Over the last 6 months, I've had the opportunity to try numerous power products and cables - all having had a clear sonic impact. Given that, I've come to accept just how much correlation there is between power and sound quality, particularly since I live in an old section of Durham NC where all power is above ground and often subject to the whims of weather and other strange anomalies.
In the course of this time, I also began reading more about Alan Maher products both here on AN (see
http://www.audionervosa.com/index.php?topic=1458.0) as well as over on Audio Circle. All of his products focus on the various causes of power line noise. Some are designed to focus component-specific, others system wide, and still others meant to treat non-audio circuits in an effort to improve the overall power grid in your home. I'm not an EE, but am intriqued by his approach.
I was fortunate enough to be reading AC at a time when Alan released his latest Quantum Studio (QS) component at OEM pricing for a very short period of time. I jumped and received it approximately 1 month ago. The QS is designed to be run in parallel by plugging it into a spare outlet from where all other components are fed. I've got a dedicated 20a circuit with a single duplex so the QS went in oneoutlet, the other feeding my Running Springs Jaco which in turn feeds everything else. (we'll postpone the discussion as to whether the QS and Jaco are, in fact redundant, for a later time).
As Alan very openly notes and others have posted, the first few weeks of breakin with most of his products will not sound good and, given that the QS has Bybees in it, it takes at least a month to hear the full benefit. Well, they're right. I've not heard anything that has as remarkable a breakin period as the QS. After just a short time, the sytem went flat. Soundstage collapsed, details gone, and bass missing in action. It was like I replaced all my components with a low-end receiver.
But between two and three weeks, the soundstage started opening up again, details began to reappear. The top-end still varied a bit day by day and bass was kinda flabby when present. Still, something good was going on.
Week 3 ,.. Soundstage took a nice step forward, details not only in voice and instrument, but in the finesse of harmonic decay, were wonderfully noticeable. At 1 day short of 4 weeks, bass is now deep, tight and tuneful, mids have a richness I've not heard much from solid state and top end is extended yet relaxed. If I have to compare it to anything else I've heard, it would be all the benefits of the Equitech balanced conditioner (huge soundstage, bass slam, extended top-end) without the transformer hum. But of course, there's no way to directly compare. But, to me, there is definitely more there now than before I added the Quantum Studio and it sounds damn good!
Is there a down-side? Well, Alan will tell you that if the QS looses power for more than a few minutes, it will throw things back requiring the QS to have to restabilize the circuit again. At some point, I'll have the courage to pull the plug on the QS just to see what happens, but not yet - things are sounding too good. I'll give it another couple weeks before I do that. Might want a few witnesses when I do...
I have to echo other reviews about Alan Maher products... the Quantum Studio conveys a remarkable sonic improvement without any downside short of the breakin period as far as I can tell. Definitely worth checking out...