Review: MSA "Power Purifier Double Plus"
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| Posted on February 27, 2014 at 15:47:37 | ||
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Posts: 1014
Location: PNW (summers) and Southern AZ (winters) Joined: December 2, 2006 |
Having been in audio for over 40 years, and an unapologetic tweaker for the last 30 of them, I have seen an awful lot of people and products come and go. Recently I found in an unmarked box in our garage some old “Red Rollers” and “Wood Blocks” from John Bicht’s Versadynamics company. I had to chuckle at just how many such tweaks I have tried over the years. Almost none have stood the test of time. All were band-aids of one type or another, discarded when the ‘illness’ was cured by something else, something new and more well-focused on what the root problem I was trying to cure at the time was really all about. The one thing I have learned through all this is simple: great engineering, solid and sound, never goes out of style. That doesn’t mean that things cannot be improved. On the contrary, we have all been fortunate to live in a time where a steady increase in technology and knowledge has taken basically every single idea and approach and made it better. Even Einstein’s great achievements have seen some revision and improvements, as difficult as that may be to believe. Times, and life, are good! As was said a moment ago, the key in all of this is great engineering. And great engineering requires that the engineer leave his or her ego at the door, and honestly assess what they have created. This is, IMHO, where much, if not most of engineering fails. So, too, with basically every aspect of creative endeavor. When a person falls in love with what they have done, when their objectivity and self-critical reflection ceases to function, the quality of their work inevitably falters. The reason I mention this is because I have yet to encounter any designer as self-critical and science-based as Bob Pragnell at Mad Scientist Audio. His constant blind-testing and seeking of independent evaluations (again, under strict blind testing protocols in the MSA listening room), has impressed me greatly. What results are products that truly perform as advertised. Further, there is no hyperbole or puffery, which is refreshing. Just this last week I had the opportunity to try out the newest addition to the MSA line-up, the “Power Purifiers”, specifically the Double Plus version (PP++). I first heard an early version of the device in the MSA reference system, and mentioned my very positive impressions in my previous review of MSA’s “Black Sticks”. The PP models I have auditioned this week were substantially different from the ones originally heard at the MSA listening room a few months ago. I was informed that the final form was determined, once again, by countless hours of blind testing and new approaches that yielded far better performance than what I originally heard. Based on the blind testing I underwent at MSA’s listening room recently, I can say the improvements were quite substantial and very easily audible. But the only true test of a tweak is how it performs in your own system in your own home. I will freely admit that I do not blind test much at my home. I usually simply put stuff in and listen. If it improves the sound I am getting, it stays. If not, it goes. The new PP++s will definitely be staying! Here’s why. I tried the pair of PP++s on my big, modified Spectron Musician III, Mk2 special edition amplifiers (with full Bybees /V-Cap upgrades and myriad other tweaks.) Right out of the gate, my review notes stated in large bold face: “BASS!!” Not excessive, tuneless, flabby, exaggerated bass. No, this was focused, deep, tuneful bass with PRAT and exceptional detail and drive. And as everyone who has experienced a great subwoofer will tell you, superb bass enhances all other elements of playback, by providing a much more realistic and palpable presence and rock-solid foundation upon which true musical reproduction can be built. Thus, my other observations of significantly improved high frequency resolution, three dimensionality, air and that “in-the-room-with-you” experience should not be surprising. The PP++s also seemed to strip away a haze and grunge that obscured details in the HF band, never, ever being in any way additive or euphonically distortive. Instead, what was revealed was much greater low-level details and hidden information that consistently left me saying, “I never knew THAT was on this recording”, even about discs that I have been using for years and years as references. It is the kind of upgrade that leaves your lips smiling and your toes tapping. As for the midband, again, the PP++s revealed a wealth of detail and information that had previously been obscured. Trumpets and horns were especially pleasing, having had some residual glare removed that made playing at even higher SPLs possible, which is always a good thing. That, in turn, allowed even more detail and information to be displayed, all to wonderful effect. Actually, I have always found that when a tweak allows for higher SPLs with no smoothing effect or loss of any low-level information in the upper mids and treble, it invariably results in improved across-the-board performance. All other things being equal, louder equates with more information being on display, as one would fully expect. And more info is what the game of tweaking is all about (at least for me.) In short, the new MSA Power Purifier Double Plus device is not just a winner, but is an indispensable tool in revealing a wealth of information that would otherwise be obscured and unavailable. Its simply astounding effect on bass reproduction, coupled with its superb reduction in over-all grunge, allows the music to speak in a way that is deeply communicative and moving. These devices enhanced my listening to a degree that was well worth the price of admission. But it gets better. I had no idea until I visited the MSA website after writing the first draft of this review, but MSA offers the individual constituent parts of the PP line for sale to dyed-in-the-wool DIYers to allow experimentation with wire and configurations of your own choice to take the PP’s performance level to literally extreme heights. You could easily employ Furutech FI-11 Cu plugs and IECs (a personal fave of mine) plus any type of wire you desire, to fashion a truly stratospheric version of the Power Purifier! And what really impressed me was how supportive MSA’s website is of this approach. If you are not the DIY type, simply use the 30 day money back guarantee MSA offers to try the devices (standard PP, or PP+, or the top-of-the-line PP++) and see if they bring you the same improvements they brought to my reference system. You can also check out my review of the video aspects of the PP++’s performance over on the Video Asylum (which observations were resoundingly supported “in spades” by our own beloved Uncle Stu Ono.) My wife and I were really impressed by what the PP++s did for our 60” Pioneer plasma and Oppo Blu-Ray player. All of which establishes firmly in my mind that the MSA PP line is truly reducing distortions that afflict all manner of playback across-the-board. I am hopeful someone with a computer-based audio system will try them and report what the PPs can do for such playback. As for me, it is now time to return to listening to my big rig. (.....and smiling!) :-) Cheers, WS
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| MSA Website, posted on February 27, 2014 at 16:04:56 | |
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Posts: 366
Location: New Plymouth Joined: July 9, 2013 |
Thanks Mike. Details here on MSA website: http://www.madscientist-audio.com/power-purifier/
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| Right on Q. ;-), posted on February 28, 2014 at 12:17:02 | |
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Nt
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| RE: MSA Website, posted on February 28, 2014 at 16:34:12 | |
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Posts: 366
Location: New Plymouth Joined: July 9, 2013 |
It will be much quicker than that...
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| RE: Review: MSA "Power Purifier Double Plus", posted on March 9, 2014 at 14:11:41 | |
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Posts: 15965
Location: Alabama Joined: September 11, 2010 |
Cheers! WS. Very informative post.
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| RE: Review: MSA "Power Purifier Double Plus", posted on March 11, 2014 at 18:04:37 | |
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Strange thing to say. I wonder what he means, too. Is it a new marketing ploy?
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| RE: Curious..., posted on March 17, 2014 at 07:38:49 | |
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Posts: 335
Joined: April 4, 2002 |
I had it in my Audio System for several days.
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