Prices vary with size, configuration, and materials

Shortly after distributor Aldo Filippelli and Alex Vitus brought JV 2024’s Product of the Year Award-winning Class A solid-state electronics from Vitus Audio, Aldo returned with a little “Filip.” Though JV thought it unlikely that any tweak could improve the already sterling (make that “golden”) performance of the Vitus gear, he was wrong. These flattish nondescript mats (laid atop electronics) and clamps (for encircling cables and interconnects) made an immediate and sizable difference in sonics, lowering background noise to a level of quietude JV had never before experienced with amplification devices. A.R.T. (Audio Realignment Technologies), which purports to be a science-based outfit with 55 years of experience, claims their treatments contain “an array of passive, proprietary formulations containing rare metals and advanced magnetic multi-layer technologies designed to absorb, control, and minimize the negative audible effects of electronically induced noises in sound systems at the electronic component sources.” Be that as it may, something is working precisely and consistently to the ends that A.R.T. claims they’re working—the lowering of EMF, EMI, and RFI. Audibly effective, for ultra-high-end systems these mats and clamps are well worth the not insubstantial prices asked for them; indeed, they are worthy of this year’s TAS Accessory of the Year Award. (Forthcoming)

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GIK Acoustics Gotham N23 5″ Quadratic Diffusers

$399 for two

A listening room is not a concert hall, and some attention to the acoustics of the space—the fraught subject of “room treatment”—is often required to maximize the positive attributes of an audio system. To be sure, sidewall reflections and a room’s bass nodes must be prioritized, but the introduction of well-executed diffusion can greatly increase the perceived size of a domestic listening space. Diffusers will take potentially damaging reflections and break them down into groups of smaller reflections that are then redistributed back into the room without alteration of their timing or amplitude. A “quadratic diffusor” has a series of troughs the dimensions of which have been calculated according to “quantum wavelength theory.” The device reflects the incident soundwaves back into the room in a consistent and predictable fashion. Despite what you may have heard, randomly pulling out books, LPs, or CDs from the shelving behind your speakers will not accomplish the same thing. Installing two or more of GIK’s surprisingly affordable 17.5″ x 17.5″ quadratic diffusor panels has the potential to improve soundstage depth, perceived detail, and spaciousness, in general. They are an exceptionally cost-effective upgrade to most systems, and they aren’t unattractive as things audio go.

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Schiit Audio Loki Max Analog Equalizer

$1500

You need this, even if you think your system is already neutral or even if it actually is. Recordings do not show up perfectly balanced in any precise sense. Even though the people who made a recording heard in monitoring exactly what they had in mind, their monitoring system almost surely does not match your playback system exactly! This remote-controlled device is effectively completely transparent, doing nothing except alter frequency response and make the associated minimum phase changes. You can move the balance of each recording around to fit how it fits your system and how loudly you want to play it back. (Volume level affects perceived balance.) The device is easy to use, easy to the point that you can dial in it very fast for each recording. And there is a bypass button, so you can instantly check what you did. With only six bands of eq, the Loki is not designed to fix speaker/room problems—for that you need more bands, a lot more, or parametric with variable Q. But for the day-to-day fixing up of recordings, six bands are enough to correct the things that are most likely to need correcting. And being able to do so becomes indispensable. Take control of your life in a way that far transcends the usual audio accessories or tweaks, in a way that really counts, as you will find when you switch even small corrections in and out. You’ll be glad you did.

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Ramar Record Brush 

$340 

Let’s face it (unless your friends are all audiophiles), most regular people would think you’re crazy to spend $340 on a record brush. Even I took a deep breath before placing my order for this sexy bit of German craftsmanship. But as Neil Gader reported in Issue 326, the Ramar’s mix of multiple rows of carbon fiber and goat’s hair bristles, combined with a larger than usual felt pad, seems to do a noticeably better job at dust removal than the competition. You’ll still want some sort of record-cleaning machine, but the Ramar ensures the smoothest possible playback surface thereafter. And a nifty stylus-cleaning brush completes the package. 

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Spin-Clean Record Washer MKII

$79

The Spin-Clean System is a purely manual design—nothing to plug in. A little elbow grease and fresh air do all the work. Fill the taxicab-yellow basin with distilled water, add a capful of the cleaning solution, and spin the record between the brushes. The results speak for themselves—clean surfaces mean less noise and more fully resolved music. For lighter duty it’s tough to beat. 

Record Doctor VI

$299

For those who love and care for their vinyl but don’t want to break the bank on a cleaner, the Record Doctor VI offers a smart design compromise that keeps its—and your—costs down: Most of its functions are performed manually, but it still uses a powerful motor-driven vacuum to handle the final step of dirt extraction. Setup and operation are a snap.

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AudioKinesis Swarm Subwoofer System

$3200

Bass in concert venues behaves differently than bass in rooms of domestic size: the density of the modal frequencies in the lower part of the music range in a large hall compared to its spareness in smaller rooms makes modal irregularities all but totally insignificant in concert halls but troublesome in home listening. This difference cannot be completely eliminated, but it can be minimized by the use of multiple subwoofers, with their multiple positions serving to make modal behavior less audible. This idea is embodied in practical, elegant, and modestly priced form in the AudioKinesis  Swarm system of four subwoofers, designed by Duke LeJeune. This system outperforms any single or dual subwoofer system, creating a startling sense of being in the recording venue. 

Stirling Broadcast LS3/6 Loudspeaker

$5995

This redesign of the original by Derek Hughes stands as the latest embodiment, thus far, of the design principles of the Spendor BC1 (taken up later by the BBC as its LS3/6), which was the progenitor of the Spendor SP1 and SP1/2. This family of speakers has intrinsic  neutrality and an unusual  ability to interact with the room around them correctly  to produce a result  superior, in musical  terms, to the vast majority of speakers—even much more pretentious and expensive ones. The cabinet moves resonances away from the area of maximum hearing sensitivity; the use of one mid/bass driver to cover a large range makes phase linear where phase linearity counts; and the overall balance comes out right in actual rooms. Add AudioKinesis Swarm subwoofers, and the result is a system that sounds more like actual music than almost anything else at any price.  (Another version of the original BC1, also designed by Derek Hughes, has recently been released by Graham Audio; a review is forthcoming.)

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Timbernation Racks

Price varies

Chris from Timbernation is a down-to-earth guy, who knows how to build a solid product customized to your exact needs at a fair and reasonable price. He utilizes thick shelves of solid maple to reduce resonance and incorporates brass spikes when the customer requests them to create a functional, great-sounding, and beautiful piece of audio furniture. There is no state-of-the-art, constrained-layer-damping tech or suspended isolation implemented—just good ol’ high-quality carpentry and hand-built quality. I had Chris make me a custom-designed two-tone equipment rack (from tiger maple), and he knocked it out of the park (around $4k retail for my build). I chose Timbernation for its sonic performance, value, quality, and Chris’s willingness to customize. To augment the sonic performance of my rack, I utilize Symposium Ultra shelves and double-stack Rollerblocks. So, my first Golden Ear this year goes to Timbernation. Chris also built an LP rack I designed to perfectly match the audio rack ($750). No, it does not provide the levels of isolation of Critical Mass Systems, HRS, or a full-on Symposium rack. But I wasn’t willing (at that time) to invest the massive amount to acquire what I needed from those exceptional companies.

Magnepan LRS Loudspeaker

$650

These speakers have been reviewed and raved about ad nauseam. So, I’m going to make you more nauseam! My office system consists of a simple Hegel all-in-one integrated and a pair of Magnepan LRS speakers, along with an old sub I’ve had since college (and my kids are now in college). For $650, the LRS simply gets me to the music, and that’s just crazy! With a massive stage, articulate and well-defined presentation, and the speed of a McLaren, the LRSes get out of the way and leave behind just what I want to hear. Add my rave to the pile. 

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