That was also my observation with the FI32. The FI52 ncf removed the harshness in the sound. At first, I thought it was the UNI, which added a harsh tone to the highs. It was just the connector. I’m very pleased with the improvement from the UNI. No hum and no restrictions whatsoever; in fact, the sound is even improved.
I bought the new Bon Iver CD yesterday.
Hadn’t listened to any music for a while so this was the first.
The former noted harshness seems to have gone.
The music was very dynamic, it appeared louder for a the usual volume setting.
The bass was deeper, I actually went over and checked to see if my two subs were on, they weren’t.
There’s a magnificent song on the CD, for me, his best ever, If Only I Could Wait, worth the price of the cd for that song alone. Check it out on YouTube.
Overall I’m very happy with the Uni 16.
It can only get better when the Furutech NCF connector arrives and replaces the Wattgate connector.
Looking forward to it.
I finally received my Furutech C19 NCF connector today.
(I had to wait on new stock coming to the UK from Japan.)
Got it connected to the power cord feeding the Isotek V5 Syncro Uni, replacing the Wattgate I was using as a temporary ‘tide me over’ connector.
It’s only had a few hours use but I played 10CC Greatest Hits to check progress.
With the Wattgate connector this CD sounded, artificial, unnatural and electronically processed, easily the worst sounding album I’d played with the Wattgate connector in service.
With the Furutech, even with just a few hours on it, natural, vocals very clean and clear, extended treble, fast bass lines.
It felt like I had my system back.
I’ve been watching a lot of content via the system, (dual home theater and music), as I find video is not as critical for enjoyment as music is and I couldn’t listen to music knowing it sounded sub standard.
With a music system everything in the system must be top notch or you hear the failings and that’s were upgrades come from, to try to resolves these..
The NCF connector is the final piece of my puzzle.
I should be able to hear the V5 Syncro Unit improvements clearer now.
These are more volume, better bass, blacker background.
I have the Isotek before my P20.
The train of thought is that there shouldn’t be anything before the Regenerator but that is dispelled by upgrading the power cord, which we all know improves the P20 performance so adding the Isotek before the P20 also improves the P20 performance.
By next weekend the Furutech connector should be pretty much burned in as it should have about 200 hours on it, but already I’m happy with it, a big improvement over the Wattgate.
I have replaced all my cheap PCs with NCF connectors too, they for sure make improvement over any stock or aftermarket plugs that I have tried.
It’s great to hear that you’re noticing similar differences in your system as I am in mine. I also think a P20 benefits from a power supply without any disruptive DC components. I’m thrilled with the results of the IsoTek EVO5 Syncro Uni 16. I’ve noticed only a positive effect, without any compromises in the sound quality. The Furutech FI-52NCF makes a good job. The sound is smoother, without any artifacts. I mean, after a few weeks, the soundstage is even bigger, smoother, and never tiring. I’ve been completely happy with my system for a long time, after many modifications and optimizations. Regards Andreas
Happy Cake Day Andreas!
Cannot try all the tweaks you mentioned anymore since none of them are made in US, not for the next four years anyway (hopefully not longer).
Thanks, Donald. I hope this crazy world calms down soon.
Happy cake day, Andreas!
Is here anybody who use V5 “sync uni” before Aquarius V5.. I bought Aquarius because I had unhearable sound quality at mornings amd I hear hum (what sometiames louder) from my amplifier. My sound quality problem wanished into thin air. But the hum stay with me…
The Aquarius apparently doesn’t have a built-in DC filter. IsoTek also recommends the Syncro UNI 16 as a supplement. I have a Furutech Vault power strip and the IsoTek V5 Syncro UNI 16. Previously, I also had a hum from the amplifiers that varied throughout the day. Now it’s completely silent, and the sound overall benefits from the UNI 16. The IsoTek V5 Syncro UNI 16 is a clear recommendation. A huge improvement at a comparatively fair price.
About 9 days now on my Furutech NCF connector, (output from my V5 syncro unit).
Listened to music last night and sounding great :-
natural, dynamic, extremely low noise floor, lots of detail, no harshness, very easy to listen too.
It was only when I played, I Can See for Miles by The Who I noticed a slight loss in deep bass, the music sounding a little lightweight than what I’m used to.
I presume this will appear over the next week or so as the connector continues to burn in.
Other than that, my system is back and sounding better than ever.
The V5 Syncro unit is definitely an upgrade over the previous V3 unit.
Same sound signature but bigger, more dynamic.sound, which gives a greater sense of ease.
It’s great to hear that upgrading from V3 to V5 is an improvement for you. I didn’t have a DC filter before, and with V5, it’s a huge improvement without the annoying hum from the transformers. I like the pleasant, smooth sound with high resolution from the FI-52 NCF.
Regards, Andreas
Did you find the bass was the last thing for the FI-52 NCF to break in?
If you ask me, it’s not easy. When I swapped the connectors of an Audioquest Dragon cable for NCF connectors, I noticed the harmonious highs and crisp lows with a clean presentation. When I switched to an FI-52 NCF connector on the V5, I noticed the more pleasant highs without harshness. After a certain amount of time, maybe one or two weeks, and even after weeks, in my opinion, the sound of the NCF connectors becomes even more balanced. The sound without any harshness and low distortion, combined with high resolution of small details, seems to me to be the main advantage of the Furutech Rhodium NCF connectors.
Thinking about the improvement of the V5 over the V3 Synchro Uni and I think it’s probably comparable to US P20 owners using the P20 20 amp version over the standard version.
(In the UK we don’t get that option, just one standard 13 amp version).
The extra headroom of the V5 just allows a greater sense of ease, control and dynamics when playing music, which I assume P20 20 amp version owners would similarly experience?
I swapped my PS10 with SR Master Fuse and Audioquest Dragon for a Furutech Vault power strip with a Furutech Project power cable and heard an immediate improvement in dynamics and more natural tones. I also connected a Schnerzinger Grid Protector to the power strip. The sound quality also improved with the Grid Protector. Since I occasionally noticed a louder hum from my amplifier’s transformers without the PS10, I bought the IsoTek V5 Synchro Uni 16. This eliminated the annoying hum. There were other advantages in the layering and spatial representation of the soundstage. The dynamics were not limited by the V5. The background seems even blacker with the V5. I highly recommend the V5 Synchro Uni 16 to anyone. The price-performance ratio of the improvement provided by the V5 is unsurpassed in my system. No other update in my system offers such great value for money.
Listened to some music again last night, first time since Sunday night listening.
My deep bass is back, in fact more of it.
But I’m not sure whether it has really tightened up yet, might be a bit ‘loose’.
Certainly the system is sounding great again but I think there’s still a small bit more to come.
The F!-52 NCF connector continues to bed in, it’ll be in place a fortnight tomorrow, which I think equates to around 400 hours.
By next weekend I’m hoping it’s fully burned in.
How these things affect the sound in your room is quite amazing.
I was listening last night to Ben Howard’s Is It, title track.
I know the rhythm part of the track should sound in the center but I heard it on the right speaker.
I moved one of my B2’s, (halfway down the room on the right hand side, moved it out slightly towards the center of the room, and the rhythm part now moved to the center.