Does anyone have experience of one of these Isotek V5 Corvus multi-power strip things?
I am concerned as it looks as though it has a switch on the side.
Has anyone actually got one and can report positively?
Iād be more concerned about the conditioning function. Iām sure I donāt need to tell you that this is best avoided with Naim. Back in the day I had a MusicWorks G3 and it was excellent. The Chord blocks seem to be well thought of. Neither of these have any conditioning.
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I have the small brother IsoTek V5 Gemini for my Nait XS3 and ND5XS3. I have swapped this block with an unconditioned Supra block three times to see what I like most. I am happy with the IsoTek V5 Gemini and kept it. On my system, the sound is more relaxed and the bass seems to have more definition. But that is on my very modest system. Judging from your profile, you have much more high-end equipment. You probably have to try to see if you like it or not.
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Not entirely true with the Chord blocks as they do, particularly the top of the range M6, incorporate devices to reduce noise on the incoming supply. It really depends on what your definition of āconditioningā is. But they arenāt just straight forward distribution blocks as in the case of MusicWorks. I donāt know what Naimās view of them is and I would be interested to find out.
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The problem with the Isotek blocks is that they are incorporate conditiong as has been mentioned. Naim has always advised against this. It may do some good things to the cosmetics of the sound, such as give a smoother less edgy treble for instance, but the condtioning impacts negatively on musical coherence in a Naim system. So best avoided. There are much better alternatives for a Naim system.
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Iām with HH, conditioning is not something Naim approve.
Looking at internal pictures, input power goes via an on/off switch and a power āonā warning lamp.
The āconditioningā all takes place on a PCB, it has a row of VDRās (varistor), 2 plastic blocks which look like capacitors and some resistors and diodes plus more small VDR.
There is nothing that looks like a C&D mode choke with an X & Y cap network, which is the usual power conditioning basic.
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I am not sure if this is true, but could it be that the advice to not use any form of power conditioning is mostly based on the UK situation? The situation may be different in other countries. I donāt have a grounded mains socket for my HiFi for example, which is standard in the UK. I think there are more differences in how houses are wired in the UK vs. some European countries. I am no expert, so just asking.
B.T.W. When you say āThere are much better alternatives for a Naim systemā. What alternatives would that be?
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As far as Iām aware the advice not to use mains condtioning is intrinsic to the equipment and applies whatever country itās used in. Possible that the effects of conditioning may vary though depending on the configuration of the local supply. But this applies even in different areas of the UK.
The MusicWorks blocks donāt incorporate any conditioning and seem a popular choice with Naim. Alternatively you can get excellent results by building you own distribution block using the appropriate sockets. You do need to be proficient at this though so unless you are 100% sure of what youāre doing donāt attempt it. But basically any distribution block that doesnāt incorporate conditioning, switches or lights is suitable, though some will obviously perform better than others.
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I using the Isotek V5 Sigma. I have found it quite effective in reducing line noise in our NYC apartment. I use their power cables as well. The V5 Sigma is costly but worth it if you have line noise.
I had somehow missed the fact that the Isotek V5 incorporates āconditioningā so I will cross it off the list.
Thanks for all the feedback, Iāll look at MusicWorks etc. instead.
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I question the need for power conditioning in UK as the mains power supply is highly rated
for minimising RF, EMI, CM & DM noise.
Iāve tried various commercial and DIY and found most did nothing audibly positive.
On the āscope (when I had one) some suppressed the sine-wave peak voltage or shifted the volt/current phase.
The only thing Iāve experienced that did what it claimed and did not affect SQ negatively is DC Offset filter.
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I was using the Isotek V5 Gemini and have changed to a Supra MD06 power block with the Naim amp plugged into the unfiltered output socket - canāt say I noticed any difference but my system is fairly simple compared to yours.
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Your experience differs considerably from mine. I havenāt done any measurements but I once tried a Tacima mains conditioning block just out of curiosity and it sounded truly awful. The effect was very obvious, not subtle at all. Iāve found the Chord S6 and particularly the more costly M6 to be really excellent and to have a profoundly postive effect. Likewise the Chord Power Arays. These are all aimed at reducing HF noise contaminating the mains supply. To my ears they do exactly what they are claimed to do. Iāve also found a DIY block using Crabtree sockets to be excellent and to out perform an Olson block and a costly (over Ā£1K) Nordost block.
I too have experimented with various power related āupgradesā and have heard little or no difference in any of them. I think there are a lot of biases at play here and expectation bias is a big player. Iād wager most of the people that swear by their power conditioners, blocks etc wouldnāt notice if they were replaced or removed. I just think some people are more susceptible to bias, in whatever form that takes, than others. Nothing wrong with either camp it has to be said.
Maybe a non Naim system reacts differently to conditioning and filtering. Best results from my system are when itās Naim components are all directly plugged into high quality wall outlets, unswitched of course. Then TT and non Naim stuff goes into a home made metal shrouded extension. ( thanks @Skeptikal )
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You have to be aware that expectation bias, if it is a big player, applies to everyone, including you. And it works both ways. If you are suffering from it then not hearing an improvement when there really is one is just as likely a scenario as hearing an improvement when there isnāt one. So to use expectation bias as a reason for people hearing improvements when you donāt yourself really is not a valid argument. If you donāt hear diffrences then so be it. If other people do then likewise.
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I should have said none that I tried did anything positively - apologies (Iāve changed the original post)
Yes Tacima did not sound good, and the same for others Iāve tried with C&D mode chokes.
I canāt speak for the Chord stuff you enthuse about as havenāt tried them, but they donāt have āconditionersā, just straight thru and no inter conductor connections.
When we had our Naim stuff it was in the days before Powerlines. I found it sounded better with everything plugged into an RS block that had standard 13A sockets, rather than into separate wall sockets. Later I got a Grahams Hydra and that was significantly better.
Some people do seem to prefer the sound when plugged into separate wall sockets though. Incidentally donāt assume that unswitched is necessarily best. I recall a school of thought that MK switched sockets actually sounded more musically coherent than unswitched ones. This was with the older MK sockets many years ago and Iāve no idea if it still applies today. It was IIRC something to do with the earthing arrangement being superior on the switched sockets.
But some people hear a difference because they feel they should based on cost, others opinions, hive mind etc etc itās absolutely fine though because hearing a difference or not is not up for question if one experiences it. Itās all about opinion and thatās all Iām offering up here. If you hear a difference I cannot argue just like I canāt argue with someone that gets relief from placebo.
I use two Isotek V5 Polarisā, one in my main system and one in my Study system (they have the same internal components as the V5 Corvus, but no switch).
In my Study System I run a SN3 + HCDR and they work perfectly and it sounds excellent. I think the cables used make the biggest sound quality improvement, rather than the block, but I like the re-assurance of the mains filtering and the surge protection that they provide.
I run Isotek Premier Cables on all my 5 Study HiFi Gear and a combination of Isotek Optimum and Elite Cables on my 6 HiFi Gear in my main system, which is a Lumin based system, again sound quality is excellent.