren't you a dealer for Isoclean?
Also, I have tried different power cords including the Virtual Dynamics' Master series and Night II series, and an earlier version of Purist Audio. However, the best for my primary system (Jadis JA80 mono blocks drive the Watt/Puppies and the Conrad -Johnson Premier 350 drives the Wilson Audio WHOW sub woofer) are the Elrod Statements. There is nothing light weight about these babies. They add a wonderful weight, fullness, coherence, transparency, cleanliness, speed and fluidity. Musical and involving. Now all the power cords in my main system are the Elrod Statements.
Tvad, You had told me that the XE-12, which you got from me, didn't work in your system. According to your post above, you also tried the Reference Line Stage in your system. How did it compare to the XE-12?
I am not affiliated with Sound Application or Elrod.
I have two SA units (RLSs)and will add one more soon.These are the best upgrade I ever made. Lowest noise floor and blacker background contributes to zero grunge and no mid range glare. Bflowers said: "BTW the price has gone up on these things. It better be great!"
Yes Price is high but in my system it is more than worth it!
I am supposed to have the unit tomorrow. I spoke to Jim Weil today and his comments mirror some of your experiences. He claims there is a big performance jump from the xe-12 to the RLS. The unit I am to receive is the RLS-1, which is (according to him) the first shipping of his next generation conditioner. I guess that's why it costs more than I expected. Still has the 30 day money back guarantee. I will report back after some listening.
I own a RLS 240 (the Reference Line Stage for 240v) and have it in my system for more than 6 months...in short it is good...
I plug everything into in....TV, set top box, Universal player, CD player, pre, monoblocks...absolutely no loss of dynamics....there is a sequence of plugging them in...check with Jim...
Previously i owned Hydra 8 (slowed the dynamics, long gone from my system), Running Springs Audio Duke (this is okay for the amps as there is no loss in dynamics, sold this to get the SA with more outlets)....
One thing to note.....do not do any critial listening for the first 3 to 4 days.....the sound will go from good to bad to good and then it will fall into place...this is the timing for the caps inside to fully charge up....did this a few times and the magic hour is between 3 to 4 days (running 24/7).....
good luck and i hope you get a pleasant experience with it..
Agree with TVAD. Smaller model with fewer outlest same RLS quality would allow for system flexibility and improved performance for each components. For example I am using a RLS with my Preamp only. I have found that in my system hooking up more components reduces preamp performance. But it works so well that I got another one for digital components and will get one more for phono. Most outlets are thus unused....
Bflowers, My experience with the RLS is in agreement with Teck5's. It began to open up on the third day. You can plug in some appliance into it that draws a lot of current and let it run for 3 days before doing any critical listening to your system. Your patience will be well rewarded. After I get my RLS-1, I'll be able to compare to the RLS. Best Regards, John
Had the opportunity to spend a week with the new version of this conditioner, RLS-1. Very impressive! I let it warm up for about 4 hours and went in for a listen. It was so good that I played every disc I could think of until it was unreasonably late. I thought to myself, I am THERE! The last link in my quest for audio Nirvana. (I know better than this.) The next day I listened again and not so good. Just as others have said, by day 3-4 it was back to that the level of that first day. It's cruel for components to tease you this way, then pull the rug out from under you like that. To be more specific, with my previous conditioner, the timbre's were very nice, but images overlapped each other, and there was little soundstage depth. When I removed the conditioner, the soundstaging was much better, but the timbre's were less natural, and there was a bit of bass bloat. The RLS-1 brought the beautiful timbre back but allowed much better localization of images as well a cleaning up the bass (as it was with the previous conditioner). Overall, I am very satisfied with this piece. One of the best reality checks, was when a relative over for the holidays, who has heard the system fairly regularly, said "that sounds like live music, like they are right there". I am currently experimenting with the sub in the RLS-1 versus the Running Springs. The sub has always sounded better with a conditioner versus without. Initially, the transport and the preamp were the only things plugged into the RLS-1.
Great to hear that you like it....the initial roller coaster ride(sound changing) can be a little unnerving when you first experience it...
My reaction was, wow, paid so much and to get this crappy sound, but once it clicks...a big smile...
Now try playing with power cords from the wall to the RLS1, it will start playing tricks with you again...
Also, did you insert one of Jim's wall outlets? He is a wealth of knowledge and forget about trying to email him...call him and you get the info in double quick time..
I had two Gold Furutech outlets and when i changed them over to Jim's, it seemed to make the music less muddy....have not tried any others yet as Jim has his theories on these outlets and i am happy with the current setup...
For the cords, Jim sent a MAC Delta One (loaner) for me to get started....i am now using a Harmonix Studio Master which seems to give some bite and bring the music a little forward...it is okay for what it does for the moment...
Other cords that i have tested are Jorma Super power (with bybee), Prana Wire Satori & Samadhi....so far to me and my system, the HArmonix is okay...not fantastic...so the search goes on for this...
Have not tested Elrods on these yet...and Jim recommends FMS now...but they are $$$$....
I'm glad you are enjoying your RLS-1. I hope to upgrade my RLSs to the RLS-1 soon. As for the power cords, I found that there is a wonderful synergy between the RLS and the Elrod Statement power cords. Each is addressing AC issues that the other didn't address completely. So, technically, their functions are complementary, not synergistic. There is also a cumulative effect with the Statements; the more I added to the system, the better it got. It was a real eye opener...I mean ear opener. (An audiophile buddy had the same experience in his system.) Now, all my power cords in my primary system are Elrods. If you do try the Elrod Statements, make sure you wait 2 to 3 days before critical listening. It takes that long for their magic to really open up.
Just found this thread. I have owned multiple Sound Application units, have always found them cleaner and faster than other ac devices, and still remember that one saved my entire system when it was on and lightning struck my water heater a mere 5 feet from my system. What always troubled me about SA was Jim's constant improvements. Anytime you jump on board, you can be confident that shortly thereafter there will be a new model and in my experience, the new model will be better.
Presently, I have once again gone down the path of using a "filtering" box, if you want to call the Acoustic Revive RTP-6 such a device. I really wonder what my sound would be like to have a RLS-1 to compare with it. Or perhaps to install prior to it. Maybe someday!
Teck5 or anyone that can help: I would like to know the sequence of plugging components in. I just purchased an RLS on Audiogon and am very impressed. While there was only a slight improvement in background noise and imaging - the top end REALLY became much clearer and lifelike. I'd like to know the sequence, since we power our Pass XA amplifiers, Oppo 93, Meridian 861v6, 800 and HD621 and LG 60 Plasma TV in our RLS. BTW - we use MIT Oracle cables and Watt Puppy speakers and Jim's RLS took our system to the next level! Thanks in advance for any help you can offer, Thomas.
This post was very interesting. It encouraged me. I figured my ac conditioning was very good; but the SA I demo'd really notched things up musically. Very surprising improvement. I would say wonderful. Won't be without it now (and it's a very basic model, not the Reference) It's very nice that Jim does upgrades. Very reasonably.
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