Right then a small towel covered up the flashing Telosterone so I could concentrate on sonics without disco fever. With all four Macros plugged into the same power bar, I could switch the entire group on and off from one AC outlet. It made for easy A/B. And there definitely was something to the Telos ground-noise reduction. I clearly perceived it as a super-tweeter effect. The top end grew more refined and airy. Wispy decay trails shot higher then died off just a bit lazier. The performance on a whole felt more 'spiritualized', not earthier, darker or more 'materialized' as LessLoss effect. Such terms simply reflect our popular sentiment of earthiness coming from below through the soles of our feet or in audio terms up from the bass; and heaven or spirit coming from above through the crown of our head, in audio terms down from the very highest treble. Less overt but still present right after rebooting my quartet was slightly higher image focus. But my prevailing impression was of a more illuminated tendrilated treble. This was particularly obvious on piano recordings from Vassilis Tsabropoulos, Tord Gustavsen and Jacques Loussier. Yet bowed strings from The Ayoub Sisters to Renaud Garcia-Fons displayed the same finer sheen and overtone stacks. Having experienced EnigmAcoustics' self-biased piezo membrane tweeter, Elac's circular add-on ribbon and others I forgot about, I'm solid—or should that be airy?—that calling the Telos Macro action a super-tweeter effect is most à propos. Will all systems respond alike? I wouldn't know. But I did have two more systems to at least cover short terrain.
Whilst enjoying the sonic effect, I was hyper critical of the light show and not in love with the frontal wire connections and need of four AC outlets. I'd prefer a modular approach for what already is a card-based solution. Have individual cards slot into a single chassis with one multi-tapped power supply and just one power cord. Buyers option the cards they need. This could mean two of one, none of another. All sockets would be on the back. There'd be no idiot lights; or at least a switch to turn them off. It'd be a configurable component of far cleaner look which doesn't hog multiple power sockets. But this isn't Srajan Sound Design. Telos have their own ideas. And so they should. It's a benefit of running one's own show. We get to do as we see fit; and accord others the same privilege.
"The flashing LED show the devices are working properly. They're not related to polarity. The reason we put the power and signal cables on opposing sides is because this gear is designed to go behind a rack. To generate the desired zero-reference ground, cabling should be short. If we designed for placement on a rack, all cabling one side, the internal wiring would be longer and the enclosure cost more." Despite Ethan's explanation, the flashing lights would make his G force an utterly obnoxious no-go for me. Even behind a rack, the disco strobe still flickers clearly once ambient light is low. Other people of course love dancing VU-meter needles and McIntosh have built an entire empire around that. Vive la difference!
On that subject, the quartet of micro Macros moved onto my office desktop. Quelle difference?
