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Description (continued)

The HAL-O JR. IDIs sell for $12.48 a pair (RCA set), but are also available in different sizes to accommodate different size plugs. They are packaged very nicely and are accompanied by an instruction sheet that provides additional information regarding use and maintenance. There's also a money back guaranty with this or any other HAL-O device. I believe that all manufacturers and dealers of tweaks should offer a money back guaranty on products they sell, those that don't should seriously rethink their advertising and sales policies. Tweaks need to be tried out and experimented with, there are so many factors that could influence how a particular tweak plays out in a given system that noting is for granted. I have a short article: Putting Things Into Perspective that you may want to glance over if you haven't already.

HAL-O IDIs come with a 90-day money back guaranty, which is truly a generous return policy. You also get a lifetime warranty, which simply doesn't get any better. Yes, I know what you're thinking: They're so simple what could possibly go wrong. Well the rings could break and the pads could tare, so knowing you're covered is money in the bank.

OK, if you need more info on these check out: Herbie's Audio Lab.

Setup

Attaching these to your interconnect plugs is simple and straightforward enough. The only thing you have to worry about is the situation when the plugs are relatively close to each other when plugged into equipment. You will need to play a bit with the IDI positioning so that everything aligns nicely. The accompanying instruction sheet has more on this.

Having three pairs on my disposal I used one pair at source (picture above), and two pairs at the other end, one on each side of the EVS Ultimate Attenuators (pictured on the next page). The Ultimate Attenuators, made by Ric Schultz from Electronic Visionary Systems, are cool passive volume controls that mount directly onto input RCAs of a power amplifier. Now, some tweaks are easy to A-B compare, swapping such tweaks in and out of your system is simple and quick. Assessing the HAL-O JR. IDIs is a bit tricky, namely: It takes some time to put them all on and to take them all off between comparisons, keeping in mind that you also have to unplug and plug back the interconnects in the process. Naturally the longer the time between comparisons the harder it is to judge. So the solution is to do more swapping (i.e. A-B comparing) and focus on one or two individual aspects at a time.

I have to say I nearly blew my speakers as I was swapping the IDIs in and out. The IDIs were not at fault, but rather my laziness that almost cost me dearly. The Nordost plugs I was using for this test have a ground first thing that is supposed to make it possible to plug in the interconnect without powering down. However the EVS UAs don't, so after a very mean crackle and fizz sound I quickly learned my lesson and opted to power down between each comparison (be advised).

HAL-O JR. Interconnect Damping Instrument