 Site Links
Recent Additions
Budget Components Audacious Audio J. Gordon Holt
Loudspeakers
Amplification
Digital Sources
Analog Sources
Accessories Listening / Art Dudley The Fifth Element / John Marks Music in the Round / Kal Rubinson Fine Tunes / Jonathan Scull Special Features Reference Interviews Think Pieces Historical Recording of the Month Records 2 Die 4 Music/Recordings Stephen Mejias Robert Baird Fred Kaplan Wes Phillips Audio News Past eNewsletters SSI 2010 CES 2010 RMAF 2009 SSI 2009 CES 2009 RMAF 2008 FSI 2008 CES 2008 RMAF 2007 CEDIA 2007 HE 2007 FSI 2007 CES 2007 China 2006 RMAF 2006 HFN 2006 CEDIA 2006 HE 2006 FSI 2006 CES 2006 Forums Galleries Vote Previous Votes AV Links Audiophile Societies Contact Us Customer Service New Subscription Digital Subscription Renew Give a Gift Sub Services Recordings Backissues More . . . Phono Preamp Hi-Fi Phono Cartridge Amplifiers Stereo Speakers |
 |
|
|
Ending on a High Note
There I encountered the striking Red Rock Renaissance amplifiers, push-pull 50Wpc tubed monoblocks ($28,750/pair) designed by RMAF co-founder Al Stiefel and Gordon Maughan. The Red Rocks were paired with visually arresting Gershman Acoustics Black Swan loudspeakers ($30,000/pair), Exemplar Audio’s Exception II preamplifier ($3250) and Extant DAC ($8800), and Magnan cables. The system exhibited exceptionally fast, excellent highs. Especially realistic was the sense of recording venue conveyed on Karina Gauvin’s recording of Canteloube’s Songs of the Auvergne. Al, you not only put on an extraordinary show, but also designed one helluva amp. You sure are doing something right. And that includes your choice of your absolutely fabulous mate. Equal credit for the sonics (not the spouse) goes to the Gershman Black Swans. Each speaker consists of two separate cabinets, isolated from each other to prevent vibration from spreading from the woofer to the other drivers. The woofers can also be moved forward and back to achieve optimal time alignment. 88dB sensitive, the Gershmans mated exceptionally well with Red Rock amplification. I can only imagine how they would sound driven by more powerful but equally musical electronics. The time has come to wrap myself in the high-end flag and bid this blog a fond farewell. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve.
Artful Artemis and Mozartian Verity
To the extent those words have to do with this blog, besides proof that I'm sufficiently punch drunk from three days of non-stop system hopping to quote such a foolproof source in such an impossibly run-on sentence, they must refer to what both John Atwood, designer of Artemis Labs electronics, and the designer of the Verity Sarastro loudspeakers took to heart as they developed their respective products. The combination of the Artemis Labs SP-1 power amplifier (14W, single-ended class-A, $12,000/pair with separate power supplies), LA-1 line preamp ($3000), PL-1 phono preamp ($3520 with 65dB gain) with the Rega Jupiter CD player and oft-praised Verity Sarastro loudspeaker (93dB efficiency for $38,495/pair, which to many is not an efficient use of finances) produced some of the most engaging sound I encountered at RMAF. I was struck by the beautiful warmth that enhanced Holly Near's joyful singing on "Dancing with the Family Band," the first track on her latest CD, Show Up. The midrange was lovely and smooth, the highs open and naturally lit. The Channel Classics hybrid SACD of the Ebony Wind Band of Amsterdam playing the music of Silvestre Revueltas was reproduced with stunning depth. Again, the midrange was impeccably smooth, the overall presentation irresistibly warm. "A definite winner," I wrote in my notes. The three-dimensional soundstage, in fact, was fabulous, as was the tight bass. Perhaps the midrange was a bit too smooth and over-polite on a Neville Marriner LP of the Overture to Rossini's Semiramide, but that might have been due to the cartridge or turntable or recording or some combination thereof. I wish I had had time to listen more. Instead, I snapped company director Sean Ta's photo, and asked the Chief of Chinese Fortunes to grant my wish for renewed acquaintance with both electronics and speakers. To whomever in BAAS directed me to this room, my gratitude.
Desperation
Here’s hoping that when they dismantled everything, the wallpaper remained in place!
Order Amidst Chaos
Given the exceptional hospitality of the Marriott Denver Tech Center staff—among the most efficient and attentive folks I’ve encountered at any show—I confess that I’ve fallen in love with the infinitely charming Latina who has been cleaning the room. To think that some would demonize her simply because her command of English is, well, less than commanding. Then again, some would demonize me for similar reasons.
Smiles and Blue Circles
The combination of the April Music Stello CDT200 transport; Blue Circle’s BC 501 DAC, BmPH 160Wpc, class-AB, solid-state integrated amplifier, MR1200 power conditioner, BC602 passive conditioner, and full complement of cabling, all feeding Selah Audio 3D speakers, may have produced a more modest presentation than the significantly more expensive, entirely different Artemis Labs/Verity pairing, but shared that system’s lovely tonal balance and excellent pace. As usual, Blue Circle’s tonally balanced presentation got the sound right. Besides, any designer who walks around CES sporting Mickey Mouse ears and displaying bottles of virtual snake oil gets my vote. External Link :: Blog Entry :: Comments (2)
Green Mountain Ecology
Fed by an old Sony transport and a relatively inexpensive Birdland upsampling DAC, I heard designer Roy Johnson’s Green Mountain Continuum 3, a time-coherent three-way with 90dB sensitivity, and the Flying Mole DAB-M310 class-D monoblocks. The system sounded best on a track by Jennifer Warnes, and congested on “Jupiter” from Holst’s perennial The Planets. Given that this was a show setting, where set-up must be hastily accomplished with little time for readjustment, who can be sure what was causing what. However, given my response to the one class-D amplifier that has so far come my way for review for another publication, my sense is that the Green Mountains are in another class altogether. I look forward to renewing the acquaintance in the future. [Music note: If you’ve found yourself less than enamored of Holst's warhorse, check out the recently-released two-CD EMI recording by Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic. The new asteroids by Kaija Saariaho, Mark-Anthony Turnage, Matthias Pintscher, and Brett Dean are wonderfully recorded and often otherworldly in atmosphere. Colin Matthews’ Pluto has since been demoted, but not in the musical realm]. External Link :: Blog Entry :: Comments (2)
Amplifier Enlightenment
I finally made it to the room today just as Peter Smith was concluding his A/B amplifier experiment. Before us sat a classic KT-88 tube amp, similar to one McIntosh would have sold circa 1970. To its right sat a typical, "pretty nice" (according to Peter) 250Wpc solid-state amp. Choosing a CD track that a number of workshop attendees said sounded different depending upon the amp, Peter proceeded to invite the man to my left to switch between amps as he wished. As he switched, a green light went on when one of the amps was in use, and went off when the other amp was in the circuit. We were not told which amp activated the green light. Our goal was to decide whether the tube amp or its solid-state counterpart was in the circuit when the green light was on. Having been tarred, feathered, and roasted on several forums for previously failing a blind A/B power cable test I once organized and sponsored, I was more than a bit wary of this test. (Don’t get me started on the inherent shortcomings and inadequacies of blind testing in general, and of the power cable test's protocol and methodology in particular). Nonetheless, once we got going, I was certain that I could hear differences between the two amps. I was also certain that I preferred the amp that activated the green light. Yet, concerned that Peter might have pulled a fast one on us, ie, chosen a flatter, less liquid-sounding tube amp with more attenuated highs and a less airy presentation than its solid-state counterpart, I was uncomfortable saying out loud which I thought was which. I did agree, however, to state my preference if I could clearly hear a difference. After round one, during which I preferred the amp that activated the green light, I chose a track from the extended Savall family's beautiful period instrument CD, du temps et l’instant. This time I was handed the switching mechanism. To these ears, differences between amps were as equally discernable as in the first test. My preference remained unchanged. As I discovered, the unintended trick to this test, which resulted from circumstance rather than conscious design, was not that the solid-state amp sounded more "tube-like" than the tube amp. Rather, due to room/speaker interaction in a small hotel room, the tube amp sounded brighter on top than the solid-state amp. This threw off those who believed that tubes would always sound mellower than solid-state. Those who focused on air, liquidity, and three-dimensionality, and were familiar with the possible sonic consequences of tube equipment that does not attenuate highs, had a far easier time of it. [So Jason: was it the tube amplifier or the solid-state amplifier that lit the green light for you?—JA]
New Sutherlands
Sprays, Sprays, and More Sprays
I’m familiar with several of these products, having heard marked improvements in clarity and information retrieval from three of them. One of my goals is to invite some members of the Bay Area Audiophile Society to an afternoon comparison session, during which we spray identical copies of the same CD with different treatments and combinations thereof. Given that one BAAS member whose opinion I value personally endorses a treatment of Walker followed by a spray of Audiotop, the mind boggles at the number of possible permutations and combinations. Is it ever possible to keep it simple in audiophile land? Somewhere, sometime, I shall find the opportunity to post a report.
Nordost: Promise Fulfilled
At first I was concerned by the brightness of the Eva Cassidy CD that a show attendee was in the midst of auditioning. He was clearly used to it; he enthused that he had never heard it sound so good. But once I put on music that I knew well, I heard several characteristic Valhalla/Thor attributes: absolute silence and clarity, seemingly infinite top-end extension free from harshness and grain, and an openness that reminds me of the transparency heard from a prime orchestra seat in Davies Symphony during performances of the San Francisco Symphony. Allied to a mellow and warm midrange core, the system immediately won me over. On Goodbye, an ECM New Series CD that features Bobo Stenson, Anders Jormin, and Paul Motian, I found the timbre of cymbals and bass right on. Nor did the system romanticize the sound of Stenson's piano, which was clearly not a Bösendorfer. I cannot begin to tell you how many systems I heard at the show that would have benefited from such clarity and neutrality. I also heard no irritating brightness or extra sibilance. Brazilian vocal sensation Rosa Passos and bassist Ron Carter sounded beautifully warm, relaxed, and present on their Chesky collaboration. I would have gladly hung out for quite awhile had it not been for my Show blogging responsibilities. A word about the components: Speakers were the Eben X3s ($17,000/pair), which did a much better job of handling bass in an untreated room than the Eben behemoths that accompanied Nordost to HE2006 last May. (Nordost’s Lars Kristensen, pictured above, tells me that the bass on those speakers was reworked immediately after the show.) While the dCS P8i SACD/CD player ($14,000) was in the same price range as speakers and cabling, the electronics were the modestly priced Arcam FMJ C31 preamp ($2000) and Arcam FMJ P1 monoblocks ($3600/pair). "Don’t underestimate Arcam because of its price," said Lars. Nor shall I after such a positive listening experience. External Link :: Blog Entry :: Comments (3)
Metronome
Obviously, most purchasers of an $18,000 CD player would mate it with fuller-range speakers and perhaps different amplification. Nonetheless, the system conveyed a boundary-less soundstage, stunning depth, and a wonderful sense of space. Listening to the exquisite soprano Montserrat Figueras and the extended Savall family on their Alia Vox CD, du temps et de l’instant, I felt I was hearing a convincing representation of the church acoustic in which the singers and musician were recorded. Expect to hear a lot about the Metronome CD5-Signature player in the months ahead.
Look What I Brought Home, Honey
With me sitting quite nearfield, the Panoramas threw an absolutely fabulous, huge soundstage distinguished by laudable depth. Highs were wonderfully open as well, and pace was fast. The amount of solid bass coming from the separate towering bass modules was also surprising, given the low-watt amplification (more on that below). I did hear a little harshness on highs when the volume was cranked way up, but that vanished as soon as I moved my seat back one row. (Was the harshness a simple case of room interaction? Who knows). It turns out that, way before Peter developed the excellent line of Symposium isolation platforms and stands, he set out to build speakers. Twelve years in the making, these prototypes, which in their final iteration are projected to cost $50–60,000/system, are a four-way design utilizing a phase-coherent passive crossover and, as mentioned above, a separate towering bass module that surprisingly only weighs about 80 lbs. Said to have a sensitivity of 93–94dB, the speakers easily produced good volume from a 9W integrated amplifier. As for the amp, a word on Fred Volz’s 9W integrated SKE linear circuit and PP EL 34 E-linear prototypes (I hope I’ve got that right; there was no literature available): Produced by Emotive Audio Designs of Belafonte, PA, Fred’s integrated amp, monoblocks, and preamp utilize a new, trademarked circuit topology which Peter lauds as breakthrough technology. In their final versions, the amps will offer owners some ability to tailor response to their particular system configuration and room. It should be noted that, as with many demos at the show, speaker and amp response was limited by the source. The LP set-up was hardly the best. Nor was the original version of the truly excellent Muse 11 Universal Player, which excels on SACD, the last word in CD reproduction, I thought. And, of course, speakers and amps were prototypes, whipped together for the show. That everything sounded as good as it did was a minor miracle. These are speakers and amps to watch out for. As if you could miss the speakers as they walked down the block. PS. Don’t you love the chandelier? Definitely something to keep an eye on. (Literally: I almost cracked my head open on one in another room). Thankfully, it is not included with the speakers.
Acoustic Sounds: Solace and Sanity
What I couldn’t see, tucked away on a Symposium Acoustics Isis Rack ($4799 with options), were the new Sutherland battery-powered Ph3D phono preamp ($1000) Sutherland Direct Line Stage ($3000), Funk Firm Vector Turntable with MK3 tonearm (RB300) Incognito Wired ($2099), and Lyra Dorian Phono Cartridge ($749). That, I realize, is quite a list. (Thank goodness most of my blog entries are less detailed). But from it all came some lovely sound that I would think would encourage a lot of listeners to settle into a comfortable chair and forget about everything except the music.
Good Kharma
Thank you, Moscode
External Link :: Blog Entry :: Comments (2)
Kharmic Revelations
Expecting the presentation to become even more extraordinary as the symphony built, I requested volume that would approximate that heard in a prime orchestra seat in San Francisco’s Davies Symphony Hall. Yet, as the heavens began to part, an unexpected harshness crept in. High-end deliverance is harder to come by than one might think.
Visual Waves
Soundsmith Complete
External Link :: Blog Entry :: Comments (1)
APL’s Promise
Update: At the urging of a Silversmith cable dealer, who claimed that this system had been transformed overnight simply by switching to Silversmith cabling, I returned to the room on Sunday for a second listen. There I learned what the dealer had failed to mention: other significant changes included the additions of Nordost Valhalla power cables on the Shoreline monoblocks, the extraordinary Nordost Thor, and the extra dynamics afforded by a Concert Fidelity preamp. In the presence of the esteemed Sean McCaughan, who designed the ESP Concert Grand S1 back in 1989, I heard significantly more depth to the presentation, and a far blacker black. The system exhibited a newfound ability to capture the demonic nature of Silvestre Revueltas' Sensemaya. I also noticed a far more truthful sense of reverberation and undertones to the drum. I still look forward to hearing Alex's player in my reference system.
DeHavilland: Beautiful and Mellow
1 2 Older Posts >
|
|
|
|
|
