Next stage was to place the ReFracts on the M1.1s. This brought a whole different set of benefits, which largely seem to be centred around the low-frequencies. They delivered a far more developed sense of acoustic space, along with greater instrumental dimensionality and dynamic authority: all things associated with low-frequency clarity and transparency. Coupled to the fluid grace coming from the pre-amp, the result was a more involving, more convincing performance. MJP’s playing took on the same elegant, expressive precision that she exhibits live, her instrument became a more planted, substantial and complex presence, more capable of generating weight and musical gravity when required. At this point I got so carried away with playing alternative discs to confirm my findings that it was a while before I realised that I’d forgotten about the ReFract for the A1.5 driving the subs.
Retracing my steps I replayed the MJP disc and then installed the ReFract on the A1.5. Suddenly it was like being not just in the same room as the piano, but being front row centre. The absence of noise, within the acoustic space, between the notes, within the instrument was as uncanny as it was compelling. The playing took on an unobstructed, uninhibited quality, notes placed perfectly and perfectly weighted, with a complete absence of intrusion from the system or the mechanics of reproduction. Timing locked in, bringing crispness to the leading edges and hammer strikes, but in many ways the most affecting change was in the tail of notes and the space between them. The resulting poise and unhurried pacing made it even clearer what was being played and when – and why. Fully ReFract-ed, the performance stepped up from impressive to captivating, compelling you to listen and listen right through.
Is this all about the bottom-end and shouldn’t I have started with the sub-woofer amp in the first place? Firstly, let’s not forget that the essentially fluidity and timing stem from ReFract-ing the pre-amp. Just treating the power amps is also impressive, but the benefits are more sonic than musical. It’s that fluid foundation stemming from the pre-amp’s outputs that binds the amps’ sonic advantages to the service of the music. Secondly, this ‘completion’ effect is not unfamiliar. You get it when you insert the last cable into an otherwise complete loom. You get it when you place the final component on a matched set of supports. The last piece of the puzzle is always the one that completes the picture – to the extent that sometimes you can’t fully appreciate or even identify that picture until the final piece is in place. Adding cables one after another, it’s almost impossible to really understand their musical impact or contribution until the loom is complete. In the same way, the ReFracts’ ability to reveal the intent in the playing, the expressive range and the message in the music only really emerges once you extend them across the whole system. Impressive enough individually, the whole is – in the best tradition of any systematic approach – significantly greater than the sum of the parts. The resulting increase in musical access and connection with the performers and their performance is easily worth its weight in carefully combined polymers!
