Aeolian Products - user feedback

Aeolian Products - user feedback on the HUSH and Aeolian power cables

From: Ingra

Sent: Thursday, February 19, 2004 4:25 PM

Subject: Showcasing South African AV products

Dear AVSA,

I was very pleased to read in your latest issue (Feb 2004) the review of South African AV products. Congratulations and well done on having the courage to do so. I would like to bring to your attention another South African company, Aeolian (tel 487-2254).

Music is an essential source of enjoyment and its quality reproduction makes for a truly breathtaking experience. I have invested in Mark Levinson gear and B&W Nautilus speakers. Through much testing, I now use the following Aeolian products in my system and highly recommend them to others.

1 Aeolian Phaeton Interconnects. I purchased these recently after auditioning AudioQuest’s Cheetah interconnects for a few months. Yes, your recent review of the AQ cable is good and I do not disagree. However, when I evaluated the Phaeton I was pleasantly surprised by its superior performance. The differences weren’t just subtle but more akin to a step change. They simply outclassed the AQ’s – more natural, transparent, rich harmonics... What made this more satisfying was the price being factors cheaper!

2 Hush Power Conditioner. A critical component to any quality audio or home theater system. Once again the price is excellent and its performance is outstanding (through lowering the system noise floor). Many sonic and video improvements are gained through this passive conditioner and in particular, it delivers best results when used with quality shielded power cords.

3 AC Power Cord (for Amplifier). It’s on a par with the best available but again at a fraction of the cost. The ML amplifier simply performs effortlessly as ample clean AC power is delivered on demand.

Your readership will benefit from these and many more great South African products. I look forward to your reviews on these products and more. I have no doubt that you will find similar successes as I have and it’s very clear that these quality products are backed by outstanding world class South African talent.

Proudly South African,

Ingra.

I have not been on the net for a while. Nevertheless, I must mention that I am trying out the Aeolian Silver Slipper power cables, and with very satisfying results. I am rather sceptical about power cables given the manufacturers claims on how they condition power when it arrives at the DAC, Transports etc. Why get cleaner power there in the first place?.

But I must say these cables have made a remarkable difference to my sound quality lowering the noise floor and allowing more finesse through. Guys if you can, listen to these cables they work and they don’t cost an arm and a leg like the Transparent cables do.

Barry (21.4.02)

I recently (finally!) got the AC Bus Andy has been toiling on for some time now. When I first got it, I had a different set of speakers in my system that I was not familiar with. Thus any differences brought about by the AC Bus were not immediately apparent.

This evening I put back my speakers and listened to my otherwise unchanged system that I am very, very familiar with - you all know what I mean by this - its like your comfortable old slippers.

It was only then that I realised what a difference the Bus had brought about. I have been playing around with different interconnects and speaker cables for a while now, both DIY and high end loan stuff. While differences were discernable, the term jaw-dropping did not really come to mind. I can honestly say that in my system, the AC Bus has had a far far greater effect (beneficial) than any cable I had tried.

I have tried to analyse the changes and will try to detail these but overall the sound was simply nicer.

I have a significant bass boom and reverberation despite my "purpose built" sound room. The Bus did not remove this but it improved it significantly. I noticed a deepening of the bass with more detail, less boom, and the reverberation time seemed to be less. In my system, the tops can at times be a bit bright and edgy - this also was much better. There seemed to be a liquidity in the sound with instruments being suspended in space. I'm not sure what people mean when they talk about a lowering of the noise floor but I think this is what I heard. The sounds seemed to be cleaner and there was more information about the ambience of the recording. I apologise if this sounds corny and clichéd but I am trying to explain what I heard!

Cons? I honestly don't know yet and I need to do more listening. What I haven't lost is the depth and width of soundstage which I particularly like about my system. If anything this may have improved.

Any cynicism I had about "power treatment" has truly been dispelled. I had previously used two different transformers, one from the UK and one local, and was unimpressed - if anything I thought the sound was worse. I Have not heard the PS Audio or Tice stuff and they may well be better than the AC Bus. What I can say is that in my system, it had been of major benefit and would urge you all to at least give it a try.

Regards

Jose

Andy,

Wow!

Morning All,

Andy delivered my bus on Tuesday evening. To say that I am impressed would be amply expressed by the fact that I haven't left my music room in the evenings since Tuesday. I am simply going to put my thoughts down from the music I have listened to over 15 hours during the last three evenings.

Mostly "The black - no noise background" is wonderful. Listened to:

Dead can Dance - Spirit Chaser. The drums - you can hear the skin. The shakers - the beans brush each other, previously "beans in a bottle" sound. The voices are crystal clear - the night air is still. Bass is oily but tight. Guitar is unplugged - properly.

Patricia Barber - Modern Cool. Drums - accurate sound, brushes and snare are so natural. Bass is warm - She's a Lady is stunning. Guitar is haunting - very graphic. Initially I was a bit surprised at the vocal clarity but then came Light My Fire and Let it Rain - this lady makes love to me by remove control!

Sarah McLachlan - Touch. Has clarity that almost hurts the ears.

Eva Cassidy - Songbird. Jaw dropping clarity.

City of Angels - Motion Picture HDCD. Alanis Morisette - the edge has gone.

Hendrix - Red House. You have to hear this as you do Eric Clapton - Further Up The Road. It is like he is in your home.

Gabriel Jared - An Angel Falls. The violin is all enveloping.

Blues - R L Burnside - Wish You Were in Heaven Sitting Down. Haunting. Miss Maybelle you might be the mike. The lack of background sound creates a poignant platform for this important freedom music.

Club/Mood Rave/Chill - African Dope. Both natural and electronic sound are pleasing.

Frank Sinatra - Romance 0-81227-35902-7. Strength of voice (sandpaper and oil), drums and big band sound are a treat on this re-master.

Louis Armstrong - The Best of the complete RCA Recordings, re-mastered. Background noise, what background noise?

Grace Jones - Compass Point Sessions. This lady(?) has a voice that comes from her stomach. Bass well tightened, drums sharp.

The Eagles - Hell Freezes Over. Man you can hear the plectrums plucking those strings. You feel like you are there, Life in the Fast Lane is just so detailed.

Rodrigo Leão - Alma Mater. This Portuguese chamber/fade music has startling clarity - violin, piano, flute as well as both classic and electric guitars.

You guys with really high end stuff would probably be stunned.

Andy well done and thank you ever so much!!

Malcolm

Yea, MINE TOO!!!

Andy's delivery service is fantastic!

- I'm really FULL OF SH*T when it comes to "component finishing" - I'll spot a miss-aligned toggle switch a mile away... Give me virtually ANY component and I'll show you a flaw...

Except for the fingerprints on the "name-plate" I could NOT find fault with the build quality of Andy's AC Bus!!! I'm impressed as hell!

Just take a look at some of the "comparable" units out there - They're more expensive AND built as if some oke and his "Birthday-present Black & Decker" decided to slap something together one Saturday afternoon!

As for how it sounds...I'll give a report-back once I've found time to plug the dam thing in....:)

- For now, I'll keep it displayed as part of my "Avant-garde Object De Art" collection...

Hooligan

Hi Guys

To add to Malcolm's findings on Andy's Hush AC Bus. I took delivery of mine about 10 days ago and must concur on the dramatic improvement it makes on all parameters of the musical presentation. Not only does it improve on all the Hi Fi terms (Bass extension, Dynamics, Treble extension, etc. etc.) but, it does something else which is far more significant. Because it lowers the noise floor upon which the music is floated, it improves the Micro Dynamics to such an extent that a person feels that you are more in touch with what the artists are trying to tell you. I strongly believe that communication of the musical event fails or succeeds because of our systems ability to present the Micro Dynamics properly. In other words I feel that the emotional communication of an event is based upon the ebb and swell of the musical note.

Andy Kudos. You have succeeded in producing a product which lets us here deeper into the presentation. THE NUANCES IF YOU WILL.

Regards

Transistor

Hi all

Andy's Hush AC Bus works just as well in P.E. too! With the need to keep digital equipment on at all times, I have long been searching for an affordable surge suppressor that maintains sound quality, BUT THIS BETTERS IT !

The Hush simply protects your Hi-Fi investment, thus making it a must for all audiophiles. Well done, Andy.

The Aeolian Silver Slipper A.C. cable is better than my 7 year old Transparent Audio Power-Plus A.C. cable, but the Law of Diminishing Returns raises it's ugly head very quickly. The A.C. Bus itself is a bargain though.

Regards

Ian

Hi everyone,

I got my Aeolian AC Bus last Thursday and have been listening extensively since then. Trying very hard not to repeat what the others have already said, all I can say is that I find the music to be far more palpable in every way. The Aeolian AC Bus works and is well worth the investment. I have connected both Krells (KST100's), the sub as well as the Lingo to the Hush. The Preamp, CD Transport and DAC run off the PS Audio P300 Power Plant. That leaves the Electrocompaniet as the only piece of equipment running off "raw mains", but as this has a 9 volt power supply, this should not have any effect on the big picture.

I am so impressed with the Hush that should the P300 break, I won't have it repaired - I'll get another AC Bus. The big advantage of the AC Bus is that it is a passive unit, whilst the P300 is active and consumes power all the time.

Well done Andy me lad.

Regards

Michael (19.8.02)

Andy

The Bat (VK-P5)is amazing. I'm sorry I did not get back to you re the mains cable earlier. I find it very good with sonics similar to the PS lab cable but somewhat less cloying than the PS. In my system however I find the somewhat thinner balanced but stunningly transparent Ensemble Powerflux a better match.

This may well not be the case with other systems. Still I am amazed at the quality (of the Silver Slipper) - just not in my current system.

I'll return it soon.

Regards

Johan (8.9.02)

Andy,

I did an electronic transfer this morning.

Thanks again for exposing me to this unsurpassed experience (an audition at Aeolian).

The Hush leaves me speechless. The best investment I have made in my Av system to date. A much warmer sound and stage interaction, with clarity oozing from every file I tested. Even the picture clarity of the LOEWE has definitely improved.

Wow!

Johan. (25.9.02)

Oh Yes,

Me Too!

I made use of the "long weekend" to Play with my HUSH...:)- Bloody HELL!!!

Briefly: Black is "Blacker", Better resolution (without anything being "thrown in your face"), SMOOTH!!! (I honestly didn't expect smoothness), Almost "more" analogue-ish? Noise-floor reduced - so more dynamic... (how do you get smoother with better dynamics???). So far, I'm impressed as hell!!

It's ALMOST as good (value-for-money wise) as investing in a DECENT STAND...:)

Hooligan (25.9.02)

- Just a few more days to go before we're operational in the new factory...:) (in which Hooligan will make Stands! - Andy)

“I just wanted to give you some quick feedback.

The power cable is absolutely fantastic. I can’t believe it. I don’t know how I’m going to actually give it back to you. It might be worth me going through a court case and a short jail time period for theft. Contrary to all my expectations, I just can’t believe my ears.

So the power conditioner and power cables of yours are definitely something special.”

Mark (30.9.02)

Contact Aeolian today (on 011 487 2254) to order your HUSH AC Bus and cables