Hifisoundguy, take a look here on the GON of my review of the Black boxes for the details regarding why there killers at improving the sonics of even very high end systems at a very reasonable price. Since I wrote the review another good audiophile friend got his Black Boxes from Bob Smith, he uses Wilson speakers, and is amazed how much improvement they made in his system. Bob just got back from the CES and will finish my two pairs since I biamp my MG-20's and he's building customized jumper cables with pins for me.
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I have just recieved the black boxes from Aether (Bob Smith) and initial impressions are quite favorable. I think what they seem to do is very similar to the bybee golden goddess speaker bullets which I have owned. They provide a blacker background, a smoother but no less detailed presentation....to me and in my system, and like most good equipment I have experienced, they seem to provide the illusion of slowing things down but you realize all the leading edge transients are maintained along with a very natural decay it is just so well articulated that some of the "stress" of listening is removed...very engaging and allows one to hear more into the recording! I have only had mine for a few days so these are initial impressions but I think these are worth a listen. I do have the same question about the difference between the Nuforce and the Aether....I suspect the Aether is better built and perhaps uses better internal wiring (I know the Aether uses the good Mundorf stuff but am not sure what is used in the Nuforce) Due to the collaboration with Aether and Nuforce I imagine the core technology is the same or very similar...but this is all speculation so I am interested to hear from someone who may actually know. Good Stuff in any event and Bob Smith seems to have hit on something here. |
Glide3, your assumption regarding the differences between Bob's Black Boxes and Nuforce's Magic Cube is totally correct. Bob's product uses much higher grade internal wiring, better binding posts, and even the enclosure (box) is built to a higher level. You can also request different binding posts if you desire. Both boxes use Bob's "Smith Cell" device to get rid of F1 noise just like the Bybee speaker bullets. When you think that the Bybee's retail for $4500.00 a pair compared to $500.00 for Bob's Boxes, this has to be one of the most "smoking" deals in highend ever! They really take a system to even a higher musical level without the loss of anything as far as I can tell. |
Teajay, Thanks for the clarification, that makes sense. I do want to also clarify that the Black Box is $500 per side so the total is $1000+ depending on what options are selected. I think there may have been a promotion some time ago that required less investment. The Nuforce units would be $500 per pair. |
Friends, This is Bob from Aether Audio. Below are some links you may find useful. The first is a PDF price list for the Black Boxes http://aetheraudio.com/100109%20BB%20Price%20List.pdf Then this next one is a white paper I recently wrote that suggests WHY different metals in conductors may sound different. http://aetheraudio.com/Sub-Debye%20Phase%20Distortion%20rev1%20.pdf The above paper was the result of my deeper research into the Black Box. To be quite honest, I had done some preliminary research into the possible science behind how different metals might sound different. Without digging much deeper, I sort of "jumped" to a conclusion (more of a guess than anything) as to what was going on, and then thought about what may be a way to reduce the undesirable effects. In all honesty, the white paper above was written AFTER I discovered that the Smith Cell actually worked. Before I or NuForce really started marketing them I HAD to understand just what was really going on. Talk about an education in Solid-State physics! Besides looking like a snake-oil salesman if I couldn't explain how they work, we also intended to apply for a patent as well, and you HAVE to have a solid science foundation in order to get one of those. OK... so I built this little thing I called the "Smith Cell" just to see what it would do. Having come from a very science based engineering background, I was a total skeptic and honestly didn't think the thing would have any effect at all. I knew it couldn't do any harm, but seriously doubted it would make one iota of difference - good or bad. Well, much to my surprise... the darn thing worked! Talk about serendipity? I was only tinkering around and never really had any intention of developing a product. My main thing has alsways been speakers (before now under the SP Technology name)and I only got involved in it all as a byproduct of my own curiosity. So then, I built a few and the feedback was remarkable. Before long I figured I'd get swamped with orders and would need to out-source their construction, as one guy (me)could never keep up if they really started taking off. Anyway, I went to my good friends at NuForce to see if they could help. An evaluation pair was sent to them, and the next thing you know they thought they were so good that they wanted to market them under their own name. That led to the NuForce Magic Cube AND my working for them as well in further product design, marketing, technical writing and high-end product technical support. AND... I still get to market the technology under my own Aether Audio brand... at twice the price though. You see, the agreement is that I can't directly compete with them from a price standpoint. Therefore, my "Black Box" version incorporates all Mundorf Silver-Gold (about the best I think) wiring and your choice of Cardas binding posts for both inputs and outputs (I can include custom ones from other vendors of your choice too). There is also the option to add a selector switch which allows you to adjust the BBs for optimal performance with your particular amp. The switch engages one of 3 filters, or without the switch they are built with one filter to match your amp and it is permanent such that it cannot be changed to a different one at a later date. Finally, there are several options for locating the switch and/or posts, as well as the option of adding mounting brackets. See below: http://aetheraudio.com/100109%20BB%20Price%20List.pdf As far as the NuForce version goes, they offer at least 95% the perforance that the Aether Audio version does, and at 50% the price or less. You can purchase the base "Smith Cell" section alone for $249.00 each, or add the optional filter for another $49.00 each. See here: http://www.nuforce.com/hi/products/magic-cube/index.php In my opinion, most folks will get the most value from the NuForce version, as I designed it myself and it meets all of the same basic performance criteria of my Aether Audio version. The only difference between the two is whatever marginal gains the Mundorf wiring and Cardas binding posts may offer, and/or the convenience that the switch and other options offered in the Aether Audio version. So... that's the story - or at least the beginning anyway. The rest is being told one pair at a time by you folks. Will they improve your system? I'd like to say positively that they will - but... you know how such things go. All I can say is that there's a pretty good chance that they will, considering their track record so far! Take care, :-) -Bob |
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