TITAN AUDIO EROS MAINS BLOCK REVIEW

Remember the Titan Audio Ares mains distribution block we reviewed back at the tail end of 2023? It was good enough to make it onto that year´s Best Of list, and it was (and still is) only 400 quid. This, the second iteration of the Eros mains block, is significantly better, but at a more substantial but still reasonable GBP 875.

When audiophiles talk about ´source components´ they usually mean stuff like turntables (including tonearm/cartridge/phono preamp), streamers or CD-players. Northern Irish Titan Audio begs to differ: in their view, the music source is whatever brings the mains voltage to your HiFi system: After all, the music signal that ends up feeding one´s loudspeakers is not being amplified out of thin air; rather, it´s the mains voltage that gets modulated with whatever is on your records or files, and any impurities or disturbances might end up corrupting the latter. Rather than just building mains cables and distribution blocks out of better materials than the freebie cables you get with your equipment and the multi-way mains connectors you get from your local DIY or electronics store and hope that you will notice a difference (or believe there is one), Titan Audio takes a scientific approach, making design choices based on in-depth research in collaboration with institutes such as Belfast´s Queen´s University and Northern Ireland Science Park. Although the manufacturer is understandably coy about the exact ways the results of that research are being implemented in their products – they will have spent considerable sums in research and development after all – it´s obvious that all these products are bespoke, built from scratch in their own factory and not merely re-labels or a slight adaptation of OEM-products, also their relatively modest prices are easily understood and justified in terms of material value alone; there´s no secretive mumbo-jumbo going on here in order to make a thousand-pound product out of a ten quid one… Also, the Eros distribution block, as with all Titan Audio products, comes with a thirty-day return option and a lifetime warranty, making it essentially a no-risk purchase.

All well and good, but this does present the reviewer with a challenge when presented with a `one level higher´ version of a formerly enjoyed and recommended product, without knowing much of what is inside. Normally, you´d get a list of bullet points describing what ´more´ you get from the more expensive item. Here, however, the manufacturer states for both that rather than employing buss-bars as in most inexpensive power distribution blocks (and probably a few relatively expensive ones, as well), all power outlets are hard-wired using their own mono-crystalline OFC power cable – and that´s about it. So all that´s left for yours truly here, is to sum up the visible differences between the two. While the Ares has a plastic housing with moulded-in power sockets and a pair of acrylic feet lifting it from the ground, the Eros, featuring the same compact dimensions as its more affordable sibling, is built from aluminium (the former version was out of acrylic) which is internally coated with damping material, has separate, higher quality power outlets, with aluminium bars and a full-length layer of high-density neoprene isolation connecting it to the floor. As with the Ares, an IEC power inlet is placed on the rear of the unit allowing the user to change power cables from the wall socket as they go, in addition, the back of the Eros also has an earthing post. Internal cabling is the same as used for the Eros power cables. As on the Ares, our review sample had a large, backlit on-off switch on its top face, next to the power outlets; this time, without a flip-up lid covering it.

Being a six-way distribution block like the Ares before, after burning it in on the smaller of the two review systems (which ended up getting some items – most notably the custom Pink Faun Tube Pre line preamp and Audio Note Quest 300B single ended monoblock power amps – along the way) I chose the Eros for providing juice to all the ´analogue´ items of the larger system, being four monoblock single-ended triode amps, the Pink Faun preamplifier and the valve regulated power supply unit of my Allnic phono stage, while all ´digital´ items and switch mode power supplies – the internal class D amps/DSP units driving the bass section of the Avantgarde horn speakers, the turntable power supply et cetera on another distribution block. This was the same configuration as I previously used the Ares in.

The sonic results were frankly stunning, particularly for a compact, no-nonsense power distribution block that´s still some way removed from being four figures. Basically everything the Ares does, the Eros can do that bit better – music sounds more open and detailed, there is more ambient information being uncovered and dynamics are stronger, taking this comparatively humble device to a level where even in an ambitious and relatively complex set up such as this, there is little left to be gained by inserting a multi-thousand-pound power conditioner in its place. Another thing I found with the Eros is that it let textures and timbres shine through in a more natural way than some other power solutions. Near the end of my test period, a Grand Prix Audio Parabolica turntable with Viv Audio Rigid Float tonearm, Murakasino Sumile MC-cartridge and Nobala step-up transformer with Tiglon cabling and some additional ´tuning´ items by German distributor Black Forest Audio arrived; a finely honed set up costing about 50,000 euro in total, and frankly the best music source I ever had the pleasure of experiencing. Imagine my surprise that all of the stunning qualities that came to the fore in Black Forest Audio´s carefully curated demo room, shone just as brightly in my own listening environment, elevating my system to levels I previously wouldn´t have thought possible in terms of clarity, detail, three-dimensionality, dynamics and overall ´rightness’.  When you realise that the end result can´t possibly be better than the quality of the mains supply the equipment is presented with, this does say a lot about the Eros; enough to happily give it the Reviewer´s Preference award.

AT A GLANCE

Build Quality and Features:

Compact form factor, the upper surface with the power outlets being slightly tilted (as with the Ares) in the same way a mixing desk tends to be, helps with ergonomics, as do the integral feet lifting it off the ground

Aluminium construction (with well-chosen damping on the inside as well as a properly thought out blend of absorption and decoupling under the feet) and separate, better quality Schuko-style power outlets (on the EU-version tested) give it a solid, quality feel

Power switch makes elaborate set ups with partially hidden/hard-to-reach on-off switches on individual items more manageable in daily operation

Sound Quality:

Building on the qualities of the more affordable Ares, the Eros takes openness, detail and dynamics to altogether higher levels while maintaining a natural, organic feel. Even in very elevated company, the power distributor doesn´t seem to put a handbrake of any kind on things. Obviously, this does an excellent job in keeping all kinds of nastiness from your equipment´s power supplies, without itself being a bottleneck to the flow of current

Value For Money:

875 quid isn´t chump change, but in terms of the sonic results and taking into account the sturdy build from high-grade material, this still is a bit of a bargain

We Loved:

The compact shape makes it very versatile in placement and it being lifted off the floor without having to make extra provisions; the solid, high-quality feel, the provision of a power switch on our review example and a grounding post directly connected to earth on the IEC inlet, but most of all how it got out of the way sonically and let the set up drawing juice from it shine at its brightest with clarity, detail, dynamics, timbres and textures all coming through extremely well

We Didn´t Love So Much:

Nothing of note (I´d like a version with eight or ten power outlets, though!)

Elevator Pitch Review: The Titan Audio Eros 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 of solid, aluminium construction with carefully considered internal damping and its separate power sockets hard wired with very high quality, single crystal copper cable and lifted from the ground on integral feet using high-density neoprene ioltion material as an interface to the floor, it puts proper air between it and the already very good Ares, rising to the occasion even in very high end systems to offer openness, detail and dynamics in spades while preserving a natural, organic feel where nothing sticks out, easily justifying its higher price tag. Being offered with a 30-day return and lifetime product warranty, it´s a no-risk purchase too. It´s an easy recommendation and a worthy recipient of the Reviewers Preference award.

Price: £875

Eric van Spelde

SUPPLIED BY TITAN AUDIO