Post by MartinT on Apr 19, 2017 21:30:57 GMT
MCRU Ultimate In-line DC Blocker
The £450 MCRU Ultimate In-line DC Blocker is their top of the range unit, designed to be wired into the input of a regenerator, distribution block, power amplifier or similar audio device. The idea is simple: remove any DC present in the mains feed to the equipment. This should prevent any saturation or asymmetric behaviour of transformers in components and help keep them quiet. The design and execution, by the estimable Nick Gorham of Longdog Audio, is very well thought out and backed up with a proper white paper on the subject.
White Paper by Nick Lurcher
The unit is nicely finished in a smallish case with a high quality Neotech IEC plug connected to a short piece of Ultimate cable and an IEC socket in the end of the case. Knowing no specifics about the internals, there is nothing else to say except to insert it into circuit (in my case, feeding my PS Audio P10 regenerator and, therefore, my entire system) and listening. I left it gently resting on the tiled floor on its rubber feet with a large sorbothane foot resting on it to provide some damping.
The first and most lasting impression is of clarity. This is the case with all types of music but, interestingly, it varies for me with the least change being on, for example, Christina Pluhar and acoustic instruments, followed by some tracks on Yello - Toy, then a really significant improvement to the very dynamic Van Morrison - Common One, and finally the biggest change being with the mighty impact of Jon Hopkins - Immunity. I can't see a genre correlation but it seems to do with the level of harshness in the music, the greater the harshness the better the effect heard. Another way of looking at it is that I found I could play all music 2dB louder on the volume control versus my preferred setting with no unpleasant feeling of 'too loud', just greater dynamic impact. I get the profound sense of the room being less loaded, too, contributing to a sense of clarity and music being set against a very dark background level.
In the Van Morrison album above, the interplay between sax, trumpet and flugelhorn in the track Satisfied is simply stunning, easily differentiated and with a level of vividness I've never yet heard on any other system. On The Mountain Goats' 1 Samuel the interplay between the kick drum and his tapping of the guitar body is again startlingly clear.
Analysing it as best I can, the DC blocker creates a quieter noise floor and allows wider dynamics because of lower levels of harshness, letting you play music louder without the desire to turn it down.
I keep coming back to the word 'clarity' because it's the best fit for what I'm hearing even if it's not very satisfactory in describing the exact effect. Certainly it's easier to hear different parts of the music and to separate out similar sounds than before.
I am fascinated at the effect it's made on an already transparent system using a regenerator that, according to some, should not be prone to any changes made to its input. Of course, such opinions tend to come from those who don't use a regenerator in the first place. All I can say is that a dedicated radial, high quality power cable, distributed noise suppressors and now the DC blocker have all made the regenerator and, by implication, the system as a whole perform even better.
My final observation is that this is a tremendous improvement in sound quality for relatively little money (in the context of my system, at least). I cannot say how much, if any, effect it will have on other systems. That may well depend on a lot of things and certainly on how well mains is handled and distributed. I would expect systems using a central regenerator, BMU or distribution block to respond best as it should have a global effect on the system as a whole. It's certainly worth giving one a try and, if you hear similar improvements, you may well be very pleased with the outcome.
The £450 MCRU Ultimate In-line DC Blocker is their top of the range unit, designed to be wired into the input of a regenerator, distribution block, power amplifier or similar audio device. The idea is simple: remove any DC present in the mains feed to the equipment. This should prevent any saturation or asymmetric behaviour of transformers in components and help keep them quiet. The design and execution, by the estimable Nick Gorham of Longdog Audio, is very well thought out and backed up with a proper white paper on the subject.
White Paper by Nick Lurcher
The unit is nicely finished in a smallish case with a high quality Neotech IEC plug connected to a short piece of Ultimate cable and an IEC socket in the end of the case. Knowing no specifics about the internals, there is nothing else to say except to insert it into circuit (in my case, feeding my PS Audio P10 regenerator and, therefore, my entire system) and listening. I left it gently resting on the tiled floor on its rubber feet with a large sorbothane foot resting on it to provide some damping.
The first and most lasting impression is of clarity. This is the case with all types of music but, interestingly, it varies for me with the least change being on, for example, Christina Pluhar and acoustic instruments, followed by some tracks on Yello - Toy, then a really significant improvement to the very dynamic Van Morrison - Common One, and finally the biggest change being with the mighty impact of Jon Hopkins - Immunity. I can't see a genre correlation but it seems to do with the level of harshness in the music, the greater the harshness the better the effect heard. Another way of looking at it is that I found I could play all music 2dB louder on the volume control versus my preferred setting with no unpleasant feeling of 'too loud', just greater dynamic impact. I get the profound sense of the room being less loaded, too, contributing to a sense of clarity and music being set against a very dark background level.
In the Van Morrison album above, the interplay between sax, trumpet and flugelhorn in the track Satisfied is simply stunning, easily differentiated and with a level of vividness I've never yet heard on any other system. On The Mountain Goats' 1 Samuel the interplay between the kick drum and his tapping of the guitar body is again startlingly clear.
Analysing it as best I can, the DC blocker creates a quieter noise floor and allows wider dynamics because of lower levels of harshness, letting you play music louder without the desire to turn it down.
I keep coming back to the word 'clarity' because it's the best fit for what I'm hearing even if it's not very satisfactory in describing the exact effect. Certainly it's easier to hear different parts of the music and to separate out similar sounds than before.
I am fascinated at the effect it's made on an already transparent system using a regenerator that, according to some, should not be prone to any changes made to its input. Of course, such opinions tend to come from those who don't use a regenerator in the first place. All I can say is that a dedicated radial, high quality power cable, distributed noise suppressors and now the DC blocker have all made the regenerator and, by implication, the system as a whole perform even better.
My final observation is that this is a tremendous improvement in sound quality for relatively little money (in the context of my system, at least). I cannot say how much, if any, effect it will have on other systems. That may well depend on a lot of things and certainly on how well mains is handled and distributed. I would expect systems using a central regenerator, BMU or distribution block to respond best as it should have a global effect on the system as a whole. It's certainly worth giving one a try and, if you hear similar improvements, you may well be very pleased with the outcome.
