Tested price class
Price cheapest product: €900
Price most expensive product: €2500
Properties
Brand and model: Isotek Aquarius EVO3Build quality: Solid, metal. NeatOverall impression: Up front character. Energetic and rhythmicPrice: €1499
Brand and model: Isotek Aquarius V5Build quality: Beautiful design, sturdy, metal. ChicOverall impression: Smooth and friendly without losing definition. Very pleasant. Price: €2499
Brand and model: Isotek Gemini and SyncroBuild quality: Two boxes. Metal. Neat. Overall impression: Very musical. Great and fine balance and tranquillity. Price: €900
Brand and model: Puritan PSM156Build quality: Solid, industrial. Overall impression: Smooth, fluid. Tad polished. But fine soundPrice: €1749
Brand and model: Audioquest PowerQuest 707Build quality: Plastic. No nonsense. Overall impression: HC is audibly better than LC! Brings calmness and scale. Fine balance and dynamics. Price: €1299
Last year I used a Oehlbach phaser for testing the polarity on my 10 components. Works on a battery and gives the correct results. When both positions of the plug gave the same results I used a multimeter, this also gave identical results, in other words there is no lower value and the position of the plug doesn’t matter. I marked the position of all phases with a dot of a red paint marker (so on the components, both plugs of the power cords, the power strips used and the wall socket. In this way it is easy to change components or cables. And yes it made a small difference in the sound of the music. Good luck.
Did you try the high power outputs of the Aquarius v5 to say drive the power amps?
No. The Yamaha vintage amps don’t like power conditioners at all.
Great test, thank you.
I betray my ignorance… what do you mean in the Intro by “cables neatly in phase”?