When it comes to connections, there’s a clear set of preferences, according to MusicWorks. Starting at the input end and on the right, connect products in order of power demand, highest first. Second socket is front-row left, then second-row right and so on. That would mean the power amp goes first-row right: a second power amp would go first row left. If you are only using one power amp but have a pre-amp or other power supply, that would occupy the first row left slot. After the pre-amp or line-stage, connect sources in order of priority or power demand, following the same right/left steps. That certainly accords with my previous experience with both Nordost and Chord blocks and proved to work in practice.
I listened to the Acouplex mains block in a number of different systems and situations, but it’s (considerable) contribution was remarkably consistent, meaning that I can rely on a single set of comparative listening results. The system used consisted of a CH Precision D1.5, C1.2, X1, T1 four-box CD/SACD player, feeding the Levinson 585 integrated amp. Speakers were the Vienna Acoustics Haydn Signatures or the Peak Consult Sinfonias, wheeled in to deliver extra bandwidth and more bottom-end information. As it happened, that proved to be an unnecessary step, the small VA speakers proving perfectly capable of revealing the impact of the Reflex Ultra distribution block: or perhaps that should be the other way round, the benefits of the block being just as apparent on the smaller speakers. Cables used for the exercise were a complete set of Nordost V2 (power, signal and speaker). MusicWorks also offer their own power cords, but in this instance, I wanted to assess the Acouplex block in a wider system context. I also ran it with Chord Music and CFM cables and, once again, its musical signature proved remarkably consistent.
And – relax…
That character is fulsome, natural and fluid, full of warmth, body and a grounded sense of rhythm in the music. It matters not what you play, that coherent sense of musical flow and expression is immediately apparent, the way high and low frequencies seem to fall into balance, the top to bottom consistency of harmonic envelope and musical energy. It just makes accessible sense of proceedings. This ability to both pull recordings together and open them out worked across genre and scale, from near-solo instrumental pieces (the sense of space and the solid instrumental presence on Rachel Podger’s The Muses Restor’d – Channel Classics CCS46324) to small ensemble works (the tight musical relationship and sense of driven musical purpose on Isabelle Faust’s Locatelli – il virtuoso, il poeta – Harmonia Mundi HMM 902398), from the intimate vocals of Aimee Mann’s Lost In Space (MoFi UDSACD 2021) to the sheer scale, shifting densities and towering dynamics of the Thin Red Line OST (RCA 09026-63382-2). It positively invites the sort of trawl through the outer reaches of your musical collection more often associated with streaming. While I reached for the familiar and well-known in order to exercise my critical responsibilities, I still found those discs leading to unusual and interesting places…
