Tubes Asylum: REVIEW: BorderPatrol Power Supply Unit Amplifier (Tube) by Patrick J

Model:	Power Supply Unit
Category:	Amplifier (Tube)
Suggested Retail Price:	506.38 toÃŠ 846.81 Pounds Sterling
Description:	This is a power supply unit to fit to valve amps.
Manufacturer URL:	BorderPatrol
Manufacturer URL:	BorderPatrol

Review by Patrick J ( A ) on April 07, 2002 at 15:35:25
IP Address: 158.152.251.148

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for the Power Supply Unit

It would be possible for me to write this review with four words:
"It makes everything better"
but that would be cheating :)
While those four words say it all, I will need to expand I guess, and with that in mind I'll start by telling you what it is. According to the BorderPatrol web-site:
"The BorderPatrol Power Supply is a valve rectified choke input filter high voltage supply that replaces the existing high voltage supply in valve amplifiers."
which, in the flesh, is a box containing a big handsome G37 valve and a couple of transformers with some very nicely deployed electronics.
This box is connected to your amplifier by an umbilical cord. The original mains cord to your amp is still used and the BorderPatrol Power Supply has a mains supply of its own.
In my case I took my amp to BorderPatrol to have it fitted because I live quite close. BorderPatrol are in Hove which is beside Brighton on the south coast of England.
If you have a reasonable knowledge of how valve amps function it would be a simple job to fit. It would be quite possible I'm sure to get someone who works with valve amps to fit it for you if you preferred.
But, boy, is it worthwhile...
The amp I have had the BorderPatrol Power Supply fitted to is an Audio Innovations 500. I bought this amp 1989 and have used it very happily for the last 13 years. This amp isn't made any more but it was a mould breaker in the UK as it brought valve amplification very much cheaper than ever before. The amp is fully integrated with phono stage all in one box. It is a push-pull pentode amp. originally it was supplied with EL34s but now I use 5881s. It's always been a fun amp to use because when friends come around and I play them a record they are always surprised when this funny little valve amp produces such good music, with such dynamics etc etc.
It was always a sort of "David and Goliath" story, the little valve amp out performing the massive SS behemoths my friends have been impressed by. But now that it has the BorderPatrol Power Supply fitted not only does David beat Goliath, but David dances on Goliath's corpse and then goes searching for bigger giants to kill.
So, what does it do that's so good?
When I first started playing music with it I noticed a few of the initial things that you always notice, the silence between track is more silent, what I'd thought was recorded sibilance in the past is now a beautifully sung "S". The bass is vastly more expressive, bass guitars and double basses sound like they are simply being played. The bass is not loose as it can be with some valve equipment, and it is not tight as it can be with some SS amps, it is just being played with a naturalness.
The proportions are now right. A jazz group now plays together with a cohesiveness which simply wasn't there before. Detail has soared, but it is the fact of the music being sort of "set free" which really is the most striking aspect.
It would be possible to go on and on about this or that improvement. At the moment I have Miles Davis "Amandla" doing it's thing in the background and that now has a "groove" which I've never heard from it before. In the past I've always though it a bit anodyne actually, but now I'm really seeing what a beautiful album it is indeed.
The full intricate insanity of Captain Beetheart's classic "Trout Mask Replica" is revealed as never before. Where before there might have been some jangling guitars now the juxtaposed tunes and ever-changing rhythms can be heard complete. The dark paranoia of Cabaret Voltaire's "Crackdown" album is there now with thundering solid bass and vocals full of menace.
I feel the key to these wide-ranging sonic benefits is that the BorderPatrol Power Supply massively improves a fundamental aspect of the amplifier. It is the very core of the reproduction system that is sorted out creating a solid foundation for the system and enabling it to sing like it has never sung before.
To find out if this is suitable for your valve amp. you may like to contact BorderPatrol, the details for which are at their web-site. There's a list of amps there that have already been upgraded with this power supply.
I have no connection with BorderPatrol.
I notice that in the January edition of UK magazine "Hi Fi Plus" this power supply was awarded EDITORS CHOICE and PRODUCT OF THE YEAR.

Product Weakness: You will need to get someone who knows about valve amps to fit it for you.
Product Strengths: It goes to the heart of your valve amp and makes it perform like never before.

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Audio Innovations 500 which produces approx 20 wpc with 5881 pentodes fitted. It is a push pull amp.
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	None
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Michell GyroDec/Origin Live Rega 250/Goldring G1042 and Meridian 206B
Speakers:	Snell Type K, good sensitivity.
Cables/Interconnects:	Audio Note.
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Jazz, experimental rock/pop, new music, world music
Room Size (LxWxH):	12.5 ft x 10.5 ft x 8 ft
Room Comments/Treatments:	This is a small room but the walls have much in the way of record racks and CD storage, so it is dissipating sound rather well.
Time Period/Length of Audition:	One week.
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

Product Weakness:	You will need to get someone who knows about valve amps to fit it for you.
Product Strengths:	It goes to the heart of your valve amp and makes it perform like never before.