Image courtesy of UIT
Unique Innovation Technology Co. (UITaudio.com) is a California company under the guidance of Mitch Ko, an extremely talented electrical engineer and designer who has always been looking to improve and advance connectivity for high-end audio. When I met him for the first time at the LA Audio Show a few years back, he showed me his new interconnects with a passive module on board that lowers the noise floor and enhances definition. Knowing his reputation, I tried his interconnect and found it equivalent overall to cables in the $4000 plus range. That it sold for $900 meter, sometimes less when he has a sale, was rather stunning. It was easily exchangeable for my Jorma Origo at $6000 meter, Kimber Select 1036 at $4500 meter, and others with no loss and sometimes a slight gain in textural cues.
The original UIT USB cable with the passive filter was stellar with a relaxed demeanor and extraordinary definition. The UIT USB became my reference USB. Now UIT has introduced an active module for their USB cable and a separate active module (Stick) that plugs into the power strip or AC conditioner, any make, for your front-end components plus amps if wired in that fashion, or a spare USB port.
UIT cables are sold directly with a 30-day money-back guarantee and are the real deal.
The wires are all the finest copper clad in silver. The module is 100% silver wire and other components. In the passive version, the module that is used in all wires works to eliminate EMI and RFI as well as ground noise without affecting the definition or frequency response.
The first thing you notice with UIT interconnects is blacker backgrounds and more of a sense of empty space between instruments. Textural cues are more noticeable and realistic. The recording gains in audiophile goodness with absolutely no negative effects. This is true for their other wires, including power cords and speaker wires. Their headphone cables are a superb replacement for all models. My Audeze LCD5 headphones improved a good 10% in definition with UIT wires.
Perfect Music Booster Series
UIT USB Cable; image courtesy of UIT
Mitch Ko realized that USB cables are designed to carry about 5 volts of electricity and this could be utilized to develop a powered version of the passive module. Previous powered versions I have used from other companies have all been failures. They were based on separating the power side of the USB cable from the digital side of the wire. UIT incorporates proprietary circuitry in the module powered by the source along with their pure silver content.
The Results
I am pleased to report after listening to three different systems, DACs, and setups, the UIT Active PMB cable has achieved the state of the art to this point in my listening experience. No, I have not tried every USB cable in the world, but I compared the active UIT with a total of 6 major brands' flagship wires, and the new UIT PMB USB revealed more definition and blacker backgrounds with no downside. It offers a solid 15-20% improvement all around to the previous passive UIT USB cable. This is not a drill. Your digital source will sound more analog with the UIT PMB USB cable.
The UIT PMB USB cable sells for $780 per meter but may be less so—check the website. I compared it to a $3500 meter USB cable, and the new UIT was much more realistic, detailed, and quieter. Depth and soundstage cues are more natural and broad. The bass is more layered and defined. Vocals are more present and in their own space. Instruments are noticeably rounded and more real. The better the system, the more revealing the speakers, and the better the UIT USB cable performs. I am telling you that UIT has developed a truly unique innovation with this active module that works like gangbusters. Go to their website for a complete explanation and graphs describing how they function.
I almost never recommend a manufacturer that is not distributed via dealers, but in this case, you must try these active USB cables from UITaudio.com. They are essential if you want the very best performance and have spent north of $20,000 on your digital front end. The price is right with lesser digital gear, too, if you want the best performance possible from any setup.
By the way, there is no special hookup needed with the active UIT PMB USB cables. They look just like the passive stuff you may be using. They are truly plug in and enjoy. Nothing special to do. Note to Mitch Ko: How about putting an "A" for active on the module since they look identical to my passive UIT USB wires and can get confusing while switching them around?
UIT Perfect Music Booster Stick (image courtesy of UIT)
Perfect Music Booster Stick with male USB A Connector
This device is fascinating. I understand it contains similar technology to the module in the active cables, but is designed to use separately in spare USB ports or with a common cellphone charging module plugged into your power strip. Though not in the actual digital circuit it purports to further improve your digital audio. This device took me longer to test in various systems, including analog-only systems, to ascertain its effects.
I have a theory. I read everything on the website and consulted an expert (Ph.D.) on electricity who listened to and examined the module. He believes the module cleans up the sine wave in the AC current when installed in the power conditioner or strip. It also cleans up the DC current when installed into a spare USB port. You may come to a different conclusion upon using it.
Regardless, I tried the Stick in various USB ports on computers and servers as well as on power conditioners.
- It improves digital performance when applied to a spare port by about 10%.
- It improves the analog AND digital performance when plugged into the primary power strip by 10-15%.
- It improves the performance of the UIT PMB USB cable, gaining 10% additional definition and reducing noise in the system's performance.
- There was NO negative effect on the frequency response or definition of the system, even if the system was analog only.
I love to try tweaks that supposedly improve system performance. I recall testing the Tice Clock, and many, many tweaks since. Often these plug-in devices help the midrange a bit but harm the upper frequencies or muddy the bass. Some are fun in my system but make reviewing very difficult. At present, I use none of them—until now.
Even plugged into a super high-end reference system designed around phono, owned by a major distributor, the UIT PMB Stick improved its phono performance. This system has a dedicated 20-amp line, cryo'ed wire in the walls, and a sophisticated AC conditioner. Plugged into the conditioner in an AC receptacle, the audiophiles present heard quieter backgrounds, more depth, greater textural detail, and slightly more layered bass. We also heard a bigger soundstage and more space between instruments. When the UIT PMB Stick was pulled from the system, the benefits vanished instantly.
In my primary reference system, after hearing the benefits of the UIT PMB USB cable in the digital front end, I tested the UIT Stick in the Stein Power Conditioner. I heard further improvements in streaming, with the further smoothing of the musical definition, even lower grain, more analog-like sound, and lower noise. I was stunned by the added digital improvement.
Then came the big test using three cartridges, including the London Reference MI, the Grado Epoch III MM, and the Stein Aventurin V6 Mk2 MC on Helius and EAT tonearms. Both the Zesto Andros Deluxe II phono preamp and EAR 88PB phono were employed. I used my favorite reference LPs at 33 and 45 RPM. I assembled two groups of audiophiles, no more than three at a time, to analyze changes.
The UIT PMB Stick, in the power conditioner, works to improve analog (and digital). My listening room is big, 20 x 40, with a 25-foot sloped ceiling. All three cartridges improved in similar ways. The system was quieter, with backgrounds on my best recordings often becoming invisible...beyond black. Soundstage retrieval expanded in all parameters. Instruments were in more of their own space with less blending of groups. Vocals were clearer and more defined in space. The sense of depth was extraordinary giving you a truer hall sound than I have ever heard with these cartridges with more definition overall. As J. Gordon Holt said, "In the absence of visual cues, auditory cues have to be that much better."
The UIT PMB Stick does quite a cleanup job on a great system. At $499, sometimes reduced on the site, it does a superb job of about ten times its price in musical currency. I liked it in the digital position, but found it to be extraordinary in the AC line. Even if you are a phono-only aficionado, you will love the effect of the UIT PMB Stick in your system. UIT and Mitch Ko may have just discovered the magic bullet for audiophiles. Whenever I go to the home of an audiophile to hear their system, I am going to bring a UIT Stick.
Summary
The Unique Innovation Technology UIT Perfect Music Booster USB Cable and Stick are extraordinary. The new UIT PMB USB Cable is the best I know of on the market today. The Stick is an effective enhancement to clean AC power and enhance both analog and digital musical definition of a high-end system. My highest recommendation...get them both before the price doubles.
Unique Innovation Technology Co. (UIT) Perfect Music Booster (PMB) Series
Retail price: PMB USB cable $780 one meter, PMB Stick $499
Mitch Ko, Unique Innovation Technology
925.292.1299
