I also own the ECM from Ultra Fi and the mind of Larry Moore owner and chief designer of ultra high quality amps and dac's . Well what is it a conditioner a filter a noise reduction device some or all of the above ? I am not sure how to say what it is but what it does is a another story altogether if you use a Mac Mini you want one for your computer music system. A little history I use a Mac Mini and take USB via a Ridge Street Poiema cable to a Ultra Fi Musicstream USB DAC the music is on a external Western Digital Hard Drive. The rest of My system is on Audiogom as [ My Escape ] under opinions wanted if you care to look. Well back to Larry's ECM you plug the Mac Mini and your hard drive in to it and plug the ECM in to the wall. Best sound if used with a Ridge Street power cable on the ECM and also on the Ultra Fi DAC . The DAC should be plugged in to the wall not the ECM well now on to the sound. The system with out the ECM in the system was some of the best digital I have ever listened to the Musicstream DAC is one of the finest out there at any price . I really had no complaints at all maybe not as good as state of the art analog setup but I could listen to the digital for many hours with a big smile on My face and that says something [ good ] . Well I have now had the ECM in My system for a few weeks and damn Larry has done it again another great product the digital music server has taken several steps closer to the sound of analog . The ease of presentation the music just flows out , the soundstage is wider , a level of digital glare I did not notice before [ it was very low ] is now lower still and the background is blacker also. Larry tried to explain to Me that the ECM reduces noise in the Mac Mini that is generated by the Mac's power supply when there is a [ handshake] between the cpu / hard drive / and ram it makes spikes in the power supply and the ECM 's job is to suppress those spikes and noise. This suppression of noise and voltage spikes is one area that has not been addressed by anyone that I know except Larry and Ultra Fi with his ECM device I am not a ee so I hope my crude explanation makes some sense . The bottom line is if you use a Mac Mini for a music server and want the best sound possible A ECM is a very worth while investment by it self and is simply great with a Ultra Fi Musicstream DAC and Ridge Street cables - interconnects and USB cable . I HAVE NO CONNECTION WITH ULTRA FI OR RIDGE STREET AUDIO JUST A VERY HAPPY CUSTOMER I UNDERSTAND ULTRA FI WILL BE AT - RMAF THIS FALL GO CK IT OUT YOU WILL LIKE IT !!!! MARC
Ultra Fi ECM Digital Noise Preventer
About 6 wks ago myself and a few others in our audio group had the opportunity to hear the ECM unit from Ultra Fi audio. I wouldn't quantify it as a conditioner per se, it works in the opposite way. It prevents noise from within anything plugged into it from making its way to the AC line. I purchased this unit and have listened to it at length. The difference in sound compared to the former was 3D sound, smoother and extended treble, blacker background, more transparency, and a more analog sound vs. digital. The best analogy I can offer that I experienced is...comparing a laid back phono tube preamp vs. a solidstate phono pre. The presentation betw/ the 2 would be the difference betw/ the ECM vs. not having it. I hope you'll understand what I'm trying to convey. It has taken my digital another step forward. I'm not affiliated in any way, just a very happy customer. If I'm not clear in my description, I apologize. If you have any interest, contact Larry at Ultra Fi....System, Apple Mini, Ultra Fi Musicstream DAC, Ridge St. Alethias USB cable, WD hardrive.
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