Artesania Audio Exoteryc Pro Upgrade Kit
Review samples provided by Artesania Audio
Retail prices in the Netherlands, including 21% VAT:
Exoteryc Pro upgrade kit (3 Carbon Fiber levels): €3.725
Exoteryc Panzerholz upgrade kit: TBC
Following the introduction of the Exoteryc Rack Pro, a smaller, less costly derivative of the Master Kyo Rack, Artesania Audio introduced two Upgrade Kits for Exoteryc Racks and Aire Floor Platforms.
Exoteryc Panzerholz Upgrade Kit
The Exoteryc Panzerholz Upgrade Kit includes Panzerholz Linear Arms with beechwood discs that replace the standard steel arms. It also contains solid Panzerholz Inner Rack Cylinders, which replace the standard white Nylon Cylinders (used in the original version) or the black Nylon Cylinders (used in recent versions) for decoupling the internal frame. Additionally, the kit comes with large, solid Panzerholz Floor Bases to replace the standard Stainless Steel Bases.
Exoteryc Pro Upgrade Kit
The Exoteryc Pro Upgrade Kit brings existing Exoteryc racks and Aire Floor Platforms up to the same specifications as the Rack Pro. The Exoteryc Pro Upgrade Kit includes Carbon Fiber Linear Arms with beechwood discs that replace the standard steel arms. It also includes new Nylon/Stainless Steel Inner Rack Cylinders, which replace the standard white Nylon Cylinders (used in the original version) or the black Nylon Cylinders (used in recent versions) for decoupling the internal frame. Additionally, the kit comes with massive, smoothly machined Stainless Steel adjustable footers to replace the standard rounded spikes.
For this review, I will focus on the Exoteryc Pro Upgrade Kit. I had already reviewed the Carbon Fiber Linear Arms, and was so impressed with them that I ordered them for my three Aire Floor Platforms and Exoteryc rack. I also used them in all instances when making comparisons for this review. For my full impressions, please refer to the original review. In brief, these arms deliver tighter bass with increased speed and agility, improved articulation, and an overall cleaner, more detailed, and more tangible sound, while fully maintaining fluidity and air.
Pro Stainless Steel/Nylon Cylinders
The new Pro Stainless Steel/Nylon Cylinder, shown assembled on the left, and in its three parts from different angles on the right.
The new Pro Cylinders consist of a smoothly machined Stainless Steel upper section that screws onto a lower section made of black Nylon. As with the original full Nylon Cylinders, the new Cylinders are clamped onto natural rubber discs using long screws that are fixed from underneath the metal bars.
Comparing the new Pro Cylinder on the left to the standard Nylon Cylinder on the right. The new Cylinder assembly is slightly taller, so the inner rack’s top spikes need to be screwed all the way up to their uppermost positions.
Pro Stainless Steel Footers
The new footer assembly consists essentially of a very chunky spike with a rounded tip on the bottom and a threaded end at the top, paired with a super-oversized nut that secures the spike after leveling, while fitting snugly against the bottom of the pillar to provide immense stability. The footers can be used with the Aire or Exoteryc rack’s existing Stainless Steel floor bases and your choice of Nylon or Neoprene coupling discs.
Left: new Pro Footers; Right: standard Exoteryc and Aire spikes
To determine precisely how the elements of the Upgrade Kit affect the sound, I first applied them separately for assessment and then combined them. For all tests, I used the Carbon Fiber Linear Arms.
Next: Preparations and Listening to the Nylon/Stainless Steel Pro Cylinders
It would nice to see a pro kit for the 3×3 rack..
I think the Kits are available for all Exoteryc versions.
emailed them a few days ago when i first saw your up and coming review but no reply since then..
I normally recommend approaching your local dealer or distributor, rather than the factory. That said, there is no pricing information for these Kits just yet. As soon as I have received this, I will add it to the review.
Received a reply, prices will be coming out in January and there will be a kit for all Exoteryc racks..
hello Christiaan, will there be a review of the Panserholz upgrade possibility as well?
I am paricularly interested as reading your reviews of these racks makes me want one for its organic and free flowing character, as I have some metallic touch in the sound on high mid, low treble at the moment.
However I need to avoid the dip between upper bass and low midrange, as I struggle with that too…
The fuller sounding pro upgrade seems to be a possible but super expensive total solution…
So maybe the Panserholz version? Or would the Artseania Organic line, ( maybe indeed built of floor platforms) which you reviewed be an even better option?
In other words, how would you pitch the Exoteryc Pro upgraded rack against the Organic rack?
Hi Dominique, Alas, a Panzerholz upgrade reviews is not planned. I’m not sure it is available yet. I do have review of the Carbon Fiber Linear Arms, which I am 100% a fan of, but which won’t address the treble issue you mention. I also made separate reviews of two Organic line products, so please see those reviews for my impressions, if you haven’t looked them up already. In short: they do address your concern in the midbass but also offer a different balance. Incidentally, I’m not sure if the rack is the ideal place to address a metallic touch in the treble. All Artesania racks are inherently very natural, certainly not edgy or metallic, and over-smoothing the treble would likely have adverse effects in the bass, precisely where you don’t want this. However, solidifying the bass, by going Organic instead of Exoteryc, may subjectively indeed go some way to compensating for the treble.
As for Exoteryc Pro versus Organic: my impressions of one versus the other are basically unchanged, but the relative differences have increased.