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Reviewer: Jeff Day
Digital: Sony PlayStation 1 SCPH-1001 with Furutech G-320Ag-18F8 power cord, Oppo DV981HD universal player.
Analog: Merrill Heritage turntable completely restored by Anthony Scillia, Rega RB300 tonearm with Pete Riggle Audio VTAF and counterweight, Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood cartridge [vinyl front end on short term loan from 6Moons reader Joe Kelley via Pete Riggle - thanks guys!]; Auditorium 23 step-up transformer, and Fi phono stage
Preamplifier: Leben RS28CX
Integrated amplifiers: Leben CS600 with Furutech G-320Ag-18 IEC power cord, Leben CS300X Limited, Almarro A205A Mk1 & Mk2
Amplifiers: Fi 2A3 monos, Leben CS-660P [in for review], Pass XA30.5 [in for review]
Speakers: Harbeth Super HL5 with 18" Skylan stands, Merrill Zigmahornets
Cables: Acoustic Revive PCOCC-A oval single core interconnects [in for review], Auditorium 23 speaker cable; various SilverFi interconnects, digital interfaces & speaker cables; White Lightning Moonshine DIY interconnects & speaker cables; Nirvana interconnects & speaker cables; Audio Tekne ARSP-500 speaker cables and ARC-500 interconnects
Stands: McKinnon Bellevue Symphony walnut media cabinet, Skylan isolation platform [in for review]
Music Makers: Indian Rosewood & Spruce Larrivee parlor guitar, Adirondack Spruce & Brazilian Rosewood Gibson Advanced Jumbo guitar, Eastman Uptown AR910CE arch top jazz guitar & Henrikson Jazz Amp & Analysis Plus Yellow Flex Oval guitar cable
Room and system tuning: Acoustic Revive RD-3 Demagnetizer, RGC-24 Ground Conditioner, RIO-5 II Minus Ion Generator, Ultra Low-Frequency Pulse Generator R-77, Acoustic Conditioner RWL-3, Pure Smokey Quartz Insulator RIQ-5010 & Pure Quartz Insulator RIQ-5010W, Shorting Plugs SIP-8F, RPT-2 Ultimate & RPT-4 Ultimate Power Supply Boxes, CB-1DB Receptacle Base Plate, CFRP-1F Carbon Fiber Receptacle Plate, Power Max II Power Cable, CS-2F Outlet Stabilizer [all in for review]
Room sizes: Room 1 - 20' L x 17' W x 17' H; Room 2 - 11' L x 11'W x 9' H
Review component retail: $625 for set of four RIQ-5010 or RIQ-5010W Quartz Insulators; $125 for set of eight QR-8 Quartz Resonators.

Mr. Ken Ishiguro is the design genius behind the innovative Acoustic Revive products. Like many HiFi enthusiasts, Ken San's interest in audio arose through his love for music as a youngster: "I was listening to the Beatles when I was fourteen years old. It was 1976 and it was the 10th anniversary of the first arrival of the Beatles in Japan. There was a Beatles revival boom in Japan at the time and I was listening to their music using a boom box. But I wanted better sound quality and a better system. Audio was very popular in Japan in the seventies, with audio systems being sold even in department stores. After getting out school for the day, I would stop in audio shops and listen to the music. I couldn't afford to buy the high-end audio systems the shops had as a child so I bought something more modest. I started spending all of my part-time job and pocket money on analogue records and accessories to improve the sound quality of my system."

Over the years Ken San's interest in music expanded significantly: "I like to listen to all kinds of music from old historic to the latest popular music. I like all music from the different cultures around the world. I also go to concerts and listen to live music whenever I can. Lately I've been listening to a lot of 60s to 80s rock & roll. I think that rock music in that period had a lot of creative elements in the recordings that compare favorably to the creativity and artistry seen in the best classical and jazz. I personally think that if a system can play rock & roll superbly, then it can also reproduce any other genre of music well."

Ken San currently has five systems at home:
  • A Westlake BBSM15F, Pass Aleph 0 (x4), Mark Levinson LNP-2L, Wadia Pro & Wadia 21, Goldmund PH3 and a Roksan Xerxes 20 & Artemiz & Shiraz system;
  • An Avalon Diamond, Viola Bravo, Goldmund Mimesis 21E, Goldmund Mimesis 24ME, Burmeister 979, Connoisseur 4.0 Advance, Roksan TMS & Graham Model 2.2 and Lyra Titan 2017S Special system
  • An B&W 820 DX2 & 803 DX2 & HTM2D & ASW825, Goldmund EIDOS 18x5, Goldmund Mimesis 30 ME, Esoteric UX-1 Special, Esoteric G-0RB and a Mitsubishi LVP2001 system
  • An Acoustic Energy AE2, Macintosh MC602, Hovland HP-100 and Esoteric X-01 Special system; and
  • A Sonus Faber Signam, Sonus Faber Musica and a Bow Technology Wizard system.

Ken also owns an audio shop where he tests his Acoustic Revive cables and accessories on all manner of systems to ensure they work well across a wide variety of equipment. His original interest in audio accessories blossomed over time: "I became very interested in audio accessories that improved the natural qualities of the music and have been using them now for more than 30 years. I have tried all of the audio accessories I could find from around the world."

Ken wants to reproduce the sound from the recording media without adding any artifice to the sound, "so that it sounds natural and not as though it is being played back over an electrical device. Only by listening to natural sound without electronic artifice can you hear what the artists intended."

Ken San's interest in audio accessories led him to start Acoustic Revive during a business downturn for the company he became president of - Sekiguchi Machine Sales: "Acoustic Revive is part of Sekiguchi Machine Sales, which used to design, manufacture and sell production machinery used to make concrete blocks for construction projects. However, in 1995 the Ministry of Constructions in Japan changed the construction laws and building projects using concrete blocks were outlawed. As you can imagine, our company was impacted severely by this change and we ended up having to dismiss all our employees. At the end, only the president and I were left. Unfortunately he passed away from cancer and I was left as the president of the company without a job to do or products to make. So I took a chance and decided to sell the RD-1 demagnetizer I was making as a hobby. The RD-1 was the first model of the RD-3 that I now offer.

"Luckily the RD-1 was a popular product and that's how I got started as an audio accessory manufacturer. Since 1997 I have been able to offer new products every year and thankfully the Acoustic Revive products have been very well received. They have won Audio Excellence Awards for the past seven years in row. The Acoustic Revive cables have been awarded the Top Prize in 2004, 2005, and now in 2008." [Somewhere in this history, one would expect mention of the Furutech connection. At least to US audiophiles after all, the RD-1 and RD-2 first came to attention under the Furutech brand and similar product overlap or properly more accurately, licensing appears to have occurred with certain Furutech powerline products as well - Ed.]
Sidebar I: The Furutech Connection - "My boss Ken uses to source Furutech to manufacture the RTP-6 (the first version of our power distribution box) and the RWL-1 (the first version of the RWL-3) in Taiwan. Furutech was also licensed to sell the RD-2. We eventually began to manufacture the power supply box and diffusor panels in Japan ourselves (which was the RWL-2).The Furutech version of the RWL-1 was awarded at the CES last year. Furutech also developed a Schuko version of the power supply similar to our own so there is some overlap, even the naming of the products is similar. We eventually changed certain licensing agreements, including the power distribution box and the RD-2. Furutech retains a lot of stock for the RWL-1 and LP DeMag so those sales continue under their own branding for the time being. As you see, Acoustic Revive and Furutech have collaborated for many years and as our brand becomes more established, we're producing more and more ourselves." - Aki Monobe of Acoustic Revive