˻ PREMIERE ˼

⌈ THUNDER MELODY is a Polish audio brand established in 2020. It was founded by Mr. KONRAD RASIA and Mr. RAFAŁ HLADZIAK and specializes in vibration damping, noise reduction and power conditioning products. We test its AC power conditioner GRAAL. ⌋

N THE ABOVE INTRODUCTION I wrote that THUNDER MELODY specializes in vibration damping, noise reduction and power conditioning products. That's true. From the interview with its creators accompanying this test, one can read something even simpler: TM cares about "cleaning" the audio system from all noise. It means noise generated both electronically and mechanically.

This seemingly simple task is currently one of the "hottest" ones in audio. Most serious designers and more sensible companies noticed that noise is largely responsible for the "bad" sound. As many of them claim, it is „bad” but only temporarily. Because if we take care of the basics, and the basis is - let me remind you - removing the noise, it often turns out that a given system sounds perfectly well.

I am talking about "appearances" of simplicity for a reason. In fact, few people really understand it and know how to get results. Among those who are most advanced in this area, it is worth mentioning the American NORDOST, the Japanese ACOUSTIC REVIVE https://highfidelity.pl/@main-975&lang=en and as many as three Polish companies: GIGAWATT, VERICTUM and THUNDER MELODY.

TM has a consistent view on all aspects of noise minimization, hence its offer includes not only power filters and cables, but also anti-vibration stands, as well as power conditioners. All its products therefore share a few common features. They all feature Panzerholtz chassis, that is, made of "bulletproof" plywood. These chassis are made by Mr. RAFAŁ HŁADZIAK. The second thing is the selected solutions. They are the company's proprietary developments, and their creator is Mr. KONRAD RAŚ. As an experimental physicist, he developed the method on which all their company's products are based. However, these solutions are protected by the company, hence there is little specific information about them.

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| A few simple words…

KONRAD RAŚ
Owner, designer

OUR PRODUCT SEEMINGLY DIFFERS FROM OUR COMPETITORS only with its looks. It serves the same purpose as competing products. Structurally, it is a mix of our technologies known from the Monument anti-vibration platform and cables that we also produce (all emphasis - ed.). However, it differs from the competition due to several customization options. One can choose:

• chassis size,
• number of output sockets,
• orientation of the sockets (straight and rotated by 90º),
• each socket can be conditioned or not,
• type (16 / 20A) and the side where the IEC socket is placed on (contrary to appearances, an important matter),
• chassis equipment class,
• class of cabling of inlet and outlet sockets,
• additional option for the ground conditioning and its equipment class.

It should also be mentioned that the customization of the size of the chassis and its equipment allows the GRAAL to be used functionally as a Monument platform. An additional value is also the possibility of using the Graal as a mass/ground conditioner, especially in more expensive versions of equipment. Noteworthy is the possibility of configuring the power distributor, but it is also possible to migrate to the power conditioner either on selected or all outlets, so we can call it a conditioner.

Our practice shows that it is best to configure all outlets as conditioned except one in order to connect our Vacuum Infinitum power grid filter to it. Conditioning of this particular outlet makes very difficult if not impossible its effective operation. The aforementioned customizations also enable the upgrade path. In addition to the physical dimensions, it is possible to adjust the features over time in accordance with the needs and capabilities of the owner, so that the purchase of a given specification does not mean the final result.

The price of the device consists of selected options and it is the sum of the costs of the chassis version, input cable harness and its specifications, number of output cable harnesses and their specifications, number of conditioning optional modules and optional extras such as ground conditioning. If it is necessary to add more ports in one device, the cost of the chassis changes, which is individually calculated according to the needs.

The GRAAL conditioner/distributor is scaled from two to the number of ports that fit in the required size of the chassis, with the maximum of 1 x 1.5 m. The height is also determined individually. Such a large chassis can in fact become a variant of the Monument Table anti-vibration platform. Due to the large size, and especially the weight, we offer the delivery and commissioning service at the customer's site. Our customers quickly become our friends and we have a direct relationship with them, and the delivery of such a device is always an occasion to meet. KR

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▌ Graal

GRAAL IS AN AC CONDITIONER. This type of products have two tasks: to split the ower from the wall outlet into several outputs that supply an entire audio system, and also to reduce the noise in the voltage that goes to it. In the version we received for testing, the Graal has one more function: it is also an anti-vibration platform. Its shape is very similar to the MONUMENT platform from this manufacturer, which we tested some time ago (HF ⸜ No 198, test → HERE).

Apart from the two features I mentioned earlier, the products of this Polish company are characterized by scalability and a clear upgrade path. They are available in three versions: Silver, Gold and Black, and each of them can be ordered in a size adapted to a given audio system, as well as supplemented with additional sockets, output conditioning, etc. The final price depends on many factors. In turn, we will not pay anything for bringing the conditioner to the customer's home and connecting it by the manufacturer.

The Graal is equipped with six sockets, two of which are completely unconditioned and four of them are. Manufacturer selected top Furutech sockets from the Nano Crystal² Formula (NFC) series; I have exactly the same ones in my power strip and in wall sockets. The IEC socket, i.e. the one to which we connect the cable going to the "wall", was also made in the same technique (more about NFC → HERE). Next to it there is a beautiful WBT speaker socket. It is used to connect an external ground. All sockets feature rhodium-plated contacts.

The chassis is a well-made box of "armored" plywood. It has rounded edges and a polished surface. The company logo is affixed to the front on a brass, artificially aged brass plate. The chassis in the version we are testing is larger than the standard one. As I said, this version of Graal can also be used as an anti-vibration platform. In the tested unit, there were no components inside for this purpose, the device was only ready to be upgraded with them in the future.

▌ SOUND

˻ HOW WE LISTENED The GRAAL conditioner was tested in the HIGH FIDELITY reference system. It was powered by the 2.5-meter Acrolink Mexcel 7N-PC9500 AC cable. The Acrolink was connected to a Furutech NFC wall socket, with a separate power line with its own fuse behind it.

The conditioner was compared to the ACOUSTIC REVIVE RPT-4EU ABSOLUTE power strip. It was placed on the Acoustic Revive RST-38H anti-vibration platform. I connected three components from the reference system to it: the Ayon Audio CD-35 HF Edition SACD player (cable: Siltech Triple Crown), the Ayon Audio Spheris III preamplifier and the Soulution 710 power amplifier (both with Acoustic Revive Absolute Power cables).

It was an A / B and B / A listening session with A and B known. The auditioned parts of the tracks were 1 to 2 minutes long. As the system takes a while to go into standby, the comparison was not immediate - the breaks lasted around 60 seconds.

Recordings used in the test | a selection

⸜ TSUYOSHI YAMAMOTO TRIO, Misty, Three Blind Mice/First Impression Music FIM SACD 062, SACD/HDCD (1974/2004).
⸜ CHARLIE HADEN & PAT METHENY, Beyond The Missouri Sky (Short Stories), Verve Records 5371302, Compact Disc (1997).
⸜ YO-YO MA, CHRIS THILE, EDGAR MEYER, Bach Trios, Nonesuch/Warner Music Japan WPCS-13681, CD (2017).
⸜ JEFF BUCKLEY, Grace, Sony Music Japan International SRCS 2245-7, 3 x CD (1994, 2002, 2004/2009).
⸜ VANGELIS, Spiral, RCA Victor/BMG Japan BVCM-34430, SHM-CD (1978/2008).

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THE CONDITIONER TURNED OUT to be an interesting case. This is a high-class product and you can hear it straight away. It offers a refined and internally complex sound. It goes in the direction of opening the colors and a stronger contour. And at the same time it does not lower the center of gravity. So far, almost all power conditioning products, the reference ones, have produced just that - a lower and fuller presentation of the instruments.

So the Graal is different, and yet it does the things we ask for, that we often don't get. First of all, it opens the frequency band - both from above and below. The percussion cymbals from the TSUYOSHI YAMAMOTO TRIO’s Misty had a more vivid decay, they were stronger in their “presence” than with the reference strip.

And it was not a single change, because I heard similar effects both in the sound of the acoustic guitar from the CHARLIE HADEN and PAT METHENY’S Beyond The Missouri Sky (Short Stories), and with the higher harmonics of strings from Bach Trios by YO-YO MA, CHRIS THILE, EDGAR MEYER trio. Same goes for the lower end. Haden's double bass or Isoo Fukui's kick drum were presented always in similar way - the bass was stronger and better articulated.

If it was just about emphasizing the extremes of the frequency range, it would be a modification. However, it is not about changing the levels, but a better articulation. The Graal does not change timbre, and allows the sounds to be better pronounced, to resonate to the very end. If it were otherwise, the noise of the tape accompanying the recording of the Yamamoto album would have been stronger - and it was not. I would even say that it was less audible than with the Acoustic Revive strip. The latter saturates the lower midrange more strongly, which makes the volume of treble seem larger.

The Polish conditioner does not increase the volume, but the albums played with it seem "bigger". This, in turn, is due to the excellent resolution. What I said about the band extremes also comes from this. The instruments with the Graal seem clearer, bigger, more “at our fingertips”. We get it due to more information from the top and bottom of the band. Therefore, foot tapping in the title track opening the Japanese trio’s album, or audible effects of copying of the tape, all this was more synonymous than with the Japanese strip (the album was recorded in 1974, and the remaster is from 2004, so copying was inevitable).

The expressiveness in question is the result of the mass inflow of information. It is often the case that the opening of the sound comes from emphasizing the attack or simply modifying the sound spectrum. Not here. I already mentioned the noise on the Misty, but I heard exactly the same effect with JEFF BUCKLEY's vocal on Grace. It was recorded without "cleaning" of sibilants, so it can sound quite bright. The tested conditioner opened the sound of the album, showed instruments with a greater richness of timbres, primarily the leader's guitar, but also balanced the vocal. The way it was recorded was still clear, but it no longer jumped out of the mix.

The space we get with the Graal is in my opinion spectacular. It's about holography, not size. The sounds of the foreground are clear, so they can appear close to us, but they are not. Acoustic Revive builds more tangible sound sources. Thunder Melody differentiates the place from which the sound comes, builds the events behind the line connecting the speakers and into depth rather than breadth of the stage.

After switching from an inexpensive power strip, we can even get the impression that the stereo base is narrower. However, it will be an illusion resulting from the fact that cheap components blow up the sound without being able to focus it. What we take to be the "size" of the scene in them is in fact the inability to focus. Graal focuses our attention on instruments in an impressive way.

▌ Summary

AS I SAY, IT’S INTERESTING CASE, the conditioner I mean. It is a perfect example of results of noise reduction. With it we get higher resolution, better clarity and better extended band extremes. It is also extremely open to changes in the system, types of pressings, etc. It literally opens a window to what is happening in the sound.

However, while the products of this company I have tested so far seemed universal to me, the conditioner seems to influence the sound so much that it is necessary to listen to it in your own system before making a decision. The influence does not consist in coloring, because in this case there will be less coloration. It is more about the way the sound is presented as such.

It is transparent, accurate, precise and fast. On the other hand, the Acoustic Revive strip gives less distinct band edges, but also a more saturated, even highly saturated lower midrange. This one change makes the sound structure completely different. Not better or worse, just different. However, if what I wrote about the Graal goes in the direction you dreamed of for your system, it will be one of literally few top power conditioners that I can highly recommend. ■