"it succeeded in giving me that '3 am' listening experience"

"a layer of artificiality is removed to reveal a more truthful presentation of the music and the artist's intent"

"The colors were richer, the palette was more profound, and the background canvas was calmer. Everything results in an acoustic image that is less distracting"

"Upon initial listening, I was immediately struck by the change the Firewall 640x brought to my sound."

"The tension that I associate with electronic reproduction in general and digital reproduction specifically was significantly reduced"

"It was simply easier to listen to music and allow myself to be fooled by the illusion and bath in that illusion for long periods."

"It is as if my whole body relaxes and does not feel the need to "work" to listen to the music."

"The entire performance was raised to a level I had not previously heard in my listening room"

"The performers' individuality was more outlined, and the Wah-Wah sounds of the different horns were very distinct. I could tell if the horn was directly facing me or slightly off-angle."

"the Firewall 640X takes applause to a new level of reality in my system. The individuality of the clapping hands and the character of each clap is much better distinguished. Crowd noise and whistling in the background, along
with the applause, were all the best I have experienced in my system."

"quiet details are more fully revealed and subtle notes have a bit more dynamic quality standing out against the background in more significant relief."

"The decay of notes and the sense of space is magnified, pulling you into the music. As the piece progresses to its peak, instruments remain locked in place and maintain their individuality."

"I did not sense any dynamic compression with the Firewall in place."

"I was enamored by the impact of the Firewall 640x. Piano tone and body take on greater weight, and individual notes become more easily understood. The very subtle nuances of Ms. Horn's singing were more apparent. Sighs and breaths took on a more significant role in the emotion of the song."

"Brushes on the skin of a drumhead are more detailed, and I was able to understand better the drummer 'working' the brush on the drum."

"The impact of the Firewall 640x was not subtle, and it was quickly apparent in my system. Many types of information were more readily revealed, the space the recording was made in, the reverberation trail of the instruments, the individual components of harmony, subtle inflections of the artist on their instrument. Voices and instruments have a more truthful timbre and occupy a more believable space and yield more dynamic expression within that space. All of this led me to feel more connected with the music as it sounded less reproduced and more accurate. I will say this 'connection to the music' was more consistently present in my system throughout the day and night than has been in the past."

"I will tell you now that I will be adding the LessLoss Firewall 640x C-MARC to my list of 'waypoint' products that have reset my expectations in a product category."

"...richer deeper tone."

"...more enhanced sense of spaciousness."

"...thicker and richer"

"...the antidote to forwardness and grain."

"...a fat compliment to the Lithuanian."

"like + like = like²"

"In my book, that makes these latest LessLoss cables a very advanced proposition."

"...it was all give no take."

"...infused by uncut treble"

"...made it go deeper and eliminated any ambiguity or conditionality."

"...a truly excellent sonic adventure."

"This is cable stuff which moist dreams are built on."

[First, on the C-MARC standard version power cable]

"The LessLoss C-MARC power cable was their first product reviewed at this site, and awarded with our Victor badge on top of that. Three years ago I knew of no better solution, which is why two of these cords have been on duty under my roof ever since, and their use time can be counted in thousands of hours by now."

"LessLoss C-MARC's delivery was fully free from any excessive shine, itchiness, tension, nervousness and metallic tint, but at no cost paid by diluting the message or making it dull. Their approach took some edge off music without making it prettier than it was."

"...managed to blend clarity, transparency and backdrop blackness with tone, saturation and roundness, but in such a way that any biases towards any specific trait were kept in check. This evenness and polish were the clear sign of a higher-tiered, more mature performance."

"...C-MARCs rendered the same view deeper, wider, filled with more subtleties and higher oxygen content, which translated into more precisely outlined and articulate sound sources with no harm done to their humane textural fill."

"...multi-layered, breathing and utmost dark canvas sealed the deal. All in all, I've found the original C-MARCs very easygoing, relaxed, refined and meticulously balanced, and three years later my take on them didn't change."


[and on the C-MARC Entropic Process power cable]

"Now, moving on from the first C-MARC generation of power cables, their entropic-processed sibling is alike-profiled at its core and there's no question about it, but at the same time it offers substantially more."

"Although similar to the original, the latest C-MARC isn't just its slightly better version. On several counts it's a noticeably different product that also quickly revealed itself as far better by my standards."

"...both compared C-MARCs, quite identical in appearance, had me in for a big surprise. I first imagined that noticing any firm distinctions between them should take at least several days with enforced yet helpful breaks along the road, but that wasn't the case at all. [...] where the latest LessLoss positioned itself had revealed itself to me within minutes, and that I truly didn't expect."

"The newcomer C-MARC's take on the usual repertoire was quicker, more oxygenated, direct and immediate, just as if its general meta took a firm turn towards the hi-res route."

"...more articulate and speedier..."

"...perfectly clean."

"How my setup staged was the biggest difference of them all."

"The entropic-processed C-MARC located me inside that highly potent huge aural illusion even closer to sound sources than its kin, so it secured more points for their visibility and sensible physical feel."

"...packed more punch to net a substantially more elastic, sportier and tactile outcome, and had voices less chunky, yet more organic and articulate in comparison."

"Potency was the key word yet again."

"...pushed my rig's performance more. ...it simply became better."

"Considering how LessLoss' newly processed power cord presented itself against its very accomplished previous version, and how much this design progressed over the last three years in general, its price increase is fully justified in my book."

"Now the C-MARC Entropic Process power cord joins it at the top of my list."

"When I get to choose between penning a story about, say, a DAC and power cable, the former seems the far more appealing route in most cases but not today."

"LessLoss' noise-silencing technology is its most interesting and important work."

"...quite an unexpected surprise that this latest incarnation offers."

"My tip of the hat to team LessLoss for improving their own C-MARC game this meaningfully, and not charging an arm and leg for that progress."

Hifi Knights
6moons

[This article appears in original Dutch language in Music Emotion print magazine.]

"...a very different and special product."

"...a startling increase in ease, tranquility, fluency, relaxation and integrity."

"...you are closer to the actual intent of the music itself and much less concerned with reproduction."

"Significant strides have clearly been made here."

"The Firewall 640x shows very well that the blow with the brushes on the snare drum and the bass lines played by John Illsley sound completely natural and more importantly, that all band members really audibly playing together!"

"With the Firewall 640x really new insights arise. It sounds more intimate, involved and colorful and when I equip all the devices in my chain with these wooden devices, there really is next level insight into this beautiful album. Magnificent."

"...being able to disconnect even further from so-called 'hi-fi' listening and thus make even better contact with the intention of the performers."

"...the almost complete disappearance of the previously observed rounding that strikes me the most."

"This Firewall 640x makes music anything but soft and soft. No, what I mean has more to do with the observation that most hi-fi equipment applies a subtle (or less subtle) 'hard' edge along the contours. Think of it as a make-up eye-liner. The Lessloss 640x removes this line and thus shows the person or in this case the music in a more natural way."

"The mains pollution is dealt with in a more natural way and as a result you can get closer to the performers. As far as I'm concerned, the strength of this product lies in more and deeper musical satisfaction in the long term."

"It is downright clever and intriguing how Louis Motek and his team time and time again, with almost insatiable hunger, an increasing level of knowledge and enormous motivation, manage to improve their existing designs time and time again. Anyone who has been acquainted with Lessloss products before will immediately recognize the hand of the master here as well. But on a much higher and more refined level."

"This is another one of those rare products where you miss them when you take them off the chain."

"It is also clearly a long-term solution that you will appreciate more and more and where the 'magic' takes more and more possession of the user, as it were. A fact which is caused on the one hand because the audio set will perform more easily and smoothly, but also because of the increased naturalness with fewer artefacts that invites longer listening sessions."

"The beloved reproduction of your own beloved audio system remains completely intact and recognizable. Only then further stripped of clutter in the mains and in terms of tuning with an intriguing ear for the best aspects that get even better."


Original review in Dutch
Automated English language translation
Republished review in FWD magazine

"Sven Boenicke of the eponymous speaker house and Martin Gateley of sound|kaos have embraced LessLoss Firewall tech by optionally installing it inside their speakers. That's quite an endorsement of its efficacy."

"Clear changes."

"Made the sound darker, softer, denser, moved it forward then dialed up contrast."

"An unusual twosome, namely higher contrast plus softer darker density. Those don't often go together. Here they do."

"Without losing resolution but rather gaining separation, the treble feels smoother, less lit up"

"Contrast/resolution improves."

"The progression from zero to four 640X to four C-Marc Entropic was one of growing wood. That's not a lame locker-room quip but a description of how cello and piano transformed from metallic strings to resonant tone-wood bodies."

"Taking the [multiple Firewall 640x'es] out again was - really bad by comparison."

"The overall sound acquired lengthier decays for richer tone and removed the edge burrs."

"More density whose gravitational aspect also felt darker."

"More audible decay action whose overlap with following transients wrapped them in fine reverb gossamer to seem softer. Simultaneously subtle venue cues floated up into awareness."

"A cleaner purer treble followed the same trend."

"Worked like a massage therapist honing in on trouble spots."

"It became dead obvious: microdynamic range had expanded."

"Gave melodic arcs more expression."

"The instrumentalist's or singer's small inflections and accents registered as deeper so had more wiggly life and less flat-lined dynamic evenness.
As you play really loud, the onset of treble glare native to your system will delay as well or disappear altogether."

"A pair of [C-MARC Entropic Process Firewall 640x] on the first connection strikes me as similarly potent as a Firewall for Loudspeakers on each speaker. So it's fair to say that the Firewall 640X C-Marc Entropic is equally effective to grandfather into the earlier award."

"Although it's no news that sonic results scale up along with signal clarity, I'm aware of no other company as fanatical on this specific count as LessLoss."

"LessLoss Echo's End Reference isn't a regular DAC but the most minimalist hassle-free machine of this particular sort"



On the Echo's End Original version:

"Music presented in effortless, fluent and organic fashion emerged as the Original's highly valuable key attractor, but additionally augmented via generously euphonic expressiveness and enjoyable freedom from digital tint and harshness, which back then I took as its very much vinyl-like charm."

"wasn't overly thick, sluggish or bloated, but pleasantly earthy, organic"

"emotionally engaging and focused on quality, sensuality and maturity instead of quantity, exposure and abnormal twitchiness, which led to a fatigue-free pleasurable ride."

"always felt pleasantly gravitational and cohesive but never overdone or extreme in any way."

"its enchanting, calm, euphonic and composed voice was free from fuzz and dilution"

"tastefully executed pleasant undisturbed music flow"



On the Echo's End Reference version:

"These extra muscles effectively position today's DAC far higher on counts relevant not to expressiveness or charm but sheer power, RPM, elasticity and insight. Speaking cars, think of this product as a large safe SUV that just underwent a major engine rework to net twice the horsepower. The ride's as comfy as ever, but now that sleeper disguised as a family drive can do 0-60 times fast enough to leave many sporty sedans in the rear-view mirror."

"The Lithuanian was very capable on bass reach and control, but also managed to inject extra weight and roundness into this range without penalizing its agility or might"

"This DAC knew well how to charm and slam at the same time, and that's one of main reasons why I see it as substantially more composed and clearly better versus the Echo's End Original."

"The Echo's End Reference rendered virtual sources inside smaller more distant frames, was a fair bit denser and had its backdrop darker to elevate ambience, to accordingly feel more atmospheric and invite me there to its own place."

"The LessLoss had the highs suspended about a row deeper yet pleasantly substantial, lingering in air for long and all the while perfectly visibly, which was quite the achievement considering its natural aspiration for chocolaty flavor."

"...more sedate, mature, calmer and picturesque."

"Clarity, accuracy, tonal generosity and substance are traits that don't usually match in equal proportions, let alone having them all this pronounced. Neither the Echo's End Original, nor AMR DP-777SE, Lampizator Golden Gate or any other DAC I'm aware of managed to blend all these features just the way today's Reference specimen did. I strongly think that its ability to do so this potently and have bass in check to slam hard upon demand is its highest most unique trait. After all, how often do we get to hear a naturally earthy D/A machine that's also very capable on articulation and dynamic might?"

"this DAC is the most analog type of its kind I'm aware of, it has a very strong personality of its own"

"...injects that particularly captivating sonic moisture, elegance and maturity into setups without compromising on clarity and agility. If you fit that profile and financially can swing it, then the LessLoss Echo's End Reference might be the last DAC you'll ever buy."



Hifi Knights
6moons

"By removing a previously unnoticed noise intruding on the music, there was now a quietness, a focus, a relaxation to the sound that was instantly recognizable, even when heard from another room."

"With the Firewalls installed, familiar recordings displayed newfound reverberation trails around instruments; treble notes were purer yet still exciting, and percussive attacks were quicker, with increased force. Instruments and voices that I had previously thought of as well reproduced by my system were now more truthful in timbre, their image placement on the soundstage was clearly drawn, and ambience was greatly enhanced."

"Before installing the Firewalls, I had assumed that the treble range would be affected the most, but in my system the midrange also benefitted from the Firewall's noise reduction."

"better recognition of lyrics."

"saxophone tone was also improved"

"I could now easily follow his clarinet"

"and have a newfound admiration for his performance."

"When a product makes such an immediate and obvious difference in my system, I'm curious to hear if that is due simply to synergy with my gear or if the results can be duplicated in other systems. So I arranged to listen to the Firewalls in two friends' systems."

"After the Firewalls were installed, the applause at the beginning of the track had more definition, with individual claps apparent instead of a wash of sounds."

"The Firewalls eliminated the added harshness from his voice, but kept the treble true to the microphone's sonic signature. The resulting sound was much closer to what I imagine is the recording's true sound, more like listening to the feed from the mixing board and less like hearing it through the PA. This was a great improvement to an already fine system."

"the Firewalls did a fine job of cleaning up the treble and improving the separation and clarity"

"After connecting the Firewalls, not only was the sound more clearly heard, but the improved clarity revealed that it also panned from left to right in a straight line."

"the Firewalls improved the focus and clarity for a clearer picture of the performers."

"The Firewalls delivered full frequency response without dulling or blunting the leading edge of treble attacks, and that held true with every speaker I heard."

"this track now sounded like a well-engineered studio recording with lots of layering and spotlighting of solo instruments."

"the Firewalls produced a more accurate representation of the recording"

"the treble was considerably cleaner."

"there was greater differentiation between each singer, as a unique voice in the recording's mix."

"The LessLoss conditioners took this system up quite a few notches in that respect. Later that night, Chris texted that with the Firewalls removed, the tracks we had listened to had lost their 'reference quality.'"

"In each case, the Firewalls improved resolution in the upper midrange and lower treble. I was able to follow complex musical lines more easily and have discovered new low-level information in material I thought knew very well."

"the Firewalls can be daisy-chained in series for even better performance, and that proved to be true. The soundstage grew deeper and wider, with the treble becoming even smoother and sweeter."

"it produces an addictive result."

"It needs to be viewed as an important addition to an audio system, and it improved the sound of every speaker I used during the review period."

"always musically significant, accompanied by greater resolution that extended well into the midrange. The LessLoss Firewalls ensured that I heard all the music my system was capable of."

"To say that the firewalled Boenicke W11 SE+ caught me off guard would be a major understatement. Although the newcomer resembled the W11 SE version I reviewed here, it sounded much better than I remembered."

"Was I delusional? Was one extra component capable of sonic shifts this severe?"

"This stuff is the result of two decades of extensive proprietary work unlike anything else in the industry."

"Think extra moisture and gravity on vocals, rounder edges, tighter bass response, sound sources isolated more distinctly and an even darker backdrop behind them."

"The Firewall effect did stack indeed, and efficiently enough to consider external LessLoss modules in addition to those inside my speakers not as an excessive expense."

"exceptionally effective"

"LessLoss signal conditioners improved performance by a lot via extra muscle tissue and substance."

"Yet again vocals became rounder and fleshier, the natural color palette expanded, upstairs gained extra points on decay length and weight, air around virtual outlines became clearer, darker and more real, and any residual edginess was no more."

"The extra firmness the LessLoss set introduced was indeed a highly desirable step. This sort of efficacious work spelled noise reduction at its finest. But in case of speakers inherently lean, ethereal, edgy, texturally pale and geared towards hi-res performance, this report's Firewall set emerged as profoundly effective and as free from any trade-offs as ever."

"Although the Lithuanian barrels by design remove excess noise, their audibly additive action seems to contradict what filters tend to do. Srajan already pointed this out in his own LessLoss Firewall for Loudspeakers review, and that's exactly how I understand this product's job as well. It doesn't add anything that's not within a setup in the first place, but rather unlocks its untapped performance reserve normally held hostage by residual noise. It breaks shackles, drops veils, rescues, extracts and delivers safely home, that sort of liberating service."

"If after connecting a Firewall set one still doesn't much feel like a freed prisoner, "ouch!" is the only word that comes to mind once the product is disengaged. That's when our ears start to fully acknowledge what was just lost, and this sensation alone tells a lot how audible these latest Firewalls truly are. Their action in most cases will be severe."

"This report's effective noise-killers don't tinker with tonal balance or truncate sound in any particular way, thus to my ears are universal enough to recommend them to anyone."

"They flesh out internal moisture, inject heft and reveal color previously buried under a layer of excess noise."

"Bass stripped from noise usually gets fuller alright, but also tighter and more powerful, so the opposite of what its chunkier earlier life would suggest. Blacker canvas behind instruments might imply darker images, but more pronounced, weightier and longer lingering highs say otherwise."

"More solid yet less thin, glassy and chiseled vocal lines. The entire musical image gets bigger and tauter, but edginess that causes listening fatigue vanishes."

"These transparent plugs still elevated the former's performance by several notches."

"Tonal palette gained complexity and sophistication, which was mapped as the primary upshot, followed by its disposition to become more agile, composed and tighter than before. All these changes were enough to easily mark the latest Firewall as an upgrade perfectly compliant and worth pursuing."

"Firewalls provide bite, tightness, openness, and effectively land a spot on overall balance."

"swiftly pushed the sonics one tier up"

"more explicit"

"more refined and fuller on vocals and string instruments."

"Think substantial horsepower boost to effectively land faster 0-60 times, the same ride comfort, and a noticeably more luxurious interior."

"The Firewall for Loudspeakers decreased wobble, injected moisture into landscapes in-between them, brought key sound sources closer, made them more fluid and gutsier, and provided more powerful slam."

"I could go higher with SPL without any hints of fatigue."

"Thus far nothing else like them was available on the market."

"It's robust, enjoyably easy to use with all passive speakers with no exceptions, and provides substantial sonic upgrades above all else. You could easily spend more and get less in return."

"Free from downsides"

"Any passive loudspeaker set I can think of would get the Firewall treatment pronto."

"In my roster it ranked high enough to become mandatory."

Hifi Knights
6moons

"The concept isn't as outré as it might first read."

"Subtle stuff? If the Firewall for Loudspeakers was anything to go by, far from it."

"Hearing differences isn't that hard. Explaining it when it's so unfamiliar is."

"Imagine air getting more humid. Decays linger longer. All tones seem bathed in a subtly golden glow. The overall sound gets softer, creamier, heavier and a bit slower. Strangest of all, the air-as much as we're usually entirely oblivious to it by virtue of its being invisible and tasteless-feels more involved in the business of conducting sound waves. As bizarre as it reads to certainly not be taken literal, it's a considered attempt at translating an unusual sensory experience into words. In general, the sonic gestalt expressed the now familiar LessLoss house sound. In particular, it added an unfamiliar viscosity which had me more aware of the airy medium as the transmitter of sound all around me. I'd not come across anything else that did this, exactly."

"Again tone/texture grew more honeyed. Pace mellowed, timing gained elasticity. Again contrast made me conscious of a peculiar action whereby sounds didn't just passively rise between and behind the speakers but rushed toward me. Physically I sensed the BBs' radiating effect in my belly as a slight warmth. Once they'd become the new normal, I expected that sensation and the 'more active air' perception to recede from awareness. Right after the switch, their otherness still registered."

"Are you sensitive to energies which prayers over many centuries even millennia install in cathedrals, mosques, temples and other places of mass worship? Then such perception is a bridge. It relates to the Blackbody effect in your understanding without yet having had its experience."

"Or, you must be familiar with silence so deep that it has its own sound. It's simply not heard with the ears, just felt elsewhere in the body. Once music commences, the LessLoss parts are very much heard by the ears. The feedback mechanism of critical listening clocks their effect in that arena. Might they affect other areas as well? It'd be strange if they didn't."

"It'll shift emphasis from leading to trailing edge. It's as though a pianist's use of the sustain pedal increased; or your room enlarged for lengthier reverb. Tone richness fluffs up like shaking out a feathery pillow. It changes compactness to plumptuousness. Its textural give creates the sensation of slightly lazier timing. Quantitatively it's a subtle thing. Qualitatively it shifts gestalt. Having a suspicion, I deliberately drained the Soundaware D300Ref's ultracaps overnight. Next morning I recharged them under full BB-imprinted power. The next listening session did suggest that the effect had increased again. This connected to why the very first upstairs session had been most potent. There I'd used a reclocker and DAC both on pure battery power; plus an autoformer volume control on ultracaps. Apparently such DC reservoirs magnify the BB effect."

"Either way syndicates the Firewall for Loudspeakers flavor; that of the Firewall'd Echo's End DAC; of Louis Motek's C-MARC cables. It's why I earlier called the Blackbody another example of the LessLoss house sound. If you've come across it already, you'll recognize it."

"That shows design consistency at a high level and by very different means: with cables, electronics and tweaks."

"The colors on the TV seemed more saturated; fine detail of a fleeting landscape shot from inside a fast-moving train clearer and less blurred. The main draw of course was the omnipolar sound. That bloomed in the now familiar ways."

"I'll be curious to see how other listeners relate to then describe their effect."

"... LessLoss Blackbody v2. For the audiophile who already has everything else?"

"The LessLoss Echo's End converter turns out to be a superb musical companion."

"The final positive impression comes from the naturalness of a liquid restitution combined with great precision."

"The top of the spectrum, silky and modulated, gives a lot of presence to voice thanks to its nice clarity of the high-medium range."

"We are delighted with a very pleasant open sound and the presence of a lot of air around the interpreters."

"The perfectly homogeneous medium-low register also reveals a lot to hear, especially with bass that goes down very low, without exaggeration, even on the first octaves."

"The dynamics are surprising not because they are expressed dramatically, but because of their fine revelation of the ringing and vigorousness of percussion and plucked string instruments."

"Here is a device that has a sense of rhythm and that will take you beyond the audiophile aspect of music."

"The sound image overflows the speakers to make them disappear, with an ease worthy of what you'd expect from a high end product range."

"Width, depth and even height, everything is there, and the very precise focus confirms a sound aesthetic with character."

"You really feel like you're in the middle of the orchestra, without the need to resort to intellectualization."

"But above all, and this is perhaps the highest quality of this converter, we remain very pleasantly impressed by the naturalness that emerges from this device like no other. It has proved surprisingly tolerant of all the files or discs that we have given it to transcribe."

"The LessLoss Echo's End is undoubtedly one of the most musical devices, offering nuances and expressiveness that will charm the music lover looking for an opportunity to listen for a long time without suffering ear fatigue."

"Furiously attractive, as much by its aesthetics as by its singing and musical character, the LessLoss is a well-designed device that deserves to be listened to without preconceptions of its origins, thus demonstrating that we are dealing with some of today's most creative designers."

"This converter's sound reproduction is particularly pleasant and relatively addictive."

"This softness, this fluidity, and this ability to immerse yourself very deeply into the heart of recorded music creates its own category."

"This will obviously not be the choice of the general populous, but rather of the already seasoned music lover who is looking for a product capable of transcribing the heart of digital files as faithfully as possible, revealing the substantial marrow."

   (French language)