Hi-Fi Pig Review X6 & RF Router
Tuesday, 27th August 2024
Janine Elliot takes a listen to the combined effects of the new MKII X6 with our Plug-in RF Router, for online magazine Hi-Fi Pig.
Most of us who have been interested in Hi-Fi for a number of years will be familiar with the name of Janine Elliot: she is one of those veterans of the industry who goes back to the heydays of the hobby and has a vast knowledge built up over years of reviewing for the major print titles of the day.
Not surprisingly, then, Janine’s review is thorough and goes into some detail of her experience with the X6 Block and RF Router.
She begins with an overview of Russ’s history, outlining the serious reputation he has built for himself in the industry over the years, from his days at Russ Andrews High Fidelity in Edinburgh, through years of consultancy work for major Hi-Fi brands, to his pioneering work on the effect of clean mains power on the sound of a system.
Grounding and earthing
Next she lays the groundwork (pun intended!) for the review by clarifying the important distinction between grounding and earthing: the latter is for safety, and not to be fiddled with, whereas the former describes a way of draining Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) away from your system towards a ground.In other words, grounding is something we can improve because, as she points out, your system will not be functioning at its optimum with all that interference present.
However, past experience has made her wary, because there is potential for all those additional grounding wires to act as even more antennas in the system, potentially making the problem worse rather than better.
“I was rather sceptical at first”, she writes, “thinking ‘surely this can’t work, or at least not much’, but of course as a reviewer one cannot write a conclusion until the end of trying it out first. I was in for a big surprise…”.
But the review also concerns the mains extension supplying your system - from which the RF Router is connected. Here she agrees that, in her view, this is a vital point of concern because:
“from experience, a basic power block from your local DIY store will introduce more noise into your HiFi system and can turn your music into a harsh metallic bright sound”.
Greater than the sum of their parts
So, what we’re looking at here, with the X6 Block and RF Router, is a comprehensive system designed to address both noise on the mains and RF interference from other electrical items in the home.
Initially, Janine expresses concern that the Plug-in RF Router will not be as effective as ‘routing’ the RF noise to an external grounding rod. The reason behind her reticence is a concern over the fact that this noise could, potentially, find its way back into the system via the mains earth, negating the whole process.
This is a valid point and the reason why, ideally, we recommend the stand-alone RF Router - or SuperRouters - be used, connected to a grounding rod in the garden.
However, this is not always possible or, indeed, practical, so that’s why we offer the option of using the mains earth in the wall socket - the point being that, although some noise will find its way back into the system’s mains earth, this is still vastly reduced over what is taken out, the majority finding its way away from the house along the mains earth to outside.
The proof of this will be found in the pudding of the sound: if the theory works, you’ll hear an improvement. So, what did she find?
Listening...
First up to test the principle was Elton John’s Funeral for a Friend, from the album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. She found this was “tidier, especially in the bass and quicker on top... sounding clearer and with greater dynamics”.She noted that the improvements were immediate but got even better over time - something that we have noticed and has been commented on previously by other reviewers.
Janine studied music at university and is therefore able to draw upon certain pieces of which she has a deep understanding, both from listening and playing.
One such example is Nikolai Medtner’s Piano Quintet in C, performed by The New London Quintet with Malcolm Binns on piano. This is not the best recording and, she admits, not the most engaging, but sometimes these are excellent records to use: if you can make a bad album enjoyable…!
In this case, the point is proven, as she remarks that, despite the shortcomings of the recording, “I felt compelled to listen with the increased detail and excitement on offer from the X6 and RF Router partnership… everything seemed to focus better, like going from a slightly “snowy” TV picture to perfectly focused”.
She continues: “Any grit and interference seemed to disappear and even the soundstage improved, with better positioning of the instrumentalists with greater depth". She makes the point that the combination of X6 with the router is a powerful one, with the X-Block alone sounding “very open and revealing compared to a basic block” but when you combine that with the RF Router “it subtly improved things to a point that you forgot this was just a scratchy record in my living room.”
Again, with an album track by bass guitar virtuoso Jaco Pastorius, where it was normally difficult to decipher the different instruments in the complex, fast-moving arrangement, she found that with the RF Router in place everything opened up and the individual instruments became easier to decipher.
Mighty bass
One area where the benefits of a good, clean electrical feed and grounding can make itself most obvious is in the lower frequencies, with not just increased depth but also more nuance in those notes.
“I had never heard things this clearly lower down on these speakers... the Toccata was nothing short of amazing on the WB's – frequency extended, controlled, clean, exciting, mystic in the quiet sections and magnificent when the organ blew as loud as it possibly could.”
This is a characteristic clearly evident in the review, when Janine notes how her Wilson Benesch Arc speakers have never sounded so deep, spurring her on to give them a real test with the Toccata from Widor’s Symphony No 5 (for organ).
"With the X6 and RF Router connected”, she writes, “the Toccata was nothing short of amazing on the [Wilson Benesch Arc speakers] – frequency extended, controlled, clean, exciting, mystic in the quiet sections and magnificent when the organ blew as loud as it possibly could.”
Just as importantly, having listened to this on the back of the other albums, there was no fatigue, no sounds of stress or grittiness in the music; “the transparency and musicality from having none of the electrical interference just made my equipment sound at its best”.
Conclusion
Summing up, she says that the cost of the X6/Plug-in RF Router along with cables represents good value given what they achieve in terms of "controlling the mains interference that infests our HiFi".
She also points out the benefit of the 60 day trial period for allowing you to test the principle for yourself in the knowledge that you can return them if you're not 100% satisfied with the improvements.
"This bundle of goodies was a no-brainer" she says, "the difference in sound, particularly the detail of bass, soundstage and top-end focus was so noticeable to me, even with my initial scepticism."
Website: HiFiPig.com
Publication: August 2024
Verdict: 5 Hearts
Read the full review
More about X6 MKII
More about Plug-in RF Router
Find out more about grounding
Written By Simon Dalton
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