The Ultra-1 Sleeve
I'd had the standard v1 sleeves in and out of the system over the course of several months before I received the Ultra-1s - at that time, I was working on a pair of Third Rethms, review to come. As the Rethms are cut from a completely different cloth than any speaker I'd been using, I was having a slightly difficult time acclimating to the sound of their Lowther drivers and unique design. Those familiar with the speakers will know their up-front and penetrating upper midrange, their almost unbelievable penchant for reaching in and retrieving nuance and detail in a way that can make most other speakers sound flat and lifeless by comparison. Though in a different class overall, the Rethms shared the same upper midrange prominence both Thiels and Duevels had already exhibited un-sleeved in my room. I had spent four days trying to get the Rethms to relax by repositioning them in my room.
On the fifth day, I received the Ultra1 sleeves and thought to give 'em a shake. On the sixth day, I returned to the system like the Lord of Genesis to glance at creation and find it perfect - time to take a day off. What I heard really did amount to a miraculous transformation of the Rethms. With absolutely no dynamic relaxation of what had made them sound so wonderful already, with absolutely no perceptible change in frequency response whatsoever, the Thirds now sounded positively beguiling. All of the rough edges I had been troubled by had completely disappeared, yet the speakers still espoused their almost supernatural way with transients that simply gives new meaning to speed. There was no blurring of detail or any slurring of microdynamics which may otherwise indicate a veiling, dulling or other unintended consequence. With the Ultra 1 sleeves in the system, the Rethms possessed at once a reach-out-and-grab-you-by-the-scruff-of- the-neck, in-your-face excitement along with an almost counter-intuitively deep-down-soul- satisfying, lose-yourself-in-the-music, listen-all- day soothing musicality.



A few days later, the Silverline Boleros were back in the system and had me witness all the aforementioned qualities of the standard sleeves plus one new one. With the full-range Boleros, I was now hearing new-found microdynamic finesse in the bass region. While the Boleros had always produced a smooth, tuneful and palpable bass line, they now had even more pizzazz. "Bridge Over Troubled Water" from Eva Cassidy's Live at Blues Alley [Blix Street G2-10046] features pizzicato plucking of the bass that sounded faster and more highly defined than before. Each plucked string had a more visceral leading edge and the instrument was rendered with a greater sense of overall speed than I'd experienced earlier.
Not that this effect was restricted to the bass. Both sleeves (but the Ultra-1 to a significantly greater extent) had the effect of lowering my system's noise floor. This is the natural result of stripping the music signal of the superimposed and previously unnoticed RFI/EMI grunge that's riding its back without protection. With the sleeves in place, the music, micro-dynamically speaking, ebbs and flows better.

Too Many Unanswered Questions
I said earlier that this was the most frustrating review I've ever done. That judgment derives not only from the time lag involved in allowing the sleeves to work their magic, but also because in the end it proves impossible for me to offer any blanket recommendations. My system already offers levels of surge protection. I thus found that I preferred sleeving the interconnects and speaker cables while using the Audio Magic Stealth rather than the sleeves on the power cords. However, as your RF/EMI-environmental situation will likely differ, you may have different preferences. And since not all power conditioners work in the same way, you may find that the sleeves work well in concert with your conditioner. There's no way for me to know. [The new statement ZCable Hurricane power cord, though expensive, works wonders on the BPT BP-3.5 Sig, as does Chris Hoff's own power cord with integral Z-Sleeve - Ed.]


How many sleeves should you use? Any number. In the end, I used a single Ultra 1 at each component input - one sleeve at the end of the digital interconnect, another at the preamp, another at the power amp, another at the speakers' binding posts. Are you better off using a single Ultra 1 sleeve as I did? For the same price, should you use three v1s instead, one at one each end of the interconnect, the third elsewhere? Can you over-sleeve your system? What works better, a really expensive pair of interconnects or a more modestly priced interconnect with Z-Sleeve conditioning?

I could easily spend the next year chasing down answers to these questions as they pertain to my personal circumstance. Alas, other projects await my attention. To be honest, the personal satisfaction achieved with modest use of the Ultra-1 sleeves leaves my thirst for answers rather quenched; for now, anyway. I can only recommend talking to Z-Cable's Mark Hampton on the subject. If he's not tested a scenario for himself, I'll bet he's received reports from those who have.


What I can say? The more people I talk to, the more I find that they really do benefit from power conditioning. If you haven't explored what can be achieved, I highly recommend that you do. For my money, it's the easiest and most assured way to take your system to the next level. If increased system focus, a smoother and more refined midrange, greater treble purity, a lowered noise floor and an added dose of micro-dynamic finesse appeal to you, the Z-Sleeves from ZCable are a great place to start. It's not a matter of whether to use 'em - it's discovering where, how many, and of which strength. Clearly, that's for you to find out. For myself, I'm convinced. I'm keeping some to continue enjoying their beneficial contributions to my system, both for pleasure listening and critical review sessions.
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ZCable responds:
John, first of all, thank you. I appreciate you taking the time to conduct various listening tests with different configurations and equipment. I'm particularly gratified that you tested the Z-Sleeves with three different technology speakers and in each case experienced similar results.

I certainly agree with you that the Ultra1 sleeves are the most powerful and "beguiling" in their effect. I am glad that you will continue to have some Ultra1 Z-Sleeves in your system. Welcome to the world of signal line conditioning.

Mark Hampton
ZCable
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