TITAN AUDIO ARES MAINS BLOCK REVIEW

Eric van Spelde takes a listen to the £400 Titan Audio Ares mains block.

At 400 GBP, the new Ares mains distribution block sits right between the former entry-level model Styx and the current Eros in North Irish manufacturer Titan Audio´s portfolio. It´s available in UK, US, and Euro versions – I tried the latter in my system, feeding four monoblock tube amplifiers, a preamp, and a very high-end phono stage from its six outlets on a system comprising very high-efficiency speakers.

Although Titan Audio´s range has diversified into different areas of cabling over the years, its focus has always been firmly put on mains products, regarding mains technology as the origin point of all systems. Their philosophy is to not just use slightly better materials than standard and hope the prospective customer will notice a difference – or simply believe there is one – but to make design choices based on in-depth research on managing mains interference, helped by leading sound engineers and research institutes. In particular, Titan Audio works with Belfast´s Queen´s University and Northern Island Science Park, digging into all the factors degrading the juice coming out of our home sockets, which we use to power our HiFi systems. Despite their very reasonable price tags compared to some other options, the products are all bespoke and not some re-labeled or slightly adapted OEM products; all are hand-made by a team of highly trained technicians in Northern Ireland and come with a 30-day return option and a lifetime guarantee.

The stand the Titan Ares block comes on is a useful and welcome addition

NO NONSENSE WITH COOL FACTOR

Although the company understandably remains pretty much silent about the results of that research and how they are implemented into the products, there´s something refreshing about Titan Audio´s no-nonsense approach to mains conditioning. What you get is a six-way power distribution block hard-wired with the same single-crystal copper cable as seen at the higher end of Titan´s power cable range (there are currently three different levels, each consisting of a cable for low-current, high-noise susceptibility components like preamps, DACs, and phono stages, and one for high current applications such as integrated or power amps and complete systems), an IEC inlet at the back, making for easy upgradability by way of a higher end power lead from wall socket to distribution block – all in a compact, sturdy housing comprising two rows of three Euro (Schuko) sockets with gold-plated contacts. Compactness is one aspect of the Ares´ design, the actual block being slightly tilted forwards on 10 mm acrylic supports on both ends for resonance control (the screws with which they are attached to the block are specially chosen for this purpose and torqued to a specific level) that lift the unit a couple of inches from the floor, another. A silver-on-black Union Jack-inspired graphic on the acrylic end supports gives a whiff of Cool Britannia – not unlike the rear lights on a current Mini.

POWER SWITCH

The form factor of this six-way distribution block makes the Ares very easy to place and install behind one´s audio equipment, which is a boon to us reviewers – particularly one working within tight confines like yours truly! But that´s not all – our review example had an on-off switch placed behind a flip-up lid for the full 007/jet fighter pilot effect. This, in principle, was A Very Good Thing to me (and hardly ever seen on ´serious´ HiFi mains distribution units) in this particular case, as it saved me from reaching for the individual switches on the back of four awkwardly placed monoblock power amps. I feared that switching four amps (plus the phono stage and line preamp) on all at once would blow the living room group´s main fuse, but thankfully that didn´t materialize. Which was good. Unfortunately, the number and lengths of the available power cords and the location of the nearest wall outlet meant that the power distributor needed to sit behind the sofa… Of course, none of that is the Ares´ fault – being given the choice of having a single power switch for all of the items connected to the power distributor on a quality unit that is specifically designed for high-performance audio, is a rare but decidedly welcome convenience, even if it might diminish outright performance by a minimal number of percentage points. In my case, having a single power switch in a rather more convenient location than behind the sofa would mean that we´d use the ´big´ system with the four single-ended triode amps driving Avantgarde horns in full active mode (´dedicated SET´) rather more often. To some extent, this proved to be the case even with the power switch hidden behind the sofa…

Views from a different angle the Ares still looks like an excellent proposition for the asking price

HERE COMES THE BASS!

A propos performance – despite its modest price tag and not being an obviously ´luxury´ item in terms of materials compared to some more expensive options, this thing is anything but a slouch, at any price.

The first thing I noticed is that it got rid of a permanent hiss from the high-frequency amps/drivers that before, had been very noticeable when standing in front of the speakers – especially from the turntable rig. Obviously, this alone dropped the noise floor in the mid and high frequencies rather significantly, as well as removing a source of annoyance whenever no music was playing…

The second thing that – almost literally – struck me was the bass, which came stronger to the point that I had to dial it back a bit on the Avantgardes´ internal low-frequency amps/DSP units, cleaner and more tuneful. With the early techno classic LFO (by, erm, LFO) not only the point where the bass first dropped a further octave became a laugh-out-loud experience – the neighbours might not have found it as funny, though – the more impressive feat was that there were no signs of dynamic compression when later in the track, those deepest tones came simultaneously with the actual bassline and the airy/bleepy synths which remained crystal clear and kept their place and ´size´ in the soundstage relative to the other elements; indicating that the power distribution block did not pose any restriction in current delivery – at least not in my configuration. And while the overall drop of the noise floor, with the corresponding gains in detail and naturalness of the sound reproduction might not have been quite as profound as when using some of the ultra-expensive and elaborate means of mains conditioning out there that can easily run into five figures – going from a standard-issue, Media Mart type of mains distribution block I would say it´s close to 90 percent of the way there on a seriously high-end system in what I would say are typical domestic conditions – normal living room rather than dedicated listening space, no separate mains spur for audiovisual equipment, ´audiophile´ circuit breakers et al and a variety of audiophile grade power cords being used, the overwhelming majority being in the low three figure price range rather than four figures or more.

As such, at a more than reasonable 400 quid, the Ares makes a seriously compelling case for itself.

It gives a far larger slice of the potential benefits of mains conditioning as its price tag would suggest to the point that in the vast majority of systems and surroundings, I don´t think you´d end up wanting or needing anything more; it´s robust, easy to use and versatile.

From here, Titan Audio would suggest upgrading the power cord from wall outlet to power distributor first and I would tend to agree.

AT A GLANCE

Build Quality and Features:

Compact, well built without being excessive in materials usage, the unit being slightly tilted forwards on thick acrylic end pieces which lift the unit off the floor and provide a measure of resonance control is a rather nice touch

The packaging is attractive and also nicely compact

Sound quality:

The Ares did an excellent job of cutting noise from my system´s power supply which resulted in drastically reduced hiss, and a very noticeable lowering of the sound floor

Also, it proved far less of a bottleneck to current flow than other affordable mains distribution solutions which was very noticeable in the bass registers

Value for money:

Damn near off the scale at 400 quid

We loved:

The compact shape makes it very versatile in placement and it can be lifted off the floor without having to make extra provisions

The power switch on our review example!

The solid and consistent, and for the price level frankly huge improvement it made in sound quality while also removing hiss that before was irritating when no music was playing on the system

We Didn´t Love So Much:

Nothing at this price

Elevator Pitch Review: The Titan Audio Ares offers six power outlets and an IEC inlet for the mains cable from the wall power outlet in a compact unit, making it versatile and upgradeable. Being hard-wired with very high quality, single crystal copper cable and obviously carefully considered in all other aspects relevant to sound quality, it will make a massive improvement on any system running from a standard, or entry-level power distribution block and offers outstanding value for money. Being offered with a 30-day return and lifetime product warranty, it´s a no-risk purchase too.

Price: £400

Eric van Spelde

SUPPLIED BY TITAN