Current – energy – electricity – remains a difficult subject in our world. Power is power, right? Unfortunately, it’s not. Energy is increasingly polluted by switching power supplies of, for example, LED lamps, dimmers, PCs, laptops (adapters) or chargers of smartphones. And when you consider that a hi-fi system actually does nothing more than modulate energy to convert it into moving air, you can argue that pollution eventually becomes audible. It’s a shame. But fix it! We test the brutal approach: the Isotek Titan (EVO3). A filter, made for powerhouses

Sexy? No. The Isotek EVO3 isn’t. It’s actually just a big block of metal with a discrete blue LED at the top when it’s on and at the back two mains connections and a large switch for on and off. Simple. Effective. However, if you take the Titan out of the box and put it in place, you will notice that there must be quite a bit inside. Because the Titan is definitely heavy. And when we open it, we see why: there is a very large transformer in it. And on the bottom plate we also see four small transformers on top of a plate under which there should be more electronics.

Direct Coupled

Isotek regularly mentions Direct Coupled technology. This means that the connected device actually makes a direct connection to the mains. Now, of course, that’s not quite the case, because then you might as well not filter. What we are actually talking about is a galvanic separation without any extra components. So just a transformer. A big one, though. And yes, that works.

What we see next to this galvanic isolation is four extra transformers and under those transformers another plate with extra filters (parallel). Isotek calls this the ‘nine stage conditioning network’. This is a serial network that is parallel to the power supply. In fact, some kind of Parallel Filter On Steroids… With a thick galvanic separation in front of it. That sounds cool, right?

Common Mode and Differential Mode

The Isotek EVO3 Titan suppresses both Common Mode and Differential Mode ‘pollution’. Common Mode pollution is between earth and zero-phase and flows in the same direction. Differential Mode pollution is between the phase and earth in opposite directions. The Titan can suppress both forms of pollution with 82dB. And it can do that up to a frequency of 5 Hz. So low-frequency is also tackled thoroughly, which is important in audio applications.

High Current

The Titan – and this is crucial – is a filter made to supply a lot of power: 20A at 230V is no problem. Right: 4600 Watts is not a problem. And, of course, that can’t come from one wall-socket. But we would rather see an over-dimensioned device than a model that immediately creates a bottleneck.

The Test Setup

We have used the Isotek EVO3 Titan in two systems: our Dion Audio, Stenheim, Metrum, Alpha HTPC/ROON system in the typing-room. And our reference set consisting of Focal Sopra No1, Metrum Acoustics Pavane, Metrum Acoustics Ambre, Pass Labs XP12 and Bryston 4B SST3. Cables come from Grimm Audio, Audioquest, Art Speak and Kemp.

Now we already have filters in our system. Both in the tapping room – Van Medevoort PFM2 – and in the listening room: a Kemp HiPower 8Plus socket and an SNS plug. And yes: that is necessary and sounds better than running without filters. If we take a loose reading with the Blue Horizon meter, it’ll go to 738. And sometimes even MAX. Not good. With the Kemp HiPower 8 alone, it sinks to something around 10. And a light mumble. With the SNS crankbait it drops a little bit.

We can be short: with the Titan the meter is to 0 and we hear nothing from the speaker: dead quiet. In short: nothing more comes through the filter. But as we have often said, this says nothing about the display quality. Just that it filters. But with filters it’s crucial that it doesn’t affect the dynamics. Certainly with power amplifiers this is often the case. That’s why we normally advise against it.

Various set-ups

We’ve tried several combinations. Especially with pre- and power amplifiers. The power amplifier is always connected to the Titan. However, we misused the second connection for other tests. Think of the Dion tube preamplifier connected and not connected, Benchmark DAC3 and later the Metrum Amethyst connected and not in the Titan. And in the reference set the XP-12 in or out. You can read the findings further on.

The Sound

We’d better say… the Sound of Silence. Guys… what a calm presentation. In both sets… It really is an unreal experience to hear this. Although the difference in both sets is different. In the typing room, it’s bigger because conditions are worse with all PCs. And we don’t have as good power strips. In the reference set it is really a thick point on the ‘i’ and brings a ‘authenticity’ that is very pleasant. Now we really hear a (even) blacker background and a better separation between the instruments and vocals. Everything just sounds more natural. Lovely.

Bass Kick

We love electronic music and progressive rock / metal at Alpha Audio. Think Massive Attack, Radiohead / Thom Yorke, Steven Wilson, A Perfect Circle… you’ll get it. With that kind of music, dynamics and range are really crucial. Otherwise, the charm is immediately off.

We can guarantee that the 4B SST3 did not suffer from shortness of breath. Also not at higher volumes. In fact: there seems to be more bass kick and deeper and more controlled low with the Titan. The same goes for the set with the Dion Audio electronics. It flourishes fine with the Isotek EVO3 Titan between the wall and their input.

Imaging

We have to be honest: the imaging is already very good in our space. There is a real 3D image with effortless effects next to and behind us. So it doesn’t have to be much more spacious and will be tricky. What can be improved is the tautness of the picture. And not so much more stable, but better focused.

And that’s exactly what the Titan does: voices get a better defined part in the picture. Without having to bother listening. That image is placed even tighter when we take the Metrum with us in the filter (more about this later). So it may be worth experimenting with.

Pass Labs…?

Is it better to let more devices play through the Titan? Well, uh… no. Not always. One exception in this case is our Pass Labs XP-12. He just doesn’t like the Titan. As soon as we connect this front stage, we hear a loss of dynamics and especially a reduction in the stereo image. Very weird. It just won’t.

The Metrum Pavane, on the other hand… …that one again. As said, we hear an even better focused stereo image. However, the sound image also becomes a bit thinner and the stereo image tends a bit more forward. Must love you. However, it doesn’t get dull like the XP-12.

Final bins

What we can say after our test period is that the Isotek EVO3 Titan is especially suitable for power amplifiers. Very weird. And a little unnatural for us. Because although we have been using filters for sources and kicks for years, we have actually never permanently used a filter for a power amplifier. The only one that worked is the Torus Power we tested a few years ago. In fact, that’s just a giant transformer…

In conclusion, we can say that the Isotek EVO3 Titan can have a particularly beneficial effect on the reproduction. In our case, if we do the power amplifier in the Titan, both in the set of the tapping space and in the reference set, it gives a better reproduction. More tranquillity, more refinement, no loss of dynamics (in fact: there seems to be more dynamics) and a larger stereo image.

However, it is a matter of trying, because the Pass Labs doesn’t sound as good through the Titan. And the Metrum does not have to be stupid, but a fresher and more prominent rendition. You must love that.

To whom?

With 4200 euros, the Isotek EVO3 Titan is not the bargain of the century. Not a tweak you’re doing just like that. But know that it can just be a major upgrade to your existing system. We’re stunned what this does to our system. It’s working.

But do you have to buy this Titan just like that? No. Because it has to stay in proportion. We run in the reference room with a precious system that makes it sound flawless. And there is also a serious system in the work/tick room. But honestly, we wouldn’t consider this Titan. It’s out of proportion. An Isotek Polaris or Isotek Aquarius would fit better there.

Anyway, it is unwise to buy filters blindly. Always try first, because the result is almost impossible to predict, as it depends on the situation in your house / space and set. For example, we couldn’t have predicted the effect on the Bryston: it’s going very well. But not at all on Pass Labs XP-12. And on the Metrum-dac? Well… taste.