I’ve been testing small gadgets for more than 20 years or so. Among the items there have been some that have mercifully vanished with no regret. That has not prevented me testing new gadgets, cables, conditioners, fuses and Schumann resonators whenever I’ve come across something interesting. To cut the main story short: those products that have clearly improved the sound (power circuitry and/or acoustics) have usually remained.
ERASING THAT ANNOYING HUM OF THE PHONO SYSTEM
Recently I had an opportunity to test some gadgets – or helpers – with my analogue and digital systems. The first one was Chord’s new PhonoARAY, a turntable earthing system / filtering solution that promises to erase all the ground hum of the phono circuitry.
I’ve been using Hydras as power conditioners, and have properly grounded my phono chain (Sonic Frontier Phono preamp, Technics, London Decca Reference with tangential arm), and still have had some annoying AC hum at 55 Hz or so. Not loud but enough to tell that it’s there, and to increase the volume to mask it.
Against this background, I was keen on getting the PhonoARAY annexed to my system in order to hear what this earthing/grounding option would do. That was easily done via two high-quality 4 mm terminals (banana or spade). The PhonoARAY connects the earth terminal of the turntable/tonearm, to the earth terminal of the phono stage or the amplifier phono input.
For the connection Chord suggests their signature cable called Shawline Earth, which is very solidly built and pretty unflexible. It is advisable to test it both ways as it seems to be polarized, and in my case worked better with ”another” position. There is no manual of this, only a very good illustration and diagram.
And how did it work? To cut the story short again: it worked very well indeed. Very efficiently. The little hum that had persisted so long was gone, totally. The disappearance of the hum was evident, even though there still remained some noise from other audio source.
And how does it do it? It does it by offering a double ‘virtual earth system’ for both the turntable and phono stage by using a custom made high-current series filter as well as a parallel-connected proprietary ARAY system. The combination is said to be enough to protect the sensitive signal from external interference. And so it did!
Note that PhonoARAY does only what it is meant to do: erase hum from the the turntable system, leaving the computer, small pesky transformers or other sources of electricity to cause their own noise. So the PhonoARAY does not solve all possible hum/noise problems, and with a way over 1000 EURO price, it’s not cheap, but it kept the turntable signal so clean and quiet, that it would have been foolish not to leave it in my permanent set for longer period of time. Strongly recommended.
IMPROVING THE LAN
Going to digital (Rose 130, Silent Angel switch, Silent Angel transformer, Wireworld red LAN cabling) I had a second opportunity to test Chord’s small passive in-out box for LAN cabling called EE1plus. But that, for some reason, did not have a major subjective effect in my system, which does not exclude that in some other systems the effect is such that fully justifies its presence.
I then tried a device entitled Telos Macro G Active network noise reducer, which is a quite heavy piece of LAN transformer/improver/conditioner made by a Taiwanese company Telos Audio Design (they have a similar gear for USB and HDMI as well).
Telos Macro G Active network noise reducer comes with no manual. It is not a passive device, but requires 230 V and comes with its own power cord. It provides a stable, low-impedance ground reference for digital devices like routers and network players; and for the purpose, uses an active circuit with a dedicated CPU and specially designed power module.
I’m not a tech guy, and as such have no deeper understanding of what goes in the device, nor did I first figure out how it was meant to be connected. But once that was solved, and the noise reducer properly connected to the LAN switch, I really gave it a go. The manufacturer claims that the device effectively reduces digital harshness and noise, resulting in a lower noise floor, and clearer, more defined sound. And, Oh boy, I agree. By having the Telos Macro G Active network noise reducer in the system I heard a lot of improvement. Everything sounded more solid, more colorful, more detailed. A telling example: Susanne Vega’s Solitude standing (reprise): with a quality system one immediately knows to appreciate the brilliant orchestration and its sound. I then switched the Telos Macro G Active network noise reducer off, and what happened: the sound became flatter, less colorful and less exciting, less everything. I must admit that I was a bit sceptic before this test but in the end I had to give up: the noise reducer worked really really well, and will certainly stay in my set. Since I added the Telos noise reducer to the system I have been streaming music hundreds of hours, and never suffered that digital listening fatigue.
At 850 USD/ 1200 EURO, the price is not low, but based on my experience I’d say the change it brings is worth the money.
