● AUDIO SMORGASBORD

<   much more assertive.    So I added more of the RF-56 bases to the system – this time on the input socketry of the Vibe. Once again, more focus, more definition, all combined with more body and substance. The end result: greater musical clarity. The effect was less obvious than with the Wadia, although it was also significantly better overall, introducing a sense of refinement and subtlety along with the attack and energy. Whether this effect is inherent to the addition of extra devices or simply down to the specifics of product and its position in the system I can't say as I didn't fancy removing the tiles from the Wadia.    The RF-333 belts I positioned around the inputs to the RADIA by way of experiment, and again, built on the foundation laid by the first quartet of 56s. This is a purely temporary arrangement as the RF-333s are flexible and intended for curved surfaces. Don't go thinking rubber here. These are stiff but bendable with a bit of effort. It's easy to kink them so be careful. I'm currently contemplating a more appropriate deployment for them, probably involving drive units or some such.

Conclusions So what exactly are we to conclude? Well, the Harmonix tuning devices aren't new, they aren't big but they are clever. Cleverer than me at least, ‘cos I haven't a clue how they do what they so demonstrably do. That much hasn't changed, and if nothing else, they prove that just because we can't explain something, forgetting about it doesn't mean it isn't so – or make it go away.    The influence of the Harmonix devices is unfailingly musical and engaging, and some would argue that they lead us back to the true path from which we strayed all those years ago. Indeed, if you asked me to sum them up in a snapshot I'd have to say that they are the easiest way to inject valve virtues into a system short of investing in amplifiers full of glowing bottles. If you live in an arid, solid-state desert then that can only be good news.     My own feelings are slightly more ambivalent. They move the sound of my system back towards where it came from. Further experimentation has left the RF-56s in place while reverting back to my original foot

arrangement, the added body and substance provided by the arrival of Pagode Master Reference racks rendering the Harmonix feet unnecessary. The same  conclusions need not apply in any other system. However, what I would encourage is everybody to at least try and experience the effect of the 56s in a system they know, if only to reinforce just how little we really know about what exactly we're doing. Just be warned that as self-adhesive items, returning them if unimpressed isn't an option! What really surprises me about the Harmonix tuning products is how they all work towards a single, targeted goal. That goal exists already in the impressive shape and sound of the Reimyo electronics, but what do you make of a set of tweaks that shape the sound of other electronics to that agenda. The really clever part is not finding something weird that effects the sound of a hi-fi system: the clever part is getting it to do what you want, consistently and repeatably. Which makes the Combak people very clever indeed.

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