Introduction
And then comes the day when you want to test another accessory in your system. Take, for example the Acoustic Revive RR-77. You start listen, notwithstanding some comprehensible prejudices, with attention and willingness. You listen. You listen for a while, because it takes a while. Then you surrender. You open your eyes wide, since your ears are already pricked up, and you would like to turn off everything and throw your system out of the window…
How is it possible that a budget little box – so to say – modifies so much the performances of systems that have required years of fine tuning, that are strongly in synergy and, often, very expensive too? Obviously, I am not speaking only of my - relatively modest - system, but especially our collaborators ‘systems that have a no-compromise set-up, believe me.
The RR-77 is technically defined “ultra-low frequency pulse generator” and its domain includes audio electronics, listening rooms and, as we will see, the listeners. An accessory that improves the quality of sound and images and should also give us a perceptible sense of well-being.
Scientific assumption: the emitted pulse is called the Schumann Resonance, a resonant frequency that exists in the “electromagnetic cavity” of the earth. It is a waveguide that makes bounce most of the frequencies in the space between the terrestrial surface and the ionosphere. In 1954, it was predicted mathematically by physicist Winfried Otto Schumann for whom it was named. As a natural physical phenomenon, always existed, it has for us some interesting features in its lowest frequency that is also the one with the highest intensity, at about 7.83 Hz, also called standing wave with a wavelength equal to the circumference of the Earth.
Proposers, advocates and supporters of the Schumann Resonance state that men, together with animals and plants, have always unavoidably coexisted and have been somehow, as we will see later, “protected” by this interference. But recently, many unnatural radio and electromagnetic waves have caused wrong influence on our human bodies.
The Schumann Resonance could therefore neutralize the RF/EMI interferences generated by audio equipments and external radio waves. The declared effects on audio and video equipments, on listening room and on listeners have got more agreement and convergence so to advise also the use in concert halls or recording studios.
I suggest having a look at the manufacturer and distributor’s websites – you can always find them in the header and in the footer of our articles – to get some more info on the effects and on the wide possibilities of its utilization.
I was sceptical about supposed actions close to thaumaturgy, but the test has been revealing and effective. If then the product presents itself with the Acoustic Revive’s label, a Japanese manufacturer committed in the audio tweaking, well, I am ready to “throw an ear on it”. In his catalogue are devices using aerospatial or physiologic materials, like natural quartz, as well as components that have been subjected to cryogenic treatments or provided with demagnetizing action. The reliability and authoritativeness of the manufacturer, although it can appear more like a modern alchemist, is proven.
Design
I have plugged in and started using the provided power supply: the blue LED indicates its operation. Its laconic instructions, in Japanese and English, that you can downloaded here, are also more reassuring. I quote: “it does not matter where to place the RR-77, but to get the full effect, we recommend you to place it more than 1 meter (3 foot) above from the floor”. It is also suggested to place it distant from the audio equipment or the loudspeakers: “to get the full effect, place it more than 1 meter (3 foot) away from the audio equipment”. Maybe it is for self-suggestion, but I have immediately placed it in a central position between the speakers. Tested in bigger rooms and systems, it has worked in any position of the room.
Pros
As much as to say, if only it could make coffee! It is so effective, not intrusive but noticeable. Once operating, you forget it but it offers a sense of “well-being bubble”, both acoustical and physical. Yes, it is true. I have felt the sensation of an indistinct and generic “well-being”. Entirely. Continuously.
Cons
Disregarding the price, practically no cons. Well, maybe it is addictive. Joking aside, peeping at blogs and forums, or asking around, you hear saying that some people after a while, have got rid of it. I speculate on the reason why: because the RR-77 “plays” in the same way with different equipments. Or it “makes them play” in the same way, improving them in an absolute democratic way. This “end of games” syndrome could have taken some users, actually.
Maybe
Are we all mad?
Quick metaphors and final recap
The most audible effect is on the low frequencies: articulation, precision, timbric differences among the instruments dedicated to that frequency portion, are definitely the best. The scene deepens itself of different sound planes. This is the second perceptible effect, where the air among the instruments becomes palpable. The high frequencies benefit therefore in intelligibility and sweetness, making a more detailed, natural and liquid sound. These brief listening impressions repeat themselves constantly and with the most different audio installations. I exhort you to make this simple test: turning on and off the RR-77 and “see” the soundstage moving, deepening or closing, conforming to the state of the device. I definitely do not agree whit the opinion that the RR-77 operation is better perceptible “after a little while”. It could become optimal, but is anyhow quick, in going up and down, I mean both turning it on and off.
The RR-77 makes the sound more natural and homogenous, it unravels the sound, without colouring it. On the contrary, it reveals a more natural weave. This “neatening” seems to me like an image capable of suggesting completely the sense of well-being, also the physical one.
You cannot do without it at the listening, and not only: it is not just an accessory, it is a necessory.
P.S.
When we were about to go online, the Italian distributor told us that, after eight years of production of the RR-77, Acoustic Revive had introduced the RR-777. A model equipped with a new pulse generator with higher power, which has been optimized under the acoustic point of view. The look is the same, but its effect on the sound is higher than with the RR-77. If it is true, this article has still its info value. Enjoy your listening and the best well-being to everybody….
Official technical specifications:
Power supply: external supply 230V
Dimensions: 140x50x170mm (WxHxD)
Output Frequency: 7.83Hz
Official Italian dealer: to Audio Azimuth website
Official current price in Italy: 495.00 EUR, list price of the new RR-777
Associated equipment: to my system
