Audio Replas is another, heretofore, completely unknown to me company from Japan. Perhaps because its English version website was created quite recently. In Audio Replas offer we generally find products similar to Acoustic Revive, i.e. cables, accessories for shaping room acoustics, network cables and beautiful power strips, and anti-vibration accessories. It is the latter that are the core of the company offer for they are most numerous; this is also what Audio Replas sent me. I also received for review the SFC-4P (Ivory) costing 1,400 euro for the pack of 4. These are sound accessories to be placed in the room corners, to adjust its acoustics. But since I did not have time to review them properly, I left it for some other time (besides, my listening room is irregularly shaped, without four, symmetrically spaced corners…).
The core of Audio Replas offer, however, are anti-vibration accessories. The company developed their own techniques and materials. These are not homemade methods, because their effect on signal is carefully measured in the company laboratory and then commented.

For testing, in addition to SFC-4P, I received the following four products:

• OPT-1 HR/8P: quartz insulators under loudspeakers, diameter 20 × 20 mm;
• OPT-30HG-SC HR/3P: quartz spikes for a CD player or pre-amplifier,
• OPT-30HG-PL HR/3P: quartz spike-receptacles for the above,
• CNS-7000SZ: cable noise stabilizer, anti-vibration and noise canceling .
  

Apart from slightly different materials used, Audio Replas products also differ from those from other companies in using a long and rather complicated process, collectively called the “Ultra SZ physical treatment.” Among others, the components undergo cryogenic treatment (heat). The whole process has been patented by the company.

SOUND

It so happens that the style of work, its organization, creates a certain type of action. We may not expect it, but after a while our actions follow subliminal rhythm and become a kind of “filter” through which our work “passes”. It is no different with audio reviewers, and so with me. In my case, the key factor is time – I need to have everything carefully planned, arranged, agreed. What’s more, I do not have much time for finding differences. For years, I have been working in a sort of “time-trouble”, and this in turn implies the need to reach conclusions within the course of days or even hours, rather than months. And now, if I cannot hear any changes immediately, if they are so small that I need to overstretch to identify them, and if returning to the reference system does not significantly affect the sound, then I leave the case, assuming that there is nothing to talk about. If the product is to bring something new, if it is to be interesting, I need to hear it sooner rather than later. It is especially important with anti-vibration accessories for many of them give a subtle effect, intensified by the accumulation of small changes.

OPT-30HG-SC HR/3P+OPT-30HG-PL HR/3P
OPT-30HG-SC HR/3P+OPT-30HG-PL HR/3P quartz spikes and spacers are different – here the change is measurable and immediate. Yes, I anticipated that it would be good, that the Japanese know their stuff; that their measurements actually translate into sound. But still I was not prepared for the scale of these changes.

I tested the spikes in two stages – first I put them under the SPEC RSA-V1 amplifier. This is a heavy device with an integrated shock absorbing wooden frame and with three wooden legs. During the test review it was standing on the wooden shelf of the Base IV Custom Version rack. In the second part the spikes were placed under the Ayon Audio Polaris III preamp, standing on the Acoustic Revive RHB-20 platform (made of hickory wood), so on their top was a heavy aluminum enclosure, with wood underneath. The result of both auditions was similar, although I was more impressed the first time, with the SPEC amplifier.
Obviously, it was there for a reason – I’d tested it before, with the review intended for the same “Made in Japan” issue of “High Fidelity”, together which Replas audio accessories. The review proved that it’s a unique amp, as if made to work with my Harbeths M40.1. Its sound is deep, extremely saturated, and resembles, in accordance with the declarations of its designer, Mr. Koichi Yazaki, a good 300B SE tube. With better bass and greater dynamics. Knowing how well it sounds on its own, I had no idea that it can be pushed even further, that it can sound better still in these exact areas.
Placing the amp on the Audio Replas spikes and spacers results in that the sound without them seems thinned-out, as if “long-necked”, to appeal to enology (or olfactology). And it is in this order – not that the sound WITH THEM is such and such, but that the sound WITHOUT THEM is such and such.

As I say, removing them from underneath the SPEC amp makes the sound seem thinner. Although earlier it wasn’t lacking anything. It struck me right with the first album I used for auditioning, the special anniversary release of Michael Jackson’s Thriller. Far from being perfect, a typical pop production, very much a document of its time, but it is superbly mastered and produced, and thus very attractive to me. And it has the all-time hits.
In any case, its sonic problem lies in inconsistent presentation of bass and drums, both excellent on the remastered version, and vocals – shown far away, tonally and dynamically shallow. It’s possible to listen to it, even with pleasure, but first you need to do some work to “absorb” its character.

Audio Replas spacers nicely combined these two worlds. And that's how! They added weight, not in the form of more bass, but by deepening of the sonic shapes, by better showing the depth of the elements on stage. Bass seemed to be meatier, but at the same time – which was particularly surprising – the lower midrange was not so pronounced as before. If you read my SPEC review, you will see that it drew my attention. With the Audio Replas underneath the sound took on some body, but at the same time the midrange coloring disappeared. I know it’s not very rational, but apparently the lower midrange was a more “paper-like” before.
Now the sound was more natural. It was the same with Sarah K.’s vocals and Breakout Blues album. In both cases music was more interesting, more engaging, better appealing to the deeper spectator in me. It was simply more natural.

The treble was also better. Though in this case the changes only complemented what was happening in the midrange and bass. The high end was sweeter, deeper and more real. It seemed there was less of it, but that was probably not the case; it simply did not draw attention – be it with Jackson’s Thriller or Wes Montgomery’s albums. Cymbals are quite dry on the former, and sometimes they can sound too “hot.” Now it was much better, as if they eventually “clicked” in the mix. Wes’s albums do not abound with treble; these are old recordings but here it also seemed that there was more of everything, that I had a more “normal” insight into the recording.

CNS-7000SZ
As I read in the company materials, CNS-7000SZ is a “Cable-Noise Stabilizer”. It handles the high frequency noise reduction at each point of the cable - be that a speaker or power cable, or an interconnect (also digital). The “stabilizer” only eliminates, turning it into heat, EMI / RFI noise induced in the cable, without affecting the signal itself. It is not an electric filter, and therefore does not affect signal phase. The maximum diameter of the cable or a bundle of cables that can be fitted in it is 20 x 20 mm. There is also a larger version, CNS-9000SZ.
While in the case of the Audio Replas spikes the change was obvious and immediate, you need to listen carefully to the sound of the system with the CNS-7000SZ, to understand what really changes. For there are changes in the sound layering, not on its surface. The “stabilizer” improves transient response, at least subjectively. It seems that everything is fresher, cleaner. Placing the CNS-7000SZ onto an interconnect resulted in that the sound somewhat calmed down and drifted away. In turn, on the power cable everything was somewhat “pushed” forward, as if “overclocked”. I am convinced that this component’s influence will depend on the particular sound system, far more than the other accessories.
However, each time I heard the same thing – a cleaner, fuller sound. The changes were not extensive, an order of magnitude smaller than with the spikes, but decent, nicely finishing off system sonics. In my system the CNS-7000SZ stayed on the power cable.

OPT-1 HR/8P
It was the heaviest part of the review for me – literally and figuratively. Each comparison required lifting the speakers and changing the spacers – from the wooden ones, on which my Harbeths M40.1 stand at the moment, to the quartz Audio Replas. The matter was also “heavy” because I have been long struggling with the Acoustic Revive Custom Series Loudspeaker Stands and an earlier configuration, with flat, wide quartz RIQ AR-5010 under the speakers did not really prove satisfactory.
Replacing wooden spacers sitting between the speakers and the top aluminum plate of the Acoustic Revive stands for the OPT-1 HR/8P resulted in several positives, but even more negatives, which sent me back to the original setup, invented by Mr. Ken Ishiguro, the owner of Acoustic Revive. Bass was deeper and better controlled; the whole opened up and seemed to have better resolution. That was good. But at the same time something sucked out the energy around the range of several hundred Hz, which determines the “credibility” of sound and which for the speaker of the type of Harbeth is its to be or not to be; it is due to their animal-like energy in this range that these speakers can seduce almost anyone.
Looking at the structures in front of me, because you cannot call the Acoustic Revive Custom Series Loudspeaker Stands, supplemented by me with other components, anything else, I could not come to terms with what I heard. I could not believe that Mr. Ishiguro had simply made a mistake. Once again, I went back to AR information materials, to my reviews of other AR accessories, as well as to Audio Replas brochures. I began to examine the matter over again.
First, I went back to the original stands setup, with the RIQ-5010 quartzes just below the speakers, and the RST-38H Custom platforms under the stands, and the feet themselves. I confirmed what I’d heard earlier, in the beginning: something was wrong. However, since swapping quartz spacers between the speakers and the stands for wooden ones had helped before, I did it again. The sound improved and became more saturated, but still it was not what I expected. And then a little ball bounced on my head, as on Ingenious Dobromir’s (you must remember this cartoon: directed by Roman Huszczo, screenplay by Adam Slodowy, Roman Huszczo, 1973-1975). It turned out that my refreshing of both companies assumptions served its purpose. Their idea for vibration reduction reminds that proposed by the British Vertexaq. It is simply a mechanical system, which to work, must be executed from start to finish. The main concept is a controlled transfer of vibrations from the decoupled component to the very bottom, where the vibrations are converted into heat. In the AR stands this role is fulfilled by specially designed amorphous quartz in a wooden box, with a “floating” wooden plate on top of it.
As it turns out, there should be no interface between the stands and the Harbeths, or it should be wood. Hence the wooden blocks. But then everything should be just like Mr. Ishiguro designed. Yet something was still “not quite right”. My suspicion fell on little brass feet screwed to the bottom of the stands, with piezoelectric components, manufactured by fo.Q. I swapped them for the OPT-1 HR/8P. And I flew away.
I’m not claiming that it cannot be better, but my experience tells me I will not change anything any time soon. There is fullness, there is energy, there is weight. And the resolution is fantastic. Amen.

DESIGN

OPT-30HG-SC HR/3P+OPT-30HG-PL HR/3P
According to Audio Replas, OPT-30HG-SC are the world’s first spikes made entirely from one piece of quartz. There are also special matching OPT-30HG-PL quartz spacers. They belong to a series of accessories from this manufacturer, called “High-Response Super High Purity Quartz Crystal” (HR Quartz). The spikes and spacers have a diameter of 30 mm and their height is 18 mm and 10 mm respectively. They can be packed in threes or fours. There is also a version of the spikes with a threaded pin – they can be screwed into the enclosure.

CNS-7000SZ
CNS-7000SZ is a “Cable-Noise Stabilizer”. It is used to reduce high frequency noise in various types of cables: speaker and power cables, and interconnects (including digital). The “stabilizer” only eliminates EMI / RFI noise induced in the cable, turning it into heat, without affecting the signal itself.
CNS-7000SZ is a cuboid, with metal top and bottom, and a core of some kind of polymer. It looks like a “rail” into which you insert the cable and lock the upper metal part. The “rail” is hollow in the center and is filled with some kind of powder, a polymer, reducing noise.
The maximum diameter of a cable or a bunch of cables that can be inserted is 20 x 20 mm. There is also a larger version, CNS-9000SZ. All components of this “stabilizer” are cryogenically treated. Metal plates are made of high quality, “aerial” aluminum alloy. CNS-7000SZ has dimensions of 150 x 55 x 50 mm. It went on sale in January 2006. However, it is still one of the core Audio Replas products.

OPT-1 HR/8P
OPT-1 HR/8P are quartz cylinders with a brand name “High-Response Super High Purity Quartz Crystal” (HR Quartz). They are intended to be placed under the speakers. They have a diameter of 20 mm and height 20 mm. They are sold in eights.