roducts for the power conditioning have their position in the audio world firmly established. Of course, not only here, they are equally important wherever the quality of power supply is particularly important, so in medical applications, military and in laboratories. At the same time nowhere else is their use called into question with such an astonishing regularity and ferocity as in our audio world. It is strange, considering the fact that at the speaker terminals one gets exactly the same current as from the electrical socket, only modulated with a signal from a sound source. Apparently, those who in other applications do not question the need for purification of the supply voltage of noise and other interference, find it hard to believe that a better power means also a better sound.

The argument usually goes like this: since there is a transformer in an audio device - a natural low-pass filter – since there are capacitors and advanced voltage regulators, it should not matter what voltage the device will receive from power grid, as long a it matches nominal values, which in Poland is 230 V and frequency of 50 Hz. Fortunately, most of you, I think, has already experienced usage of power strip, cable or conditioner, and I do not have to convince you that these elements change the sound significantly. Often for the better.

But rarely it happens that a manufacturer points to specific changes/improvements his solution introduces; an Italian company, Cammino, however is one of the few. As one reads on their webpage, the conditioners with the poetic name of Power Harmonizers (models H3.1, MA-5, MA-1), "improve the quality of power" and "dramatically reduce harmonic distortion." "They improve the phasing of current and voltage, filter out high frequency noise (RF)" and "increase the reliability of the equipment without disturbing the natural wealth of harmonics and dynamics in music."

Power Harmonizer H3.1

Power Harmonizer H3.1 is the top of the line product of this company. It has already been introduced to the range some years ago but it is in production and still the flagship model. It's a classic passive conditioner with filtering elements, featuring four power outlets. The tested version, 3.1, one with a maximum capacity of 450 W, is intended for a digital source, and three other for analog devices - which in turn may deliver up to 1750 W (in total). The company, however, offers two other configurations, differing in the number of "digital" and "analog" outlets: 2.2 and 1.3.

It would be difficult to include this device into "accessories" category considering its medium-sized housing, comparable to the dimensions of the Leben CS300 amplifier. Such particular comparison was encouraged also by a nice wooden cabinet. Company materials say that it is "tuned" using a material with added minerals for coating. The front is made of aluminum with blue LED entered in the company's logo - a dot over the 'i'. On the back there are four high quality outlets – these are Furutech FI-E30 (R) with rhodium plated contacts.

A red dot indicates "hot" line - it is very important so that the entire audio system is connected with the right polarity. Also H3.1 should be so connected - check the correct phase by pressing a button on the rear panel - if the green light is on, everything is fine; if not, turn the Schuko plug in a power outlet. Also other brands take particular care of correct polarity, including Audionet (on the display you get an information on the correct polarity) and Ayon Audio (with the inappropriate connection a red light on the rear panel lights up). Also from Furutech and also rhodium-plated is the IEC socket. Next to it there is a mechanical power switch with silver contacts. Also fuse's contacts are made of silver.

On the back one finds two more switches, labeled "PE". They are used to disconnect the ground (the protective conductor) of the "analog" outlets in various configurations (input and output ground). Typically, this type of switches are used where there is a ground loop, resulting in the so-called hum, or buzz audible in the speakers. Cammino approaches this differently, pointing to changes in the sound that these switches introduce:

The PE switches open or close the acoustic scene similarly as when in a concert hall you seat at the back or at the front rows, whereas the DIGITAL and ANALOG outlets are used to modify the timbre balance of the system thanks to their particular conduct. The correct combination of these settings allows you to optimize the interaction between the system and the listening environment, often getting greater advantages than changing one of the Hi-Fi system components with a more expensive one. The fine tuning with the right choice of outlets and PE switches should be performed after the essential optimization of the loudspeaker position and subsequently slightly adjusted, if needed.

source www.cammino-hp.com

The device features three feet, de-coupling it from the surface it is placed on. It is a rigid de-coupling by means of metal ball. The device "floats" on them, so one has to be careful with power cables – these should not be too heavy, otherwise they might entail the device impairing its decoupling from the ground. The "digital" and "analog" outlets are filtered out slightly differently - the latter starting from 1 kHz and @ 100 kHz attenuation of -40 dB is achieved, the latter are filtered from 4.5 kHz and the same value of -42 dB is achieve already @ 60 kHz. Both suppress interference up to 30 MHz. The conditioner measures 290 x 145 x 215 mm and weighs 5.2 kg. What one can not read in technical description or parameters is the fact that it looks very elegant. Well, tis should come as no surprise considering it comes from Italy, right?

If you thought it was funny that I placed the reviewed power strips and conditioners on platforms, think again, or even better – perform such a test yourself - assuming that the system is properly set up nothing will be the same ever again (see HERE, HERE, and HERE). So one should provide Harmony with some quality platform too. During this test the Cammino conditioner was placed on the top shelf of Finite Elemente Pagode Edition.

The comparison was based on listening to two-minute pieces of music and switching a power cable between Acoustic Revive RTP-4eu Reference power distributor and the conditioner. The conditioner was first plugged into the same distributor, so that I could assess how it changes the sound that I can hear in my system every day, and then to the wall socket, the same as the distributor.

I listened in this way to two CD Players - Ancient Audio Lektor AIR V-edition and Audionet ART G3. In both cases, the power cable was the same - Acoustic Revive Power Reference Triple-C, equipped with the latest, rhodium plated Furutech FI-50 NCF plugs. The conditioner was powered with a two-meter Harmonix X-DC350M2R Improved-Version power chord.

One thing I learned a long time ago: products related to powering audio products affect the sound in different ways and the effects of their use are dependent on the quality of home electric grid, from how it is connected to an external power line and finally on how the components of the system are made and interconnected. Finding a proper solution for particular system is a game of trial and error.

And yet ... When testing over the years different, very different filters, strips, cables and conditioners in my system, listening to them later also in the systems of my friends, I have developed sort of general idea of how the particular product affects the performance not only of my, reference system, but how should it behave in most of our Readers' systems. It's still just an approximation, a preliminary analysis, which must be confirmed independently, but - I think – it's valuable in that it directs the subsequent attempts, freeing you from having to start from the scratch for yourself.

So I can say with a high probability that the Cammino Harmonizer will introduce order to your system and it will open the sound. I give you these qualities together, as in this case they do come together. Introducing order means better definition of the sounds, and of music sounding nicer. Both range extremes benefit from that particularly - the treble is more vibrant, vivid, more sophisticated, less "hard", and the bass is more tuneful and is better differentiated. This results in a more meaty and richer presentation, as if someone had released the "brake" prohibiting color saturation before.

I did not notice any major changes in the dynamics, and if there were any I considered them positive. I mean, that the differences between quieter and louder passages, both on Coleman's jazz recording, as well as on the Dire Straits album, were bigger. To the extent that made me pump the volume up while listening, because sound seemed too quiet. But only until something louder happened as then I could clearly hear that what I took for lower sound level actually was a better differentiation of dynamics.

Also the soundstage is differentiated in a better way - I mean first of the depth of the stage was amazing. Whatever was placed far away from me now seemed set even further, and the foreground is also moved a bit further away from the listener. It affects vocals most. With Cammino they are presented further away, deeper, are not that palpable as without this conditioner. The bigger distance between them and listener is a result of a more open perspective. When you listen to the music for some time in this way and get used to this new perspective, we shall realize that it is much more natural presentation and that before the sound was given in a more direct, more into-the-face way. As I wrote once, I'm a fan of up-close presentation, but in this particular case presenting vocal from a bigger distance but in a better acoustic environment, in a better interaction with other instruments - that I liked more.

I spent a lot of time trying to answer the question, whether the sound with Harmony was darker or lighter than without it. It seemed to me that it was a simple question, because with most other conditioners I had an answer after a few minutes of listening. But Cammino's influence on tonality, timbre is much more subtle, which does not translate into simple zero/one or black/white choices. Anyway, it seems to me that with this conditioner sound was slightly darker. The impression was based mainly on a better expression of the sound's attack and did not have much to do with the level of treble, but rather its presentation. Harmony offered a richer version of the presentation, and therefore less "unambiguous", and thus not as obtrusive/aggressive.

Options

Harmonizer's manufacturer says in the manual about the differences in sound that occur between the sockets designed for digital and analog devices, as well as the changes in sound caused by the switches disconnecting ground. I can confirm that – these changes are repeatable and easily described. The impact of these changes is lesser than of the conditioner itself, but it allows you to fit the sound to your preferences.

It seems that the digital socket is more aggressively filtered than analog one. The sound of the CD Player was brighter, clearer and more detailed when used with it. With an analog outlet the same tracks played with the same player had a warmer color, were denser/richer and slightly more closed. I did not notice any changes in the dynamics or range extension in the lower region. Perhaps only that with the analog socket bass was a bit softer and sounded more "physiologically", i.e. pleasantly and with the digital one it was better focused instead, and had higher energy.

The PE switches actually affect how we perceive the spatial relationships between the instruments. The biggest difference, though on an absolute scale not that big, one can hear between the position with both switches "On" or the two set to "Off". In this latter case, the sound of my system was wider and less focused, instead; I could hear more of the reverbs and room's acoustics. When in "On" position sound was more substantial, and the foreground was presented in a more distinct, precise way.

Summary

Needless to say, that the differences between the components plugged directly to the Acoustic Revive RTP-4EU Reference power strip and the conditioner, which was plugged into the same strip were clear, but not conclusive. The very fact that in general these could be identified and that the music with conditioner sounded better proves that the solutions adopted by the people of the Cammino are meaningful, and that their device really works. The device plugged directly into the wall socket and compared with the strip showed much greater differences – the same in character as before, but their assessment was more ambiguous.

And finally - a comparison between the Harmonizer and the wall socket. Here there is nothing to talk about - all the advantages were stronger, deeper, almost phenomenal. Again, they were the same as before, only intensified. It's a very nice-looking component, which makes you want to hear more music and more often. It "embellishes" sound by extracting it from the gray introduced to the music by components plugged directly into the wall outlet. Everything is clearer, more vibrant, as well as much more nuanced.

An added bonus is an option of choosing the outlet and the way in which it will be connected to the system's ground (cable protection). In my reference system I liked most the combination of the analog socket with switches in "On" position.