That’s important, because I have absolutely no idea how or why they do what they so clearly do. They bring a whole new meaning to the term ‘willing suspension of disbelief’. On any rational level, there is no explanation as to why they do anything at all, let alone make the genuinely significant difference that they do. We can think in terms of damping mechanical energy on the AC line, or damping the structure of the AC plug itself, but there’s a massive logical disconnect between that and the end results achieved. Personally, that doesn’t worry me. I just put the Schus in the same box as all the other things to do with audio that clearly are, but can’t be explained. The beauty in this case is that the option to try is so simple, even if I would suggest a couple of niceties to consider…
Firstly, and assuming that you start with a single Schu, decide where you are going to deploy it. I’d suggest that a CD player, DAC or single-box pre-amp is a good place to start (it’s easier to power down a single unit than a whole system). First step is to switch the unit off. Leave it for 30-seconds and then turn it back on before listening to establish a performance base-line. That way, you take cycling the power out of the equation.
Powering down the unit and installing the Schu is quick and simple: Re-start and re-listen. The results should be obvious, but don’t be surprised if, like me, you find yourself repeating the exercise, just to be sure…
But more experience with the Schus has added an extra wrinkle: the damned things are directional! Switching the orientation of the Schu (which surface faces the plug and which the socket) is clearly simple. What’s not so simple is keeping track of which way round is which, especially if you fumble the swap and drop the Schu. The answer is, that once you’ve decided the device is worthwhile, you need to mark one side of the Schu before starting the process of establishing directionality. A temporary mark is good if you expect to retain your right of return, but also allows you to add a permanent mark once you’ve established which way round the pesky little blighter prefers to sit. I use a red Sharpie (having a natural aversion to the carbon compounds so often used in black inks) but that’s really getting OCD about things.
Get your Schus on the right feet – or at least facing the right way – and you should experience a significant benefit in terms of immediacy, transparency, detail and focus. Reversed, the sound will generally be smoother and more rounded, but also offer less attack and dynamic discrimination. Of course, there’s half a chance that you may have had them the right way round to start with, but checking on a Schu-by-Schu basis is definitely worthwhile.
The Acouplex Schus have quickly become an essential part of my system set up and optimisation process, another indispensable tool in that box of rag-tag bits and pieces that accompanies me everywhere. So far they have never failed to deliver, astonishing and delighting at every turn. For the audiophile who has everything I can think of no better Christmas present: hours of endless tinkering and a better sounding system to boot. For the audiophile who is still on the journey, this is the equivalent of snagging a lift – in a very nice car – that stops for lunch and the driver picks up the tab.
