I’ve had two Reds in a VAC Avatar integrated for three days. The effect is trans-formative, and seems to cry out for measurement and explanation from EE-types. This is not to say that I’m fully sold on the Red’s. I’ve always been a skeptic of tweaks backed by mumbo-jumbo claims, and always felt it was far easier for the tweak vendors to introduce distortion than to clarify the sound, and then claim “better.” That said, the Red’s effect on voices and midrange-up is stunning. Blended voices are suddenly separate individuals harmonizing. On a Magnet Fields cut, the male singer is kind of talking to himself in alternative verses, but with the Red’s, it’s obvious he recorded the alternating verses as separate tracks. The female singer changes from an interesting voice to a knowable person. On “Cry You a Song” (Jethro Tull, Benefit), Ian’s voice has reverb, but with Red’s, the reverb is an endless echo, like a mirror image inside a mirror image, inside a mirror image….The reverb has reverb, clearly heard.
I’ve done a series of tweaks – cleaned all connections, Furutech outlet, Audio Arts Power Cord, silver IC’s—and each has delivered improvements in percussive attach and clarity of voice. I wondered if this was a placebo effect from touching/caring/new, but how do you explain newly heard lyrics as placebo? The same was true with the Red’s—things never heard are now heard.
But. I put the Red’s in, dialed in Radio Paradise for some burn, and left the room for an hour. On return, Solsbury Hill was playing, and my initial reaction was, “Where’s the bass.” This was similar to my initial impression of the Stager Silver IC’s (which I now love.) But other CD’s, like Punch Brothers, seemed to have complete bass. Hmm. I was still being amazed at the dramatic increase in clarity and separation of sounds, but on Abbey Road I again had the sense that the low, foundational bass was gone, and that I had started increasing the volume, looking for it. Perhaps the Red’s are just cleaning up the bass? But emotionally, not as satisfying. I wasn’t “Coming Together.”
Finally, I tried good ol’ Enya. A carefully crafted soundscape of powerful but unobtrusive percussion over a fog-like blend and dreamy vocals. The Red’s dissects and reassemble these layered sounds so that the percussion is much more real and pronounced, and all those layered sounds are suddenly separated and in your face as a cacophony of competing sounds. Enya sounds trapped behind a band gone mad.
So that’s where I am. Both amazed and puzzled. We’ll see what time reveals.
