Many would not even want to try accessories like this in their hifi system. May it be because its hard to believe what it can do or maybe even because of the price. The beauty about this hobby is that although there are certain scientific facts that supports why and how things work, there are still surprises that pops out when trying something new.
Received this sample Yukimu PNA-RCA01 noise absorber from Kenix Chua of Begin Acoustics during the Gelombang event. So, it has been in my system for a few months now. Mainly, plugged into my McIntosh MA9000 amplifier one of the unused RCA socket.
What Does It Do?
In short, it reduces high frequency noise from digital circuits, microcomputers or power supplies.
In a more elaborated perspective, it should improve S/N ratio, bringing out whatever supressed sound from the system. Thus, giving listener an injection of improved liveliness, sweeter highs and extended lows.
Seriously? How does a piece of RCA shaped metal plug is doing this? The noise components of circa 3MHz or higher is stabilized by being absorbed by the metal case. It does not impact the audio signal.
Oppps.... OK... still not convinced right? Read on folks....
The Tracks
The only way to really review this type of accessory is to just play the same track with and without this unit and from different sources:
1. Easy On Me by Adele - CD on McIntosh MCD350
2. Easy On Me by Adele - TIDAL MQA on HiFi ROSE via Roon
3. Easy On Me by Adele - LP on Kronos Sparts
The Session
On CD, with the noise absorber (NA) plugged in, the piano intro sounded livelier as if it was a live performance. The airiness of her vocal also sounded a little bit more open than usual. However, at certain point, the highs form her vocal was a little bit on the harsh side. The subtle bass notes came out more compared to without the NA. I do believe the NA is doing its job but a bit puzzled with the harshness at certain points of the song. One thing for sure, it does inject some openness and freshness to this track.
On TIDAL MQA, the piano intro sounded more laid back, her vocal sounded sweeter and there was no harshness detected throughout the song. It was more balanced across the spectrum. The bass also sounded more extended compared to without the NA. The liveliness of the track was elevated but still sounded quite natural without the feeling of it was a live concert. It was nearly perfect apart from frm the fact that it sounded more laid back.
On LP, this is where it sounded most natural with the NA plugged in. The piano intro was clear, her vocal was definitely full of energy with no harshness and the biggest improvement is the bass extension. A huge change compared to before. The subtle bass from kick pedal is now more evident and the overall airiness of the track leaped to another level. Something that I really I enjoy when I get the bass from my PMC speakers but at the same time the liveliness of the track can still be enjoyed.
The Summary
Does the Yukimu Noise Absorber works? In short, Yes it does. It does give a different experience listening to music on my set up.
Does it improve the sound? Depends on the source itself. By putting the NA on the amp, all sources that feeds to the amp will be affected but each source above gives out different results. My CD does not seems to benefit from the NA but the streamer and turntable seems to to have a positive impact.
I actually verified this finding by plugging the NA directly to the CD player RCA out, streamer RCA out and turntable phono stafe RCA on MM input and true enough, a similar findings emerged. Somehow, my CD player is not benefitting from the NA but my streamer and turntable did.
Hence, to summarise, it really depends on the source and also your own set up.
If you would like to try it out, do contact Kenix Chua of Begin Acoustics.
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