Clearlight Aspekt or Isotek MiniSub II?

Thinking of getting one of the above.

Which one do you think will offer the greater sonic benefits?

I live in an area where, locally, there is quite a bit of development work and my flat is within an ancient tenement block... So I'm thinking mains treatment could be beneficial (I'm close to the River Clyde).

I'm already using JPS Labs and Russ Andrews mains cables...

However, my system is currently sitting on an old(ish) Sonus glass and steel rack... rings quite alarmingly when tapped but it is very heavy and quite sturdy...

Been told that the Isotek is 'ok' but replacing existing mains cables with Nordost Shiva would make a big difference (ie in bass impact and less high frequency 'hash').

Ideas and feedback welcome,

 

First of all I'd best say hello to everyone seeing as this is my first post. I'm relatively new to the Hi Fi lark & can't really say my system is upto much at the moment. Hopefully, that'll be changing soon though.

Sorry to thread hijack Gundam (and I'll move this if you want) but I've also moved to an inner city area and was planning on investigating main treatments etc so I'd be interested in any feedback you're given.

I was thinking of replacing cables first due to cost limitations but maybe moving onto something like an isotek later. Any feedback and or sites with info on this would be much appreciated.

 

Gerry why don't you wait, I'll bring over my analougue, digital, and poweramp JPS mains cables, I'll also bring my Audio source, mains block, you can then see if these make any difference, before shelling out on something else, I also wouldn't bother upgrading your rack, unless you need more shelves or you need it to match new furniture, differences between stands subtle if any, IMHO of course, I'd be inclined to save my money and buy some more music.

 

[it should be noted that analoguekid is in a bit of a nark because I use Mana and his wife won't let him buy any]

Mana racks make a huge improvement to the sound. This is my not humble opinion, and this opinion is shared by many leading hi-fi reviewers. Check out their website (Mana acoustics) for all the rave reviews of this remarkable product.

 

Yeah but Jerry has a wife too, you should consider mana Jerry, but the aspect is better looking and prolly just as good.

 

Decisions, decisions...

But yeah. I'll wait until you bring yer bits n pieces round. I've heard about the Mana stuff. Worth considering too I s'pose...

That upgrade urge eh? I should just leave it but I know that there is ALOT of stuff going on around my neighbourhood... and the building is dead-old...... So the mains must be rubbish....

 

Jonny,

Welcome to the forum. What system have you got at the moment?

cheers, Robbo

 

gundam,
i use an isotek minisub and love it on my source and digital kit however it causes problems when running my pre through it (and i assume my power amp too but i've not tried that). if your kit draws significant current then it may be worth trying other mains cleaners such as the ben duncan / tricord offering.
give the stands a try too i guess but i find anything that gets the stuffoff the floor does the biz for me - but then i have solid concrete floors.
cheers


julian

 

I used to live in a modern (1970's house) with solid concrete floors... I noticed that the bass there was really good when I went back to London for a few weeks this summer.

I now live in a top floor flat. Nice and solid and old... but with those bastard suspended wooden floors... The difference is quite substantial. I suppose the next step for me is to get those granite slabs/work-top-savers from Argos....

 

Thanks for the welcome Robbo. My current system is:-

Arcam CD72T > Technics 909 Pre / Power > Monitor Audio B2's

So nothing out of this world, but everyone has to start somewhere.

I was going to investigate mains treatments as this is the cheapest upgrade I can think of at the moment and guess if it doesn't make a difference in a city centre, it never will.

Maybe I should spend more money on CD's or somewhere else but I've got that itch to play around with stuff.

 

Jonny,

I'm not familiar with your kit, but if you want to experiment with mains, you could do worse than try a Eupen power cable on your CD player and maybe amp. You can get one from audusa on sale or return (cost £50) so If you dont like it you can send it back without losing anything. I really am not sure how much of a difference it will make with your kit though.

 

sort out your mains first!! until you have that sorted, you won't even notice the benefit of the other upgrades. the shiva is very good and made a huge difference in my system, even when i only had one on the cdp. isolating the speakers will probably make a bigger improvement than the equipment rack. this is where the biggest vibrations are going to be, after all...

 

I'm going to be trying a pair of Nordost Shiva's next week. I've heard good things about them... It was suggested to not bother with Isotek blocks and just get a couple of Shiva's.

They're not cheap though. A pair of those and I could get a Isotek Minisub II....