Tweakers' Asylum: REVIEW: Alan Maher Designs Infinity CBF Power Conditioner/Surge Protector by dave c

Model:	Infinity CBF
Category:	Power Conditioner/Surge Protector
Suggested Retail Price:	$25US
Description:	a small black box
Manufacturer URL:	Alan Maher Designs
Model Picture:	View

Review by dave c on October 11, 2009 at 14:51:47
IP Address: 58.107.79.152 Add Your Review
for the Infinity CBF

I've had the CBFs for a week now and whilst I know Alan's products are famously long in the burn in (or whatever you prefer to call it) there weer instant and clear effects from using it.
I ordered 2 and have only put one in place so far as I have been decorating part pof the house and was also completely keen to figure what was happening in the most simple of ways ie by using one CBF alone (at least at first).
They are cheap enough that cost isn't a major consideration.
A CBF is about the size of a matchbox and you strap them on to various points throughout the electrical system.
Following Alan's preferences I have installed it on the power cable coming in to the breaker box from the street.
Just strapped it on using masking tape.
I had played a track 3 times to get used to it, went down to the garage, installed the CBF and wandered abck up to play it again.
Yes a definite change.
Now it's always hard to be precise about what is improvement and what is just change we can believe in and what is not even change but imagination, but there was clear difference in the bottom end especially.
I was using the newly remastered Abbey Road and playing Come Together.
The bass was (errr... that's in Paul's playing not just the bottom end) was a more solid image and the interplay between it and the bass drum seemed to have a better, certainly a different balance.
But what shocked me was when I flicked on the TV to get the news and all the colour balance had changed.
Blue specially was leaping out at me but there (and I am most certainly no expert on colour in TVs) seemed like brighter colours (stronger colours?) seemed to be much stronger relative to the background.
This effect has stayed quite even over a week.
The sound seems to alter but not to a degree I could swear on the differences day by day.
But the definition of imaging does seem to be getting better; I find myself, especially when I am pottering round doing things and not really listening, coming to a dead stop in front of the system and sometimes nowhere near in front of it and just going "wow", not a life changing "I must have that girl NOW" kind of "wow" but a bigger "wow" than a comfy pair of old slippers "wow".
The entire system seems to have kind of grown into itself and become more... stylish... sophisticated perhaps. I'd better stop or I'll become like that guy from The Fast Show... "listening to music is like making love to a beautiful woman..."
And it's not a bank balance destroying "one more purchase like that and it's divorce" kind of system at all.
My intention is to leave one in place alone for a month, take it out and see what difference that makes and then, if it still seems good, install both devices.

Product Weakness:	It can't do the washing up.
Product Strengths:	Cheap, easy to fit in any number of places, good immediate effect.<br>One item can be used to on the entire house electrics.

Associated Equipment for this Review:

Amplifier: Quicksilver Mini-Mites
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): Audio Alchemy DLC
Sources (CDP/Turntable): mainly Squeezebox Duet via Cambridge DACMagic
Speakers: Revel M22
Cables/Interconnects: some kind of Kimber Select speaker cable/silver i'cs from Osborn Loudspeakers
Music Used (Genre/Selections): largely Squeezebox on random, plenty of small group acoustic and ambient electronica
Room Size (LxWxH): x x sloping
Room Comments/Treatments: room is irregular beyond the space here to describe
Time Period/Length of Audition: 12 days
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner

Amplifier:	Quicksilver Mini-Mites
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	Audio Alchemy DLC
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	mainly Squeezebox Duet via Cambridge DACMagic
Speakers:	Revel M22
Cables/Interconnects:	some kind of Kimber Select speaker cable/silver i'cs from Osborn Loudspeakers
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	largely Squeezebox on random, plenty of small group acoustic and ambient electronica
Room Size (LxWxH):	x x sloping
Room Comments/Treatments:	room is irregular beyond the space here to describe
Time Period/Length of Audition:	12 days
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner