Guardian? Cynics wonder. For civilian not lab purposes, won't the diagnostics and display become double trouble of distraction and sonic compromise? It'd be twice true if one couldn't hear differences between various manual adjustments. What listener really cares whether his input EMI is 18.7mV? "If it matters, do something about it. Otherwise don't bother me." So the display is defeatable. Stratos could have fixed the Gordian to auto mode without any readout. For auto mode to work, constant power-line analysis is simply mandatory. Hence it seems sensible to give curious users some intel on the state of their AC. For a circuit designer like Stratos, that could be extra useful; say to test transformer shielding; how much EMI radiates back into a shared power line; what values fall below the audibility threshold and so forth. I's most likely that the Gordian came about to assist our man in his circuit design work and only subsequently grew into an unusually informative consumer product.


Here are some looks at its innards.



Due to a misunderstanding or oversight, Stratos first dispatched a unit with Schuko plugs. Whilst Ireland runs UK sockets and our prior Swiss residency dealt with unique Swiss versions, all our hifi powerline gear sports US sockets and plugs since that's where my hifi career began. That's why regardless of where we live, I always specify American socketry for review loaners of any conditioners or power cords. Thankfully a Swedish distributor wanted this virgin unit. After I'd taken my shots, it got packed up and made onward tracks. Stratos would send another loaner with US sockets.


That would slip into our entertainment system with Sony Bravia TV, Oppo BDP-105 universal source, Wyred4Sound STP-SE preamp, Job 225 and German Physiks HRS-120 speakers to A/B against the usual passive Furutech RTP-6 power block. With two switch-mode power supplies (television and universal player) most likely guilty of serious backdoor action—injecting HF noise into the powerline, hence into fellow gear—any contributions the Greek conditioner could make should be obvious to hear I thought.