Translations:

The secret of a natural sounding, life like, HiFi system is quite simple. It is achieving the lowest possible ‘Noise Floor’. What exactly does ‘Noise Floor’ refer to? Many people mistakenly believe it refers to the literal noise that plagues some systems, such as hums, buzzes, tube rush and vinyl noise. These noises can certainly be a nuisance, though they have nothing at all to do with the ‘Noise Floor’. Instead what this concept is actually referring to, is a corruption of the musical Wave-Form as it is processed by the components in your system. This ‘corruption’ may be heard as a grainy, electronic or otherwise artificial quality to the sound. These pollutants of the musical Wave-Form make it all too obvious that you’re listening to reproduced music rather than the real thing. For the music to sound real through your system, you need to get rid of these pollutants. This is what is referred to by achieving a low ‘Noise Floor’.

Ironically, the components which tend to achieve the lowest ‘Noise Floor’ are Tube amplifiers and Turntables, which is why they are often preferred by audiophiles. This should make the difference between literal noise and the ‘Noise Floor’ concept clearer. Obviously Vinyl records and Tube amplifiers often suffer from more literal noise than CD players and Transistor amplifiers and yet they achieve a lower ‘Noise Floor’. CD Players and other digital components, as well as Solid State amplifiers, tend to suffer more from those pollutants getting right into the musical Wave-Form itself; but of course these components offer a number of advantages, if only we can lower the ‘Noise Floor’.

Enter VertexAQ, a young company from the UK that has dedicated itself to solving this crucial problem. The results of applying VertexAQ products to an audio system are dramatic and we can easily demonstrate this to you here at Sound Galleries. Where such problems as electronic grain and digital artefacts previously corrupted the music, this corruption is removed and the music is free to breathe naturally into the room. More detail will be revealed, though in a natural way which enables you to make sense of the musical gestalt at all times. With VertexAQ products you will also be able to listen at much lower volume levels than previously, and the music will still satisfy you. This is another important advantage of a low ‘Noise Floor’ for people who need to listen at lower than realistic levels. Of course, VertexAQ products will also greatly benefit Turntables and Tube amplifiers as their ‘Noise Floor’ will be lowered even further.

How do VertexAQ achieve this? Steve Elford and John Cheadle are the guys behind VertexAQ. Whilst working in the Royal Air Force, Steve developed new acoustic absorption technologies for use in critical aircraft systems. After he met John Cheadle, who has a background in Audio design, the two of them took on the challenge of applying those absorption technologies to Audio. The approach of VertexAQ is basically twofold. One is to develop support systems which drain away all unwanted energy from Audio components, the other is to remove pollutants within the mains before it can get into the components. While developing their products a third approach suggested itself, because it became clear that the cables themselves carry a lot of unwanted vibration and that this also pollutes the sound. As a result of this the boxes you see around all of the VertexAQ Mains and Signal cables contain acoustic absorbers to eliminate this unwanted vibration, in addition to sophisticated RFI/EMI mains filtering on the mains cables and distribution blocks.

The Kinabalu supports that VertexAQ have developed for placing your components on, really are the ultimate solution in draining unwanted energy from the components themselves. These supports go in between the shelf you place your equipment on and the equipment itself. Each support consists of a large piece of granite, which for some supports is surrounded by an attractive wooden frame. This is not just a simple piece of granite, since precisely calculated paths have been carved within it as determined by VertexAQ to have the maximum effect in draining away unwanted energy. The surface of the Granite is deliberately left unpolished and natural, as this too was found to make a difference in draining away resonance.

The Power cords, signals cables, distribution blocks and support platforms developed by VertexAQ are much more than add on accessories, that may be purchased as an afterthought. Instead they should be thought of as ‘system components’ themselves, because their contribution is every bit as important as the other components, (CD Players, Amplifiers, etc.) within your system. In fact, because of their effect on dramatically lowering the ‘Noise Floor’ a moderately priced system where VertexAQ products have been applied, will often outperform a far more expensive system. The VertexAQ products can be incrementally added to your system and each addition will make a clear improvement. The beauty of a traditional dealer Auditorium such as Sound Galleries is that you’ll be able to clearly hear the differences the VertexAQ products make for yourself. VertexAQ products are based on solid scientific research and development and most importantly, they work! Visit VertexAQ