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Tweakers' Asylum: REVIEW: Margules Audio ADE 24 Other by Manuel Delaflor

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REVIEW: Margules Audio ADE 24 Other

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Model: ADE 24
Category: Other
Suggested Retail Price: $250.00
Description: Analogue - Digital Enhancer
Manufacturer URL: Margules Audio
Manufacturer URL: Margules Audio

Review by Manuel Delaflor ( A ) on October 23, 2002 at 19:48:36
IP Address: 200.67.215.65
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for the ADE 24


Im usually eager to read about any tweak everybody is doing in order to find the best possible sound. Some of us do this all the time, and I think the reason is simple. We want to know if for small amounts of money we can improve our already expensive gear.

So I read constantly about cables, interconnects, power chords, line conditioners, digital clocks, coins under the equipment, etc. etc. Always looking for the last word in the tweaks arena.

But on the other hand, I tend to trust double blind tests, I like to buy something that provokes palpable changes, something that is doing an improvement so real that if I take my new tweak out of the chain I can easily note it and feel the urgency to immediately reinstall it.

About a month or so I wanted to buy a new amplifier. I had an old Technics Class A integrated that I wanted to get rid of. I wanted to enter the world of Hi End and still keep some money on my pockets.

After listening some equipment I ended in the store of a manufacturer known by his tube gear. I was absolutely delighted and ended buying a couple of things. One is my Hybrid Integrated. The other was a small "black box" called Margules Magenta ADE-24. This last one is what I consider the best tweak of all. In words of its creator:

"The original and first enhancer for digital audio mentioned in STEREOPHILE magazine as a killer product. The most common problem in CD players is the analog filter, this unit is a very high quality analog filter with no feedback and totally discrete. Designed to be plugged between the CD player and the amplifier, improves substantially the tonal characteristics."

As my main speakers are very revealing (Klipsch Heresy, from the Heritage series which use two Horns, one for the tweeter and another for the mid driver) I always felt that some CD's were "to bright", to "edgy" for my tasting. This little box cured that sense in just seconds.

Another improvements I noted was a more defined tridimensional feeling about the position of particular instruments in the sound field. In other words, the image was more precise. I also noted more definition on some difficult to reproduce instruments, like violins and pianos. The feeling is that they become more clear, more detailed, more focused.

Reading the user's reviews on Usenet and here on Audioasylum I realized also that the ADE-24 makes the sound more analog like. People who feel that the CD was a step back and that are still using turntables are buying the ADE-24 because the sound is more like the one of the turntables, more analog.

As I don't listen to vinyl Im not the most qualified to talk about this topic. But I can surely say that the sound becomes more lifelike, which is what I think the vinyl lovers pursue. A less "metallic" sound, more rounded, more warm, more detailed in the mid frequencies which are the ones that "carry the music soul" in the words of some vinyl lover audiophiles I have talked to.

Now, as I said at the beginning. Perhaps the best way to realize the work of the little ADE-24 is to get used to it and then disconnect it from our gear. In words of every user on other forums and in my own experience this is almost painful.

And I hope that can resume what this little box do.



Product Weakness: None that I could think of.
Product Strengths: Cost, makes the sound more liquid, better defined, it feels more real.


Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier: Margules ACRH-1 Hybrid Integrated
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): -
Sources (CDP/Turntable): Sony CDP with 1bit DAC
Speakers: Klipsch Heresy
Cables/Interconnects: home made
Music Used (Genre/Selections): Classical
Time Period/Length of Audition: About a month
Other (Power Conditioner etc.): QR-1
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner




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Topic - REVIEW: Margules Audio ADE 24 Other - Manuel Delaflor 19:48:36 10/23/02 ( 0)