I wouldn't know about any historic Star Sound products or internal disputes, so have no basis of comparison between the products of yore and the ones available today.
But I can comment on both the use of Audio Points and now the new Sistrum Apprentice XL Platforms under my Revel Salon 2s. Here is what I posted last July about the Audio Points:
"I'm not sure how they do it, but the affect is that the system has become both more precise AND more musical. The bass is tighter yet with significantly more prominence and slam - a superior foundation has been built. Microdynamics are better, treble is more detailed but even less fatiguing at concert levels, and imaging is both taller and deeper while being more precise, i.e. I can hear players in the soundstage RIGHT THERE.
And yeah, the apparent volume has increased too as Granny noted. The Salon 2s are not exactly an exemplar of efficiency so I've gone with high-current amplification solutions to make them hit hard when I want them to. It's nice to not have to draw so much juice out of the wall as I was before."
The Sistrum Apprentice XL Platforms arrived at the end of last month. They do take things to another level beyond what the Audio Points were doing. Players are more precisely placed in the soundstage with better proportionality, which makes them easier to follow. Bass remains meaty but has more texture and nuance. The attack of plucked strings is faster and more lifelike. Decays stretch longer into the acoustic and are more easily heard. There is more air around the notes. And there is more detail apparent; I am picking up new things on albums I've listened to for 40+ years that were previously buried in the recording.
To sum up,as I told Robert,
"They have settled in and the results are excellent. It feels as though the window into the music is even more clear, that a film has been stripped away making the illusion of actual musicians in the room even more compelling. This is important to me, as my pursuit has always been of the 'they are here' and not the 'you are there' variety, due to the fact that the room is not a highly dampened man cave but rather a room built specifically to enjoy views."
But I can comment on both the use of Audio Points and now the new Sistrum Apprentice XL Platforms under my Revel Salon 2s. Here is what I posted last July about the Audio Points:
"I'm not sure how they do it, but the affect is that the system has become both more precise AND more musical. The bass is tighter yet with significantly more prominence and slam - a superior foundation has been built. Microdynamics are better, treble is more detailed but even less fatiguing at concert levels, and imaging is both taller and deeper while being more precise, i.e. I can hear players in the soundstage RIGHT THERE.
And yeah, the apparent volume has increased too as Granny noted. The Salon 2s are not exactly an exemplar of efficiency so I've gone with high-current amplification solutions to make them hit hard when I want them to. It's nice to not have to draw so much juice out of the wall as I was before."
The Sistrum Apprentice XL Platforms arrived at the end of last month. They do take things to another level beyond what the Audio Points were doing. Players are more precisely placed in the soundstage with better proportionality, which makes them easier to follow. Bass remains meaty but has more texture and nuance. The attack of plucked strings is faster and more lifelike. Decays stretch longer into the acoustic and are more easily heard. There is more air around the notes. And there is more detail apparent; I am picking up new things on albums I've listened to for 40+ years that were previously buried in the recording.
To sum up,as I told Robert,
"They have settled in and the results are excellent. It feels as though the window into the music is even more clear, that a film has been stripped away making the illusion of actual musicians in the room even more compelling. This is important to me, as my pursuit has always been of the 'they are here' and not the 'you are there' variety, due to the fact that the room is not a highly dampened man cave but rather a room built specifically to enjoy views."