Sound Strips…

Beyond the specifics of their sonic impact, using Sound Strips also has a wider effect that is just as (or even more) significant. For “more natural” you can also read “more listenable”. Stripping out or at least reducing the edgy distortions associated with RFI removes a constant, often almost subliminal background irritant, one of the things that separates audio from live. With the Sound Strips installed, you’ll find yourself relaxing more, possibly almost without noticing the fact. But, once you appreciate exactly what the Sound Strips do, you are going to hear it, to a greater or lesser extent, on any disc you play. More importantly, remove them and you are going to notice their absence too…

In some respects, the Sound Strips echo (and complement) the performance benefits of the Chord GroundARAYs. Whereas Chord’s elegant ground shunts also reduce grain and noise, they add more to the presence, location and dynamic definition of instruments. The Sound Strips take that musical substance and wrap it in a more natural and credible acoustic environment. It’s about more than enhanced stereo. It’s about the instruments and the relationships between them seeming and sounding more natural. Also like the GroundARAYs, the Sound Strips work in most systems and with most cables, irrespective of price. I’ve used them with cables as varied as Nordost (everything from Heimdall to O2), Crystal, AudioQuest and Chord, covering quite a range of materials, structures and prices. In each case, the benefits have been consistent and worthwhile and I’ve yet to discover a system in which that isn’t the case.

Sound Strips are supplied in neat little boxes of five – enough to completely treat a basic source, amp and speaker system, or to make a decent start on a bigger rig, possibly by fitting Strips to all the power cords. Each box of five costs a not inconsiderable €990, which seems like a lot in material terms. However, considering the significance of the effect and the difficulty of achieving it in any other way, that’s not unreasonable. Indeed, in the context of a large, expensive, full-range system, it’s something of a bargain.

Will the Sound Strips go the distance? They already have. I listened to prototype pieces over a year ago – and I’ve been using them ever since. Best of all, they are so simple to fit (or remove) that they are possibly the ultimate ‘suck it and see’ upgrade. I’m still experimenting with precise positioning and priorities, so there may well be more to follow. However, I f you value natural musical perspectives, tonality and dimensionality, you might find them just as indispensable as I do.