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General Asylum General audio topics that don't fit into specific categories. |
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General Asylum General audio topics that don't fit into specific categories. |
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Several audiophiles have informed me that, in the early-90s, the PAC IDOS became their first "powerline conditioner." At the same time, we college kids were just starting to drive. Our families then decided to expand the vehicular fleet. While her dad bought a new one, my friend Antonia inherited the ol' Ford pickup truck. Shelly was responsible for feeding heavy metal music to us. Her oldest brother got himself a bigger motorcycle, and gave her the entry-level Kawasaki Ninja. At the beginning of the Fall 1991 quarter, my housemate Doug, whose well-off family lived in Marin, bought themselves a new BMW 5-Series. They then gave the old Volvo station wagon (yeah, yeah, the Marin County stereotype) to Doug. Cha-ching! Now we were able to go to the Santa Cruz Costco, which had just opened. Beach hopping and camping, too :-)
Back home in San Francisco, Sharon's dad was perfectly fine with their Toyota Camry. Oh ho ho, like the majority of the nerd girls, Sharon was given a used subcompact, which my audiophile friends like to call "crappy little cars." Such examples were the Geo Metro, Honda Civic, Mazda 323, Nissan Sentra, and Toyota Tercel. And most were 3-door hatchbacks (why they were called "3-door," when the hatchback wasn't a door, was beyond us).
Because the subcompact usually was under 100hp, it was often called a "gutless POS." By the same token, they were easy to drive, which was a good thing, for us beginner drivers. A passenger would get out, and monitor how well/poorly the nerd girl parked. Though these cars were primarily for commuting to college, they allowed us to go places . They got good mileage, but with an 11-gallon tank, we did have to gas up once, on our way from the Bay Area to SoCal.
Girl drivers like Sharon would squirm, let out an F-bomb, and the girlfriends knew exactly what had happened. But you know what? The parents didn't get all uptight and mad, if the little car got dirty, or lightly scratched or dinged.
Versus today's subcompact cars, those from the late-80s/early-90s had larger rear windows. So not only could the driver see out the back better, rear passengers had better views. Okay, so the greenhouse effect was on, so you rolled (manually) the front windows down, or propped open the rear ones. Small cars had and still have a noisy ride. But you know what? You and the three girls joyfully sang their favorite lite rock/adult contemporary. New for the Fall 1991 quarter was the tribute album by various artists, Two Rooms , covers of Elton John songs. We loved Wilson Phillips' version of "Daniel." You and three girls singing "Daniel" was infinitely more fun, than anything we as audiophiles have ever done.
I previously had used powerstrips, including one from Noisetrapper, but in early February 1993, I picked up a PAC IDOS. This was used in my UCSC apartment, which had the requisite 3-prong outlets. In those days, after-market AC outlets did not exist.
Geez, nowadays, some after-market AC outlets and cover plates cost more than the $150 IDOS itself. Nevertheless, the IDOS does respond to these devices. It pretty much takes on the outlet's tonal balance, and then removes a smidgen of hash.
We used to complain about the subcompact cars' lack of space. And they often did not have enough light and cup holders. You had to take advantage of every nook and cranny. These cars were not well-insulated, so at night, the cabin got cold. So you rolled up the windows. But with four of you in a small space, the windows fogged up, the defroster didn't work well, and Sharon and the front passenger had to keep wiping the windshield. Oh well, you got to huddle up with the nerd girl in the backseat (more on this in a future post). Due to the alignment of the IDOS' outlets, a wall wart power supply can block an adjacent outlet.
During the 1992-93 school year, my college system consisted of a Sony CDP-520ESII; Adcom GTP-400 and GFA-535; AudioQuest Lapis, Topaz, F-14; Pinnacle PN-5+. It sounded best, plugged straight into the wall. However, we also had a lamp, Terk powered antenna, TV, and VCR. We did not have enough outlets, so we had to use a powerstrip, which had deleterious sonic and visual effects.
The TAS reviewers thought the IDOS made a significant difference. The Stereophile reviewers thought the IDOS had very subtle effects. The IDOS made our stereo sound like it was plugged directly into the wall, AND had a slight cleansing effect. Without the hash and distortion, music had a skosh better imaging, flow, contrast, and texture. My housemates and guests felt that Stereophile had the more accurate assessment of the IDOS. Nevertheless, by not introducing any negative sonics, and by being quiet and without heat, the IDOS was, for us, (a) appropriate for these electronics, (b) well-liked, and (c) a nice plus.
-Lummy The Loch Monster
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Topic - PAC IDOS, Part 9 - Luminator 21:42:40 12/9/20 (0)
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