Report published:
∙ in Polish on Dec 1st 2011, No. 92
∙ in English on Jan 3th 2012, No.92

NOn the web page of the Polish company Pro Audio Bono it is hard to find any name for the company products. I mean there are names, but those are descriptive, like: “Standard platform without veneered edges” or “Standard platform in a massive enclosure”. From a marketing point of view – a disaster, but also a problem for journalists. So to put things in some order I named them myself – “Wood” for the one made from plywood, which I tested some time ago, and “Acrylic” for the one described by the manufacturer as “Platform made from Acryl with the dimensions of a standard platform” (please look below – I put the names there).
This is a version which was introduced not so long ago, the newest product by this manufacturer. The used mechanics is identical to the one used in other products – those are two flat surfaces – the bottom one (plinth) to which pylons are mounted and the upper shelf mounted above the first one by means of a string. The tension of the string, and with that the distance between the plinth and shelf, is dependent on the weight of the unit placed on the shelf and can be adjusted by the tensioners mounted on the sides of the platform. The material for the plinth and the shelf is different – now it is Acryl. The version we received for testing it is transparent, and the pylons, feet and tensioners are varnished grey. Nice.

When I wrote to Mr. Skrzypczak about my issues with the names, he responded immediately, proposing new names. The platforms will probably be named as follows:

1) Standard plywood platform - PAB Wood AP (AP - Anti-vibration Platform).
2) Acrylic platform - PAB Acrylic AP.
3) Standard platform in a massive enclosure - PAB Reference AP.
4) Anti-vibration rack - PAB AV Table.
5) Anti-vibration foot on a ball bearing - PAB Bearing AF (Anti-vibration Foot).

When everybody would be so reasonable! I think, that those are good names and I assume that the tested platform is called PAB Acrylic AP.

To date we wrote about PAB:

• Anti-vibration platform WOOD Custom, test HERE
• Award of the Year 2010, HERE

SOUND

Recordings used for testing:

• Glen Gould, Bach: The Art Of The Fugue, Sony Music/Sony Classical, SMK 52 595, The Glen Gould Edition, SBM CD (1997).
• Jean Michel Jarre, Téo&Téa, Aero Productions/Warner Bros, 2564699766, CD+DVD (2007).
• Marilyn Moore, Moody Marilyn Moore, Bethlehem/JVC, VICJ-61467, mini LP, K2HD CD (2007).
• Nat “King” Cole, Love is the Thing, Capitol/Analogue Productions, CAPP 824 SA, SACD/CD (2010).

Japanese versions of the discs are available on CD Japan.

Pro Audio Bono ACRYLIC AP soute
Sitting down to write my observations related to the listening to my system with devices placed on the Pro Audio Bono Acrylic AP instead of the granite shelf of my Base rack, I wanted to show what are the changes in sound after placing a device on that platform, how each of the shelves modifies sound. Because each element changes sound, regardless of it is for better or for worse, this is clear for me. At the same time I know, that many music lovers negate this, completely denying any relationship between how a disc can be heard and the thing on which a device is placed. I respect this point of view, but it is for me hard not to notice, that – at least from my experience and knowledge – spreading it among others is an expression of lack of knowledge, and in more grave cases of ignorance. Lack of knowledge when somebody does not know, that there are such methods of isolating electronic devices, which influence sound; ignorance when we know, that something like this exists and we do not even try to question that and we did not conduct an appropriate experiment (because each listening session is an experiment). And there is also a last group of people saying “no” – those, who do not hear much. Those do also deserve the best possible sound, but they will have to take what I am writing for granted.
I write this text for the first two groups: I encourage warmly to make individual choices, to listen. I assure you, that either immediately, or after some time, after exercising your ears, you will hear the same what I heard in this test. And when not? Well – for those, who think this is still voodoo there is the aesthetic impression – devices placed on Pro Audio Bono platforms, including the version Acrylic AP, look much better, more serious, more “pro” than without them.

Changes brought into the sound by the Polish platform are not as prominent as for example with electronic gear or loudspeakers. On first glance. Timbre does not change by much, everything sounds almost as it did, nothing gets thrown inside out.
But the case is, that things DO CHANGE, the influence is on something more than superficial, quick observations – it influences directly the way we PERCEIVE music, how we LIVE it. I am writing in capital letters, shouting those words a little, but those are the key words of this test, its core, around which everything else is built.
The sound with the platform is richer in emotions. What does that mean? Well, we experience more what we hear, we “enter” the recording easier, something is moved inside us stronger. Why? Because the sound is more refined, richer in multiplane differentiations within a musical piece, we can simply hear more of what is on the disc.
Sound with electronics placed directly on the granite shelf seems more detailed. This is absolutely not true, but we have to reach that conclusion. It is enough to listen to a few pieces to know all about that, but the first impression is exactly like this – without the platform there are more details.
The set of characteristics, due to which music with Pro Audio Bono reaches deeper layers of our living it through. OK, I’ll say it directly: without Acrylic AP devices play music which is much more “dead” regardless of how weird it looks to grade “being dead”. The details I was talking about are an artifact, a side effect of hardening the attack, underlining those elements, which are responsible for the impression of “knocking out” the individual sounds on the stage before us. But this is only an impression – when we listen carefully, or when we just relax and listen for a longer time, and then compare to the PAB platform, we will hear, that this is only a deception, that besides this attack there is nothing there (I exaggerate of course, but this is how we feel after some days of playing), that everything is muffled. Yes – muffling and throttling of the sound is the best description of what is happening, when we remove the platform from under a device. What? We did not hear that before and everything was OK? Dears – let me address you like that – this is the learning process in audio. When we reach the top (of course our own, homemade top) and we thing that it is perfect and ideal, then it means that we are ready for something better. It means, that there is an exciting world of dazzling and discoveries. This is the way in audio, and this is how we train our ears, how we enhance our ability of listening, which is a combination of what we hear and what our brain does with that.

Anyway, the depth of sound with the Acrylic AP, shading of timbre, dynamics and increase of vividness of the sound is just incredible. The annoying – but only now, from this point of view – coloring in the form of sharpening of the attack of the sound disappears, and that was what we mistook for detail. Now we hear, that there is much more information in the sound, that there is more happening there. That the organ from Contrapunctus II J.S Bach (nr 2), played by Gould, have a more massive attack, are higher and reverberate longer; that the piano in Contrapunctus I from the same disc (nr 10) is softer, even more intimate, even more velvety. Only now we can hear well the work of the pedals, the squeaks of the chair, the falling piece of paper, etc., everything IS there.
But the most important thing is, that those elements stop being equal to music. They are something “on the side of” music, something that makes the sound richer, more believable and live. With the Acrylic AP everything seems deeper and more velvety.

Pro Audio Bono ACRYLIC AP vs Acoustic Revive RAF-48
Like I wrote many times before the Japanese platform with pneumatic suspension is for me the master, the point of reference. Of course this is only a matter of time before I find something even better (please see above), but for the time being I did not hear anything better. In my, and only my opinion of course!
The emotions, with which I tried to saturate my description of the sound with the PAB platform in opposition to devices placed directly on granite should tell you much – this is a splendid platform, which performs its task in 100%. I did not tell you yet, that I am not an advocate of Acryl in audio devices.
I base my opinion on many years of experience with Acryl used in turntables. This is probably the best environment to examine the relationships between materials and sound, because this is pure mechanics and those relationships are clear. And my experience is, that Acryl warms the sound, rounds off the attack and somewhat muffles dynamics. In exchange it gives a velvety background, peace and nice rhythm – what is something unexpected with lower dynamics. And I uphold my opinion. But I also see, that that what I wrote is valid for Acryl sauté, without combining it with other materials. Because there are two turntables, acrylic ones (or most of all acrylic), where I heard all the assets of this material, but not the shortcomings – those were the Oracle Delphy V I listened to for “Audio” and the tested quite recently Transrotor Zet1 Matt White. And the PAB platform only confirms, that Acryl treated not as an ideal material, but combined with other elements can give splendid results.
We can hear, that the Acrylic AP gives something from itself to the sound only when comparing with such a good and expensive platform as the RAF-48. Now we can hear that the PAB slightly warms the sound and withdraws the treble slightly. And that the bass is a little less differentiated with it. On the other hand with it I had slightly better vividness and breath in the sound. The differences between the platforms were not as big as one could expect. And I do not know, if they will be visible in each system to such an extent, that it would be worth resigning from the assets of the Acrylic AP.
Only the wooden platforms from PAB could be an alternative in this case. “Wood” under the devices makes the sound even deeper, but not as dynamic and not as velvety. The “black background” behind the sounds, something that is an indicator for resolution of a system, is splendid with the Acrylic AP, on the level of the RAF-48. With “wood” it is less clear. This does not mean, that automatically we should use wood only for the fireplace, and praise the Acrylic AP – no, absolutely not. Leaving aside the fact, that in plywood and MDF we have a lot of harmful substances, which will be released when heated (and I am writing from experience – those days Krakow is the most polluted Polish city, exactly due to such emissions. I can see it from my window – owners of small houses probably exchange the “wooden” PAB for the Acrylic AP…), both versions of the Pro Audio Bono platforms are rather like “right-left” than “better-worse”.

Summary
The Polish platform, which came to Krakow from Piaseczno/Mysiadło under Warsaw, is a splendidly made, nicely looking and influences the sound in a unanimously positive way. Devices placed on it look better, but also play music better than without it. Much better. Better in all meanings of that word. Even the comparison with the reference Acoustic Revive platform was not lashing for it, but only a reminder, that each choice has its consequences. And even then it does not have to be ashamed, because that comparison only shows how much good it does to the sound.
This is why with clean conscience and full responsibility I award this Pro Audio Bono platform with the RED FINGERPRINT distinction.
Previously it was awarded to:

• Floor standing loudspeakers Dynaudio Focus 260; test HERE
• USB DAC Musica Ibuki Digital; test HERE
• Audio file player software JPLAY, test HERE

Methodology
The PAB platform was tested using three devices:

• CD player Ancient Audio Lektor Air V-edition (test HERE),
• CD player Burmester 089 (test in this issue of “High Fidelity”),
• integrated, tube amplifier Leben CS-300 [Custom Version] (test HERE).

The platform was compared in an AB test, so the devices were placed on it or on a granite shelf of my rack Base SolidBase VI Custom (description HERE), and in the next step on the anti-vibration platform Acoustic Revive RAF-48 (description HERE). I chose only four disc for listening – less than usual, but the test was also different. Comparisons were made using three different lengths of listening: 30s, 2min and full piece.

DESCRIPTION

The Pro Audio Bono Acrylic AP platform is based on an idea known for a longer time, especially in construction of turntables (pleas look at SME) but it is very nicely developed here. It is about using a rigid base and mounting in its four corners pins, pipes, anything (pylons). Through their top we guide a string, line, etc and we suspend on that a second platform, hanging above the first, bigger one. There are a lot of ways on how to do that, the elements can be rigid or springy. In the PAB platforms this is a special chosen string, which tension, and distance between the two platforms, can be adjusted. We do that by winding the string using a peg like in a guitar. The pegs used here, and the pylons – in PAB those are brass tubes – are covered with a nice, grey varnish. The string moves at the top of the pylon on a brass element moving on a steel bolt. The whole thing is covered from top with a cap, closing the pipe from above. This is quite simple, the description is much more complicated than the thing itself. The height of the pylons from the bottom plate – 130mm.
From below there are four feet bolted to the plinth, which can be used to level the bottom shelf. The company offers more worked out versions, for example with a ceramic ball, so you can exchange them later. A very nicely made product.
But I did not tell you the most important thing – in the tested platform the shelves were made from transparent Acryl. Each has a thickness of 20mm. The plinth has the dimensions of 560x400mm (without the tensioners) and the top shelf 480x400mm. On the front a brass plate with the company logo was mounted on the bottom shelf, and on the sides the logo was milled. This is really a very nice and tasteful product.