Listening
Contents
The pairing of the humongous Tannoy monitors with the Yamaha amplifiers is very successful. We have tried and tested other amplifiers and certainly not the least; the Yamaha’s are the best match so far. We (Jaap, Martijn and yours truly) have now spent many hours of breathlessly listening to this system that was used for mixing and mastering in the great studios of the 80s and 90s.
Michael Jackson’s Thriller was mastered on these speakers, to name a few. Every change in the audio chain is noticeable, down to the smallest cable. The Rega drive is also a golden oldie; your editor purchased it in 1997. Listening sessions have taught us that this Rega is still a very well-performing drive that shows a lot of detail, soundstage and plays musically. As such, this audio system is a tribute to what has been called the golden age of hi-fi; the 1970s-90s. It currently functions as our reference system in Leiden.
We start as Isotek recommends; at the beginning of the power chain, in front of other power filters. We immediately hear that this makes the power amp sound sluggish. Power filters for ‘power hungry’ class A amplifiers like the Yamaha B2 do not go well together. We suspect that class D amplifiers that demand much less power will match. We now connect only the DAC, the Mutec and the CD transports to Isotek’s Syncro Uni.
Stairway To Heaven
Before connecting the Isotek current filters, we listened to the system and it already sounds really good. Dynamic, detailed and spacious. With the Isotek Syncro Uni in between, something special happens. With the Rega drive, it seems as if the set is taken to the next level. It can be compared to looking through a magnifying glass and a wide-angle lens at the same time. We hear an unprecedented layering in over-familiar music tracks and a detailing that gives the illusion of being there. We notice transient and spatial information; about the room, the placement of instruments, the deployment of a particular reverb. We already wrote that the Tannoy/Yamaha-system is incredibly revealing, well it shows with these Isotek filters.
The Audiolab CD drive has a cheap CD transport. The difference with the Rega is very easy to hear. Without the Isotek, that is. If we put the Syncro Uni between them, the jump in quality is even higher than with the Rega. We are not exaggerating when we say that the power filter for the Audiolab makes the difference between a nice and well-priced CD drive and a device that is getting close to high end level.
Music
The trptk album In Motu by the Intercontinental Ensemble has already been praised by colleague Martijn for its pristine sonic performance. The recordings were made at the Westvest90 church in Schiedam. With the Syncro in the power chain, we can actually ‘see’ the room while listening. The speakers not only disappear, they really are gone, the 120-kilo Tannoy giants. It is not as if we are at the recording, we are there.
We stick with the trptk label for a while and listen to Obscure Atlas by composer Aart Strootman, performed by a trio consisting of cello, piano and percussion. This recording is ‘close miked’; the microphones are close to the instruments, the recording location is the Grote Zaal of TivoliVredenburg in Utrecht. We are in the middle of the recording; it is literally breathtaking. Every detail in the recording can be heard and felt, we sink almost kilometres under the earth’s crust. And just like a live performance, all we can do is listen. Getting up or stopping the CD player is not an option.
London Grammar’s 2013 debut album begins with the track Hey Now. Hannah Reid’s urgent voice and subtle guitar riffs, keyboard parts and electronic percussion of the band are a nice test of pop music’s layering. It is also very suitable to check the different uses of reverb. What is immediately noticeable is how dull Hannah Reid’s voice is without the Isotek Syncro Uni; with the power filter, the elements of the recording completely come together. Basses are less dominant and blend into the rest of the track. Reid’s voice, which can range from a warm alto to a Celtic soprano, is given the layering it deserves.
Enjoy
You’ve guessed it; we are enjoying this to the max. Before we knew it, hours had passed and we realise that this is as special an experience as a live performance. The Isotek Syncro Uni provide the leap in quality that makes the difference between listening and being there. This also makes it a huge compliment to the engineers who designed the Tannoy/Yamahaset in the 1970s. This audio system can still effortlessly keep up with the top of the audio market 40 years on. We have already had several practised musicians and sound engineers visit us in the short time the set has been in the studio. They were impressed by the liveliness, dynamics and transparency of the system, the ease with which complex pieces are reproduced and the precision with which every link in the recording becomes audible.
CD is here to stay
A second surprise is the quality of CD playback. A good CD transport, embedded in a clean power chain, beats streaming audio with playful ease. You will need to invest very heavily if you want to achieve the same level with streaming audio as with CD. Streamers the likes of dCS or Grimm can do this; expect to pay €20,000. With a good CD drive in combination with the Isotek power treatment, you are set for about € 2,000. So there is still a development path to go when it comes to giving high end streaming for the masses.
Does one of these also make sense if you have “good” power supplies like Farad Super 3 for example? Or does such a power supply partly take care of the DC by it self?
Educational review. Well done. Questions: 1. Are product model names typically consistent between EU and US? On their US site, I do not see the Syncro or Synchro either as active or retired. Today only Gemini / Nova / Titan One in increasing order of performance; 2. Can one anticipate that a tool like this will improve sound qualities regardless of size or cost? If so, when would you make the purchase: anytime or after you have some post-setup time listening? 3. Would you ever place this upstream from the amp? I am guessing it depends on the amp and the impact, right? 4. With a Class D amp in play, what would be the impact on the need for one of these?
And for Gene, for what it’s worth, I see IsoTek includes their Premier Power cable with all units. Thx in advance.
This sounds like a good addition. However, something not mentioned in the review is the need for an additional power cord for each Uni used. That can easily add up to a lot of money for anyone using decent or better quality aftermarket power cords, who wants to maintain the same level.
Isotek sells those cables from very affordable prices on. But you can grab one lying at home if you like. We did use an EVO3 Initial (their entry level cable) between the wall socket and the Syncro and a no name power block from a DIY shop (nothing ‘audio’ grade) out of the Syncro and plugged the power cables from the Rega Planet and the Weiss into that power block.