BOENICKE AUDIO COMDEV - REVIEW
TRANSROTOR BELLINI
We recently reviewed the wonderful Boenicke Audio W11SE speakers https://www.audiokeyreviews.com/the-reviews/boenicke-audio-w8, which proved to be one of the most transparent and distortion-free transducers we have auditioned. Chief alchemist Sven Boenicke sent us his mysterious ComDev accessory, a type of product we had not yet encountered. A pair of ComDevs cost $1,600.
The ComDevs come as a pair, housed in wooden enclosures, with two wires extending out, each terminated with spade connectors. Each unit is slightly smaller than the size of a pack of cigarettes, and they are fairly dense-feeling when held in the hand. Where do these interesting and unfamiliar devices go? Apparently on the binding posts of your speakers, or the binding posts of your amplifier.
We spent a few weeks listening with and without the ComDev pair and eventually settled on leaving them on the binding posts of the newly reviewed Allnic M-3000 Mk 3 mono amplifiers. It took a few days to try to understand how the sound was affected—and that’s the thing, it was affected, we just weren’t sure how.
After a few days, we surmised that the bass seemed punchier and the reverb trails seemed slightly more ethereal. Snare cracks were a bit more dynamic. We were perplexed. We did not even venture to guess what was inside the boxes, but a totally uneducated guess is that the ComDev pair lowered the noise floor in some capacity. The effects we heard fall in line with other products that target either electromechanical or electronic noise.
On vocals, it seemed the singer was recorded a few inches closer to the microphone than without the ComDev. On orchestral pieces, there was slightly more texture. It was not a complete transformation but a refinement. We were impressed with the increase in definition of instruments further back on the soundstage.
We moved the ComDev boxes to our second system, with Scansonic speakers and an Audio Research amplifier. We weren’t sure what to expect, but we experienced identical results. The midrange was transparent and the treble region was more tidy. Almost like swapping out the cheap stock power cords that most manufacturers supply with a well- designed after-market cord.
How these magic wooden boxes will perform in your system can only be answered by trying them. On some systems, they may work better on the speaker posts; on others, on the amp posts. Either way, they are easy to integrate and require no power source.
We really had no answers as to why we were hearing these differences, but we just decided to sit back and enjoy the results. There is very little technical information on the Boenicke website, which makes the sonic improvements we’re hearing that much more interesting. The ComDev is definitely worth an audition if you’re seeking a hassle-free and convenient enhancement.
Product information
Boenicke Audio ComDev: $1,600
https://boenicke-audio.ch/products/accessories/comdev-