I second what JI35 Jmcgrogan2 say. I use Excalibur analog IC's (balanced) and the Double Helix digital IC's which I'm not giving up any time soon. I use 2 of the Double Helix IC's since I run one of them out from my Oppo 103 transport to a DIP Combo and then the other to the DAC. In this app there was absolutely no audible insertion loss or timing delay in using the pair of them vs just using a single wire from transport to DAC. The thing is that every other wires I've tried that with proved to have a decrease in resolution when using 2 of them, but not with the DH's. I also use and like the AC duplex. From my dealings with Pierre I get the impression that they focus as much as most, or more, on improving sound whether by high-tech or low-tech means - higher fi being the goal. Not all companies bother with that, so focused they are on trying to sell a single range of products. But, Mapleshade strikes me as the real deal. Not everything they make is the best in each category or anything, but all of their products (and tips and ideas) I have tried have proven very worthwhile to me. On Pierre's advice, I (carefully) removed the diffraction-inducing "phase lenses" on my titanium dome tweeters. Yes, there was slightly more HF beaming, but this was easily fixed completely by not toeing in the speakers. The improvement in soundstaging, HF clarity and dynamics, air and imaging was immediately apparent - and it really was twice as good as before.
Would I believe their claim that, say, for example, their powerstrip conditioner outperforms a Power Plant Premier? Absofreakinlutely! Although, a lot of that may be that the PPP is now starting to show it's age as more recent power solutions, Mapleshade included, can do the job without the penalty in dynamics the PS Audio gear has always imposed. Not ALL of them, but increasingly more and more.
But, despite (or even because of, sometimes) all their somewhat off-the-wall, or otherwise weird high-tech approaches, I'm sold on Mapleshade as a viable, rationally approached resource for discerning audiophiles. For me it's been one of the few such companies like that out there, but I've come to trust them implicitly. Regards. John
Would I believe their claim that, say, for example, their powerstrip conditioner outperforms a Power Plant Premier? Absofreakinlutely! Although, a lot of that may be that the PPP is now starting to show it's age as more recent power solutions, Mapleshade included, can do the job without the penalty in dynamics the PS Audio gear has always imposed. Not ALL of them, but increasingly more and more.
But, despite (or even because of, sometimes) all their somewhat off-the-wall, or otherwise weird high-tech approaches, I'm sold on Mapleshade as a viable, rationally approached resource for discerning audiophiles. For me it's been one of the few such companies like that out there, but I've come to trust them implicitly. Regards. John