Hmm, if your AC power was, in fact, decent, why try a Stealth to begin with?
My AC here in the Bay Area, CA cannot be called decent and the Stealth does a fantasitic job in my system. Sounded a bit a constrained at first, though better overall, and patience, as is often the case, was ultimately rewarded. Same results that I've heard from about a dozen or so users. Especially when compared to some other units I tried, it is worth the coin to me. I will give the comparisons noted above a whirl to see if peak usage times yield different results. Bummer to those feeling their money has been wasted.
Oh, and goodbye to you, too, Kana. Good to see you've stayed consistently sarcastic and hope that you can find your "magic" by other means. |
4yanx- Looks like I'm not the only person that found out that the Stealth doesn't improve the sound when the A/C power is decent.
Hope you and your magic plastic box live a long and happy
life together.
A hui hou aku. |
Morasp. that is a useful and quite interesting comparison. I know that here in the Bay Area (California), the power is inconsistent between periods of the day/night. I shall do some comparisons of my own as you have done. |
I don't consider myself a Stealth basher but my experiences were similar to Kana's. I think that power is different for everyone from the components you have to if you live in an apartment in the city etc. I preffered the sound of my system plugged into the wall when power was good (late night, early Sunday morning) compared to being plugged into the Stealth any time of day. When power was bad the stealth improved the sound but so did ferrite clamps on my power cords. In other words midday listening with the stealth was not as good as late night without it and late night w/o it was better than with. Other than it's euphonic coloration, the Hydra was better late night than having my system plugged into the wall. |
Warrenh- I sent you an email on the results of the three week break-in. Yes- it got better, but straight into the wall still sounds more open, detailed and dynamic. The unit was returned to AM without any hassle. And no one at AM said it was deflective.
4yanx- The "BS" is AM's. Like the light sensitve parts inside the plastic box, and the $1.99 PC that comes with the unit. And why charge an extra $900. on the Stealth over
the mini Stealth for six extra $10. outlets and a bigger plastic box? AM's website says it has all the same parts as their regular Stealth.
It's a passive line filter. If you live in an area with EMI/RFI then maybe it will improve your system. Here on Maui, we don't have those problem with our A/C power. |
I'm currently using a Virtual Dynamics Nite SOL from the wall to the Stealth. I'm very happy with this setup. I'm also only using the Stealth for analog. I have my turntable, preamp and amp plugged into it. I currently am using a Tara Labs AD/6 for digital on a seperate dedicated line.
Regards,
John |
Hi Kana,
Man am I sorry you've had such a negative experience with the Stealth. It's hard for me to imagine. Maybe you have a defective one. I know you're, a bit, crazed by the innards, but, hey; it works. I loved mine, (and I am as picky as they come) so much that I upgraded to the Matrix and Mini Digital. Dramatic presence in my system. I know the PS Audio is HEAVEY, formidable looking, and chuck full of goodies/innards, that may turn people on more than the light weight Stealth. It may be difficult for some, to justify the price because of the size. Not me baby. This Stealth is that amazing. I'm sorry that your bashing may turn people off from checking it out. Your experience is not the norm. I am not a dealer, just a very happy, satisfied customer. Maybe I missed it, but after your laborious break in: still unhappy? Did you speak to Jerry at Audio Magic? peace, warren |
Yes, you are confusing the two. YOu've got the information, now, to hook your new baby up correctly. Lay back and enjoy. You're in for a real treat. |
Thanks for everyone's responses. Can anyone set me straight as to which components are considered analog, since they have digital sources connected to them? If an analog preamp is connected to a digital cdp, doesn't it then take on the nasty digital hash and noise put out by the cdp? Same thing with the amps. Since the whole system is a chain, with each link interconnected, how do you distinguish which is what? Or am I confusing power supply with interconnects?
Thanks again. |
Kana, the fact that you are an unabashed Stealth basher is blatantly obvious. Funny, you are the only one I've heard from that has been soooo disappointed with your Stealth from the "git go". Does it sound like it will after break in, no. Does it sound like an AM radio as you stated in another post, no. If it doesn't work for you, fine, it has worked well for others, regardless of your "BS" theories. But if you are that disappointed, you should be willing to sell it and I doubt you'll have any trouble. :-) |
Any PC would be than the cheap cord that AM includes with the Stealth.
Warrenh's warning about Stealth break-in is an understatement. If you plug it into your system straight out of the box,you'll be very,very disapointed.
Good luck. Don't try and take look at the magic gem stones, or AM's BS will explode in your face. |
Bob, I don't think that's going to do it. Maybe a little better isolation, but you're still not getting the desirable isolation. Total separation is the way to go. It is, perhaps, too expensive, (for now), given the cost of the Digital Mini, so maybe your idea, after all, for a temporary tympanic fix, will do... |
I would get rid of the P300 and do as Warrenh says, get a mini stealth (your not going to be able to power your whole system with the P300 anyway), and yeah they sound a lot better if you use an Elrod signature cord. I was using my whole system plugged into one Sound App CF-X, and I picked up a Stealth Mini, and plug only my CD player into it, and then plug the Stealth directly into the wall. Amps and subs go into the CF-X. This made a huge diffrence over just using the CF-X, I don't know if it's the Stealth or the fact that I separated the analog and digital. Using the Elrod EPS 2 sig on the Stealth in place of the stock cord that comes with the Stealth is also a big improvment. |
Try leaving the digital plugged into the Stealth & use a filtered cord on the CDP for better isoilation, such as a JPS Digital AC |
Dave, all I know is that I had my amp cdp, sub and tuner plugged into my Stealth and loved what it did for my system, compared to the sound before. Now, having separated the digital from the analog using the Mini Digital, my system even sounds better. I'm not going into the adjective stereo lingo. It don't mean a thing unless you hear for yourself. Adding the Digital Mini was quite dramatic. Worth every penny. peace, warren |
Ken, I posted this somewhere else but I tried five different PC's ranging in retialprice from 200-600 clams from the Stelath to the wall outlet (cryoed Hubbell). I found little appreciable difference with the cords in this position so I settled on the cheapest (HT ProAC11). I did find larger differences when changing PC's between the Stealth and components. Others here will cite the benefits of using more mega-buck PC's between the Stealth and the wall outlet, and they may very well be right. I just cannot afford or justify spending that kind of money on PC's in order ot find out for myself! :-) |
Warren, as you know, I also have the Stealth and think very highly of its performance. I currently have amp, phono stage, tuner, CDP, and TT plugged into the Stealth. Let me ask you this. When you used the Mini separately for your digital, did you also find an improvement on the analog side from removing the digital, or just an improvement in the digital from separating it from the analog?
Wishing I could afford to try the Matrix...... |
Here's what I would do. If you plug the Stealth into the PS Audio, you won't have a referrent as to what the Stealth, alone, is doing for your system. Stealth mixed with PS Audio? Don't have a clue what you'll get. And what you get, you won't comprehend, because you never heard the Stealth in your system alone. SO, plug ALL your analog into the Stealth and your Digital into your PS Audio and listen. Make sure the Stealth is fully broken in, or you're going to be very disapointed. Live with it for a nice long while. Enjoy your music. Become attached to it and experience what it's doing for your system. Then, and only then, can you make another change, and know truly what the deal is. If you love the Stealth, you may want to can the PS Audio and try the Mini Digital. The Mini Digital has an absolutely dramatic affect on my system. It's a sound (forgive the pun) practice , anyway, keeping your digital and analog separate. You don't want those little dital nasties messing with your analog. There's oodles of interesting combinations that you can try, after you know your Stealth.
I hope that I'm not confusing you more. peace, warren |
Warren,
Maybe you can help me figure out how to configure the Stealth. I'd like to connect my preamp, SET amp, multi-ch amp, cdp, dvd and surround processor to the Stealth. But since you caution against mixing digital and analog, help me think this through. Although the preamp is analog, the cdp and dvd connected to it are digital, so I suppose for the purpose of this excercise I have to consider the preamp as digital as well? That would leave only the amps as analog, but of course they're also connected to the digital sources. Where am I going wrong here?
In addition to the Stealth, I also have a PS-300 and Ultimate Outlet. Could I use a combination of these to separate components? I know the UO prevents digital hash from flowing back into the system, so that may be of help in isolation. I'm not sure if the PS-300 does the same. I'd like to be able to use all these or get rid of the one's that are of no benefit.
What do you think about the idea of connecting the PS-300 AC regenerator into the wall, and plugging the Stealth into it? That way the Stealth will be receiving pure power to begin with. Then I could plug the UO into one of the Stealth's outlets, allowing me to connect 2 components into the UO. If if doesn't allow digital noise back into the Stealth, wouldn't that isolate those components from the others connected to the Stealth? Complicated, isn't it?
I'm sure you have much more experience in this area than I do, so I'll defer to you. I'm just looking to maximize my current equipment.
Thanks. |
What are you plugging into your new baby? CDP?, AMP? That may help 'goners. I'm sure you're keeping your digital and analog separate. Don't put both in the Stealth. You might want to consider their Stealth Mini Digital for the CDP. It makes quite a difference. I love mine. I, on the other hand, don't believe in going nuts with power cords, when I spent all this money on power conditioning, hopefully, obivating the need for killer cords. Honestly, though, if I had the resources, I probably would go ballistic with cords, as well. So, for now, I use the Matrix and the Digital Mini Stealth with Lat International power cords. I love it. I just want to make sure that the signal that comes out of my AM reaches the source unimpeded. I loved my Stealth. It has been one week since I let my Matrix have a full two week burn in with some high current/amperage. The Matrix? What can I say? It's the Stealth on steroids. A good 25% improvement. Maybe more. Killer. I'm in love. peace, warren |
