I was passionate about music in my youth. I lived for Rock & Roll. I had a good voice and, like many young men in that era, I started learning guitar and piano. When it was time for me to head off to college I had some choices to make. Earn my living on music or pick something safer. Many of the musicians I knew needed a day job to make ends meet while they spent their evenings performing. I worried that I didn't have enough ego to put myself out there every night. I had talent but I was shy. I felt exposed. The life of a musician is not for everyone.
Ultimately, I chose Electrical Engineering as my career path reasoning that if I had to work, I might as well choose a field that would get me a good job. Although I continued to dabble in music, I never did go pro. My passion for music remained and I leveraged my EE knowledge to inform my budding Audiophilia.
When I was given an opportunity to write about our hobby I stepped up. That's my reviewer's origin story. We'll skip the part about the radioactive spider bite.
Today I want to tell you about Coherence Systems out of Santa Monica, CA and its proprietor Bill Stierhout. Bill's impressive career beginning in the late 70s is well documented on the Coherence Systems website HERE. The ADD Powr series consists of some fourteen products. ADD = Algorithm Digital Defined and is said to address the quality of electrical environments by adding harmonic resonance to audio and video signals through the AC power line, and the power supplies of system components, and is based upon principles of Fourier series, resonance, and electromagnetic field theory. All of this is also explained at length on the website.
Apprentice
The Sorcer Apprentice is a parallel line conditioner. It is connected to the same outlet as the audio components, weighs 22 pounds and measures 17" x 11" x 3". The only features on the back of the unit are an IEC power connection, and a power switch. Unlike most power conditioners, audio equipment is not plugged into it. Rather it changes the quality of the AC line without employing filters, isolation transformers, AC line regeneration, or balanced power as is the case with many other products. The AC line is re-referenced or pulsed with low frequency harmonics to increase the signal to noise ratio. In operation, green LEDs can be seen through the top, flashing furiously when the unit is operation.
I utilize five dedicated circuits in my system configuration. Four of these are behind the speakers and power amplifiers and electronic crossovers. The fifth dedicated circuit is used for all front end components and sources, and is where I connected the Apprentice. I placed the Apprentice on my Lovan equipment rack and connected power to it via a Soundstring Gen II power cable. To put the unit in operation all that is required is a flip of the power switch.
There are many products that attempt to improve the listening experience by reducing noise on the power line. Ideally, this will manifest as improvement in clarity, bass extension, detail, and scale. Reducing the noise will unmask low level information partially obscured by the presence of this noise allowing the listener a more direct connection to the performance.
Listening
Before engaging Apprentice I warmed up the system and my ears for about half an hour. I don't recall the selection except that it was a CD ripped to my digital library. About half way through a song I switched on Apprentice. It took a moment for me to lock in on the sound. There was more weight and authority to the midrange and bass had more resonance. The soundstage also benefited making it easier to place instruments. And so it went as I played album after album. The effect of Apprentice seemed to vary somewhat with program material. At times I wasn't sure I was hearing a difference. At other times I could hear more snap and rhythmic flow. One selection I chose was an early greatest hits CD transfer ripped to my library. There was no helping this album. Likely, the recording quality was so poor that there was no low level detail to unmask by removing additional noise.
This seems like a good time to point out an important aspect. Under no circumstances did I hear Apprentice degrade the sound. I have auditioned noise reduction products that I felt threw some of the baby out with the bath water. Absolutely nothing ever sounded worse with Apprentice, and I attribute this at least in part to the parallel nature of the device. At its best it offered subtle but tangible benefits. Usually, I adjust the volume level of a selection to accommodate different types of music and recording levels. In one case I played a Cecile McLorin Salvant album ripped from CD but was lazy and didn't adjust level. As I sat down to listen, the combined effect of a little too much volume and the presence of digital glare in the top end put the music a bit too much in my face. Engaging Apprentice took some of the bite out of the recording without losing musical engagement. Many newer CD level recordings avoid or reduce the digital glare. Since the early 80s, digital equipment and recording techniques have definitely improved. If, however, like me, you have a large number of 16-bit/44.1kHz recordings in your library, you will appreciate this effect. Apprentice allowed many older recordings to sound more nuanced.
According to the literature, the optimal place to connect Apprentice is the same circuit where your equipment is connected. I suspect that users with an integrated amp and sources all connected to the same circuit with Apprentice will see more benefit from the device than I achieved. Because of the distributed nature of my system, I would likely need three of the units to fully cover everything.
The effect of Apprentice was subtle, but in a high resolution system, subtleties can be important. I urge you not to rely on this review to make a buying decision. If this device interests you, please seek out a demonstration, preferably in your own system. Only you can decide if the improvements are worth the money.
Vivid
Vivid is a video product, but upon reading a description on the Coherence Systems website, I found myself curious about its potential. However, with apologies to Bill Stierhout, I will limit my comments about Vivid for two reasons. First, this is an audiophile magazine. Second, I am no videophile and don't' feel fully qualified to evaluate its performance.
Vivid is housed in a PVC plastic tube 2.875" x 6", and includes a wallwart power supply. Unlike Apprentice, Vivid is a pass through signal conditioner. It is available in coax or HDMI configuration and generates a harmonic electric field focused on the video signal. It promises increased clarity and color saturation, greater contrast, and more lifelike 3-dimensional images. Setup is straightforward.
Of the promised benefits, color saturation seemed the most significant. Colors appeared more solid, making images more lifelike. Also, the color temperature seemed to have shifted warmer. There was some reduction in high frequency noise. Make sure and get a demo if you can.
Vivid
Retail: $400
Sorcer
Retail: $2249.95
ADD Power
