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My Snubway and Main Stream Master Class Combo Review

I must admit I am a sucker for tweaks.

I have owned and tried so many. I have always admired those who think outside the “box”. Some of these items were great, some maybe? And then some were just a “swing and a miss”.

I have communicated with Mark through the years and have used several of his products. So, I ventured into the Vera-fi Audio filters that many of you have expressed that you have liked. That is specifically; the Snubway and the Main Stream filters. I’m not sure if that is the appropriate category but I think that is what they do.

When I first received them, I tried them on my Audio dedicated AC line. First listen, the music sounded louder and more in my face. I was concerned that perhaps they were too much for my already “clean” audio system.

I then moved them to my dedicated Video AC line. On this line, I have an AudioQuest 1200 conditioner, an 85” Samsung TV/LED, Oppo 205, Satellite Dish, Apple TV and a 7 channel Outlaw amp. And I also had a Puron filter. When I first viewed this Video system with the filter combo now in use, boy, was I impressed! I watched a few pre-season NFL live games and the image was fantastic! So clean, immersive, with deep contrast, and deep colors. I knew these units would be a permanent part of this system.

So today, again, I tried that combo on my Audio Dedicated line. On this line is my AudioQuest 7000, Lumin X1, and 2 Michi 8 power amps. But now this time I did not get the image overload, perhaps these take some time to burn/break in. I will let these units percolate for a few days before I pass additional comments. But… I did order another set of them.

ozzy

128x128ozzy
ozzy's avatar
ozzy OP
7,450 posts
 

If it does so much for the Video it must be cleaning up the AC, so I expect big things with my Audio Equipment too!

ozzy

gladmo's avatar
gladmo
363 posts
 

Cool man. I'm interested in your thoughts on these as you gain familiarity with them and any significant burn-in ensues.

ozzy's avatar
ozzy OP
7,450 posts
 

UPDATE:

It’s now been several days since inserting the Snubway/ Main Stream filters back into my audio system and I now feel comfortable in making a few comments on the performance.

The Challenge:

My Audio system has several unique add on’s that are not present in my Video System. First to mention is the AudioQuest Niagara 7000 (a big-time power conditioner). I also have a full complement of AudioQuest Dragon power cords. And I have an SR Master fuse and the new SR Pink fuses in my amps.

And, I have really doubled down on cleaning up ground noise. I have a Puritan Ground City for chassis ground and a Entreq Silver Tellus Grounding box for signal grounding. Plus, I have a couple of my own DIY grounding boxes for my speakers. These devices have really improved upon my listening enjoyment. So, the Snubber/Main Stream filters will have to improve upon all of this. Perhaps this a tuff challenge.

Well after revisiting them, I definitely feel the filters have improved quite a bit after some run in time. The audio “in-the face” (harshness?) as I stated previously was gone, whew! So, these filters do need some hours to develop. It’s funny though, the Video seemed to be immediately improved. But again, it could be because all of the extra components that I listed above that is in my audio system.

I must admit, I didn’t think the filters would come around to my expectations. I have tried many different plug-in type of gizmos that did little if anything.

Now I’m not sure of exactly how many hours of break-in has passed, perhaps maybe now 72+. And then suddenly, I started to hear a more defined and real center image. Hmm. Then, within the next few hours the sound stage started to widen. And finally, as I write this, the bass has become quite tuneful.

Happy camper…

So, if you have your audio system tweaked out and cleaned up as I do, don’t expect the “magic” with this combo to be instantaneous. Give them 3 or more days of burn/break in.

Now, I am really digging the sound quality. Recommended by this tweaker.

ozzy

jmfinney
75 posts
 

Thanks Ozzy! I always enjoy your insight. I have a pair of Main Streams & pair of Snubways coming next week. Will you kindly go into more detail about where you have found each one to be most effective, for example, wall outlets and/or power conditioner/distributors?

ozzy's avatar
ozzy OP
7,450 posts
 

jmfinney,

Thank you for the kind comment. I have been on this site for many years, and I really try to be sincere with my comments. Member’s comments on equipment I find to be more valuable than reviews from “paid” Reviewers. I always wonder…

The Snubway by itself worked well with my Video setup. I was impressed, images were sharper. However, when I added the Main Stream everything got a lot better! Colors, contrasts etc. So, to me they complement each other. Actually, seeing the image improve was an easy test.

Now on my audio setup. I had enough original foresight to install a quad Furutech outlet box on this dedicated AC line. So, this gave me the ability to plug in my AQ 7000, Puritan Ground City and now both the Snubway and the Main Stream devices.

I have not tried the filters directly into my AQ power conditioner, perhaps I might yet. I am of the mindset that if you can clean it up at the wall the power conditioner can only improve upon that. I’m still getting use to the filter combo, some songs that I was familiar with have a different soundstage. That is; sometimes its deeper, other times it may be flat. Hmm.

And there seems to be a general cleaning of the image. Some songs sound a little sharper. No matter what though, these units need burn in/break in time.

So, we shall see if they improve more. I will be very interested to read what you think of the units when you get them.

ozzy

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