Ever present ancillaries no system should be without
By Roy Gregory
While I’ve recently already devoted some considerable time, energy and countless pixels to the subject of system set-up and optimisation, that has largely been a strategic discussion, concentrating on the broad-brush strokes of approach and the details of technique, rather than the specific intricacies of the ‘nuts and bolts’ involved. Yet, just as the system orientated approach to set-up has evolved and been refined over recent months, so too have those nuts and their associated bolts. The widening window created by a more coherent system strategy has thrown an even more revealing spotlight on the fundamental rôle of those often small and comparatively affordable add-ons so often dismissed as ‘peripherals’ and ‘accessories’. The unforgiving glare of that spotlight has revealed a number of new products that have quickly established their benefits, elevating them above the useful and into the essential category. In short, despite how recently some of these pieces have arrived, they have become ever-present. No system at Gy8 – irrespective of cost, complexity or ambition – gets set-up without them. Although each has received its own review, it’s worth gathering them together in order to recognise not just their status as essential parts of the process, but their collective and, most importantly of all, their universal contribution.
Acouplex Plug Schus (and Sox)
Acouplex products have featured in multiple sizes shapes and functions over the last couple of years, from simple cones to the dedicated ReFract damping panels for CH components, cable risers to six- and eight-way distribution blocks, they have generally been applied on a circumstantial basis, as required and where they make the biggest difference. However, there’s one exception to that rule…
The Plug Schu is an Acouplex disc with a pair of drilled through it, spaced to accept the pins on a Schuko AC connector. It slips over the nose of a Schuko plug and sits between it and the recessed socket to which it’s connected. (There’s also a version for the UK 13A plug, with its three, rectangular pins, dubbed the Sox). Newton’s Second Law of Audio states that the closer to the front of the reproductive chain that you make a change, the greater (and more obvious) its effect will be. His First Law states that when you listen to your system, you are actually listening to the AC supply. In other words, the chain starts at the wall socket, so it stands to reason that, anything that impacts and improves the interface between the wall-socket and the cables feeding your distribution block or equipment will have a pretty profound effect on system performance.
Many of the best ideas are simple and the Schu is one of the simplest. Recognising that the entire AC grid is prone to vibration, both self-generated and environmentally induced, and that the resulting, destructive mechanical energy inevitably finds it’s way down the wires of your AC supply and into your delicate audio equipment, MusicWorks set out to tackle the problem at source. Sandwiching the Schu between plug and socket damps and dissipates energy that tries to jump the connection. By being anchored on the plug’s conductive pins it is in direct contact with the energised element and thus, is at the most effective location.
