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REVIEW: Acoustic Revive RIO-5 II Accessory

Model:	RIO-5 II
Category:	Accessory
Suggested Retail Price:	$605
Description:	Minus Ion Generator
Manufacturer URL:	Acoustic Revive
Manufacturer URL:	Acoustic Revive

Review by Quint (A) on May 13, 2007 at 08:12:42 IP Address: 152.163.100.16

Add Your Review for the RIO-5 II

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Truth be told, I’ve been the victim of fancy claims and slick marketing more than a few times—be it with audio, cutlery, cars, whatever. As far as audio is concerned, though, I now try to get things either with an audition period or an outright money-back guarantee. Granted, with some really esoteric gear, that’s just not possible, so thorough research and a leap of faith are sometimes required. Some times I’ve been burned by disappointing gear, but most times not.

The Acoustic Revive RIO-5 II Minus Ion Generator definitely requires a large leap of faith—Grand Canyon wide, IMO. AR makes some interesting claims for it, boasting dramatic increases in S/N ratio and dynamics, and even fresher air (an important consideration for eco-friendly audiophiles!) These claims are made all the more difficult to decipher by the website description, which obviously was written by a non-native speaker and redefines the word “questionable.” (The instructions that come with the unit are no more helpful, as they’re written in Japanese.) The claimed effectiveness of the RIO seems to revolve around the use of Tourmaline, from which negative ions are extracted by heating the Tourmaline with a built-in halogen lamp. How these ions work is anyone’s guess. I’ll leave it up to the more technically minded here to dissect AR’s claims.

Despite having serious doubts (compounded by the RIO’s lofty retail of $605 shipped), I was intrigued enough by Mike Silverton’s UltraAudio review to see if I could get one in for audition—contingent, of course, on whether I could return the unit if I wasn’t totally satisfied. Plus, I really liked the Furutech RD-2 CD demagnetizer, which is basically an AR design. So I turned to all-around good guy Brian Kyle, who owns Xtreme Cables & Xtreme AV Companies (http://www.xtremecables.com) and is the maker of cables and the acclaimed QuickSilver Gold contact enhancer and excellent Liquid Resolution CD treatment. Brian offered to take the RIO back if I didn’t like it—I think he’s now offering a 10-day money-back guarantee—so I decided, what the hell, I have nothing to lose except a few dollars return shipping.

The unit arrived a few days ago, and I’ve been playing with it ever since. First off, the thing looks like a small halogen footlight—something Johnny Cash might have smashed at the Grand ‘Ol Opry way back when. :)

Basically, here’s how it works. On the back, it has a rocker switch to turn the unit on and off, and a little red button to start the process. When you turn it on, a fan goes on for about 10 seconds and then turns off. (Joe Cohen at the Lotus Group, importer of AR products, as well as Oyaide and a few others, says that the RIO needs about ten minutes of warm-up time before use.) You then place the CD on top of a mesh grill separating the disc from the Tourmaline pellets below, and press the switch. The fan goes back on, and the red light illuminates. When the fan stops and the light goes out, the process is complete. Joe claims that only the label side needs to be treated, but both Brian and I have found that treating both sides enhances the effect.

Before I describe the effects, I should mention the music I used: my longtime go-to disc, Dire Straits’ self-titled first album; Badfinger’s awesome 1973 self-titled effort; Nirvana’s “MTV Unplugged”; and the Jayhawks’ “Hollywood Town Hall.” All four discs had been Nespa’d months before, and I was curious to see whether the RIO-5 could build on the dramatic improvements wrought by that device.

Having talked to Joe Cohen and read the Silverton review, I’m not sure what I was expecting. Maybe a slight improvement, possibly nothing. From the first few bars of “I Miss You,” from the Badfinger disc, it was apparent to me that I seriously underestimated the RIO, largely because of the difficult-to-confirm claims made by Acoustic Revive. Pete Ham’s warm, smooth tenor was now more present and alive than I had ever heard from this particular disc. The song is recorded very well, and even untreated the disc reveals the studio space in which Ham is singing quite effectively. After RIOing, though, the space was much more clearly delineated, and Ham’s voice was edged more clearly and cleanly, while paradoxically gaining in warmth and naturalness.

The same things held true for all the other discs I treated. The RIO has an uncanny ability to reveal the a particulars of the performance space, which was very much in evidence on the Nirvana disc. Curt Cobain’s voice gained clarity, texture, and warmth, while the space of the venue was, again, much more clearly specified. Dimensionality improved as well, voices and guitars taking on a resonance and shimmer I simply didn’t hear without the RIO.

Questionable claims and seemingly high price aside, the RIO-5 II does work—at least in my system. It doesn’t seem to add anything negative to the sound, something you always want out of tweak, but it doesn’t necessarily ADD anything, either. It simply reveals more of what’s on your CDs, particularly in terms of spatial information. The success of the RIO-5—and the RGC-24 Ground Conditioner, which I plan to review soon—in my system has definitely left me impressed with Acoustic Revive and its philosophy, even if said philosophy isn’t that easily discerned on their website or in their instructions. Pretty cool stuff.

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Product Weakness:	Pretty pricey as far as tweaks go. Not much information out there about how to use it properly.
Product Strengths:	Does a great job in defining the acoustic space and bringing out the natural warmth and texture of a recording.

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Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Dussun V-8i
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	None
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Oppo DV-970 (modified)
Speakers:	Von Schweikert VR-4 Gen III HSE
Cables/Interconnects:	Jena Labs
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Rock/pop
Room Size (LxWxH):	24 x 20 x 7
Room Comments/Treatments:	Minimal
Time Period/Length of Audition:	5 days
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	Jena Labs
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

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