I wonder if they will have the same effect when plugged into one of Shunyata’s power distributors? I bought a Venom PS 10. It is nice enough, but in the past, I’ve had Audience Adept Teflon capacitor conditioners, PS Audio Power Plants, and a few other line conditioners, going all the way back to the grandaddy of them all, the Tice Audio Line conditioners, which was released in 1989. Of course, technology has advanced since the Tice. It’ll be interesting to see how two devices from the same designer sound together!
I also agree that, depending on the level of resolution and the components involved, some people will hear little to no differences. There is a thread going on at Steve Hoffman’s form, which is now 35 pages long, the battle raging furiously with those who consider it "snake oil" and those who hear it. Interestingly, those who hear it have the type of components I would think WILL let them hear the difference. And in something that flies in the face of actual evidence, those who have never heard it are the ones arguing it is "snake oil." I find myself wondering if they also decide all vitamin supplements are the same, and the greenhouse effect is "propoganda." I can’t imagine commenting on something I’ve never tried myself. It’s a bit like saying, "I hate sushi" when one’s never tasted it. And then I take my friends to sushi restaurants and give them a COOKED sushi roll and they like it (they used to think all sushi is raw). Astounding how vehemently we protest about devices we know - literally - nothing about...
But thanks for the observation that the Defender might "lean out" the sound. Neil Gader did not mention that in his review in The Absolute Sound, a magazine I also wrote for, and Neil would notice that. But his system might be the deciding factor, which is something I'll find out when mine arrives this week. I bought a Furutech two months ago and also RE-bought a Nordost QV-2, which I had sold last year, just to hear the difference. The QV-2 had a slightly richer sound (but not rich in the way a Conrad Johnson component would sound rich: just "fuller"). And the Furutech was similar to the Furutech fuses, outlets and power cords I have had: tonally not as fleshed out in "color" as though things were more pastel colors than primary. I didn't post that on the site, because someone accused me of commenting on something I hadn't heard (fair enough), but I had pointed out at the very beginning of my post that I was referring to EARLIER Furutech devices and that they may have made advances. I still found the NCF similar to my NCF wall receptables: certainly not drab-sounding, but not as rich as say, MIT components, which sounded more accurate to a symphony hall experience, except I only had their interconnects and speaker cables, and those were from 1987-2002. Still, The Furutech has a "sound". I imagine if one has a "rich"-sounding system, the leanness will manifest mildly, but if your system is already lean (especially in the lower midrange/upper bass), you'll notice it quickly enough!