Over the past 5 to 6 months I've been getting to know my new electronics and have done a lot of experimentation with power cords and speaker cables. I was fortunate enough to be able to demo AudioQuest's Dragon line (speaker cables and power cords) and I have to say I loved them. There are other CH owners who use these and so I was curious to find out what I would think of them in my own system.
The speaker cables are OUTSTANDING. To my ears (and to various audiophile friends who have lent their ears) they are clean, neutral and honest. The quality of the bass that I get with these cables is incredible.
The power cords are also very, very good. Given the cost, they need to be, but they do deliver. It's taken me a while to both pull the trigger on these as well as afford them. Thankfully my dealer has been very patient with me. I still don't have a FULL loom but I'm close.
Apart from cabling, I've always known that one day I should address my rack & amp stands. I have owned a mid-fi product for years and have heard so many positive reports about HRS (not just reviews, but from people I know and respect that have added their isolation bases and footers to their systems) that I knew I wanted to go there. They are not inexpensive and it was a bit of mental challenge for me to accept investing a lot of money in that area (and power cords fall into this category too) but having invested a lot in my electronics I wanted to make sure I wasn't holding them back.
Shortly after I got my M1.1s, I tried putting them on my (mid fi) amp stands. I was shocked at the difference (especially in the bass). So my first step was to order two M3X2 isolation bases (with G7 footers) that would simply sit on the floor (i.e. no frames) and when I received these, I couldn't believe the difference they made. Yes, they improved the bass, but they improved everything and brought a calmness to the sound that improved the 'realness' of instruments along with beauty and musicality. It made me a believer pretty quickly lol.
My next step was HRS Nimbus footers under the amps (between the amps and the isolation base) and that further improved the sound, tightening up the bass and making the entire presentation cleaner and more incisive. I already had these HRS footers so it was easy to try but I also wanted to try HRS Vortex footers so I ordered two sets (to accommodate both amps). These, in my opinion, took what the Nimbus footers did and improved everything. I'll stop short of trying to explain it all as this isn't so much a review but an update to my system progress and there is more to say.
I then ordered a partial HRS rack (did I mention that prefer to move slowly with expensive gear?) which arrived this week. I not only wanted to replace my existing rack but I also wanted to lower the height of gear between the speakers for soundstage reasons. I only ordered a single three shelf frame (with three isolation bases, one of which required some extra support for my heavy turntable) but I was shocked when I got a 400lb delivery!
Peter graciously offered to come help me install this - thank you Peter!
Before we did, we listened to three tracks so Peter could get a baseline of the sound (like any audiophile, he was curious to hear the difference with the new rack).
My plan involves having the turntable lower than it appears here (pic taken just after Peter and I finished installation) and it will ultimately move to sit on the top shelf of a two-shelf frame, but I really wanted to hear the benefit of the HRS rack on my turntable now so this is the temporary configuration.
In the above pic the rack is supporting my CH L10 preamp (two pieces) and the turntable. To the left is a single HRS M3X2 with my CH phono (P1) and power supply (X1) with HRS Nimbus footers between. This is temporary.
No digital at this point. This is the configuration that Peter heard.
Both Peter and I were impressed with the workmanship of HRS. Everything is machined perfectly and it seems they have thought of everything - the packaging, the presentation, the tools you need, etc. This is an SRX frame - it offers all the performance but they offer other (more expensive) versions that look gorgeous in photos. I can only imagine what they must look like in person because everything I have so far just shouts 'quality'.
That evening I added my digital components as I have a lot of test tracks that make it easy to discern changes.
Finally I removed the window treatments and found that I not only didn't need them but that the midrange sounded fuller without absorption there.
So there you have it. The sense of space is so much better. I really like to hear space around instruments - it gives me joy
I also like it when speaker disappear and you just get lost in the music. I'm really enjoying the results and looking forward to ordering more HRS components. They certainly work for me!
