Cables and accessories

ISOL-8

ISOL-8 designs and builds power conditioning and distribution equipment in Britain, treating a clean mains supply as the first component in a system rather than an accessory added later. Absolute Sound is the distributor for ISOL-8 in Singapore and Malaysia.

A broadcast engineer’s problem to solve

Nic Poulson set up ISOL-8 in 2003, after training as a sound engineer at the BBC and working through the same mains problem in his own amplifier and airport-lighting designs. He had already built one power-conditioning company before this one, and struck out on his own to keep developing his ideas independently. ISOL-8’s argument is that a single shared filter lets noise from one component cross-contaminate the next, so most of the range gives each device its own filtered outlet instead of one conditioner serving the whole system. A separate circuit the company calls Axis removes stray DC voltage from the incoming supply, which can otherwise saturate a transformer and cause an audible hum, without restricting the current a component can draw.

The ISOL-8 range

ISOL-8 silver mains power distributor with six black sockets and a power inlet, on a purple background.
Silver ISOL-8 power conditioner box on a purple background.
ISOL-8 silver mains distributor with two groups of black sockets and a power inlet, on a purple background.

SubStationmodular power distribution built up in tiers, from source components through to amplification.

MiniSubcompact six-outlet conditioners, including a version built for video displays.

PowerLinemains blocks and inline filters, from a single filtered socket up to the multi-way Extreme.

Prometheusa linear DC power supply for DACs, phono stages and network audio equipment, in place of a plug-in wall adapter.

IsoLink cablesmains and signal cables built to complete the same power chain.

Custom and professional systemssequential switching and multi-channel distribution for installations larger than a single room.

Model-by-model specifications live on the manufacturer’s site: isol-8.co.uk

Common questions about ISOL-8

Is ISOL-8 the same company as IsoTek?

No, though they share a designer. Nic Poulson co-founded IsoTek Systems in the 1990s with two business partners; after three years their approaches diverged, and in 2003 Poulson set up ISOL-8 on his own to keep developing his own filtering and DC-blocking designs. The two companies have had no connection since.

What is Transmodal filtering?

It is ISOL-8’s own name for filtering common-mode and differential-mode mains noise in the same stage. The company’s case against rival designs is that most only address one type, or route the other into the earth line rather than removing it. That is the specific gap Transmodal filtering was built to close.

What does Axis technology do?

Axis is ISOL-8’s circuit for removing stray DC voltage from the incoming mains supply. DC on the mains can saturate a transformer core and cause an audible hum; Axis is built to clear it without restricting the current available to whatever is plugged in, and it appears across several tiers of the range, from the SubStation Axis to the PowerLine Axis.

Does a power conditioner reduce the current available to an amplifier?

It can, if one filter is shared across every outlet on the unit. ISOL-8 designs around this by splitting its SubStation range into separate tiers: one built for source components, which draw little current, and a heavier one built specifically for amplification, so a power amp is never drawing through a filter sized for a streamer.

Hear ISOL-8 for yourself

Come and hear ISOL-8 at our showrooms. Tell us what you would like to listen to and we will have it playing when you arrive.

START A PROJECT

Let's talk

Tell us a little about your space and how you’d like to listen.