I've owned HEK V2, and auditioned HD800s and HD800, and currently own HEKse and Elites. Never heard the HEK V1. IMO the Elites have a smaller soundstage than either HD800 or HEK, particularly in width. But Elites still have a very good soundstage, competing well on image focus/placement and...

To avoid confusion with terminology, "sluggo" specifically refers to the slugs provided by SDFB. And "slug"is the generic term for any slug bought anywhere else.

Yes, that is mostly correct. But note that each cut wastes some of the rod, so you might only get, say, 9 pieces in practice. Better to not worry about the starting length and just message them the number of pieces that you need. So just say: I need 10 pieces of 5mm dia. by 20mm length, and let...

Thank you for the Ali Express link. I can now see it. [Edit: they also have rhodium-plated sliver, which may tempt me] The UK Ebay link for the titanium rod is here. If you're ordering from outside the UK, I guess that shipping will no longer be free, and may not even be available. I clicked...

Did you see my series of posts a couple of pages back? Which included copper and titanium slugs, and the practicalities of obtaining a titanium slug. Based on some comments at Audiogon, I would expect titanium to perform in the same ballpark as silver, with maybe different characteristics...

Yes, gold-plating is an excellent way to ensure the underlying metal permanently stays conductive. But in the hifi world, the actual SQ benefits of this are not so clear cut... It's been often reported that gold-plated copper results in a warmer sound, and rhodium-plated copper gives a more...

Silver and copper start slowly oxidizing from the second they are exposed to air. It may take a few weeks/months before you could visibly tell the difference. Unlike copper oxide, silver oxide is still conductive, but less so than pure silver - I'm not aware of any comparison test to show...

I've got a degree in electrical/electronic engineering, which proves very little, but does suggest that I'm probably not completely clueless on this topic. In the context of a typical hifi system, a fuse (especially the slow-blow type) is a compromise that increases the chance of providing...

SDFB just provides the protection that is lost by the slug. I only ever came across one post that specifically compared a lone sluggo vs sloggo+SDFB, and he stated that SDFB did introduce a very slight drop in SQ, but the poster was happy to take that very slight hit in order to be safer. I...

An excellent write-up. Now, to complete the picture, could you say a few words about how the 3 amps compared? Both in outright SQ and whether HM1's unique sound-changing features (soundbase/tone controls/servo) were able to change its ranking?

My understanding is that the SE versions can only be ordered from audioconsultants in Surrey, UK, as this was the dealer that persuaded Puritan to add the Furutech plugs and sockets. You can demo any combination of stock and SE Puritan products (and rival power cords) at the dealer's location...

Actually, DAVE goes up to +19dB, so seems like plenty of headroom, but I'm not sure if SQ is impacted at these higher levels. A further option, should DAVE not quite match a great external amp, is do the Reactcore caps mod to give DAVE more oomph, particularly to bring out any deep bass. As...

That's an interesting result for DAVE owners. So was DAVE directly driving Immanis without even an interface transformer? Which cable was used for this? Would you say this was a viable long-term combination? Assuming low to moderate volume levels.

Will be interesting to see how you get on with that comparison. On the likes of UK eBay, it's much easier to find Sterling (925) Silver rods than high purity (9999) silver rods. Sterling silver is much cheaper and less conductive (a bit below copper). But as my tests show, simple conductivity...

Round 3 - Practicalities and final comments Titanium is a very tough, non-corrosive metal, whose characteristics vary with the amount of other metals/materials alloyed with it. The Audiogon and PSAudio posts weren't very specific about the different grades, but I will be. Several grades are...

Round 2: SR Purple fuse vs solid titanium slug. I wasn't sure what to expect. Titanium is way down the conductivity table compared to copper, and worse than "low grade" metals like tin or nickel. So what could it possibly bring to the table? But it's still a conductor, and absolute resistance...

Round 1. SR Purple fuse vs solid copper rod (aka slug): Swapped between SR Purple fuse and copper slug - in the wall plug of the MU1 mains cable, and in the wall plug of the Puritan Classic+ cable. The end result was the same: SR Purple beat the copper slug, being incrementally better...

"The best fuse is no-fuse!" This is often confidently stated as fact. But is it necessarily so? Why would anyone spend $5k on a QSA Silver fuse… if the only thing it achieved was to be invisible? Can an audiophile fuse sound better than a direct connection? If yes, then the fuse must be...

How does HM1's sound stage knob affect the Immanis, particularly wrt image solidity and focus? In both directions (increasing and decreasing the sound stage size).

Will the new models be at London CanJam in July? Raal is currently not in the list of exhibitors, although "more to follow".

Thank you for trying out all these options. I get easily confused when presented with too many variables, so, in my system, I struggled to hear the benefits of your best option - either by disabling wifi or by closing down Roon Remote. My best bet, based on SQ improvement vs speed of switching...

OK, I'll give that a go.

That's what I was hoping for, but the Zahl guy said no.

Having contacted the Zaal Sales person (in the UK), it looks like there will be no opportunity to demo the HM1 at any UK dealer or show this year. So, does anyone know of any upcoming meet or mini-meet in the UK that would enable me to try the HM1? Ideally within 100 miles of Worcestershire...

How does the Wandla spacial enhancement compare with Zaal HM1's "sound stage knob". The latter sounds very interesting, but I've not yet found anywhere in the UK where I can audition it. I recall you were very impressed with the HM1 in general.