P.S. Audio Quintet? Worthwhile?

Isochronism: I'm hoping for the happy ending - budget is about gone for stereo...by the way, I ended up with 5 Benno CD Towers in blue - you and I had done some research on the Italian designed cd storage options - and found them to be extremely expensive. The Bennos look great and I had some fun putting them together, the five store 1080 cd's, we figure we have space for about 300 left, so we had more cd's than we thought... hopefully you can do a screen from Vismara one day. Interestingly, that whole thread has been erased from the 'gon.

HIFICRITIC found that the Duet was not as good sounding as the Quintet, although they had expected no difference.

Mrtennis wrote that the Duets enhance resolution by placing a bit more emphasis on the treble. This is what I heard from the Quintet too - and it drove me crazy. I thought it over-emphasized treble - making it somewhat etched sounding - while also de-emphasizing the midrange. I think some might consider it an improvement as it gives the impression of greater resolution. It did not last more than a few minutes in my main system because I thought it screwed the treble up too badly. I connected it to my home theater system to see if it would be more to my liking there and attempted to watch TV. Boy was that a painful experience. Voices sounded very grating. I got halfway through watching a football game before ripping it out.

I think it would be better to go with something that does less harm. Like maybe a Cryoparts or B-P-T power strip.

Good to know it's not only me - I found that the Duet boosted the treble as well. I'm demoing one now and, while I like what it does in other respects, I'm not sure I can live with the elevated high frequencies. On some CD's its nice - makes instruments sound more "alive" - but on others it makes the CD unlistenable!

Can others comment as to whether the Shunyata Hydra 2 is a better option if elevated high frequencies is my issue with the Duet?

My Duet did not make much of positive difference until I plugged it using JPS Labs Power AC+. I was using a Signal Cable earlier and I'm sure you just need a bigger cable to back it, no need for an AC+! As a result, it made mids sound bigger, gave depth the stage and somehow made the stage more solid. So, I feel invest in better cords before going the PLC route.