Down the Rabbit Hole with the Nirvana Audio Chronos Optimizer (3/4)
Chronos setup and listening tests
By Tom Gibbs from Positive Feedback Online Magazine
Clicking on the following place will reveal the components currently in use in my system:
Audio System
LOUDSPEAKERS
KLH Model Five new production loudspeakers, running in tandem with a pair of Vera-Fi Vanguard Caldera 12 powered subwoofers. Lurking offstage: Magneplanar LRS loudspeakers.
AMPLIFICATION
Naiu Labs Ella Stereo Power Amplifier (400 wpc/4 ohms, 1,000 wpc/2 ohms); system control provided by a PS Audio Stellar Gold Balanced Preamplifier; alternating with a Reisong Boyuurange A50 Mk III SET 300B tube integrated amplifier (7.5 wpc/8 ohms) that's been upgraded with RAY Reserve 300B power tubes (2), a RAY Select 5U4 rectifier tube, and RAY Reserve 6SN7 input tubes (2); a Parks Audio Waxwing Phono Preamplifier provides the signal from the turntable.
SOURCES
Digital:
Aurender A1000 Network Music Server/Streamer/DAC. The A1000 currently alternates between its internal AKM dual mono DAC and the Topping D90 III Discrete 1-Bit DAC (via i2s connections). Overall system/server control is handled by an Acer Aspire A515-57-52YQ Laptop (Intel Core i5-1235U, quad-core, 3.1 GHz processor), that features Windows 11/64-bit, a Samsung EVO 980 PRO 500 GB M2 SSD boot/system drive, and 32 GB RAM. A Samsung 1TB QVO SSD is internal to the Aurender A1000 for music storage, but it can also access network connected drives. (2) Western Digital Red 2TB drives are used for digital music library backups. The Aurender A1000 is controlled by an Ecopad Android 15 running Aurender's Conductor Tablet control app; it's an 11-inch tablet that features an Octa-core processor with 128GB ROM and 12GB RAM. Digital disc playback is provided by an Onix Zenith XST20 SACD/CD/MQA CD transport and a Yamaha BD1060A universal player.
Euphony Audio Summus, upgraded to their new Roon Core + Stlyus VC system. The Summus Server (1TB Intel Core i7, 8th Generation, 16GB RAM, Linux OS) is connected to Roon's app on both my desktop and tablet, and streams directly to my Topping D90III Discrete DAC. It runs their latest Stylus 4.0 (RC24) Operating System, but offers functionality that's either bit-perfect, or converts everything to your choice of DSD 256 or PCM 768 during playback. Roon accesses the music on my pair of network connected Samsung 2TB QVO SSD external drives.
POWER CONDITIONING and LINEAR POWER SUPPLIES
Vera-Fi Audio Line Noise BlackHole (2) and Snub Station Zero (3) split between both rooms; AudioQuest NRG Edison 15 amp AC Power Outlets (2), and all room equipment is connected to the Vera-Fi conditioning units plugged into one of the available AudioQuest Edison outlet receptacles; Vera-Fi SnubWay Noise Defender (2) units; and Vera-Fi Main Stream Master Class Dynamic Parallel AC Line Conditioners (2), each attached to the spare outlet of the AudioQuest NRG Edison AC outlets. The Naiu Labs Ella amplifier is connected to a Vera-Fi Audio Swiss Digital Fuse Box, with a Graphene Sluggo and a Core Power Piggy Tail. The Reisong Boyuurange A50 Mk III amplifier is connected to a Vera-Fi Infinity Fuse unit (an alternate to the Swiss Digital Fuse Box that duplicates its function with user-adjustable controls); a Graphene Sluggo is also incorporated.
CABLES Interconnects: Audio Art Cable Copper Cryo OCC XLR balanced (3 pairs), Audio Art Cable Copper Cryo OCC single-ended (4 pairs).
Digital: Sommer Excelsior Blue Water HDMI (for i2s implementation, 1M); Benchmark Studio & Stage AES/EBU (1M); Oyaide NEO D+ Class S Rev2 USB (2M), Oyaide NEO D+ Class D Rev2 USB (1M); Monoprice Cat 7 Ethernet (multiple pairs).
Loudspeaker: Audio Art Cable AAC Statement e SC Cryo (8-foot pair).
Power cables: AudioQuest Blizzard with/DBS AC (2), AudioQuest NRG Z3 AC (1), AudioQuest NRG Y3 AC (4), AudioQuest NRG X3 AC (2), Core Power Piggy Tail (1), PliXiR Statement AC (1), PliXiR Statement DC (2); MAC HC Sound Pipe AC (2).
ACCESSORIES ISO Acoustics Gaia Neo II Isolators (attached to KLH Model Fives); ISO Acoustics Aperta Sub Series Isolators (attached to subwoofer pair);(2) TP Link Digital Media Converters used for conversion of Ethernet to Optical; USB cables are fitted with AudioQuest JitterBug FMJ (Full Metal Jacket) USB Noise Dissipation devices (2); HD and MD EVP Isolators from Norman Varney's AV RoomService are placed underneath turntables, and LD EVP Isolators are placed underneath all digital source equipment and preamplifiers; and HiFi Audio Solid Walnut cable lifters are placed beneath speaker cables. Veri-Fi VBH-1 (Vibration Black Hole) footers are in place underneath whichever amplifier happens to be in use. The improved level of isolation from vibrations and RF noise these devices provide is nothing short of remarkable. Other ancillary equipment includes a Bright Star Audio Big Rock turntable base, Tiptoes and various isolation devices, ASC panels (2 pairs), GIK Acoustics panels (2 pairs), GIK Abfusors (1 pair), Corning acoustic panels (3 pairs), Target amp racks, Vera-Fi and Lovan speaker stands, Disc Doctor record cleaning supplies, LAST Stylus Treatment, a DS Audio ST-50 Stylus Cleaner, a Milti Zerostat gun, and an AudioQuest carbon fiber record brush.
System Setup Information
In my home near Charleston, South Carolina, I have a large, second floor room dedicated to my audio pursuits. The loudspeakers are arranged on the long wall of the room, and the setup provides a level of realism I've never previously experienced in any of my rooms. The Vanguard Caldera powered subwoofers provide the additional octave of bass to round out the overall spectrum. Amplification is provided by the Naiu Labs Ella stereo amplifier or the Reisong Boyuurange A50 Mk III SET amplifier that's been upgraded with a full complement of RAY Reserve and Select tubes. Music from both analog and digital sources are reproduced with stunning realism in this setup.
The sound in the new room is outstanding; we bought the house sight-unseen, and when I looked at the builder's online plans for the upstairs (that would ultimately become my audio listening environment), I was at first underwhelmed by the size of the room and lowish 8 foot ceiling height. When we actually came back about a month later for the first construction inspection, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the builder had deviated from the plans somewhat, and the ceiling height was actually 9 feet. That greatly improved my chances of having decent acoustics (that has definitely been the case!), and I now have the main listening environment completely dialed-in performance wise. The room's complement of Vera-Fi Line Noise BlackHole and Snub Station Zero units, and Vera-Fi Audio SnubWay and Main Stream AC power conditioners create an environment of almost complete quiet, with exceptionally black backgrounds and zero hash or other RF noise. My previous audio systems never enjoyed the absence of AC line noise I'm experiencing in this location!
Positive Feedback Managing Editor Dave Clark always told me my old listening room was far too monochromatic and stark, so I've added lots of splashes of color in the new digs! I hung the William Morris wallpaper myself—it's a throwback to a past life where we lived in a Craftsman style bungalow, with squirrel accents everywhere. The classic Richard Avedon psychedelic Beatles photos are high quality repros that I snagged from Amazon for $13, and the frames were on clearance for $6 each. I cut the mattes myself; I didn't think I'd get really cool art like this in the analog room on such a shoestring budget, but it really pulls the room together musically and especially visually!
Chronos’ effect was clear and immediate regardless of how it was configured, but I nonetheless explored the available connection options. I finally settled on inserting it into the USB-A port of a good charger I had on hand; the charger was then inserted into an available AC outlet on one of the Vera-Fi Audio Snub Station Zero power conditioners in my system. And that produced the most prominent effect for me. Nirvana Audio suggests the use of a specific USB charger, the Anker GaN Prime, which is commonly available online and even at brick and mortar locations. That said, the Anker GaN Prime has models scattered across a broad range of wattage and price points (some of them are insanely expensive!), and getting anyone to nail down a specific model appropriate for use with Chronos proved impossible. I went with what I had on hand, and while I was less than impressed with it plugged directly into an AC wall outlet, it achieved a closer version of perfection plugged into the Snub Station Zero.
Certain reviewers noted that Chronos’ effect when plugged into a charger could be overwhelming, but that wasn't my experience. But after four days of being continuously powered on, I decided to unplug the charger, remove Chronos, and then simply place the device horizontally on my equipment rack. 24 hours later, there was no discernable reduction of Chronos’ effect on any of my music selections. This setup is how I proceeded for the remainder of the evaluation, so here’s the burning question: how does Chronos affect the system sound?
I'm currently in a very strange place in my audiophile journey; I have a new Onix Zenith XST20 disc transport in my system, and have been spinning physical digital discs like there's no tomorrow for several months now. I embraced both CD and SACD at their respective outsets eons ago, but until the arrival of the XST20 in combination with my Topping D90III Discrete DAC, I’ve never really fully appreciated the potential of either for truly superlative sound. Especially Red Book compact discs, which across this system sound as I imagined CDs might (but never did) back in 1983, and even forward into the future. I’ve been over the moon with the sound quality of this combo, but the addition of Chronos has taken my playback to another level of goodness!
I typically use a core group of albums scattered across a variety of genres for evaluations of systems or individual equipment. While the music and performances on most of the discs have always thrilled me (even more so with physical disc playback via the Onix Zenith/Topping combo), some nonetheless leave something to be desired in terms of ultimate fidelity in their presentation. That's true regardless of the music source, whether physical disc playback or rips of those discs on my Aurender and Euphony digital streamers. I’m noting only a mere handful that awakened me to the power of Chronos, but my listening throughout covered too vast a selection to document here.
𝐊ö𝐫 : Anders Eby, Mikaeli Kammarkör (Proprius 7770)
This classic 1975 Swedish choral album has until recently (it's available for streaming on some services) only ever been available as an LP, and has never been released on CD. I’m listening to the original WAV files supplied to me from Naxos Music 15 years ago that I burned to a CDR for playback. I’ve always felt Kör is the absolute pinnacle of recorded choral singing, and the astonishing realism provided by my original LP shocked me back in the late 1970s. The WAV files better the LP in every possible way, and with Chronos in the system, the choir sings with a level of realism far beyond LP playback or that of the WAV files on my music server. As Verdi’s “Pater Noster” opens the album, it immerses you in the recorded acoustic of Oscar’s Church in Stockholm, Sweden. There’s an astonishing stereo spread across the soundstage that clearly identifies the positions of the male and female ranks of the Mikaeli Kammarkör, and the locations of the soprano and tenor soloists are portrayed with perfect clarity. The organ that accompanies a number of the tracks has power and dynamics to spare, but the combined voices of the choir alone are enough to send your amp into clipping! With Chronos, I found I could crank the volume significantly with no increase of system strain, which allowed me to get a greater sense of absolute realism. Kör is one of my favorite albums of all-time, has never sounded so very good as now, and has been in constant rotation since Chronos arrived!
𝐖𝐚𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐫: 𝐃𝐢𝐞 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐤ü𝐫𝐞 : Sir Georg Solti, Vienna Philharmonic (Decca CD 414 105-2)
I’ve been listening to Solti’s Wagner Ring cycle for eons, but with Chronos in the system, the performances take on a dynamic realism unlike anything I’ve ever heard before. Playback was from the original 1984 European Decca compact disc release made by Polygram in West Germany that was transferred without compression from the original 1965 master tapes. The track I’m focusing on is the Act III opener, the classic warhorse “Ride of the Valkyries," where Solti and the Vienna Philharmonic play with unrestrained orchestral dynamics, and legendary soprano Birgit Nilsson literally screams as Brünnhilde. From the opening notes of the “Valkyrie” motif, there’s an orchestral spread across the soundstage that clearly places you in Vienna’s Sofiensaal orchestral hall, with brass, strings, and tympani that set the stage for Nilsson’s entrance. At the 4:00 minute mark, when the full orchestra joins in, it’s a true lease-breaking moment that is portrayed with the kind of power I’d never have believed possible over my system. “Hojotoho!” indeed!
𝐄𝐫𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐨 : Eroica Trio (EMI CD 56482)
I bought this CD on the day of release in 1997; it was recorded by Joanna Nickrenz (the pianist’s mother), who was one of the most celebrated classical recording engineers of the era. That said, while the trio performances of Gershwin, Ravel, Goddard, and Schoenfield are definitive, I’ve always felt the recordings' seemingly diffuse stereo image lacked clarity, and found it nearly impossible to clearly identify the piano, cello, and violin in the soundstage. To my great astonishment, with Chronos in the system, Erica Nickrenz’ piano has a bit of a wide spread, but it’s front and center, Adela Pena’s violin is left center, and Sara Sant’ Ambrogio’s cello is on the right. I literally know the music on Eroica Trio by heart, but hearing it now with Chronos is like hearing it for the first time ever. Color me astonished!
𝐂𝐲𝐫𝐮𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐧𝐮𝐭 : Revelation (Atlantic Jazz CD 82518-2)
Another record I bought at the time of its 1994 release; this Jim Anderson engineered album is a clinic in good recorded sound, and one that I use frequently to establish subwoofer settings and positioning. I didn’t think Revelation could possibly sound any better than it already did, but with Chronos in the system, the individual players occupied more clearly focused positions in the soundstage. Cyrus Chestnut’s piano, Clarence Penn’s drumkit, and especially Christopher Thomas’ upright bass showed an astonishing increase in realism that completely shocked me. One song in particular, “Lord, Lord, Lord,” features bassist Thomas in an extended solo; with Chronos, his instrument had a much more “woody” sound that plumbed the depths and dominated the soundstage in a way I’d never experienced before. After hearing Revelation with Chronos, there’s definitely no going back for me!
𝐏𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐝 : Ummagumma (Sony CD 50999 028937 2 3)
I fell in love with this 1969 release in my early teens; the CDs here are from the 2011 Ummagumma Discovery box set. The disc one live tracks substantially enhance and expand the performances from the catalog originals (Careful with that axe, Eugene!), and the second disc of solo submissions from Waters, Gilmour, Wright, and Mason are incredibly entertaining. With Chronos, the live tracks have an enhanced level of warmth and realism that imbues them with a more involving sound; the individual group member contributions also are given a remarkable lift, especially Roger Waters’ “Grantchester Meadows,” which sounds much less gimmicked than it does without Chronos. The real star is Nick Mason’s “The Grand Vizier’s Garden Party”; its soundstage with Chronos wraps around the sides of the listening position, and Mason’s drum solo in the middle section has a newfound weight and heft like never before – the difference was beyond belief!
𝐉𝐮𝐝𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐬 : Colors Of The Day - The Best of Judy Collins (Warner Japan CD WPCR 613)
I bought this Japanese issue CD because I wanted an improvement over my lackluster US-issued catalog version, and this one got high marks from a number of sources. I wasn’t particularly overwhelmed when it arrived – it had better clarity than the original, but it didn’t quite blow me away either. Enter Chronos, and Colors Of The Day now sounds even better than I’d hoped it might! Judy Collins’ voice has taken on a level of warmth and physical realism I never heard on the original CD, and all the tracks exhibited an enhanced soundstage presentation, especially the closer, her classic rendition of “Amazing Grace.” When the choir kicks in, they’re spread across, behind, and above the soundstage like never before. Absolutely remarkable!
𝟑 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐲 : Anders Eby、Mikaeli Kammarkör (Proprius CD PRCD 9126)
This amazing CD collects choral masses from composers Poulenc, Hindemith, and Vaughan Williams, and features the Mikaeli Kammarkör that I so loved on the disc Kör from above. While all the performances are superlative, I most frequently use a single track for demonstrations, the final movement from Francis Poulenc’s Mass In G Major, the “Agnus Dei.” Where the soprano soloist offers a mellifluous vocal turn filled with mystery and emotion – I can set this track to repeat and listen endlessly, it’s literally ear candy, and that’s even without Chronos. Add Chronos into the mix, and the soloist takes on impressive gains in realism, liquidity, and physical presence in the soundstage. The soprano’s voice is sooooo much better than before (how is this even possible?), and the choir is clearly delineated into identifiable ranks that layer eerily in the recorded acoustic. 3 Masses of the 20th Century is another Proprius miracle made even more miraculous by Chronos.
As previously noted, I have a fairly long history with the albums I used for the evaluation, and I've developed strong opinions about aspects of their sound quality and certain deficiencies I’ve identified with many of them. In terms of A/B’ing with and without Chronos, I had limited success performing that kind of evaluation. Finnbogi invited a friend to his home for a listen; he hadn't yet USB powered his Chronos, and was able to effectively perform a Chronos out/Chronos in/Chronos out demonstration. When Chronos was out, he placed the device in a metal box and removed it from the room, but his friend was unable to detect any differences in the sound with or without Chronos present. Minus Chronos, Finnbo said the music completely collapsed for him.
Because I USB powered Chronos from the beginning, simply removing the device and placing it in a metal canister didn't diminish the effect. I’m certain that Chronos generates a field that affects everything in the room, and when it's disconnected or removed from the room, that field and its effect doesn't quickly fade. I had a late afternoon thunderstorm roll through recently that continued into the wee hours; as is my practice, I shut down and disconnected everything from AC power, and at the same time I decided to remove Chronos and placed it in the metal box far away from the room. Midday the following day, I reconnected and repowered the system; without Chronos in the room, I couldn't hear the effect, and playback of my evaluation discs returned to their boring, usual, but still quite good but normal state. After reinserting Chronos with the USB connection for part of the day, I detached it and placed it on the equipment rack; that restored the status quo for me. I find it almost inconceivable that anyone couldn’t hear the effects of Chronos, which is impossible for me to ignore. And no, I have not been drinking the Koolaid!
P.S.
This article is excerpted from the following webpage:
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