The Evolution One (EVO One) is the perfect complement to the Alan Maher Designs product line. The EVO One is an electrical parallel buffer design. Usually parallel based filters - and this is not a criticism of any one design because we have done the same in the past as well – come in one or two flavors. Smaller based capacitor design tilts the top end to give the impression of added detail from a blacker background, whereas a choke-based design rolls off the top end to give the impression of greater warmth and bass impact. I look at these designs as corrective designs – not for poor power per se’ but rather poor speaker placement, cable selection, and/or room acoustics. If you need a filter to tilt the performance as a corrective measure for poor speaker placement, I recommend not purchasing the EVO One.
The EVO One is a low frequency buffer that filters out RF from the component power supply and corrects the harmonic balance of the component circuit after the power supply. If you need a little warmth in your system, EVO One can help nudge the system signature in that direction. If you need to clean up ragged emphasis at vocal extremes – usually heard as speaker break up - it can help smooth that out. If you need greater top end extension. It can help add extension without distorted brightness. If you need greater bass definition, it can help with that as well. The EVO One works as a transparent design – the buffer adds effortless RF correction to the power supply – power supplies are affected by voltage fluctuations or power supply capacitor charging and discharging.
After you plug the EVO One into the outlet supplying power to your system, you will notice the warmth to become audible 25-30 minutes after the install. About 90 minutes in you will hear vocals begin to smooth out at the extremes. Weight and definition will improve as well during this time – all these signature corrections are subtle nudges one direction, or the other direction based on your component selection. The EVO One will begin to break-in, condition, and develop the harmonic balance of the system over a 10–12-day period.
After the break-in, your system will sound more transparent like an excellent quality tube – it will have a nice blend of color, dimension, extension, detail, and realism.
We recommend 2 EVO One units per system.
EVO One
“FYI, I added just one of the 4 that I purchased to the outlet where the TV is and either I had a previous odd number of "DED" like units or the TV outlet is on the same phase as the dedicated outlet for the stereo...MIND BLOWN!!! And 8 days remaining to settle in that unit. Fun times ahead.” – Jeff Wilmoth
“Alan-Just got the EVO1 installed (on the main stereo outlet) last night. With no break in this thing is fucking amazing! Especially in bass and midrange smoothness!” -Thomas Doherty
"It is truly an amazing filter! Received the Evo1 three days ago and from day one you knew...It just gets better each day. The audio is now more natural and organic the voice is so real and the bass is deep and mellow. The video is on another level... the realism of the picture and how the colors just not only pop but here is this depth and color separation make believe you are actually outside. This is one filter that most people would be amazed by!" -Sene Chen
"I like to use tracks from the artist Seal for my A/B listening comparisons because for one I am very familiar with his music, the way his albums were recorded, and Trevor Horn; the person who produced them. I also actually enjoy his music. What a concept! Trevor Horn uses SSL consoles which tend to have a grainy top end, clean neutral midrange, and a weak bottom end. This is evident on Seal's earlier records. Of course there are many other variables but in my opinion this reflects the sound of his albums up until "Human Being" came about. Seal has a raspy & airy yet smooth voice. If I had to describe the sound signature on his albums in visual terms it would be the color gray. His tracks usually sound a bit rolled off on the top, grainy in the lower treble, and weak in the bass. If you can get some sparkle on the top, some warmth in the mid-range, and some punch in the bass with Seal, chances are you're probably going to have a good sounding system on anything else that's not poorly recorded.
I was already very pleased with how my setup sounded. I really didn't think with what I already had dialed in I would gain anything from a different power filter type device. Enter Alan Maher Designs. I plugged in the Evo One to the audio outlet directly and listened to the immediate shift in sound. At first it calmed everything down. Overall the sound signature seemed to have an overall darker tone. Almost like listening to a remastered track but the opposite way around. Going from the remaster back to the original; which always seems to have a lower volume than the newer EQ'd version but has a smoother top-end and more of that analog tape flavor. To me it's more of what was originally intended. Remastered tracks tend to sound brighter and have more clarity from top to bottom in the audio spectrum but usually end up sounding more "digital" in a bad way. What I mean by this is there's a bright edge around the notes from the remastering process that I tend not to care for. What's really cool and I recommend anyone to try is not only doing an A/B test with a single track but first listening to that track and plug in the Evo One while the music is playing and get back in the sweet spot. The change can be heard immediately.
I listened as I heard more warmth and body which tamed down the top end but developed more evenly over the next 5-10 minutes. I highly recommend listening to the change that happens over the next hour and a half. The experience is magic. Everything in the spectrum slowly shifts into place with bass punch, a warmish organic midrange, and a smooth top end with 2nd order harmonics that are detailed but not fatiguing. The pace, rhythm, and timing gels everything into coherence and put a smile on my face as I relaxed to "Violet" by Seal. I put on "Still Love Remains" and the opening electric guitar moved closer to be than before. Then the acoustic guitar strums in right before a snare & cymbal along with bass start grooving when a somber electric guitar from the left plays while keyboard and synths flow in. I am hooked! The climax of the song has the acoustic guitar come back in along with strings and I've got goosebumps. An ethereal escape in a comfortable chair.
I remember the first time I tried one of AM Designs' filters. I plugged in the original Infinity Plug-In and was absolutely floored at what happened to the sound stage width, depth, bass, midrange bloom, and treble. This gave me that experience all over again. The Evo One actually gave the music texture. You'll know what I mean when you hear it. The layering of different sounds and instruments is addictive and unique to Alan's designs. There's a halo like effect with the phasing where things are seemingly wrapped around your ears. I've heard $10K+ power conditioners not sound anything like this. Alan has the genie in the bottle at a fraction of the price. I didn't think it could get any better but now Alan does it again with the Evo One. Thank you Alan for taking the emphasis off of trying to listen to gear with our eyes and instead make hearing the music an experience!" -David R.
"Alan my system is better because of you. Mate it’s unbelievable I don’t know what you've done in that power adapter but it absolutely works. I had 230 of noise and now I have 12 million volts! Thank you!!! I took a leep of faith and I’m so impressed." -Paul Rollo