hen, at about 10 p.m., I was leaving Jean Michael Jarre’s concert in Katowice with a crowd of other fans, I was aware that representatives of most of the companies that had had their presentations during this year’s Audio Video Show exhibition had either just got in their fully packed cars and were intending to go home or were still packing. It was Sunday, November 6th, 2016. Jarre’s concert at the Spodek sports and entertainment arena in Katowice was part of his Electronica concert tour, promoting the double album that earned him our most important award – the GOLD Fingerprint and which is officially going to be given the HF Best Sound 2016 award of the year already at the beginning of December. One may not agree with these decisions, but even if I had ever had any doubts, the abovementioned concert made me forget about them. The French musician looked incredible – I would like to look like that when I am his age – he danced, enjoyed his fans’ reactions and celebrated the performance. It could be seen that, above everything else, he sees himself as a DJ and that dance is an important part of his life, but also that music is the most important thing for him. The Twentieth Something that forms the basis for perfectionist audio, the world of hi-fi and high-end was within my reach – something that made the second Audio Video Show exhibition (or the twentieth, if we take the previous editions of the Audio Show into account) such a tremendous success. These are big words, but without any exaggeration. This time, however, I am using them more consciously than ever before (HERE you will find an exclusive interview with Adam Mokrzycki who talks about the reasons for changing the exhibition’s name). The exhibition was opened with a press conference at the PGE Narodowy Stadium, conducted by Piotr Metz. Each year we refer to data according to which the exhibition in Warsaw is growing, becoming similar, in terms of the number of visitors and the scale of the event, to the most important point of reference in our domain, i.e. the High End exhibition in Munich, organized in the M.O.C. exhibition halls by the High End Society (you can find our reportage from this year’s edition HERE). It is getting better and better every year, thanks to which the Audio (Video) Show has been the second major audio exhibition in Europe for the last few years. We have been happy about this, as it is a proof that we have been doing things well and that there is a large group of people in this part of the world who want to listen to music the way the artist has intended for it to be listened to. On the other hand, however, hiding behind the back of someone bigger and stronger used to be comfortable, as it was the High End exhibition that was under fire and we were able to do things our way. Apparently, “our way” has played a major role in giving the twentieth edition of the exhibition completely new quality. Let me explain... A few words about Munich The name which suits the event in Munich best is “fair”. While it is used interchangeably with the term “exhibition”, it does not mean the same, as it refers to a place where people do business, above everything else. It is where manufacturers and their distributors from all over the world meet, where (literally) all audio and video journalists go, and where contracts are signed. Of course, the exhibition aspect of the event is extremely important and it is Munich where the majority of important products have their premiere, but it is of equal rank to business, at the most. The business character of the event is clearly noticeable in rooms and corridors, at restaurants and places where one can drink beer – people talk business everywhere. Thanks to this, Munich is the centre of the audio world – even if the CES exhibition in Las Vegas is larger. This proves to be a blessing for our domain, as without doing business we would wither and shrink, becoming small isolated islands of purist audio for two – three clients per company. Thanks to Munich, our domain is doing better than ever before, contrary to what catastrophists had been saying, seeing a threat to high-end sound in video games, headphones connected to mobile phones and Bluetooth speakers. It has been exactly the opposite: young people want something more thanks to these gadgets. Warsaw However, let us get to the point: the exhibition in Warsaw has taken on its own character which makes it unique – different from any other event of this type and, therefore, incredibly attractive. It is an exhibition which is unanimously referred to as “full of music” by journalists, manufacturers and guests from abroad. It clearly differs from the event in Munich, as the AVS is an exhibition rather than a fair, but its distinguishing feature is music. One might say this is normal, as audio exhibitions aim to popularize equipment that reproduces music and, therefore, music itself. High End exhibitions are just one example of how completely different the reality is. It is because any audio exhibition is created not only by the organizer, exhibitors and journalists, but also people – perhaps even mostly by them. From the point of view of a person who has been to a lot of such events, I can say that people who come to AVS exhibitions are different than anywhere else. I can justify my opinion not only with my personal experience but also on the basis of conversations with my friends, acquaintances and other people from all over the world who came to Warsaw. They all repeated what I have already mentioned above: people in Poland listen to music, they are curious about music and, most importantly, have good knowledge of music. Most of my interlocutors emphasized our musical competence, saying that they have learnt a lot and that it has given them new energy. They explained that in different ways, but most often they mentioned the unique musical culture of our country, referring to Chopin and the International Chopin Piano Competition in the first place. However, many also talked about modern music, i.e. Penderecki, Kilar, Górecki, Anderszewski, Zimmerman, Komeda and Stańko. So, the atmosphere at the exhibition in Warsaw was incredibly good. To prove it, let me quote a conversation between Doug Schneider representing the SoundStage Global portal and Ken Kessler, the editor of “Hi-Fi News &RR”, overheard by chance (we were simply drinking beer nearby): Doug: Hey, are you coming next year? Ken: Of course, naturally! Doug: Warsaw rules, doesn’t it? Ken: It’s really cool, I’ll be there for sure! The atmosphere that is so full of energy, enthusiasm and zest makes Warsaw the place to visit for people who want to be up to date. The AVS may likely become as influential as the exhibition in Munich, but in a different way. Warsaw is where more relaxed and free aspects of audio are more emphasized. Without the necessity to apply any rigid business protocol, manufacturers and journalists can pay their attention to music and, no matter how tricky it may sound – to audio equipment. So, Warsaw is a place for meetings that are more friendly and personal. As a result, stronger bonds are created between people. Seasoned high-end audio experts will not find a single sound here that will surprise them in any way – this is simply impossible. However, they can find presentations that will interest them for other reasons. Other visitors will see and listen to devices that they have only read about and meet their creators who they have only heard about, which means gaining invaluable experience. The best of the best However, since such an exhibition is a kind of a “beauty contest”, everyone asks me which devices produced the best sound and what I liked most, after the event comes to an end. I never know how to answer such questions, since it is just an exhibition and it does not enable us to test the full capability of any device. Exhibitors put a lot of work and effort into their presentations, not to mention money, which they deserve our respect for. However, physics is physics and what we can hear in a hotel room or even at a bigger conference hall, is just an approximation of what we may hear at home.. However, it is the abovementioned approximation that makes us pay for tickets and want to attend the exhibition. According to tradition and in harmony with myself, below I give you some examples of presentations that were worth focusing on, as I want to draw your attention to the companies, products and people that, in my opinion, most successfully dealt with the obstacles. The presentation is divided into three parts and you will find over 120 photographs in the gallery below. I did not go everywhere or visit all the rooms, but it was completely impossible. However, what comes first is something that probably everyone has been waiting for: awards. I have divided them into two groups – the first one is the Best of the Best in absolute categories. It not only refers to sound, but also to the cognitive value of the winners. The other one is mostly a clearly subjective choice of the most interesting presentations that we have given the Best Sound Audio Video Show 2016 award to. There are more of them than last year, which reflects the scale of the event and my refusal to remove someone from the list just because it is too long. If necessary, please blame me for everything! EVENT JACEK GAWŁOWSKI: „MASTER (RE)MASTER” Ayon Audio, Lumen White, Siltech Organizers: Nautilus, Ayon Audio, “High Fidelity” I had been wondering whether this was not too strong self-promotion, but only for a while. I think that everyone who attended the “Master (Re)Master” meeting with Jacek Gawłowski, with me as the chairman, learnt something new. The Krakow Sonic Society presentation (#106) attracted a lot of interesting people who were officially able to listen to Polish Jazz compositions from high-resolution files (both 24/88.2 and 24/174.4) for the first time. The system included the new Ayon Audio S-10 file player, the Conquistador preamp and the latest Lumen White speakers. After the presentation, Jacek answered questions, explained things, talked about his Bauta speakers, etc. THE BEATLES, MAGICAL MISTERY TOUR Chord Electronics, Cabasse, Cardas, Rogoz Audio, Studer Organizer: Voice This is the system in which we listened to a copy of the analog master tape of the Magical Mystery Tour by The Beatles, with a new version of the Cabasse Le Sphère CTA speakers in the foreground, a digital crossover, as well as Chord Electronics equipment and the Studer A807 tape recorder in the foreground. The presentation was organized by the Voice company, celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. The tape that we listened to was used to press LP discs in Jugoton. The presentation was conducted by Piotr Metz and Tomasz Zeliszewski. Tomasz Zeliszewski, a member of the Polish band Budka Suflera and the owner of the tape, pressing the “Play” button. Before he did that, he shared his personal experience of listening to the master tape, and the discoveries and emotions that resulted from it. Please note that both of the presentations mentioned above are going to be described in a separate article. THE PREMIERE OF THE T.LOVE: Muniek Staszczyk, Jacek Gawłowski, Hirek Wrona Wilson Audio, Dan D’Agostino, MSB, Symposium Acoustics, Synergistic Research Organizer: Audiofast, ZPAV, Warner Music Poland The most expensive system at the exhibition, costing 2,000,000 PLN, attracted both visitors, as well as TV crews, celebrities and musicians. Its most important element were the Wilson Audio ALEXX speakers (the successor of the MAXX3), but one can also see the Dan D’Agostino Progression power amplifiers and the MSB Select II DAC worth 90 000 USD in the background. The official premiere of the T.LOVE album took place in the Audiofast company room. The photo presents Muniek Staszczyk and Jacek Gawłowski (in front of Muniek, a leader, sitting), the album’s co-producer, also responsible for mix and mastering. YAYUMA AUDIO – ANALOG SIGNAL PROCESSOR Yayuma Audio, Vitus Audio, Unison Research, hORNS by Auto-Tech Organizer: Yayuma Audio Yayuma is a Polish brand new company which now offers one product: an analog signal processor. It operates on the basis of the idea of translating the speed principle of microphone operation into the “language” of loudspeakers. I listened to the device for 15 minutes on Sunday morning, before the exhibition opened, but the presentation (i.e. the explanations and sound) made a great impression on me. The processor opened sound to new information, without making the sound sharper or emphasizing details – there was simply much more of everything. The system included the CD Vitus Audio player, the Unison Research amplifier and the hORNS by Auto-Tech speakers. We are giving the award in advance, but I feel that it might be an important step towards sound perfection. THE SOUND OF THE EXHIBITION SENNHEISER ORPHEUS HE-1 Sennheiser, Accuphase Organizer: Aplauz A minimalist system worth 300,000 PLN :), including the Orpheus HE-1 headphones and the Accuphase SACD DP-720 player. No other headphone system can so accurately simulate the presence of sound sources in space. Never before had I heard space presented in such a realistic way in headphones. The tone was excellent, but other top-class headphones also perform very well in this respect. The Orpheus HE-1, however, come across as outstanding when it comes to sound freedom and the total disappearance of the headphones. One Sennheiser system has already been purchased by someone from Poland.. CARY AUDIO DMC 600 C Blumenhofer Acoustics, Cary Audio, Ypsilon Organizer: Audio System The source in the system with the Blumenhofer Acoustics speakers was the Cary Audio DMC 600 C player. It is called the Digital Music Center as it has digital inputs, as well as a Bluetooth connection. However, its main role is to play CDs. Amplification was provided by the Ypsilon E 300B power amplifiers, based on two 300B tubes per channel (in the background). The system played very fast and accurately, without tube influences. WILSON AUDIO YVETTE Wilson Audio, Dan D’Agostino, dCS, Acoustic Signature, Soundsmith, Symposium Acoustics, Synergistic Research Organizer: Audiofast The Wilson Audio Yvette speakers were driven by top-class products: the 1000-watt Dan D’Agostino Progression power amps with the Pre preamp. There were two sources: the dCS Vivaldi 2.0 system (this is the latest software version) and the Acoustic Signature Ascona Mk II turntable with the TA9000 arm and the Soundsmith Hyperion cartridge. As always, the room was a little too small for the Wilson speakers, but the Yvette model handled it really well. It was big sound with swing. ESA, ANDRZEJ ZAWADA ESA, Mastersound, Avid Organizer: ESA Mr. Andrzej Zawada – dignified and full of enthusiasm, as always – with the ESA speakers. Keeping pace with the times, Mr. Andrzej has prepared an anniversary version of his speakers from the 1990s – the Continuum XXV Anniversary model (on the left). The sound of the system was incredibly coherent and smooth. What I focused on was the sound and not the devices themselves. ELAC BS403 Elac, NAD Organizer: Audio Klan After Mr. Andrew Jones, formerly a constructor for the TAD company, had joined Elac, the firm produced a lot of incredibly interesting products, also including some inexpensive ones. The photo presents the BS403 model in nice natural veneer. Despite loud noise, the speakers, driven by NAD electronics, made a very good impression on me. VERTERE RG-1 REFERENCE GROOVE FM Acoustics, Vertere Organizer: Natural Sound I also heard excellent sound in the Natural Sound room where they had FM Acoustics speakers and electronics, as well as the Vertere RG-1 Reference Groove turntable. We drank some wine with its constructor, Mr. Touraj Moghaddam, and danced to the music played from a few 12” maxi-singles with music from the 1980s. It is very precise and accurate sound with excellently captured timing. HEGEL RÖST Hegel, Xavian Organizer: CAMAX & Premium Sound A new distribution company – Camax – made its debut during the AVS 2016. It has made a strong entry into the market with the excellent Hegel brand. At the exhibition, they mainly demonstrated the Röst, an integrated amplifier with a streamer. The presented speakers are the Xavian Stella model. It is an example of how beautiful sound can be obtained in a minimalist system. DYNAUDIO CONTOUR 20 Dynaudio, Accuphase, Octave, Transrotor, ZYX, Siltech, Base Organizer: Nautilus One of the rooms with the best sound at the exhibition, with the Dynaudio Contour 20 speakers. The system was set up according to assumptions that guide me during tests, i.e. the electronics – here: the Octave HP700 preamp, the Octave RE230 power preamps and the SACD Accuphase DP/DC950 player (a test in January 2017) is many times more expensive than the speakers. I listened to a few recordings, but I liked the Yuri Tashiro Piano Trio Digital Explosion LP best. It is a rarity – digitally recorded music which sounds as if played from the master tape. The new ZYX C-1000 Carbon cartridge with a carbon fiber cantilever hugely contributed to the success. Bravo! EQUILIBRUM BLACK ORCHID Equilibrum, Naim, Enerr Organizer: Audiothlon & Media4Home The Black Orchid speakers, created by the Polish company Equilibrium, were driven by Naim electronics and the combination was excellent! The Enerr company provided power supply and the whole system was set up by the Audiothlon & Media4Home company. To tell the truth, it was one of the best presentations of Naim electronics in recent years, even though the central figure of the system were the Equilibrium speakers. PYLON AUDIO OPAL 23 Pylon Audio, Fezz Audio Organizer: Pylon Audio, Fezz Audio The Pylon Audio Opal 23 speakers cost only 2200 PLN/pair! Together with the Fezz Audio Silver Luna amplifier, they produced really nice sound. To be honest, I could have selected the Emerald Touched by High Fidelity speakers to be given this award, but it seems to me that obtaining such good sound from speakers as inexpensive as the Opal 23 is even a greater achievement. AUDIONET PLANCK YG Acoustic, Audionet, Townshend Audio Organizer: CORE trendts One of the best-sounding (as for a hotel room) systems of the exhibition, consisting of products that we have tested: the YG Acoustic Carmel 2 speakers and the CD Audionet Planck player (both tested in HF), accompanied by a Watt amplifier and an Ampere power supply. Mr. Kerry St. James, the head of sales for YG Acoustics, who had set up the speakers at my home before the test, told me at the exhibition that he needs to visit me more frequently to make more album compilations to be played during exhibitions – he left my home with several “must have” titles… MONITOR AUDIO BRONZE 6 Monitor Audio, Cambridge Audio, The Chord Company Organizer: Audio Center Poland A stylish, minimalist, clean and nice system with components that produce good sound – it is simply the system prepared by the Audio Center Poland company, consisting of: the CXN file transport, the CXC CD transport and the CXA-80 integrated amplifier – all from Cambridge Audio, as well as the Monitor Audio Bronze 6 speakers and The Chord Company cables. AVATAR AUDIO HOLOPHONY MODEL DWA Avatar Audio, ReVox Organizer: Avatar Audio The Avatar Audio company always prepares interesting presentations, but this year something really “worked out” as the sound was exceptionally beautiful. The wonderful, warm sound was obtained both thanks to an analog copy of a master tape played from a ReVox reel-to-reel tape recorder and the Holophony Model Dwa speakers (a test in HF) – here an improved version created on the basis of our test – “mission completed!” THRAX AUDIO LYRA + BASSUS Thrax Audio, Döhmann, CEC, Furutech, RCM Audio Organizer: RCM The Thrax Audio Lyra speakers (a test in HF) were presented with their dedicated Bassus subwoofer in Munich, but it was Warsaw where we saw their version for production that not only sounds but also looks good. The speakers, driven by the Thrax Audio Teres amplifiers, performed extremely well, aided by the sources: the D/A CEC TL0 3.0+DA0 3.0 transport and converter (a test in HF) and the Döhmann Helix 1 turntable (a test in HF). At the end, I would like to thank all our readers, greet those that I had the opportunity to meet and those who did not dare to talk to me :) See you next year! [hfgallery] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/20.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/20.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/20.jpg" desc="A side view of the Aequo Audio Ensis speakers that we had on our cover in July. The amplifier is the hybrid Trilogy 925 integrated amp (a test in HF) and the source is a Lumin file player."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/21.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/21.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/21.jpg" desc="Celebrities are also interested in top-class sound – the person in the picture is Kacper Kuszewski, mostly known for his role as Marek Mostowiak in the Polish TV series M jak Miłość, with the Sennheiser Orpheus HE-1 headphones."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/22.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/22.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/22.jpg" desc="Such shapes cannot be missed. An incredibly successful presentation of Vivid Audio speakers, with a special focus on the Giya G2 model (on the left)."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/23.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/23.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/23.jpg" desc="Our news section editor Bartek Pacuła next to the cover of the February issue of “High Fidelity”, where we put a photo of Seong-Jin Cho that Bartek had taken."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/24.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/24.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/24.jpg" desc="Our cover with the Naim Mu-so Qb could be found at the Stadium in the Audio Center Poland company room."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/25.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/25.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/25.jpg" desc="One of the most important premieres of this year’s exhibition was the Naim’s company new Unity series – the photo presents the Unity Atom player. The extremely beautiful product is a universal digital source."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/26.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/26.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/26.jpg" desc="The Monitor Audio Platinum PL500 II speakers driven by the Naim Statement amplifier were something exceptional – not only as an exhibit at the AVS 2016, but also in a universal sense, in terms of absolute sound."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/27.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/27.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/27.jpg" desc="The Avantgarde Acoustic Duo XD speakers produced fantastic sound – it was excellent, indeed! The system, consisting of the Avantgarde Acoustic XA Integrated amplifier, the SACD Accuphase DP-720 player, the Transrotor Max turntable and the Accuphase C-27 preamp must have helped them. The system was powered by the Base Power power strip. The person who set up this system in such a beautiful way was Radek Pasternak (in the photo)."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/28.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/28.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/28.jpg" desc="The system with the Avantgarde Acoustic Duo XD speakers included the Siltech Ruby Mountain II power cables and the Power Base power strip."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/29.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/29.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/29.jpg" desc="A very colorful and dynamic system in the Audio System company room was filled with electronics from the Greek company Ypsilon. The photo shows the PSE 300B power amplifier based on two 300B tubes per channel."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/30.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/30.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/30.jpg" desc="One of the recent distribution purchases of Nautilus – the American Acoustic Zen company. The cables connected to the Power Base strip are the popular Gargantua II P-3060 and the Absolute P-5060."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/31.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/31.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/31.jpg" desc="The Dan D’Agostino Progression monoblocks are simply extremely beautiful and they also have 1000 watts of power, so they will drive any speaker."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/32.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/32.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/32.jpg" desc="Mr. Russell Kauffman holding the Russell K. Red 50 speakers that have been given the Best Sound 2016 award by our magazine."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/33.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/33.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/33.jpg" desc="An interesting presentation of the Definitive Technology BP9080 speaker system. These tall speakers have an active subwoofer, two passive membranes, as well as midrange drivers and tweeters in the D’Appolito configuration. As they are equipped with a digital signal correction system, the speakers sound really coherent. They were driven by Musical Fidelity electronics and power supply was provided by a GigaWatt conditioner."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/34.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/34.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/34.jpg" desc="That might have surprised the participants in the competition in which one could win the Pylon Audio Emerald High Fidelity speakers – the cover of the December issue of our magazine. It presents the Kalista Métronome Technologie transport (part of a CD source) costing €69,000."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/35.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/35.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/35.jpg" desc="Something for “normal” people, i.e. the first product from the new “mini” Advance Acoustic series – the Smart BX1 power amplifier. The series will also include an integrated amplifier, a file player and a DAC."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/36.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/36.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/36.jpg" desc="This presentation always attracts people’s attention, both in Munich (High END) and Warsaw – the photo presents the hORNS by Auto-Tech Universum 3-way speakers driven by My Sound Cube power amplifiers that were given the Best Sound 2016 award by our magazine."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/37.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/37.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/37.jpg" desc="A novelty from My Sound – the Pre Cube preamp, with separate power supply, control and amplification sections."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/38.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/38.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/38.jpg" desc="Our friends, members of the Krakow Sonic Society: Birgit Hammer-Sommer from the German Sommelier Du Son record label (on the left) and Dirk Raeke from Transrotor (in the background). Apparently, they were having good fun in Warsaw :)"] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/39.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/39.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/39.jpg" desc="A source different from any other: an all-in-one SACD drive, D/A converter and digital preamp – the McIntosh MCT450 + D150."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/40.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/40.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/40.jpg" desc="The photo presents one of the most expensive systems at the exhibition (that was not, however, too intensively advertised), including new Tenor Audio products and the Hansen Audio Prince speakers. The source was a digital system consisting of an Aurender file transport and the Accustic Arts Drive II CD transport, connected to the D/A Soulution 560 converter. You can also see Franc Audio Accessories rack and platforms in the system."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/41.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/41.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/41.jpg" desc="The abovementioned DAC Soulution 560. As we had written in the news, it has got a preamplifier on board. The inputs [AES/EBU, SPDIF, USB, LAN and an optical input] accept signal in all currently available formats: PCM [up to 24 bit/192 kHz], DXD [24 bit/352.8 kHz], DSD [1 bit/2.82 MHz] and Double DSD [1 bit/5.62 MHz]. The asynchronous USB input is based on a separate DSP processor equipped with separate power supply and synchronized by a very precise clock."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/42.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/42.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/42.jpg" desc="Air Tight and Accustic Arts devices are interesting in themselves, but this time it is all about Paweł Skulimowski and the new Franc Audio Accessories shelves that are standing behind him. Paweł says that he has applied all of his company’s most important solutions in them, but the price of the shelves will be reasonable, anyway. The shelves will be scalable and it will be possible to start their construction with only a single platform."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/43.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/43.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/43.jpg" desc="The Cabasse Le Sphère CTA speakers had their European premiere at the AVS 2016. This coaxial point sound source consists of as many as four converters, including a 550-mm subwoofer."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/44.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/44.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/44.jpg" desc="The Chord Electronics crew. Mr. Robert Watts, the engineer behind the Dave converter, is in the centre of the photo and Mr. John Francks, the owner of Chord, is on the right. As they told us, they will soon surprise us with completely new products. What is interesting, they are now preparing a new Compact Disc transport. As it turned out, both gentlemen share my faith in this format."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/45.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/45.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/45.jpg" desc="The AVS 2016 was a place where one could see and listen to speakers from the new 800 Bowers & Wilkins series. The source was the CD Simaudio Moon player, while amplification was provided by two-piece Pass components."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/46.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/46.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/46.jpg" desc="A miniature model of the housing of Magico S7 speakers – it is worth paying attention to the all-aluminum construction and internal reinforcements."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/47.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/47.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/47.jpg" desc="One of the rooms at the Stadium, taken by the Suport company that distributes the products of JBL and Harman/Kardon, among others. Such companies made it possible for this year’s AVS to gain momentum."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/48.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/48.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/48.jpg" desc="A new version of the Ambilight Philips system, with micro projectors instead of standard backlight, combined with OLED screens is something I would like to see at my home."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/49.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/49.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/49.jpg" desc="One of the nicest presentations of the exhibition, prepared by the Samsung company."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/50.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/50.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/50.jpg" desc="Technics and its greatest hit – the refreshed and refined SL1200 turntable. In Warsaw there was shown the only exisiting specimen from the limited version of this model, labelled with the number 0000."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/51.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/51.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/51.jpg" desc="I am really glad that the EIC company decided to show so many products of the Japanese Esoteric company – the photo presents the SACD K-03 player with the VRDS-NEO VMK-3.5-10S transport."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/52.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/52.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/52.jpg" desc="In Japan, equipping speakers with a supertweeter is like knighting them. Tannoy offers one of the better-looking tweeters of this type, the Prestige GR."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/53.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/53.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/53.jpg" desc="Although our attention mainly gets focused on the American Von Schweikert company’s Unifield 3 MkII speaker model and the KR Audio Kronzilla integrated amplifier, the most important element of the system was a turntable created by the 440 Audio Czech company which we wrote about in our reportage from Munich."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/54.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/54.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/54.jpg" desc="440 Audio – the G6 model with a wood and composite base, an acrylic plate and a Jelco arm."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/55.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/55.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/55.jpg" desc="Each element of the CD Acoustic Plan DriveMaster + DigiMaster player is the size of a larger pencil case, which is a reference to products of the Japanese 47 Labs company."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/56.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/56.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/56.jpg" desc="Everyone must have wanted to see them live – the Bang & Olufsen Beolab 90 speakers. Each has 18 Scan Speak converters and 18 ICE Power amplifiers with the total power of 8200 W. It is both a high-end speaker and a designer product."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/57.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/57.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/57.jpg" desc="The ZetaZero Orbital speakers were accompanied by Nagra electronics and an Avid turntable. The D/A Nagra Classic DAC and the top-class HD Amp power amplifiers were presented."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/58.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/58.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/58.jpg" desc="Another nostalgic return – the Cyrus One integrated amplifier in a new form. Next to it, there is its first version from the year 1984. In the new version, we will find a Bluetooth apt-X connection, a headphone amplifier and a phono stage. The Speaker Impedance Detection (SID) circuit measures the impedance of the connected speakers, adjusting the capacity of the amplifier to them."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/59.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/59.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/59.jpg" desc="A very pleasant presentation of Amare Musica electronics standing on an Audio Philar rack. In the foreground, there is the Trinity Diamond power amplifier with four EML300B-XLS tubes in a parallel single-ended connection. The output transformers are wound with silver wire."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/60.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/60.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/60.jpg" desc="A new version of Audio Philar racks have plywood worktops. As you can see, Vibrapod Isolators are used to decouple the racks’ tops. As there are a few models of Vibrapod Isolators that differ with regards to weight range, one can precisely adjust a rack to the weight of devices that are going to be placed on it."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/61.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/61.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/61.jpg" desc="One of the rooms where one could see the Audiovector QR3 speakers, here with Pro-Ject electronics. Elegance, nice sound and not too high a price – these are key elements of the audio domain."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/62.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/62.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/62.jpg" desc="Audiovector QR series speakers have been designed by Mads Klifoth (in the background)."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/63.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/63.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/63.jpg" desc="If I were to choose a Polish brand whose products cannot be distinguished, when it comes to the quality of construction and finishing, from the products of its best western competitors, that would be Zontek. At the exhibition, the company’s turntable and preamplifier were used with Air Tight electronics, the ATC-2 preamp and the ATM-300 Anniversary Version power amp. The speakers are the Cessaro Horn Acoustics Wagner I horn loudspeakers."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/64.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/64.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/64.jpg" desc="An enormous hall where headphones were exhibited, under the auspices of the MP3 Store. This year, for the first time at the Stadium, the exhibition was also organized in rooms on the other side of the pitch."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/65.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/65.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/65.jpg" desc="This is the Rafko company stand where one could still find the first versions of the HiFiMAN HE-1000 and Edition X headphones. In HF, you can already find a test of the V2 version. Here, the HiFiMAN headphones were driven by a Pathos amplifier."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/66.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/66.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/66.jpg" desc="The Japanese Final company, via its Polish distributor – Fonnex, presented two of the most expensive pairs of headphones of this year’s AVS exhibition. The photo shows people listening to the Sonorus X models."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/67.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/67.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/67.jpg" desc="Nothing can compete with these little things, however. This is the Final LAB II model of 3D-printed earphones with a housing made of powdered titanium, resulting in the openwork design. The price: almost 18,000 PLN."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/68.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/68.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/68.jpg" desc="Another high-end novelty worth 20,000 PLN: the Ultrasone Jubilee 25 Edition headphones. This is a limited edition of 250 pairs :)"] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/69.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/69.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/69.jpg" desc="Mr. Michael Zirkel representing the Ultrasone company, holding a pair of the Jubilee 25 Edition headphones."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/70.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/70.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/70.jpg" desc="One more look at the Jubilee 25 Edition headphones, this time without the shell – directly at the membrane and the ULE circuit protecting the earphone from electromagnetic radiation, giving the sound stage a unique shape."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/71.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/71.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/71.jpg" desc="I have not seen the K2 S9900 speakers in this colour version yet, but they look great – with the Sapphire Blue Metallic varnish. The source was the multi-format (CD + files) Mark Levinson No 519 Audio Player, the No 52 preamp and the No 519 monoblocks. The electronics was placed on a Rogoz Audio rack."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/72.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/72.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/72.jpg" desc="A quick look from the outside at the part of the exhibition where records were being sold – “The Vinyl Zone” that was organized under the auspices of HF."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/73.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/73.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/73.jpg" desc="As you can see, we are full of pride –Bartosz (the News section) on the left and me on the right."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/74.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/74.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/74.jpg" desc="Another cover, this time with the Tara Labs Omega Evolution and Zero Evolution cables."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/75.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/75.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/75.jpg" desc="Our friend from the Natural Sound company prepared an interesting presentation with AudioTekne electronics and a Vertere turntable. The La Primavera loudspeaker column model that he has constructed have speakers driven not by magnets, but electromagnets. Their power supply units were placed next to the shelf with electronics."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/76.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/76.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/76.jpg" desc="A novelty from Mr. Sikora – the small and compact Starter turntable. As we can read, “the basic assumption behind the Starter turntable is to make our top-class products reach a wider group of audio lovers. The fact that we have reduced the number of materials, while retaining high sound quality, has considerably lowered our production costs.” In the backround there is the Reference model that has been given the Award of the Year 2016 by our magazine."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/77.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/77.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/77.jpg" desc="An extremely rare specimen of the Burdjak & Sikora power amplifier which shook the Polish audio world in the 1990s. This particular one has been repurchased and renewed by Mr. Sikora."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/78.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/78.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/78.jpg" desc="Matej Isak, the editor-in-chief of the online “Mono & Stereo” magazine. You will find an interview with this interesting man in the HF archive."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/79.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/79.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/79.jpg" desc="I think that this was one of the most expensive digital sources at the exhibition – the four-piece Kalista Métronome Technologie Compact Disc player that will decorate our December cover. Apart from it, the system also included the Dan D’Agostino Momentum S250 power amp and the Wilson Audio Sabrina speakers. The presentations were led by Mr. Jean Marie Clauzel, the CEO of Métronome."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/80.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/80.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/80.jpg" desc="As it can be seen, the Kalista transport looks like a spaceship and has a CD on the top. Next to it there is a DAC, while power supply units are situated below. We can place the transport and the DAC one on the other and additionally buy high feet that we get with a source which looks like a large Transrotor turntable."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/81.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/81.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/81.jpg" desc="In the Hi-Ton company room with T+A products, my attention was attracted by a conditioner (in the photo) characterized by an extremely refined design. You will soon read more about it in HF. "] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/82.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/82.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/82.jpg" desc="Presentations in the T+A room were led by the company’s founder and CEO – Mr. Siegfred Amft (on the left). We are standing together next to the Solitaire CWT-1000-8 SE speaker."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/83.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/83.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/83.jpg" desc="The T.LOVE album premiere. Hirek Wrona was one of the people who liked the vinyl presentation of the album more."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/84.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/84.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/84.jpg" desc="A live interview for the Polish television – everyone could see how it was conducted and smile, hearing what the journalist told Muniek: “Let’s say it’s Saturday, as we are going to broadcast this tomorrow” :)"] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/85.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/85.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/85.jpg" desc="The Audio Anatomy crew with people from the Pathos company."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/86.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/86.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/86.jpg" desc="A really successful combination of classic and new elements in audio: the Notte Sound Labs company room. It housed the iconic JBL speakers from the 1970s (the 250Ti model) and the source was the Wadia SACD player which also performed the function of a D/A converter for an Olive file player. However, the most important element was amplification: the Notte Line Preamplifier NLP 01, the Notte Monoblocks NMB 01 and the Notte Power Amplifier NPA 01."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/87.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/87.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/87.jpg" desc="“High Fidelity” readers should be familiar with the elinsAudio manufacture – the Best Product 2014 and 2015 awards, as well as excellent products speak for themselves. We saw a novelty at the exhibition – the mains and battery-powered MC phono stage."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/88.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/88.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/88.jpg" desc="Ivo Sparidaens – a Concept Manager, i.e. our acquaintance from the Aequo Audio company, standing next to a reproduction of a HF cover. As he said, having listened to Lava from a Porcupine Tree album in my system, he plays it during all his presentations."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/89.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/89.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/89.jpg" desc="A really nice Combak Corporation presentation with the Encore ENC-5 speakers, the Reimyo KAP-777 power amp, the CAT-777 MkII preamplifier and a CD source including the D/A Reimyo DAP-999EX TOKU “High Fidelity Edition” converter – we have tested all these elements in HF."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/90.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/90.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/90.jpg" desc="The Hegel Röst is an integrated amplifier with 75 Watts per channel, integrated with AirPlay, with an ethernet and digital inputs."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/91.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/91.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/91.jpg" desc="The little thing on top is the Bryston BDP-π file player. Signal can be sent to it via an ethernet connection or a USB cable. The device allows Tidal streaming."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/92.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/92.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/92.jpg" desc="Auris Audio is a company from Serbia, offering incredibly good-looking products with wooden and leather finishing elements. The photo presents the Poison 3 speakers, the Largo SE preamp (with a D/A converter) and the Forte 150 power amps with two KT150 tubes per channel."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/93.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/93.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/93.jpg" desc="The Retro Audio room was filled with top-class vintage devices. What attracted my attention was the extremely beautiful Luxman M-6000 power amplifier with a 1 kW (!) transformer. "] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/94.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/94.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/94.jpg" desc="The Rossofiorentino Siena speakers driven by the Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 800 amplifier and the CD Nu-Vista CD player, with Siltech cables."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/95.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/95.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/95.jpg" desc="The Audiotrendt store, where I chaired the presentation of the Pylon Audio Emerald High Fidelity speakers, promoted QUAD company electronics – the Artera Stereo amplifier and the Artera Play CD/preamp. The speakers had been supplied by the Swiss Piega company (the Classic series). An important role in the system was also played by GigaWatt conditioners."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/96.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/96.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/96.jpg" desc="Polski Klaster Audio is a group of Polish producers offering sophisticated products. This room housed the Dream Reference #001 system consisting of Bodnar Audio speakers, an Egg-Shell amplifier and a Pre-Audio turntable, with Audiomica Laboratories cables."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/97.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/97.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/97.jpg" desc="Another room with Polish products: the hORNS by Auto-Tech Mummy speakers, Egg-Shell amplifiers and a Pro-Audio turntable."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/98.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/98.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/98.jpg" desc="HF was the first magazine in which Pre-Audio turntables made their debut. One of them was presented on our cover. The photo presents the ASP-1501 model."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/99.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/99.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/99.jpg" desc="During the AVS 2016, a prototype of the “regular” version of the Pylon Audio Emerald speakers was presented."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/100.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/100.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/100.jpg" desc="Another premiere from Pylon Audio – the Ruby series, still in their prototype phase. Completely new loudspeakers have been used here, with plait more lightweight and rigid than glass fiber plait – for the very first time."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/101.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/101.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/101.jpg" desc="Our magazine cover with the Pylon Audio Emerald High Fidelity speakers in an appropriate setting :)"] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/102.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/102.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/102.jpg" desc="Finally, the right Emerald HF speakers with the Fezz Audio Titania amplifier – I think that some of the magic that we managed to put in them was also felt by our visitors."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/103.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/103.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/103.jpg" desc="Another point to gain for the visitors who took part in the competition – the cover of the January issue of HF, with the Fezz Audio Luna amplifier."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/104.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/104.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/104.jpg" desc="As always, a lot of things happened in the DIY audiostereo.pl room. The number of visitors did not make it possible for anyone to listen for a longer time, but I am really glad that Polish DIY products represent such a high level of quality."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/105.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/105.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/105.jpg" desc="DIMD is a young brand that made its debut at the AVS 2016. The photo presents its first product, the PP10 integrated amplifier. There are EL84 tubes in push-pull at the power stage, controlled by the ECC83. Carefully finished wood and aluminum contribute to its beautiful look. This is another product which looks as if it was made in Scandinavia or Japan."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/106.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/106.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/106.jpg" desc="Beautiful little things! We awarded the Chartwell LS3/5 speakers this year, giving them the Best Product 2016 title. Norma Audio electronics – the D/A HS-DA1 converter, the Revo IPA-140 amplifier and the CD Revo CDP-1BR player were part of the system."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/107.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/107.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/107.jpg" desc="The new Audionet series is not only better made, but also produces much more sophisticated and multidimensional sound than before."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/108.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/108.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/108.jpg" desc="This year, the Baltlab Endo 2 amplifier sounded exceptionally interesting, probably because it played with the Trenner & Friedl Osiris speakers (a test in HF) and the D/A Exogal Comet Plus DAC converter (a test in HF)."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/109.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/109.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/109.jpg" desc="Block Audio s.r.o. has a name similar to the German Block company, but these are completely different products. The Czechs offer top high-end devices. The photo presents the Line Block preamplifier."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/110.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/110.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/110.jpg" desc="These are retro speakers, but they are being manufactured today – Old School, the Studio Monitor M2 and the bigger Classic One models."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/111.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/111.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/111.jpg" desc="That was really excellent sound! Broadpand converters from CubeAudio and the Bliss C speakers. Even though they look like Lowther speakers, they are made in Poland!"] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/112.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/112.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/112.jpg" desc="These are speakers from the Czech Republic, also with broadband converters. Our attention is attracted by one of the nicest diffusers I have ever seen."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/113.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/113.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/113.jpg" desc="Audionet was present at a few roll up photos, but I captured this particular one because of the harmony between the color of the background and one visitor’s sweater."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/114.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/114.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/114.jpg" desc="Luxman electronics, including the L-590AX MARK II model that we tested this month in our magazine, played together with Wilson Audio speakers."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/115.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/115.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/115.jpg" desc="Haiku Audio in a hybrid (the Bright Mk3), semiconductor (the SOL III) and a tube version. The hybrid Bright Mk4 amplifer had its premiere during the exibition. The amps were used with Wigg-Art speakers."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/116.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/116.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/116.jpg" desc="The crew of the HiFi Station company – Patryk (on the left) and Grzegorz."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/117.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/117.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/117.jpg" desc="HiFi Station prepared a presentation of a system consisting of different brands: the Audiovector QR3 speakers, the two-piece Audio Analog Puccini amplifier, the D/A Hegel HD 30 DAC converter, the Auralic Aries file player and Cardas cables. The sophisticated set costs 51,900 PLN."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/118.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/118.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/118.jpg" desc="The fact that Fram (a new brand dependent on Ancient Audio) was established, came as a surprise – also to me. It is going to include products that have already been created, i.e. the P-3 signal processor, but also new products, including amplifiers with a processor and a new series of small speakers. I will also offer an audiophile “soundbar”, naturally equipped with a processor. Fram is to become a platform for modern audio systems."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/119.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/119.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/119.jpg" desc="A presentation of the new Ancient Audio A-1 amplifier, a smaller version of the great A-3."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/120.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/120.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/120.jpg" desc="The Nomos company, offering repairs and reconstruction of vintage audio products, is developing well, getting more and more new people to practice the art."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/121.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/121.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/121.jpg" desc="The Lenco L-75 turtable modified by Nomos was presented in a reproduced picture with our September cover."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/122.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/122.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/122.jpg" desc="The inside of the beautiful Aqua Audio Formula digital-to-analog converter. You can see the actual digital-to-analog converter based on discrete elements on the right side of the photo."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/123.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/123.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/123.jpg" desc="Paweł from the Nautilus company, presenting an item from the Stockfisch company catalogue."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/124.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/124.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/124.jpg" desc="One more stand with records – Naim Records, run by Bartek: our webmaster, graphic designer and friend."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/125.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/125.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/125.jpg" desc="The “toadstool” is a subwoofer from the Monitor Audio Climate series. It is used to amplify sound in open spaces – one digs it in the ground, leaving the “mushroom” only above the ground."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/126.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/126.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/126.jpg" desc="At the Tulip Hotel, one could find our May cover presenting the TechDAS Air Force Three turntable with three arms."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/127.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/127.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/127.jpg" desc="The photo presents our friend, Dirk Sommer, the editor-in-chief of the hifistatement.net portal and owner of the Sommelier Du Son company, talking about different ways of deploying microphones. During the presentation, we listened to three arrangements and could vote for the one that we liked best because Dirk made it clear that there is no single “appropriate” solution."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/128.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/128.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/128.jpg" desc="Dirk’s presentation took place in the Nautilus company room that was supervised by our another acquaintance, Gerhard Hirt, the owner of Ayon Audio. Music was played from high-resolution files."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/129.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/129.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/129.jpg" desc="Since the Polish Forza Audioworks company was established, I have been using its Noir cables in my headphones. Now I am looking forward to their new version to be used with the HiFiMAN HE-1000 V2 headphones. Together with the owner of Forza Audioworks, we came up with the idea that the headphone cable plug connected to the amplifier will be detachable (balanced/unbalanced), but we will use the fantastic Lemo plugs for that purpose."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/130.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/130.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/130.jpg" desc="The RCM Audio company had prepared a prototype of its flagship phono stage. As it can be seen in the photo, we will have access to settings on the front panel, using a knob and a display."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/131.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/131.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/131.jpg" desc="This is the top version of the limited edition Kronos Pro turntable. There is an additional power supply module at the bottom. The presented turntable had the number 132/250."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/133.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/133.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/133.jpg" desc="The exceptionally beautiful Vertere RG-1 Reference Groove turntable with the Reference Tonearm."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/134.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/134.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/134.jpg" desc="Mr. Touraj Moghaddam, the owner of Vertere (previously known as Roksana)."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/135.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/135.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/135.jpg" desc="Mr. Florian Cossy, the CEO of CH Precision – a Swiss manufacturer of SACD players and high-end amplifiers"] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/136.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/136.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/136.jpg" desc="At the AVS 2016 exhibition, CH Precision products were matched with the German Göbel HighEnd speakers. Their special feature is the midrange tweeter planar speaker."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/137.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/137.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/137.jpg" desc="A very pleasant presentation of Sveda Audio loudspeakers accompanied by the Italian Audia Flight company’s amplifier (Strumento No.1 + Strumento No.4), a CEC CD player and an Avid turntable. The cables (apart from power cables) were supplied by the Mogami.pl company."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/138.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/138.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/138.jpg" desc="The power supply in the Sveda Audio system was provided by a powerful conditioner and power cables manufactured by the Polish Camel Studio company whose owner has his own recording studio where he has probably already modified everything…"] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/139.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/139.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/139.jpg" desc="Almost at the end of our journey, we stop to say goodbye to a giant of the audio world – Mr. Franco Serblin and take a look at his “posthumous” Accordo speakers. Placed, as always, in the Grobel Audio room and looking like a musical instrument, they produced exceptionally beautiful sound."] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/th/140.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/140.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/avs2016/140.jpg" desc="Our last picture is an insight into the future, presenting the iFi company’s new two-in-one headphone amplifier and DAC. As it can be seen, small size has been given up in the name of better functionality."] [/hfgallery]

The “Special Award” category is partly like the “Best of the Best”, except for the fact that, apart from sound, we also take into account the idea, the people engaged in the given project and the influence of the product on the audio world. So, it is no coincidence that I personally know the people behind all the three awarded products and that I deeply respect both them and their work. Digital-to-analog converter Reimyo DAP-999EX TAKU „High Fidelity Edition” Mr. Kazuo Kiuchi-san, the owner of the Combak Corporation, offered to prepare his top-class digital-to-analog converter after our magazine gave its basic version the RED Fingerprint award. The red stamp on the front panel refers directly to our award symbol. This has never happened before, so we are especially proud of the outcome of Mr. Kiuchi’s efforts – TAKU “High Fidelity Edition” is an incredibly beautiful device designed only for one purpose: to convert digital signal from Compact Discs to analog signal. It is perfect in what it does and does not cost a fortune at all. Test: No. 146 | June 2016, read HERE Award: GOLD Fingerprint Super Audio CD player Ayon Audio CD-35 The audio world is dangerously heading towards price absurdities. The more expensive a product is, the more people write about it. Some of these devices are really worth paying attention to and truly make us understand sound better, but most of them are just manufacturers’ attempts to earn a lot of money. Gerhard Hirt, the owner of Ayon Audio, has a different idea. He thinks that it is more important for as many people as possible to be able to buy a high-end product without ruining their family budget to the sixth generation. It is for them that he has prepared his new top-class source – a player that has been ostentatiously called the CD-35, even though it also normally plays SACDs. Its secret lies in refined upsampling of PCM signal to DSD signal, the results of which have never been so good before. The device, which costs less than €10,000, can be freely placed next to players that are three times as expensive and it will not necessarily be the loser. The following are a must-read: Krakow Sonic Society, meeting #105: No. 151 2016 read HERE Test: No. 152 | December 2016, read HERE Award: GOLD Fingerprint MUSIC | Remaster Polish Jazz | REMASTER 2016 Jacek Gawłowski | Polskie Nagrania We have written about the revitalized Polish Jazz series many times and each time we emphasized that when it comes to CDs, most of their new versions are much better than the original ones, while some are simply outstanding. Also vinyl discs, in most cases remastered for the first time in a few dozen years, may sound remarkably good, although the emphasis of the Remaster 2016 was on digital versions. The series is a monument of Polish music and, as such, deserves whatever is best. In this case, it was the person of Jacek Gawłowski who remastered the material, as well as people responsible for graphic design and texts that we can find in the booklet. The people who coordinated the project deserve applause! Reviews: • No. 149 | wrzesień 2016, read HERE • No. 147 | lipiec 2016, read HERE • No. 146 | czerwiec 2016, read HERE Awards: RED Fingerprint | BIG RED Button The “Statement Award” category aims to point out the products that become the point of reference for other products. It is something of a “benchmark” in the given category, regardless of the price. Here we can find products that have enchanted us and can be placed in any system, no matter how much it costs. Preamplifier + power amplifier FM Acoustics 268C + 711 MkII As I wrote in its test, the Swiss system made a very big and a very good impression on me. It is so transparent and it modifies signal so slightly that it could play the role of a reference amplifier in a remastering studio of a good company – not in order to emphasize flaws, but to show sound in its complexity, faithful to source signal, with richness that is usually sacrificed in the name of selectivity in professional systems. Test: No. 142 | February 2016, read HERE Award: RED Fingerprint Digital-to-analog converter CEC DA0 3.0 The CEC source, including the TL0 3.0 transport and the awarded DAC, presents music in a way that makes it close to an analog master tape. It shows everything in an incredibly attractive way, without attempting to change the musical message. Its sound is dense, but transparent; it strongly focuses on the midrange, but you never get the impression of euphony. Here, space is different from what can be obtained from classic digital sources or turntables. The closest point of reference is an analog reel-to-reel tape recorder. Test: No. 148 | August 2016, read HERE Award: GOLD Fingerprint Interconnect + speaker cable TARA Labs THE ZERO EVOLUTION + THE OMEGA EVOLUTION SP It is hard to find other cables that would show the world in such beautiful colors as the Tara Labs New Evolution series. Even the most hard-nosed audiophiles and the most hardcore purists will sit in front of speakers, deeply engaged in listening to albums that they have known before. There are cables in the world that provide better distribution and resolution, but are they more beautiful because of that? Personally, I doubt it. Test: No. 146 | June 2016, read HERE Award: GOLD Fingerprint Headphones HiFiMAN HE-1000 V2 It is not true at all that the more expensive something is, the better it is. In the case of these headphones we can be sure, however, that we pay for top-class sound. The transparency, tone, frequency extension and even space – everything is of the highest quality. Connecting the headphones to the Ayon Audio HA-3 amplifier, for example, makes us feel at home… Test: No. 151 | November 2016,, read HERE Award: RED Fingerprint Compact Disc Player Métronome Technologie KALISTA At the very last moment, we got one of the best Compact Disc sources available on the market – the two-piece Kalista player from the French company Métronome Technologie, to be presented in the December issue of HF. It is an example of how to combine design and sound, and it shows the sound of albums in an uncompromising way, going further in this respect than other similar sources. Test: No. 152 | December 2016, read HERE Award: RED Fingerprint LOUDSPEAKERS Chartwell LS 3/5 Another version of the iconic BBC LS 3/5 speakers and another success. The design has been the centre of attention of music lovers for a few dozen years, but what makes it so special? The Chartwell company version, prepared by Graham Audio, demonstrates that it is all about the loudspeakers’ musicality, smoothness, honesty and wonderful shape. These loudspeakers are little things that might actually be called MONITOR speakers, without putting the word in inverted commas. Test: No. 143 | March 2016, read HERE Award: RED Fingerprint Aequo Audio ENSIS The Dutch loudspeakers do look different than ninety-nine per cent of other audio speakers, but it is enough to listen to them for a few minutes to come to the conclusion that they allow us to eliminate many problems that classic designs cannot handle effectively. Additionally, the loudspeakers are really universal and their active bass section makes it possible for them to be adjusted to a given room. Test: No. 143 | March 2016, read HERE Dynaudio EXCITE X44 As we wrote in our test summary, the X44 can be used in very big rooms and do not need a powerful amplifier for that, as they are quite easy to drive. They are different from Dynaudio loudspeakers from recent years. They are supposed to give us *fun**, generate it and provoke users to listen to loud music. Thanks to their high power, they will survive wild house parties and attempts to emulate a concert – with ease. Test: No. 143 | March 2016, read HERE Pylon Audio OPAL MONITOR These are loudspeakers that cost less than 1,400 PLN per pair, but sound like professional speakers. If we buy them with the company stands, we get an aesthetically sophisticated product that will give us a lot of joy. If you want to buy a little more expensive floorstanders, think of purchasing Opal Monitor loudspeakers instead and allocate the savings to buy an amplifier. As a result, you will get much better sound. Test: No. 143 | March 2016, read HERE Award: RED Fingerprint Russell K. RED 50 Purity and broad-scale sound do not go hand in hand, especially when it comes to lower price ranges. These two elements can be perfectly obtained only thanks to outstanding resolution and phase coherence, but that usually means spending a lot of money. So, Mr. Russell deserves respect for what he has achieved in cooperation with Polish engineers. The RED 50 are excellently made loudspeakers providing big, pure and very dynamic sound. Test: No. 150 | October 2016, read HERE Audiovector QR3 The QR series is a kind of a new beginning for the Danish Audiovector company. The person behind the loudspeakers and their sole creator is Mads Klifoth, the son of the founder and CEO of Audiovector. He has excellently accomplished his task, as the Danish loudspeakers that we get look gorgeous and sound equally good, at a reasonable price. If the audio industry follows this path, there is a chance it will survive :) Test: No. 150 | October 2016, read HERE Award: RED Fingerprint Ubiq Audio MODEL ONE It rarely happens that a product supplied for a test remains at my home for a few months. It was so with the Model One loudspeakers manufactured by the Slovenian Ubiq Audio company. The loudspeakers seemed to have been created for me since the moment I saw them – it is a large, three-way closed design (i.e. no buzzing bass-reflex), with a horn on the top and a large paper woofer at the bottom. I listened to them with a few different amplifiers, getting delighted each time, to finally conclude in my review that this is “perhaps the best debut of any brand that I have ever heard. I have found no symptoms of childhood diseases, no imperfections, details to be corrected, flaws or weaknesses. These are perfectly made and finished loudspeakers that can be proudly placed even in an elegant showroom. And when they start to play music... €12,500 is not a small sum, so these are not loudspeakers for everyone. However, even if you can spend twice as much, the Ubiq loudspeakers should be one of the models to listen to before you make a purchase." The review was published in the second half of December 2015, but then it was too late to give the loudspeakers the Award of the Year 2015. Additionally, considering that they remained at my home for a few more months and assisted my in several tests in the year 2016, which made me value them even more, they exceptionally receive the Award of the Year 2016 even if, formally, their test was conducted last year. They fully deserve it! Test: No. 140 | December 2015, read HERE HEADPHONES AKG N60NC I still cannot explain why I did not give the AKG N60NC headphones our editorial RED Fingerprint award. It must have been a kind of an eclipse, a temporary slowdown of my brain’s activity. They are an exceptional, nice and functional product that sounds great. It is equipped with the remarkable Noise Cancelling (NC) technology that intelligently separates the listener from noise (e.g. on the tram). We are not talking here about simplistically raising the midrange or bass (this is how various systems of this type often work), which really wipes out sounds from our surroundings. The N60NC model is so good that I use it regularly with great pleasure. I cannot imagine going out or travelling without these headphones anymore. BP Test: No. 141 | January 2016, test HERE STEREOPHONIC SYSTEMS Naim Mu-so QB Having tested this integrated system, I asked myself: “Is there any better example of an intelligent form of life on Earth than Mu-so systems?” and then replied: “I don’t think so.” What I meant was that everything that a person who listens to music or information every day needs these days has been included in such a small product. The Mu-so Qb looks fantastic and sounds great, which it owes to the intelligent application of signal correction in the digital domain. The user is not aware of it, but he or she gets a device resulting from forty years of Naim’s experience and an incredible amount of money spent on research. Test: No. 144 | April 2016, read HERE Award: RED Fingerprint INTEGRATED AMPLIFIERS AbysSound ASA-1600 AbysSound enchants the listener with a combination of “old-fashioned” sound with modern resolution and bass control. Velvet sound, as well as great bass and loudspeaker control – these are a few of the most important features of this amplifier. The Polish amp offers full, dense and saturated sound. As I wrote in its test, it is “High class!” Test: No. 141 | January 2016, read HERE Accuphase E-370 The E-370 is a classic Accuphase amplifier, i.e. wonderfully equipped, having a solid design and offering sound which combines energy, power and smooth lower midrange. As a result, we get a full and strong musical message with clear strong bass and smooth treble. It is an amplifier which will work equally well with both small monitor speakers and big floorstanders, both with rock and jazz. It also offers a high-class headphone amplifier. Test: No. 144 | April 2016, read HERE Award: RED Fingerprint Audio Alto DCM 3 H I do not personally know the creator of the awarded amplifier, Mr. Saša Burian, but I can tell something about him, having used his amplifier for the first time. He is a perfectionist who does not willingly compromise. He also has a clear vision of what the amplifier should sound like: it is an amp for people who value the dynamics of a piece of music above everything else, no matter if we are talking about classical music or rock. The Audio Alto produces amazingly clear sound, which frees us from the necessity of listening to a recording very carefully in order to identify changes. For a transistor amplifier from its price range, it offers faultless spatial organization and a perfect design. Test: No. 144 | April 2016, read HERE SinusAudio HYBRID CLASS A New companies in the audio world are like an influx of fresh blood and we welcome each of them with joy. However, only few of them succeed in preparing products that are mature enough not to be called “working prototypes”. Mr. Mariusz Jaglarz from the SinusAudio company is one of the creators who instantly knew what they wanted. The result of this is an inexpensive amplifier which can successfully become part of a system with loudspeakers that are even twice as expensive and we will not even feel that. Its housing is not too sophisticated, perhaps, but this is why the amp costs less than 4000 PLN and not 6000 PLN or more. A great debut! Test: No. 144 | April 2016, read HERE Ancient Audio A-3 As demonstrated by this year’s Audio Video Show (2016) exhibition, the path the Ancient Audio company has taken towards medium-price range products has been well though-out. Expensive products are what we get excited about and something everyone wants to read about. However, devices designed for a wider group of people give us the most joy, as they simply play music in many systems and not only look attractive in photos. The A-3 is an amplifier which sounds equally sensual and dense with any loudspeakers. Its sound has everything that we value in tube devices, i.e. golden treble, strong and dense midrange, and full bass. The depth of sound and of the soundstage is exceptional. Even the quite soft “inside” of sounds from the bottom of the scale is typical for a device with a tube soul. The transistor drive adds a broad sound scale, saturated deep bass and high, though unnoticeable dynamics working “underneath”. Other amps at the same price do not sound so good. Test: No. 146 | June 2016, read HERE Award: RED Fingerprint Egg-Shell PRESTIGE 9WST MK2 It is good that there are companies like Egg-Shell, offering devices other than their competitors. The tube Prestige 9WST Mk2 amplifier has a classic shape, but only at first sight. The large circle that we use to adjust volume, the gyroscope remote control and tubes arranged at an angle so that they resemble a car engine – we will not get this anywhere else. It is an amplifier for those who like pleasant tones and prefer a further perspective that is so natural for acoustic recordings (classical music and jazz), but do not want to sacrifice the possibility to play other kinds of music. What they get is a beautiful color palette, high dynamics, saturated lower midrange and a nice bass. It is a device which allows us to play a record after a record for many hours, without getting tired or irritated. Test: No. 149 | September 2016, read HERE Award: RED Fingerprint Haiku-Audio SOL 3 The SOL III is for those who value coherence, dynamics and truth in music. Its sound is accurate, dynamic and sonorous. It is also very well saturated and colorful. It does not conceal anything, but does not focus on the flaws of recordings, either. The slightly raised lower midrange is a move into the right direction in this case, as it gives recordings swing and depth. It is a really universal device that is worth trying out in any system. Wiktor Krzak, the SOL’s constructor, can be proud of it. Test: No. 149 | September 2016, read HERE Fezz Audio TITANIA If you are looking for a classic tube amplifier, you should listen to the Fezz Audio Titania. It is an amp which offers outstanding tones and shows an incredibly rich harmonic structure of recordings. High output power makes it possible to use the amplifier with different loudspeakers and we do not need to be afraid that it will not drive them. Additionally, it does not cost a lot, which is an invaluable asset considering the high sound quality and a solid design. Test: No. 149 | September 2016, read HERE POWER AMPLIFIERS My Sound CUBE I think that every year there is at least one device that deserves the Award of the Year among the Polish products that I listen to. I can also give the award this year, thanks to My Sound Cube monoblocks. As I wrote in my review: “Let me end this review the same way I began it – it is really great to see that our countrymen create such high quality and beautiful audio products. The market share of such amplifiers is and always will be rather small. I think, however, that many people looking for a musically engaging, beautifully sounding amplifier who do not mind spending some time looking for proper loudspeakers might find that the Cubes are exactly what they need, as the EL84 tubes, as it turns out, do not necessarily sound warm and slow. They may sound clean, resolving, detailed, with very good micro- and good macro-dynamics.” When it comes to design, the Cubes can compete with products that are much more expensive. Their design is original and really successful, and the sound is excellent. So, these amplifiers have had to be rewarded! MD Test: No. 149 | September 2016, read HERE Audia Flight FLS-4 I must admit that the power amp of the Italian Audia Flight company was added to my list at the very last moment, as I carried out its test for the November issue of “High Fidelity”. It was my first encounter with this company’s product and it rarely happens that I am absolutely amazed by the sound of a transistor after listening to a device for several minutes. It does occur in the case of high-class tubes, but when it comes to quartz-based devices, this does not really ever happen. However, the FSL-4, which costs quite a lot, but still not as much as products of other companies, sounded so good from the start that I could not stop listening to it. Its sound actually has everything that it needs – there is the transistor kick, dynamics, fantastic control of the loudspeakers, speed, drive, incredible energy, but there is also outstanding smoothness, fluidity and some kind of almost tube-like natural sound smoothness. What is surprising is that there is also wonderful space and naturalness of sound, as if it was coming from excellent tube amplifiers. The best SETs add better holography, tangibility and even better, more intimate contact with music, but even in this respect the FSL-4 is almost as good (when supported by a tube preamplifier and a tube DAC). It is a well-deserved Award of the Year. MD Test: No. 149 | September 2016, read HERE Award: RED Fingerprint CD PLAYER + INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER Advance Acoustic X-cd5 + X-i75 Let us respect companies that still want to invest in inexpensive classic audio devices, as sooner or later the pendulum will swing towards high-end audio and, until then, these companies have to be the depositaries of these values. Experience will be the necessary asset for audio companies to return to. Advance Acoustic, together with NAD and Marantz/Denon, is in an excellent position to become such a confidant. The sound of the system is warm, dense and fluid, but very dynamic and with beautiful bass. The functionality is very good and the devices look really nice. Test: No. 146 | June 2016, read HERE Award: RED Fingerprint DIGITAL SOURCE CD/file player + clock dCS Rossini The dCS Rossini has inherited a new digital platform that has been created for the flagship Vivaldi system. We get all of that, however, in a compact housing. This is one of the top digital disc players, regardless of how they have been coded, and its sound is incredibly full and energetic. Test: No. 141 | January 2016, read HERE Digital-to-analog converter/preamplifier Chord DAVE Chord belongs to so-called “engineering” companies, i.e. those that believe a product must be technically competent before one can start working on its sound. The company’s high-class DAVE DAC shows that if this is done by talented people, the results are excellent. We get a high-end DAC that costs two times less than such sources used to cost not so long ago. It is also a sign that progress in the domain of decoding digital signal has recently accelerated. Test: No. 143 | March 2016, read HERE Compact Disc player Vitus Audio SCD-025 MkII May the Lord give other manufacturers the ability to construct such sound sources! The design, equipment and sound altogether give us a CD player we can stay with forever. Ironically, it was launched when the format had already started to become a niche, similarly to vinyl and SACD. Such things happen, however, and I hope that there will be people who will be willing to cultivate it in the future. Even if it appears that this is the decline of CD, it is better to go through it with a player such as the SCD-025, especially because we can always connect a computer or a file player to its digital input to obtain sound that is very close in tone and equally dense. Test: No. 143 | March 2016, read HERE Digital-to-analog converter Exogal COMET PLUS DAC To me, the Comet Plus DAC from the American Exogal company, along with the abovementioned Chord DAVE and the Reimyo DAP-999EX TAKU “High Fidelity Edition” converters, is a sign that “the new is coming”. Nowadays, quite inexpensive digital devices sound the same as top-class products used to sound until recently, even though the latter cost a few times more. Additionally, the Comet is a device that can play almost all types of audio files (apart from extreme versions of DSD) and will do it very well, with grace. It has amazing dynamics and its sound is incredibly open to information (not details). All recordings sound better and more natural with it, a bit like from an analog tape. Test: No. 143 | March 2016, read HERE Award: RED Fingerprint Analog-to-digital converter Projekt Nostromo DAC NOSTROMO wolf Testing the Project Nostromo DAC was a very interesting experience. For little money, Mr. Marek Kowzan has prepared a DAC that will improve the sound of all inexpensive DVD and Blu-ray players, as well as will sound good with CD transports. Powered by an external power supply unit (the Nostromo 12 V), the DAC is an exceptionally mature product. It looks unpretentious, is nicely made and really user-friendly. Its sound can be described as “analog”, as it does not emphasize a sharp attack and fills rather than stiffens. Its strong and very pleasant bass will prove useful in the case of 99% of contemporarily manufactured discs, but older jazz will also sound extremely engaging with it. It is an inexpensive great DAC that will work well both in systems from the basic price range and those in which an amplifier costs 5,000 PLN and more. Test: No. 149 | September 2016, read HERE Award: RED Fingerprint Compact Disc player Audionet PLANCK The Planck Compact Disc player from the German Audionet company, which can be found on the cover of the November issue of HF, is a special product. It has been created in times when the CD is regarded to be “old-fashioned”, but shows that files still have a long way to go before people start talking about them with respect. The mechanical design of the device is especially well thought-out, while its digital inputs make it more functional. If we want to improve its sound, it is enough to buy the Ampere external PSU. Test: No. 151 | November 2016, read HERE Award: RED Fingerprint Digital-to-analog converter PS Audio NuWave DSD PS Audio is a company that focuses on DSD signal – and this is what the NuWave DSD sounds like: its sound is beautifully arranged and the device plays music in an effective way, which will make systems from this price range sound more natural and emotional. The DAC will not hinder the performance of more expensive systems, either, but will even let them sound more “analog” (I have used the inverted commas on purpose). Test: No. 150 | October 2016, read HERE Award: RED Fingerprint ANALOG SOURCE Turntable Pro-Ject RPM-5 CARBON The RPM5 Carbon turntable not only looks, but also sounds exceptionally good. It is a combination of high resolution (especially in the midrange) and melodiousness. All recordings will sound nice with it, which makes it a very universal design. I have not heard the new “carbon” RPM91. and 10.1 versions, but, based on my experience so far, I will take the risk and say that the RPM5 Carbon has the best quality-to-price ratio in the whole series, thus becoming its “sweet spot”. What is more, the turntable looks gorgeous in red. Provided that we are ready to clean vinyl discs, it is going to be a long-term purchase. Test: No. 150 | October 2016, read HERE Turntable J. Sikora REFERENCE The ultra-stable sound that this turntable guarantees means that we are able to examine music as closely as technology allows us to. It is a design which, together with Kuzma products, makes recordings incredibly differentiated. Such turntables should stand at all places where new record releases and pressings are assessed, i.e. in mastering studios, archives and the houses of music lovers. Weaker recordings gain a lot from reading small pieces of information, but we also get what is given to us. The Air Force One does it differently – it civilizes recordings while maintaining incredible resolution, allows us to listen to any given pressing with the awareness of what is “right” and “wrong” about it, without discouraging us from listening to it. The Reference stops on its way and has its own idea on what the musical message should be like – without emphasizing, it shows the weaknesses of a recording with no restraint. It is a top-class product of a sophisticated company, which can be placed next to other top-class products offered by the biggest manufacturers. Test: No. 141 | January 2016, read HERE Award: RED Fingerprint Turntable + arm Kronos SPARTA + HELENA The mechanical design of this turntable (both the base and the arm) gives us food for thought. It would seem that we have known all the elements before, but this is the first time we have seen such an interesting combination of all of them. The Sparta is a turntable which produces dense and saturated sound characterized by high resolution. If someone is looking for classic sound from vinyl, this design should be the first position on a short list, as it beautifully combines design, workmanship and sound – the perfect trio. Test: No. 147 | July 2016, read HERE Turntable cartridge HANA EH | EL Hana cartridges show us the better face of music, concealing the flaws of older pressings a little, not paying too much attention to the fact that almost all new discs and reissues are based on digital remasters; they do not bring us down by focusing on problems. This is a departure from neutrality, but it is justified, especially considering the price range that we are talking about (the price of a turntable). The high-level EH version is more universal than the low-level EL version. It will harmonize with most turntables more easily and any phono stage can be used with it. The EL version is more demanding. We will achieve better results with it than with the EH version, but we will have to invest in a better turntable and phono stage. Test: No. 147 | July 2016, read HERE “Vintage” turntable/modification Lenco by NOMOS L 75 The L 75 is a classic turntable from the Swiss Lenco company, with an “idler” drive – i.e. an intermediate wheel. Its mechanical design is so good that such mechanisms still work really well a few dozen years after they were manufactured. So, the base is used by many companies do create new turntables. The version produced by the Nomos company from Warsaw is really good. If what you require from music is mostly musicality and emotional communication with the listener, then it is going to be hard for you, after you have listened to the turntable I have tested, to return to any modern design – the difference is going to be too big. Test: No. 149 | September 2016, read HERE CABLES AC power cable 聖HIJIRI SMT ‘TAKUMI’ Maestro The new cable created by Mr. Kiuchi-san made an incredible impression on me. It made recordings sound emotional, naturally soft and full-blooded. The cable finds a lot of music even in the case of recordings whose remastered versions have not been tuned in any special way and shows why analog master tapes are so incredible. It does not correct or add color to anything. One piece is going to be mine. Test: No. 151 | November 2016, read HERE Award: RED Fingerprint Interconnect + speaker cable + power cable KBL Sound ZODIAC The Zodiac is a cable system with its own unique features, in which each of the elements supports the remaining ones. It gives us dense, low sound characterized by a lot of details. It shows differences in music really well, but does not go to extremes or make problems seem bigger than they are. It can be used in various systems, without the fear that it will spoil anything in them. Test: No. 144 | April 2016, read HERE RCA interconnect | AC power cable Acoustic Revive RCA1.0 Triple-C FM (1.8 x 1.4 mm) | POWER REFERENCE Triple-C By coincidence, I use both of these cables in my system – the power cable powers my CD player and I connect the interconnects to a headphone amplifier. I do it for a reason. The Power Reference power cable has demonstrated that its manufacturer is making considerable progress in the field. The 1.8x1.4 interconnect represents a very high level of quality, mostly because of the way it fills the tone, saturates the 3D images of instruments and adds energy. It is a case when we have more “music in music” than before. Bravo! Test: No. 145 | May 2016, read HERE Award: RED Fingerprint ACCESSORIES Anti-vibration feet Pro Audio Bono CERAMIC 5 The PAB ceramic 5 N + are the first anti-vibration feet that have given me as much satisfaction (at all levels), while I listened to music, as the ones I had been using as a reference product for many years. The full color and their peaceful character, as well as naturalness have made me use them more and more often with time. For the first time, the feet that I am holding in my hand have as high-quality features as my previous reference model. They are nicely made and smartly packaged – everything is in place. Test: No. 152 | December 2016, read HERE MUSIC FISZ EMADE TWORZYWO Drony, Compact Disc + SP CD Record label: ART2 Music The Waglewski duo recording brings music that is wonderfully produced on the one hand and sounds great on the other hand, but is mostly “dense” – full of text and rhythm, with “groove”. The recording is extremely beautiful, as it is fleshy, but at the same time open and rhythmical, not afraid of pausing and silence. Bass quality, as defined for this type of music, is excellent here. It goes really low in the extra single, which will allow us to examine even the largest loudspeakers. Bravo, bravo, bravo! Review: No. 152 | December 2016, read HERE Awards: RED Fingerprint, BIG RED Button ŁUKASZ BOROWICKI QUARTET Wandering Flecks, Compact Disc Record label: For Tune I really like such sound, even though the resolution is not too high. It is hard to point out the most important instrument, as all of them have been equally treated. We can hear the guitar most often, but it neither dominates, nor tries to catch our attention – it is the leading instrument, but does not cover the remaining musicians. It is another beautiful For Tune album, as both the sound and music are of really high quality. The consistency, good taste and courage are admirable, indeed! Review: No. 148 | August 2016, read HERE Award: RED Fingerprint KLAN Live Finland 1972, Compact Disc Record label: GAD Records Listening to this recording is an extremely pleasant experience, not only because of the breath, “shift”, attack and dynamics, but also because of the fantastic music. This is excellent progressive rock music that might have been promoted all over the world, on an equal level with the best musicians representing the genre. The fact that it did not happen is simply ironic. Fortunately, we have recordings and this one is special. Let us listen to how good the bass sounds. It has no low bottom, but it is selective, clear and very individual. We listen to it as a component of the recording, one that is active, important and characterized by specific tone. The instruments (mostly the electric guitars) are shown close to us and nicely laid out within the panorama. This is really panoramic sound – not almost monophonic, as in the case of most Polish bands from the 1970s and 80s. It is a wonderful concert that is very nicely framed. Review: No. 145 | May 2016, read HERE Award: BIG RED Button HANS CASTRUP LIZENZFREIE RESTWÄRME oder: Die Klaviatur Des Quadrat, CD-R Record label: Karl Records It is hard to assess music that does not fall into any specific category. This is experimental electronic music that one listens to each time as if for the first time. The limited number of copies makes this recording a unique rarity. Listening recommended! Review: No. 149 | September 2016, read HERE MIECZYSŁAW WAJNBERG Works for flute, Compact Disc Antonina Styczeń, flute Polish Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Wojciech Rajski Record label: TACET This is a beautiful recording of very interesting music. A combination of Mr. Spreer’s skills, taste and experience with the skills of the Polish musicians and the conductor, as well as surprisingly well captured acoustics of the church in Sopot have contributed to the creation of a unique album that we will listen to many times, confirming its top quality each time.. Review: No. 152 | December 2016, read HERE Award: RED Fingerprint T.Love T.LOVE, 2 x Compact Disc Record label: Warner Music Poland I have not heard such well-recorded rock music for a long time. Thus, it has incredible impact, as strong Muniek’s lyrics are perfectly reinforced by music that is not only beautifully recorded, but also produced in a really modern way. The “modern production” is not a technical trick, however, but a skillfully adapted blues idiom which, by some chance, is released in the second decade of the 21st century. To conclude, I will just emphasize the outstanding sound quality again. Review: No. 152 | December 2016, read HERE Wyróżnienia: RED Fingerprint, BIG RED Button Record label ALTANOVAPRESS Lo-fi in hi-fi, or the sound postcards of the 21st century AltanovaPress records convey an anarchist and anti-system message (if the “system” is understood as an audiophile or hi-fi idiom) in which all stages of making a record are equally important, including the cover. In times when the physical medium is disappearing and the role of the cover is becoming less and less important, this is a strong voice FOR the medium, for printed materials and for the relationship between the artist and the record label. PUNK’ƨ N0T DɆAD¡ altanovapress.com Text: No. 149 | September 2016, read HERE

One of the most interesting premieres during High End Show 2016 in Munich was the new, top line of the German company Audionet. Journalists and visitors were presented three devices: PLANCK CD Player, WATT integrated amplifier and optional external power supply AMPERE, designed to improve the sound quality of the Player. These components promoted with the slogan "Back to science" opened the ULTRA line, called by the company in their materials the SCIENTIST. In July two other devices joined the lineup - STERN preamplifier and HEISENBERG power amplifier, that form the ULTIMATE series. The names of their devices are "telling" ie. they inform about their primary functions. WATT is an integrated amplifier, designed to deliver the power, and, as we all know, power is measured in by W (watt). James Watt (1736 -1819) was a British inventor who suggested improvements in the construction of the steam engine, which made him the "father of the industrial revolution." AMPERE is to provide current, hence the name taken from the name of Andre Marie Ampere (1775 - 1836), a French physicist and mathematician who became famous for his electromagnetism related discoveries. His name was used when establishing a unit of electrical current 1 A (ampere). This international company of geniuses is completed with Max Karl Ernst Ludwig PLANCK (1858 - 1947), a very interesting character, a man of the Renaissance - German physicist, yet Lutheran theologian. His main interests were in physics, in particular in thermodynamics, thermal radiation, optics and the theory of relativity. He devoted most attention however, to the quantum theory, promoting the work of Einstein at a time when no treated it seriously yet. In 1918 he received the Nobel Prize. The reviewed Compact Disc player, PLANCK, received name after him. PLANCK PLANCK is a flagship source in Audionet's lineup and at the same time the third generation of CD players of this manufacturer. Although the recently reviewed Audionet ART G3 (in Polish) has the number three in its name suggesting that he belongs to the same group of devices, it actually belongs to the second-generation. Its appearance does not say much about the changes that have taken place inside. Unlike with other products, that feature MDF chassis with an aluminum front only, the entire housing of PLANCK is made of aluminum, anodized for gold-ish, a little champagne and a little titanium color (slightly darker than Accuphase or Marantz products). Although you can not see that, instead of a granite slab underneath, this time there is a wooden one. One can read information on a clear, really informative dot-matrix display that looks a bit like OLED. Track numbers and the time are shown in a large format, and additional information in smaller one. It's still a top-loader type CD player, which means one places a disc directly in the chamber on the motor's shaft and then closes it sliding a cover smoothly over it. The company for years has used the Philips CD-PRO 2 LF transport mechanism, and so it has for this model. But it seems that the software has undergone some modifications since this the first time with this type of design that when I pressed the "back" button it reacts as other Players, ie. when being in the middle of the song it returns to its beginning. ALL other CD Players with Philips CD-Pro 2 transport that I know, in this situation go back to the beginning of the previous track, not the one currently playing. The transport mechanism is bolted to 8 mm thick aluminum plate decoupled from the bottom of the enclosure using system of the belts. This solution in Audionet is called the Aligned Resonance Technology, or shortly, ART. The whole device is used as a solid basis for transport, because the walls are made of selected C-32, 12mm thick aluminum and the device is placed on an additional basis. Unlike with previous versions, in this device one can not see fixing screws, and the individual elements are assembled with even greater precision. The changes also included power supply and analog sections, but they are probably not the most important ones. The key feature seems to be an addition of digital inputs. Audionet players for years offered digital outputs because they were considered one of the best CD transports. They never, however, featured digital inputs. PLANCK is changing that. The company has installed a module with USB, RCA and TOSLink inputs in it, that Audionet uses in their other devices, such as DNP, DNA and DNC. This is their propriety platform called DNX that is improved every now and then. Featured USB module is galvanically isolated. The device looks very solid, it is user-friendly and it simply inspires confidence. One can control it using the buttons on the front panel or the RC 1 remote control. Same remote can be also used to control Audionet's preamplifier. Its features an aluminum body and buttons. Installing Planck in a system is very straightforward – one needs to connect the power cord (it is necessary to remember about the correct polarity!) and interconnects. During the test it played with my reference system, connected with an unbalanced Siltech Triple Crown IC. For power delivery I used the latest product of Mr Kiuchi (Combak Corporation), the Hijiri SMT 'Takumi' Maestro. It was tested without external power supply. AUDIONET in „High Fidelity” TEST: Audionet ART G3 - Compact Disc Player (in Polish) TEST: Audionet pre1 gen2 + eps– preamplifier + power supply (in Polish) TEST: Audionet MAP1 – preamplifier/AV processor (in Polish) Płyty użyte w odsłuchu (wybór) Cantate Domino, wyk. Sistine Chapel Choir, dyr. Massimo Palombella, Deutsche Grammophon 479 5300, CD (2015); Now the Green Blade Riseth, The Stockholm Cathedral Choir, Proprius/JVC XRCD 9093, XRCD2 (1981, 1993/2001) David Crosby, Croz, Blue Castle Records BCR1142-1, CD (2014); Depeche Mode, Ultra, Mute/Sony Music Labels SICP-30543, Blu-spec CD2, (2007/2014) Leonard Cohen, Popular Problems, Sony Music Labels SICP-4329, CD (2014); Mikołaj Hertel, Epizod A, GAD Records GAD CD 035, CD (2015) Niccolò Paganini, 24 Caprices for solo violin. Op.1, wyk. Mayuko Kamio, BMG Japan BVCC 40003, „RCA Red Seal”, CD (2009/2012) Renee Rosnes, Written in the Rocks, Smoke Sessions Records SSR-1601, CD (2016) Ryszard Sygitowicz, Bez grawitacji, Wifon/GAD Records GAD CD 029, CD (1985/2015); Sonny Clark, Cool Struttin’, Blue Note/Esoteric ESSI-90124, SACD/CD (1957/2015) w: Impulse! 6 Great Jazz, Impulse!/Esoteric ESSI-9013/8 (2015) Wolfgang Dauner, Free Action, Saba/MPS/Promising Music SPV 441052 CD, CD (1967/2008) Japanese issues available at [REKLAMA5] Darkness and softness – these are first two terms that come to mind when listening to the new player, both in the first two minutes, but also after many hours of listening. If I wrote something like that in the review of some entry level or medium priced product, it would mean that the sound is pleasant, not really detailed and not very selective, with rolled-off treble. At the same time - otherwise it would not be even worth spending time with such a product – involving, vivid and warm. This would be a description of an interesting product with a distinct sound character and it would be up to particular person, music lover, whether such a compromise suits him/her and if this set of pros and cons sum up to fulfill his expectations. Whatever the final choice it would be a good and justified one. When used in the Planck's context such a description would, however, make one reflect on its value, because even though even at this level some trade-offs and choices (so still, compromises ...) are still the basis for shaping the performance, but one usually expects something more from top products. Audionet's flagship source might be described this way but in his case, considering what it implicates, one should know that we are dealing with a completely different sound feature class. First of all, because the darkness and softness referred to here are not the expression of certain characteristics of the sound, and its backbone, that supports certain type of performance that allows listener to suspend his disbelief and perceive replayed music playing as if it was a "live" event. In this this case “suspension” will be all the easier because one gets an incredible amount of information. This Player differentiates recordings as “f..k”, as one of the candidates for the assistant to Carrie Bradshaw ( Sex and the City , dir. Michael Patrick King, 2008) would say. The colors, plans, the density and volume of instruments and sounds are portrayed by Planck remarkably, with an ease and grace. And it gets even better – we get all that without details exposure. Detail and information are two different things. Details can “kill” the listener, and he still won't even know what he listens to. Details and subtleties are usually associated with high frequencies because through the emphasis in this part of the range, hardening of the attack, artificial emphasis, it creates an impression that a lot is happening in front of listener, that music is rich with information. PLANCK is one of those devices that already during short listening session proves that it can be done differently. As dCS Vivaldi and Ancient Audio Lektor Grand SE before, PLANCK does not focus on the details and at first it might seem that it loses some of it. Yes, the sound is so smooth, so unobtrusive that it creates such impression. But in fact there is an abundance of information in this sound. When listening to music played by PLANK one perceives it as a whole, without going into particular aspects and features and the sound. Every music played by it sounds least good, and usually exceptionally well. Nevertheless, I will try to find a way to describe for you why this Player sounds so good. Dense, jazz recordings shows that the treble is strong and unambiguous, there is no room for anything less than total clarity and transparency, no room for warming up either. There is still, however, the smoothness of the best turntables. I would even say that the Audionet delivers the same smoothness but without warming and rounding of the attack, which with vinyl is inevitable, as it's a direct result of the nature of the technology. PLANCK frees us from this kind of "aura", which is heard from DSD files, preserving their smoothness. This aura I referred to is not a figment of imagination but a derivative of a method of DSD encoding, where the very high quantisation noise is moved outside the audible range, but it is still present in the signal. This creates an impression of softness and saturation, and even warmth, which I really like, but that also means the the sound is not entirely neutral. I think it's one of the reasons why analog and vinyl aficionados so easily become DSD files fans too. But I also know, how the analog reel-to-reel tape recorder sounds like and how the best digital PCM recordings sound like in a mastering studio in both, 24/88.2, 24/192 and 32/384 format. PLANCK sounds exactly like that. Ie. it well differentiates treble, remaining on a warmer - subjectively – side of absolutely neutral sound. It beautifully presents differences between cymbals, in the way of how they are played and recorded. It brings out information on the recording from vocals, without emphasizing hissing elements. Just like, e.g., with Leonard Cohen's vocal from the Popular Problems album. As I wrote in the review, to the very well prepared instrumental and backing vocals layers they added very poorly recorded Cohen's vocal. There are sharp sibilants and low resolution, and above all, a deep compression, that makes the voice of the Canadian sound flat. The Audionet Player does not ignore these issues. It informs the listener about them - if he is interested, without emphasizing them – it does its best to merge it with background vocals and music in a way the sound and mastering engineers probably wished for. As a result we get an album with specific sonic properties, that is still primarily about the music, and not a "case study". I perceived the rest of the band, especially bass, in a similar way. It is incredibly saturated, powerful and soft. Its definition is excellent. There is a very good balance between low end and midrange, one can hear how deep it is able to go and how powerful only when the signal requires it. The natural softness ensures beautiful sound of both bass, and kick drum, and voices of the choir on the beautiful album, Cantate Domino, recorded in the Sistine Chapel. I have recently visited Vatican and while being in the Chapel I listened to its acoustics (I mean after I saw the work of Michelangelo and his disciples), trying to remember it. One is not allowed to even speak up loud in there and the guards were reminded that to the crowd with penetrating silentio! every now and then. But even though, I could hear a low, dense acoustic ambiance of this space. And that's how the said album sounds like. It has been recorded with plenty of air, it was played by Planck in a very convincing manner. There was a large scale (credit to bass) and beautiful sound flow in the air (that's thanks to treble). But above all, one could hear the unity between detail and the whole. I've been thinking about what I could compare the sound of this player to and the obvious candidates are MSB V on one hand and, already mentioned, dCS Vivaldi on the other. It would, however, be an imperfect comparison because PLANCK is not as soft and warm as MBS, nor so open and perfectly defining the sound as dCS. Mind you, we are talking about many times more expensive, multi-box players, so it is completely normal that there are some differences. Audionet, however, offers such an addictive "personality", that I didn't miss - without a direct comparison - neither one nor the other at all. As you can see, which is probably obvious, some aspects of the sound could be further improved. Low bass doesn't have such a scale, I remembered from the more expensive players and turntables. The shift upwards is small and totally compensated with the density of the whole range. It is also about something more subtle than a "powerful-weak" bass. PLANCK builds slightly smaller phantom images than the other mentioned sources, because the volume of the sound is slightly smaller. If you do not know the best achievement in this respect, what you hear with Audionet will be spectacular. You should know, though, that it can be done in an even better way, and an example of one of the best performances could be a source composed of CEC TL0 3.0 and DA0 3.0. Also, the definition of sound can be more precise, which is a domain of dCS, also the Rossini model, and also perfectly demonstrated by Reimyo DAP-999EX PROGRESS High Fidelity Edition. And again – the offset is not large and for the money more than justified. Spacing is a simple extension of the definition and is beautifully saturated, multi-layered and three-dimensional. However, it is still possible to convey instruments' “presence” in slightly more distinctive way within the "wholeness" of the event. I'm mentioning that only because I want you to have a full picture, not just a “praise” of a great device. PLANCK and DSD As I wrote in the introduction, Audionet engineers are people of science (technology). As such, they have a firm opinion on most of the solutions used for audio equipment and tend to go "deeper", refining the already known ones rather than adapt new ones. And so is the case with Direct Stream Digital coding system known from SACDs and DSD files. In short - these are PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) guys. Because the world of technology is divided into two camps - DSD and PCM ones. Each is represented by some finest designers, which could very well justify their choices. It seems that Audionet team has a problem with accepting the weaknesses of DSD encoding (not necessarily the sound), primarily because of the noise resulting from the fact that DSD uses a 1-bit signal and its coding creates a lot of high frequency noise, reducing real resolution of the signal. So they prefer to work with a multi-bit signal, as one can conclude from omission of DSD capability of the USB input. Regardless of which one one chooses, the best of both types of devices represent a similar set of advantages and disadvantages, as if somewhere creators of both agreed the ultimate vision of the sound. One needs but a moment of listening to PLANCK to realize that the way treble and midrange are built is very similar to the one of DSD DACs such as Amare Musica Tube DAC DSD, PS Audio NuWave, emm Labs players and even dCS Vivaldi. It is a rich, slightly warm sound with excellent resolution and not completely unambiguous definition. The latter, in turn, is provided by devices constructed by people who specialize in PCM, such as: Ancient Audio, Gryphon, Reimyo and totaldac. But even without going that deep into the subject one might come to similar conclusions. The definition of sound delivered by Audionet is better than when we play DSD files using device designed for that purpose (even the really good ones). But it is still a little soft, saturated sound, where the layers are not so clearly visible through their separation. There become clear and lovely when the instrument brings to the space its own reverb, its own acoustics. Then it becomes both, a separate event, and a part of the whole at the same time. The space around him, however, does not expand, it is not very open. Summary PLANCK offers a sound that is sort of a finite story. It is an entirely different product than other top players, both CD and SACD. It presents features of both, but using them to create something new, as the writer tells new stories using the same words as others. Its sound is dark and velvety. The softness is extremely natural and both bass and treble extension is simply remarkable. Lower end is as good as the Gryphon Mikado's, that for years, for me, set the highest standard in this respect. But it's not the individual features that impressed me so much, because you can find other devices that do this or that even better, but the presentation as a whole. This is an incredible device that plays digitally encoded music - both from CDs and files (although from the CD better) - in a very natural way, without losing focus, detail and emotions. Built quality is simply exemplary, and if this is “your” sound, if this set of features appeals to your taste, it is very likely to be the last CD Player you'll ever buy. One important thing - among all players mentioned in this text as references it is, by far, the cheapest one, even if you decide to by additionally, costing 36 498 PLN, external AMPERE power supply. RED Fingerprint. The PLANCK is one of the best-built CD players I know, to which, in this respect, only a very few other machines can compare, for example the Vitus Audio and dCS. I presented basic information on this device at the beginning of the text so I'm going to add only what is most important. Same as in previous models, also here, an element available in the company's "package", on which the disc is placed, has replaced the standard one. It is made of a material called POM, used ,for example, in turntables. It has a large diameter and height which improves centering of the clamp with toroidal neodymium magnet. The heavy disc compartment cover is operated manually and slides on Teflon guides; it works so smooth that closing and opening it is true pleasure. On the rear one finds digital inputs and outputs, analog outputs and TOSLink jacks for communication between Audionet devices. There are three digital inputs: USB, RCA and TOSLink, and four outputs:- 2 x RCA, TOSLink and AES/EBU. All of them are and look products of Neutrik. Player features both, balanced and unbalanced analog outputs. The latter are even higher quality, gold-plated Furutech jacks. Next to one of them manufacturer placed a small socket – an input for an external power supply AMPERE that supplies the analog output stage. The IEC socket is clearly marked indicating “live” wire – one should connect power cable accordingly. The player is very heavy due to the thick walls, but not the granite slate, known from previous versions. Apparently the weight of the housing itself was considered sufficient so manufacturer decided to benefit from special damping properties of wood, which is often practiced by Japanese companies. The wooden board is screwed from the bottom to the second, aluminum one. Player's feet are made of aluminum and rubber are glued underneath. And that's the only thing that made me wonder in this whole design because this type of feet tend to "migrate", especially when exposed to heat. The interior looks a lot like the ART G3 Player's, but it is not identical. The power supply features two sections – switched-mode for the transport and linear for electronics. A toroidal transformer features several secondary windings, and thus - power supplies. Analog and digital sections are separately powered, as well as control one. Some damping material was glued on filtering capacitors – another company, Arcam, does that, too. The PCB with D/A Converter and output circuits looks the same as in the G3. So there are two Analog Devices AD1955 DACs, one per channel, preceded by the Burr Brown SRC4192 upsamplers. All input signals are converted to the 24/192 signal. Output stage is different, though. Above the main board there is another one with additional circuits. Current-voltage converter works with temperature ultra-stable resistors. The entire output circuit operates in class A and has a wide frequency response. Above digital input board a separate one with USB input has been installed that features XMOS chip. USB and RCA inputs are transformer coupled. It's a beautiful, precise engineering job, but it is obvious that many solutions are a result of listening sessions. ULTRA | ULTIMATE The integrated amplifier WATT features a heavy, aluminum chassis which, same as in the Audionet top CD Player's case – protects is from resonances. This integrated is also using high-quality volume control and Ultra Linear Amplifier (ULA) technology. Inside you will find separated from each power supplies, which should also has a positive impact on its audio performance. The manufacturer adds that all internal wiring is made of pure silver, and the speaker terminals are manufactured by Furutech. It should also be noted that the WATT can purchased with an optional phono preamplifier module that works with both, MM and MC cartridges. The external power supply, AMPERE, was created primarily to work with the reference Audionet CD player, the above reviewed model called PLANCK. It features discrete components, heavy aluminum housing and high-quality toroidal transformers optimized for this particular device. Its external design refers directly to the appearance of the PLANCK and integrated amplifier WATT, which makes them – according to manufacturer - perfect partners. STERN has been created by the legendary German designer - Hartmut Esslinger - who in the past worked for such corporations as Sony and Apple. The preamplifier combines unique technology, original design and high quality, which - as the company claims - "has never been available in the domain of high-end audio before." Among the Audionet solutions used for this device the one called Air Flow Design (thanks to it integrated circuits never work in high temperatures) stands out or the discrete components used in all inputs and outputs. What's more, each channel features a dedicated transformer, which has a positive impact on the quality of power supply. Another proof of a great attention manufacturer pays to detail is also their choice of rhodium-plated Furutech connectors. Audionet put a lot of effort to improve comfort of STERN's operation. It can easily become a part of an elaborate home theater system, and the user has the option of naming all individual inputs and assigning an appropriate volume to them. Same as the STERN preamplifier, the high-end power amplifier HEISENBERG was designed by Esslinger. This amplifier uses the same technology as its dedicated partner, including the Air Flow Design. It features also some solutions not used anywhere else, such as ULA (Ultra Linear Amplifier), whose task is to correct harmful distortion in real time. It is worth noting that HEISENBERG is well-protected against overloads coming from the power grid - this is ensured by an efficient microprocessor. The manufacturer emphasizes that the highest sound quality is achieved not only by using the best electronic circuits, but also due to perfectly designed and built enclosure, which eliminates resonances. Specifications (according to manufacturer): THD + N: < -107 dB/-6 dBFS S/N ratio: > 111 dB Channel separation: > 134 dB/10 kHz Output impedance: 33 Ω Power consumption (standby/max): < 1/40 W Dimensions (W x H x D): 430 x 120 x 370 mm Weight: 25 kg [hfgallery] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/audionet/th/05.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/audionet/05.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/audionet/05.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/audionet/th/06.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/audionet/06.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/audionet/06.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/audionet/th/07.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/audionet/07.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/audionet/07.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/audionet/th/08.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/audionet/08.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/audionet/08.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/audionet/th/09.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/audionet/09.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/audionet/09.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/audionet/th/10.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/audionet/10.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/audionet/10.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1611/audionet/th/11.jpg" big="foto_testy/1611/audionet/11.jpg" src="foto_testy/1611/audionet/11.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [/hfgallery]

he reviewed by our magazine in January of this year, power cable Demiurg shocked us with its price, quality of make&finish and it didn't leave us indifferent to its sound. It was, if I remember correctly, the first Polish product associated with power supply, of that quality, performance and price level. Until now the leader in this area was the Reference Power Distributor by KBL Sound, followed Base Power Base High End power distributor. Since then much has changed, and during this year's Audio Video Show (2016) we could see and listen to power distributors, conditioners, and so on, that looked equally good and were similarly priced. Almost 23 000 PLN, as that's the asking price for the latest product of the company with their headquarters in Dąbrowa Górnicza, is not that much of surprise as it would have been a year ago. Pricing of this high-end product will allow manufacturer to sell with profit not only in Poland but also anywhere in the world. For the money one buys a beautifully made power distributor. In contrast to all competition, the strip was made of wood. Also, its feet legs are wooden. Other successful brand that followed similar path is the Swedish company Entreq. As the gentlemen of Verictum wrote, the distributor was "tuned" for standard operating conditions, ie. to be placed on the floor, wooden shelves and carpet. And then: "But of course, each user can customize a base for his own preferences, as the strip is receptive subject to a skillful tuning of tonal balance, etc." It is equipped with the five top of the line Furutech sockets with gold-plated contacts and IEC socket from the same brand. It is large and makes a very good impression. Soon company will introduce a version with dedicated tap to the passive X Bulk conditioner and this special set will be available for the price of 26 000 PLN. The version we received for this test was the one without this tap, but with the latest version of X Roll with a plug adapter - so were able to check how the Cogitari works with it. According to manufacturer the "X Bulk from the moment it is connected to the power distributor needs a few hours charge before it reaches its full potential." PAWEŁ CZUBRYT, R&D manager MAREK STAJNDOR, development manager Vivere est cogitare (latine; to live means to think) Our aim was to build a power strip offering not only an excellent sonic performance, but also with a unique appearance. We didn't want our product to belong to the category of those that users have to hide somewhere behind the rack. We wanted it to be something its user could proudly place in the plain sight, while it should, of course, maintain its full functionality. Cogitari was tuned for a perfect cooperation with our passive external filter (ground conditioner), and we shall offer it in two versions: - As a set with external, and slightly modified X Bulk Gold filter tuned for perfect cooperation with the power distributor, - Without external filter, which current users of X Bulks will probably welcome, because they can go ahead and use it with Cogitari to a very good effect. Cogitari was designed from the scratch in-house using the conductors developed by us and our original solutions for the best sound effect. During the work and tuning process of the distributor we used our power cables, Demiurg, which represent a reference product for us and an excellent matrix that allows us to hear the differentiation, the full spectrum of sound and its volume, even the tiniest nuances of articulation, details and dynamic and tone contrasts without any averaging. Our aim when designing Cogitari was to obtain the highest possible quality and naturalness of music playback, especially when listening to classical repertoire and the music created with the use of acoustic instruments and the human voice. The Furutech sockets, our wiring, special passive filter, the vibration damping enclosure of exotic wood, its support - decoupling from the surface it is placed on by sonically selected and shaped feet of two different kinds of oiled merbau and oak wood, its specifications, such as: weight, shape, enclosure design, the thickness and configuration of the walls, and even the special, selected lacquer, they all combine in a special tuning, voicing similar to that, used when building a bow instrument. As mentioned above, we fine-tuned Cogitari and equipped it with a special filter (that works in a similar way as the Block X) absorbing EMI/RFI noise and converting it into the heat energy. Its purpose is to protect the distributor against interference coming from outside as well as those generated by the strip itself as a result of the current flowing through it. The filter has been permanently encased in the base of the strip and flooded with a special material that is also an important element of anti-vibration filter and the strip itself. Cogitari wiring features a cryo-treated conductor with 4 N silver plated with 24K gold, metallurgically prepared in the same manner as the conductor of the Demiurg power chord. Wires are directional, so the whole wiring of the strip is oriented according to the direction of the conductors, which is why it is very important to make sure the that the power cable supplying power to strip is correctly (in terms of phase) connected to the wall outlet so that the phase is delivered to the IEC socket in the strip to the side, marked with the letter L. Wires run to each socket in a star configuration. In our opinion, the best solution for the power strips. An a-typical solution, which we consider to be optimal, it is the same length of the cables distributing current to all individual outlets. Thus you may plug audio components to any outlet since they the length of the cable supplying current is always the same. We consider this to be uncompromising solution. It significantly increases the cost the power distributor, but the priority for us, as always, is consistency of sound and a listening pleasure. We have not forgotten about distribution rails specially developed for our power strips. Rails and fixing screws in the rails are made of copper alloy plated with a thick layer of pure polished silver and then subjected by us to several hours of cry treatment. They represent another very important, well thought-through and verified in a series of listening sessions element of voicing of our distributor. These rail can support a load of 80 A each, far more than foreseen load of the strip, which is 15 A. Cogitari's enclosure is made entirely of logs of exotic wood called merbau. Same as in the case of the Demiurg, housing components are carefully selected and chosen so that the two halves that make up the whole body, are virtually identical in terms of hue and grain, which in the case of merbau wood is not so easy, because even along a single board several shades may occur and not only on the surface but also during processing. The housing is made entirely using CNC machines. VERICTUM in „High Fidelity” TEST: Verictum DEMIURG - power cable AC BEST SOUND 2015: Verictum X Block – passive EMI/RFI filter TEST: Verictum X Block – passive EMI/RFI filter TEST: Verictum X Bulk – ground filter Recordings used in the test (a selection) Artur Rojek, Składam się z ciągłych powtórzeń, Kayax Music 071, CD (2014); Charlie Haden & Chris Anderson, None But The Lonely Heart, Naim naimcd022, CD (1997) Fisz Emade Tworzywo, Drony, Art2 Music 26824180, CD + SP CD (2016); Nat ‘King’ Cole, Penthouse Serenade, Capitoll Jazz/EMI 94504, „Super Bit Mapping” CD (1952/1998) Rosemary Clooney, Rosemary Clooney sings Ballads, Concord/Stereo Sound SSCDR-007, „Flat Transfer Series”, CD-R (1985/2016) Smolik/Kev Fox, Smolik/Kev Fox, Kayax | Agora 92781141, CD (2015) T.Love, T.LOVE, Pomaton 95907372, „Limited Edition”, 2 x CD (2016); Japanese issues available at [REKLAMA5] Many months of tedious selection of the best lacquer was yet another challenge during the process of tuning of our power strip. Numerous tests and listening sessions with different varnishes enabled us to develop the optimal type and brand of paint and coating technology, which fits in perfectly with our concept of sound and works perfectly for Cogitari strip. As the great violin makers we based out choice exclusively on sonic properties and so we chose the best sounding one. We want to emphasize that the future user of this power distributor should handle it very carefully and do not allow any clashes with hard objects. The varnish is obviously adequate durable operationally and in contact with skin. For cleaning purposes we recommend a soft cloth or specialized agents for wood available on the market. This is the first time when I had to think longer over what I heard after switching power cables in my system from Acoustic Revive RTP-4EU Reference power strip to a product of another company. So far, always returned to my reference strip with pleasure if not relief. I appreciated, of course, what this or that company achieved with their product, but I had no doubt that Mr. Ken Ishiguro's, the founder and owner of AR, power distributor is a true reference, not only in my system. The chance to change my thinking was introduced by the KBL Sound Reference Power Distributor, which showed me that it was possible to make something outside of the Japanese Islands, that presented a truly high class so that we could be proud of it. It was still, however, not exactly the level of Acoustic Revive. The Cogitari by Verictum is the first product of its kind, that showed m what still could be improved in RTP-4EU Reference. But it also reminded me that the so-called "synergy" is crucial for the system. The Verictum strip sounds in a very organic way. It's a natural association, coming to mind when we look at a product made largely from natural materials (wood, leather etc.). In fact, most of these devices and accessories significantly colors the sound. Such a shift is extremely pleasant and produces positive energy. It is also, however tricky, because it shifts our perception towards "artifacts", making up a reality. The audio is equally about creating – because it is ultimately an art – and about re-creation, or attempt to properly interpret a situation that took place in front of the microphones during recording, as well as the intentions of the sound engineers and producers of the album. Cogitari has these two elements well balanced. Its sound is beautifully saturated and warm rather than not. In this case, this warmth is not a coloration, or mechanical roll-off the treble or emphasis of the part of the midrange responsible for so-called. "presence". In the case of the reviewed strip it inherent to the best product, usually sound sources. It's about high resolution and good differentiation. These two elements in the absence of coloration give a feeling of warmth. Which is natural. Audio is an area with its own rules. There is no place in it for such a thing as neutrality, because neither recording technique, nor this part of the "our" side, meaning techniques used to reproduce the sound, are not transparent (and never will be). Besides, we do not know the reference, and the recorded events we know only from the "second-hand" - just the recording and not the event itself. One can not, however, admit that there is such a thing as belief in the "authenticity" of the sound, even if we are aware of that what I described above. Otherwise a life passion, which is a perfectionist audio and music played on this type of audio components, would not make any sense. We would always know that whatever we can hear is still not what it should be and that there is no chance we could ever achieve a perfection. Fortunately, this is not needed, what we need is just an impression of "adequacy" of reproduced sound compared to the real one. What, I should add, can be achieved already using an entry level system, as long as it is properly set up, and is developing and becoming more and more "compatible" with the real events with each system upgrade. As a result, we not are going crazy with despair, but rather have a chance to again and again experience moments of epiphany and revelation. The Verictum offers user such an impression - that everything is "right" and in its place, that with it the presentation is very natural. Its designers aimed, I believe, to ensure that devices plugged into the distributor always showed a better side of every recording, a good side "of the presented world." Because that's exactly what I got when I listened to Artur Rojek's Składam się z ciągłych powtórzeń, so the album produced for a mass market, as well as with 1942 purist recordings of Nat 'King' Cole from Penthouse Serenade album. This one, of course, at the time was also addressed to a mass market, but seventy-five years ago a “music production” had a different meaning than today. Cogitari in both cases, formed a sound that can be described as large, without enlarging it, it is not the point, but via a clear foreground and the rest of the soundstage, that also gained in volume, brought closer to he front. It modified at the same time the treble, smoothing out a slight harshness, that the Japanese strip introduces to the sound. It is not brightness yet, but one can hear that something is going on there, that there sort of a "halo" that lits treble up a bit. With the problematic recordings, such as, for example the said album by Rojek, the Acoustic Revive never exceeds the boundaries of a good taste and rather tries to show accurately whatever there is in the recording, even if it is not really what we would like to hear. And yet, each time I know that something is going on. The Verictum takes us to the point where all elements differing from our idea of a good recording disappear. With the recordings that do not need that, for example with None But The Lonely Heart by Charlie Haden & Chris Anderson, or with Rosemary Clooney Sings Ballads one can notice a slight reduction of treble energy. It is not significant and it does not affect the tonal balance. On the Naim recording one could point out other consequences of such a “shaping” of the sound, of which the most important is the emphasis on the direct sounds. The acoustics of the room was extremely pleasant, nice, good, but it was less important in the creation of the space than when the system was plugged into the AR strip. Low bass has the energy, density and "immediacy" similar to that of the best power strips. This is where conditioners fail, because they temper its activity and dynamics. Power distributors don't do that. Including Cogitari. The differences between it and Acoustic Revive here are big, as are with the reproduction of high frequencies. Polish strip rounded the lowest bass a bit and did not go as low down as the Japanese one. No power distributor I know delivers such a precise and energetic lower end as the Acoustic Revive. But it is more about the definition – that's where AR is perfect. It is not a weakness of Verictum though, as it is still better in this regard than all the other power strips, apart from the AR one. Summary In this short text I was able to just touch the surface of what the Verictum Cogitari can do. I am impressed by how it changes the performance of such an expensive system as mine. It does it with grace, gently leading listeners to the sunny side of the street. It modifies the sound towards the richness and sweetness. It does not, however, offer so well defined sound, as Acoustic Revive does. I guess it was not an intention of Verictum as racing some other company to bit them at their own game and at the same time developing features that competitive products do not offer, as far as I know, had never worked for any company so far. Here and now we are offered a power strip delivering an organic, natural sound. I listened to it without X Bulk, but after plugging it in I heard even more - more of what I already described. This filter highlights all the good qualities of the Polish strip and worsens nothing. The sound goes even further in the direction of harmonics richness, boldly (yeah!) creating a good world. The Cogitari power distributor is not a product that differentiates the sound as well as the Acoustic Revive, it does not render so perfect holography, neither. But first of all, it does these things still better than all other strips, and secondly, it adds a beautiful tonality, which I would gladly welcome to my Acoustic Revive RTP-4UE Reference. Which, to be honest, would be very appropriate, since the set of qualities that Verictum presents is exactly what the Japanese top specialist manufacturers focus their efforts on, and I mean such manufacturers as: Kondo, Leben, SPEC, Reimyo (Harmonix) and others. Its pricing might seem bold or brave, but it is bold and brave that conquer the world, right? And the Verictum has to offer everything such products should need. Specifications (according to manufacturer): An enclosure CNC machined of exotic merbau wood 5 cry-treated Furutech FI-E30 sockets gold-plated Cry-treated Furutech FI-06 IEC socket gold-plated Wiring: cry-treated conductors of 4N silver, gold-plated, fi 2,3 mm2 Build-in EMI/RFI passive filter Loading: max 15 A Dimensions (L x W x H): 450 x 120 x 150 mm Weight: around 5 kg [hfgallery] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/verictum/th/05.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/verictum/05.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/verictum/05.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/verictum/th/06.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/verictum/06.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/verictum/06.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/verictum/th/07.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/verictum/07.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/verictum/07.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/verictum/th/08.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/verictum/08.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/verictum/08.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/verictum/th/09.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/verictum/09.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/verictum/09.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/verictum/th/10.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/verictum/10.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/verictum/10.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/verictum/th/11.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/verictum/11.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/verictum/11.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/verictum/th/12.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/verictum/12.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/verictum/12.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/verictum/th/13.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/verictum/13.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/verictum/13.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [/hfgallery]

he DMC-600SE is a Compact Disc player with digital inputs and a Bluetooth connection. The Cary Audio company calls it a “Digital Music Center” (hence the DMC in the name). Looking at its functional possibilities, we can say that the company is right – it is some kind of a hub, an integrated digital source. The only thing that could be added to its capabilities is the possibility to play files (see Mark Levinson No. 519 Audio Player; in Polish). However, this means compromise that is really expensive to overcome. For those who would like to obtain a complete Cary Audio digital sound source, the company also offers the DMS-500 file player (“streamer”). The Cary Audio company that was established in 1989 is a firm focused on electron tubes. However, it noticed market changes at the right time. That is why it included home cinema devices (amplifiers and processors) in its offer some time ago and now it offers the abovementioned streamer and a broad range of digital-to-analog converters, a headphone amplifier and the latest novelty – the all-in-one AIOS system. The DMC-600SE is the company’s most expensive sound source and, at the same time, one of its most expensive products. As it costs almost 35,000 PLN, it is not cheap, but it is also impossible to say that it is especially expensive for a high-end product – an extremely solid device packed with different functions, constituting an almost complete sound source. What is more, the functions I am talking about are really useful and help us adjust the player to our system and sonic requirements. The DMC-600SE in detail It is large, heavy and very well-designed. Its users are aware they have invested their money well and sure that they needn’t worry about anything, but can just listen to music. The player’s primary function is to play CDs using a CD-ROM transport that reads tracks a bit longer but instantly jumps to each subsequent one. Track and settings information (without CD-Text) is displayed on a large clear display with three lines with a blue filter. There are quite a lot of buttons next to it and one can see that the company wanted to double as many functions as possible both here and on the remote control. As I have mentioned, it is not only a CD player, but also a DAC. A user can connect an external source to it, using the AES/EBU, coaxial (RCA), optical (TOSLink) and USB inputs. The first three of these inputs accept digital signal from 16 to 24 bit and from 44.1 to 192 kHz. PCM signal up to 32 bit and 384 kHz, and DSD signal to DSD256 can be sent through the USB input. One of the most important features of the player is the presence of a Bluetooth receiver functioning in the aptX system, through which one can send CD quality signal without compression. So, one can buy a Tidal subscription and stream signal from a smartphone or tablet. Signal from CDs and all digital inputs except for USB can be improved through upsampling. Such operations have been known for years and integrated circuits with upsamplers are very popular. Most frequently, signal is upsampled to 24/192 PCM (see Audionet Planck), but equally often to DSD (see dCS Rossini). The Cary Audio company has chosen upsampling to PCM, but in the highest form I have seen so far, i.e. 768 kHz. However, one can also choose one of medium values, both when it comes to asynchronous upsampling (48, 96 and 192 kHz) and synchronous upsampling (88.2 kHz, etc.). It is not only the frequency that is changed, but also word length, to 32 bit. The Cary Audio company has treated this function really seriously. The upsampler looks like it can be programmed by the user or “on request” and is called the TruBit Upsampling. An adequate algorithm is included in a 128-bit DSP circuit. Effort has also been made to make input signal as stable as possible, so it is reclocked before it reaches the upsampler. What is interesting, signal from the USB input does not undergo upsampling. However, reclocking also takes place there. This operation was also individually developed and is called OSO Reclocking (OSO = Onboard Signal Origination). If this is not enough, one can connect an external clock to the player (like, for example, in dCS devices). The DMC-600SE has two separate converter paths and two separate output circuits. The D/A section includes circuits made by the Japanese AKM company – the balanced section (XLR outputs) has the four-channel AK4495EQ model and the unbalanced section (RCA outputs) – the AK4490EQ model. Thanks to this, both outputs work independently, in optimum conditions. As I am saying, there are also two analog outputs – a transistor and a tube one. The latter is not an ordinary buffer, but a completely separate output circuit with filters, amplification and buffering. Two 12AU7 tubes are used in it. The company has called this solution the DiO Analog Stage (DiO = Dual Independent Output). Finally, there was a function that I did not use but that may prove to be a good solution in some systems – the player has an adjustable output and a high level of output voltage, thanks to which it can be used to directly control the power amp. 0 dB level on the display means 2 V RMS on the output (a CD standard), but it can be increased to +8 dB, i.e. 3 V RMS on the output. However, it is worth knowing that output signal level adjustment takes place in converters, i.e. in the digital domain. I also have a few additional final remarks. The Special Edition version has different (better) components than the basic version, as well as an input and output for an external clock. Both versions have all the basic functions. Both are equally solid, made of thick steel plates and an aluminum front panel. The devices stand on special anti-vibration aluminum feet – large spikes and pads. The latter can later be replaced with Franc Audio Accessories feet, for example. The user manual is very detailed and provides all the necessary information, explaining the technologies used and giving design details. The manufacturer’s website is just as helpful. The Cary Audio player was placed on the upper shelf of the Finite Elemente Pagode Edition rack on its own feet, without additional pads. I usually use anti-vibration feet under devices, but it was not necessary this time as the player has its own ones. It was powered by the Harmonix X-DC350M2R Improved-Version cable, while signal from RCA outputs (my system performs better in an unbalanced path) was transferred using the Crystal Cable Absolute Dream interconnects. The remaining elements of the path are already known – the Ayon Audio Spheris III preamplifier, the Soulution 710 power amplifier and the Harbeth 40.1 loudspeakers. The device was compared to three CD players: the Métronome Technologie Kalista, the Audionet Planck and the Ancient Audio Lektor AIR V-edition. While listening to its USB input, I used the Innuos ZENith MkII Std. file player (server) that we are going to test next month, with the USB Curious cable. I checked the Bluetooth connection using the Samsung Core smartphone. The albums used during the listening session (a selection): Artur Rojek, Składam się z ciągłych powtórzeń, Kayax Music 071, CD (2014); Charlie Haden & Chris Anderson, None But The Lonely Heart, Naim naimcd022, CD (1997) Dominic Miller & Neil Stacey, New Dawn, Naim naimcd066, CD (2002) Fisz Emade Tworzywo, Drony, Art2 Music 26824180, CD + SP CD (2016); Kelly Smith and Cound Basie & His Orchestra, Kelly & Basie: A Beautiful Friendship, Sinatra Society of Japan XQAM-1056, „Singin’ Swingin’ Series”, CD (2012) Pet Shop Boys, Behaviour, Parlophone/EMI Japan TOCP-6440, CD + 3” SP (1990) Rosemary Clooney, Rosemary Clooney sings Ballads, Concord/Stereo Sound SSCDR-007, „Flat Transfer Series”, CD-R (1985/2016) Smolik/Kev Fox, Smolik/Kev Fox, Kayax | Agora 92781141, CD (2015) T.Love, T.LOVE, Pomaton 95907372, 2 x CD (2016); Japanese issues available at [REKLAMA5] The Cary Audio company has managed to prepare a player that is a really solid and reliable product. I rarely say this as, even though I select the best devices for my tests, ones that are usually checked earlier (I have no time or will to deal with mediocre or simply “good” products), I most frequently select them based on what they sound like or the people behind them. The Cary Audio player not only meets both of the requirements – good sound and people who know what they are doing, but also fulfills another, more intangible requirement of “value”. What I mean is that when you look at it, listen to it and use it, you are sure. The player is like a part of your arm, like a tool that we use without wondering whether it is going to work or not – we trust it. It is even more so because the sound it offers is better than very good and, let me get this straight right away, so different from what Gerhard Hirt offers in the form of the almost equally costly CD-35 (Ayon Audio) that the choice becomes simple (either the former, or the latter). As the sound of the DMC-600SE significantly changes together with a change of upsampling, as well as when we select the type of the output circuit (transistor – tube), please pay your attention and focus on the comparison below. I think it may help you adequately interpret the description of sound in the configuration(s) that I am going to choose. UPSAMPLING | TUBE/TRANSISTOR Let me start with the semiconductor output. Turning upsampling on instantly changes the sound, mainly when it comes to tone. Each of the selected values emphasizes bass in its medium and upper range, as well as significantly deepens the low midrange. It is a change towards “saturation”, but also “emphasis”. So, the tonal balance shifts towards the lower midrange and closes the treble a little, which brings about certain benefits, mainly in the case of recordings in which an important role is played by human vocals and… electric guitars, like in the case of the Rosemary Clooney sings Ballads and T.LOVE albums, respectively. It is because these two elements gain additional value and incomparably more natural tone – they become three-dimensional and saturated. The treble is softer and also sounds more natural, i.e. instruments are three-dimensional and dense, and they cease to be “thin”. Electric guitars benefit a lot from that, as with upsampling they sound more like real tube guitar amps, the way I heard them during the T. Love concert in Forty Kleparz, which I attended at a time when the Cary Audio player was part of my system. Additionally, we get stronger bass. Now it is time to decide what we expect from our system, what it is supposed to sound like and how we imagine “real” sound, as the tested player rounds the attack and warms up the low and medium bass range. It is not a short-circuit that makes the attack of the percussion pedal fast or gives the bass guitar high dynamics. However, we get depth and a velvet strike (as the dynamics is high, beyond any doubt). As the sound is warmer and more rounded with upsampling, it is hard to talk about rhythm as we get with Naim devices, for example. The tube output follows the same path, but the effect is twice as strong. The highest treble is extinguished and vocals get warmed up. So, if there are small instrument sets, they sound more intimate, as if we were sitting closer to the musicians. When there are a lot of instruments, they simply sound too warm and smooth, without too much of a “claw”, unless we… turn upsampling off. Then, the frequency range gets equalized and the advantages of the tube output, such as structure and saturation, come to the foreground and we appreciate them. As you can see, the possibilities of changing sound are really broad thanks to upsampling and the outputs. I made my choice quite quickly – upsampling to 768 kHz and the semiconductor output, even though I also played music without upsampling and with the tube output, but mainly jazz. Electronic and rock music benefited from “my” settings. I have already described the sound of the tested player quite clearly. It is serious, mature sound that gives you a lot of information about the tone, 3D images and space. The number of the so-called “details” is not too large, but not because there are none, but due to rounding of the attack. The Cary Audio player sounds like a tube amplifier or a turntable, even when we use the semiconductor output. The information that I am talking about is formed in a slightly different way than in devices that enter recordings deeply and communicate this fact to us. Let me give you an example: I spent a lot of time during the test wearing my headphones. Let me remind you that I use the battery-powered Bakoon HPA-21 amplifier and the magnetostatic HiFiMAN HE-1000 V2 headphones. It is an extremely precise set that is rich in colors which, however, detects and informs me about anything that is brightened up, sharp or insufficiently filled before it. With the Cary Audio player, I obtained one of the best sounds in my system ever. Of course, it is obvious that the Métronome Technologie Kalista system sounded much better, the Lektor AIR V-edition showed more information and the Ayon Audio CD-35 charmed me with density and tangibility. Nevertheless, the Cary Audio player matched both my expectations and my headphone system so well that it sounded fantastic. I was mostly surprised by how well it reproduces recordings that are stigmatized by other sources due to high compression, incomplete mastering or recording errors. So, I listened to the Pet Shop Boys albums for a few evenings and the player extracted a lot of music from them. It was similar in the case of albums that are really well-made, like the Fisz Emade duo’s Drony album and the abovementioned T.LOVE. Rojek’s debut also benefited from the filling and mildness that the player guarantees. All of this will specifically affect listening to music through loudspeakers. It will smoothen and burn out systems in which we have too much treble or where the treble is too sharp. If you lack filling, the American player will do something you won’t achieve by changing cables or even loudspeakers. It will give everything polish, color and high quality. What is interesting, sources connected via digital inputs (including USB) will sound very similar. USB, combined with the Innuos ZENith Mk II file player (server), sounded like a turntable. At the end, let me add that (thanks to this) playing Tidal through Bluetooth was really pleasant; as long as it is an additional sound source, it will give us a lot of joy. Plus-minus However, we need to know that, by definition, the Cary Audio player is not a “transparent” and “neutral” device. I need the inverted commas, as the meaning of the statement depends on the context and the point of reference a little. As I compared the Cary Audio player directly to the Kalista system which costs €69,000, I can tell you precisely what I mean. The sound of the DMC-600SE is quite soft, because of which sounds (especially from the bottom of the range) do not get defined too clearly. Therefore, its subjective dynamics may seem averaged and rhythmicity – slowed down. Objectively, this is true, but (subjectively) it is not a problem, as it also brings benefits that I have already described. However, in warm-sounding systems everything may get too sweet when we get “too much sugar in sugar”, which is not recommended. The player will not make things easier in situations when loudspeakers extend the bass or the amp cannot go too low. Conclusion I spent my time with the tested player in a really pleasant way. The device is really functional and its functions are really worth trying out, not just looking at. It also has a solid and sound design, while its sound makes us want to listen to it for a long time and charms us with warm and dense midrange. What we have to sacrifice in return is the definition and bass focus. However, if we set the upsampler and the output correctly, we will see that as the device’s “character”, not a drawback. If what we look for in music are peace and pleasure, the DMC-600SE should be listened to at the very beginning, as thanks to this we may save a lot of time that we will then be able to spend listening to music, reading books, watching movies and TV series, walking and doing sport (best – in company!). The DMC-600SE is a CD player with digital inputs and the Bluetooth aptX connection. It is a device which starts impressing us a lot the moment we install it on our shelf, thanks to its dimensions, weight and design. The installation will take us a moment, as the company decided to place the device on anti-vibration feet that are not easy to install or level. They have the form of a quite high aluminum cylinder to which we attach steel spikes (at the pick). The spikes extend just a few millimeters further out than the cylinder’s level. They need to be firmly attached and then placed in aluminum bases. Front and back The front is made of thick aluminum and it is not a minimalist front, as it includes most of the buttons that control the player’s multiple functions. In the middle there is a CD tray and a large display above it. It gives us information on the input signal frequency (without word length) and the frequency of the selected upsampling, the number of tracks on the given CD, the number of the track that is being played and its duration, as well as the volume. The letter “T” means that we have chosen the tube output. There are a lot of connectors. On the side there is the analog section with symmetrical XLR and unsymmetrical RCA outputs. In the middle there is the digital section – inputs and outputs, as well as connectors for communication with the (automatic) control systems. There are USB, optical, RCA and XLR (AES/EBU) inputs, as well as transport outputs – the optical and coaxial ones. Next to them there are trigger connectors and the RS232 connector. At the very top there is also a connector to which we attach a Bluetooth antenna. The inside The inside of the player is divided into three parts: the power supply, transport with inputs and outputs, and a DAC with two types of outputs. The transport looks like a CD-ROM (or a DVD-ROM). Its software seems to have been modified by Cary Audio, which is confirmed by an appropriate label and name: D-10A. The circuits which control the software and decode signal from a CD are located on a board behind it. I have already seen very similar solutions: a large DSP chip with an attached radiator – in Primare CD players, for example. The transport is separated with a screen on two sides. On one side there is the DAC and output circuits. The DAC includes two large four-channel AKM AK4495EQ chips from the Audio 4Pro series. Four channels are summed to one in it, which makes it possible to minimize distortion. There is a large board over these converters, at the heart of which there is the AKM AK4490EQ circuit. The four-channel converters operate next to the balanced output and the two-channel one – at the RCA output. At the end there are the transistor and the tube outputs. The latter one has two Mullard ECC82 tubes (one per channel), newly produced in Russia. They work together with beautiful Dale resistors and great coupling oil Jensen Capacitors. There are power supply units on the other side of the transport. Their basis consists of two R-core transformers with a lot of secondary windings. Technical specifications (according to the manufacturer): Compatible formats: CD AUDIO (CD-DA), CD-R, CD-RW 8x Oversampling Digital Filter BLUETOOTH: CSR Bluetooth v 4.0 with aptX Analog filter: 3rd Order Bessel Analog outputs: RCA + XLR Digital outputs: RCA + Toslink/44.1 kHz - 192 kHz, 16 to 24 bit Digital inputs: - USB x 1 (PC & MAC) - BLUETOOTH x1 - AES/EBU x1 - RCA x2 - Toslink x1 - Master Clock Loop x1 Compatible signal types: USB – PCM: 44.1 kHz - 384 kHz, 16 to 32 bit, DSD64, DSD128 BLUETOOTH: 44.1 kHz, 16 bit AES/EBU, RCA, Toslink: 44.1 kHz - 192 kHz, 16 to 24 bit Output voltage (RCA): 2 V RMS for Volume +0 dB 3 V RMS for Volume +8 dB Power consumption: 86 W Weight: 35 lbs Dimensions (H x W x D): 134 x 445 x 410 mm [hfgallery] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/cary_audio/th/05.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/cary_audio/05.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/cary_audio/05.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/cary_audio/th/06.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/cary_audio/06.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/cary_audio/06.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/cary_audio/th/07.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/cary_audio/07.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/cary_audio/07.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/cary_audio/th/08.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/cary_audio/08.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/cary_audio/08.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/cary_audio/th/09.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/cary_audio/09.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/cary_audio/09.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/cary_audio/th/10.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/cary_audio/10.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/cary_audio/10.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/cary_audio/th/11.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/cary_audio/11.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/cary_audio/11.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/cary_audio/th/12.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/cary_audio/12.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/cary_audio/12.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/cary_audio/th/13.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/cary_audio/13.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/cary_audio/13.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/cary_audio/th/14.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/cary_audio/14.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/cary_audio/14.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/cary_audio/th/15.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/cary_audio/15.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/cary_audio/15.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [/hfgallery]

he Super Audio CD Player, Ayon Audio CD-35 turned out to be significantly different from typical products of this type, both in terms of technical aspects, the sound quality and price/performance ratio. We believe that this is the player that changes - in an “audio micro-world”, but still - rules of the game, because it aspires to the level previously reserved for true "high-end" while representing a surprising, to say the least, price level. Thus we have decided to devote two separate articles to this device. We began with the coverage of a meeting of the Krakow Sonic Society, where you could find basic information about the CD-35 and a concept behind it and the opinions of the people who were the first in the world to officially listen to this new Ayon Audio player prepared together with StreamUnlimited (more HERE). This time you can read a regular review of this product. Krakow Sonic Society, or its members, are not particular optimists. I would even say that optimism is an alien concept to them – they have listened to so many top quality devices and audio products that they are aware of the technical limitations of those means for sound reproduction. And these limitations do not inspire optimism. From time to time, of course, they witness some special products that introduce something new. They confirm that although the base of our industry was established in the first two decades of the development of sound reproduction, however, there are still some elements that allow us to get even closer to the reproduced music, to experience it more intensely. It so happens that these are almost exclusively top high end products, such as: Siltech Triple Crown (in Polish) and Tara Labs Evolution cables, digital sources such as: dCS Vivaldi, turntables such as: Transrotor Artus FMD, analogue master-tapes (see HERE and HERE) or digital processors, for example Accuphase DG-58. The case of the Ayon Audio Super Audio CD CD-35 Player is different. Gerhard Hirt, the owner of Ayon, has set himself an ambitious goal - to design and produce a CD player, which would offer as good sound quality as possible while costing less than 10 000 EUR. It's still a large amount of money, no denying that, but compared to the products that I mentioned above, its price does no longer seem so high. I would even dare to say that it is low. As Gerhard said, he wanted to give music lovers a tool that will extract as much quality of a Red Book CD as possible, and that will not expose its owner to the problems with the rest of the family when they ask for the price of this device. CD-35 CD-35 is a Super Audio CD top-loader. The disc is placed directly on the axis of the motor and one places a magnetic CD-clamp on top of it. In this case, to cause transport to load the TOC an acrylic cover, protecting mechanism against dust, has to be put on top. In some of the older players, one could play the music without this acrylic cover and I must say that the sound was than a bit better. As I mentioned, this is a SACD player, the first in the company's history. But not quite - Gerhard told us, that all his previous players, except for CD-5 and CD-T, were SACD players, but he deliberately blocked SACD playback, focusing on decoding PCM signal from a CDs. The CD-35 is the first Ayon player that offers a full functionality of the StreamUnlimited drive without any negative consequences for the CD playback. What hasn't changed is a tube output stage. The CD-35 features a new circuit that combines the advantages of 6H30 and 5687 double triodes, powered by the next tube, full wave bridge rectifier, GZ30. The power supply features also R-core transformer and a choke. Interestingly, for filtration Ayon chose large, polypropylene capacitors, instead of electrolytic ones. The second transformer supplies power to the digital circuits. It took the most time during the designing of the CD-35 - three years (!) - to prepare a digital section of the player. The DAC chips are nice, but classic ones – they come from a Japanese company AKM, one stereo chip per channel. The signal for them is firstly upsampled. The user can select one of two digital filters that have been implemented. The first is a conventional fast roll-off filter, and the other is a "slow roll-off" filter. They allow you to adjust the sound of the device to individual taste - in this particular case sonic differences are quite significant. The Signature version – I'll get back to that – has even more to offer, because it features also a DSP, which uses an upsampling algorithm for PCM to convert it to DSD (DSD128 and DSD256). There are some of-the-shelf chips on the market that do just that, and companies such as dCS create such algorithms themselves. Gerhard Hirt invited his friends from the Viennese company StreamUnilimited, formed by former Philips engineers, co-creators of a CD-format, to work with him on CD-35. A conversion of this type is a mathematical operation and the result depends on the applied calculations. Gerhard told me that the CD-35 uses a unique conversion method, and that they are particularly proud of it. The CD-35 has been designed so that it can be upgraded at any time. The basic version called CD-35 Standard (31 900 PLN) is simply a Super Audio CD player with adjustable volume, with digital inputs and two analog outputs - balanced and unbalanced (it is worth noting that the output stage is unbalanced). Another 1,990 PLN gets you a preamp stage with three inputs, one balanced XLR and two unbalanced RCA, and the player in this versions is called CD-35 Preamp. At the top of this lineup there is a version called CD-35 Signature - it's a player with preamplifier and additionally with the module that upsamples signal to DSD. That costs additional 5690 PLN. The latter is the version under review. It is also a full-fledged DAC. This section features an abundance of inputs. In addition to the classic digital inputs, such as RCA, USB, I2S (RJ45), BNC and AES/EBU, there are also Ethernet (RJ45) and 3 x BNC ones, used for transmission of DSD Direct signal, eg. from the NW-T files player; Direct means in a native form. Note that USB input accepts PCM signals up to 32 bits and 356 kHz, as well as DSD up to DSD256. I listened to CD-35 for the first time in Janusz system, during Krakow Sonic Society Meeting, when we compared it to Ancient Audio Lektor Grand SE CD Player. Next I placed it on a shelf of the Finite Elemente Pagode Edition rack in my reference system and I had a chance to compare it with two other CD players: Ancient Audio Lektor AIR V-Edition and Métronome Technologie DREAM PLAY CD: KALISTA. All players sent signal via Siltech Triple Crown RCA interconnect to Ayon Audio Spheris III preamplifier, and than with Cristal Cable Absolute Dream RCA IC to Soulution 710 amplifier. I used also Harbeth M40.1 loudspeakers and Tara Labs Omega Onyx speaker cable. For all players I used Acrolink 7N-PC9500 Mexcel or 聖HIJIRI SMT ‘Takumi’ Maestro power cables. I also performed listening sessions using a headphone rig comprised of tube Ayon Audio HA-3 and solid-state Bakoon HPA-21 headphone amplifiers and HiFiMAN HE-1000 V2 headphones. Recordings used for the test (a selection) Anthrax, For All Kings, Nuclear Blast Records/Ward GQCS-90112-3, CD (2016) Arne Domnérus, Jazz at the Pawnshop. Vol. I, II & III, Proprius/Lasting Impression Music LIM UHD 071 LE, 3 x Ultra HD CD + DVD (1976/2012) Camel, The Snow Goose, Decca/Universal Music LLC UIGY-9504, SHM-SACD (1975/2011) Charlie Haden & Kenny Barron, Night and The City, Verve 539 961-2, CD (1998) Ella Fitzgerald, Like Someone in Love, Verve/Esoteric ESSO-90143, SACD/CD (1957/2016) w: 6 Queens of Jazz Vocal, „MasterSoundWorks”, Esoteric ESSO-90143/8, 6 x SACD/CD (2016) Flo Bennett, Half Past Lonely, Gift Records/SInatra Society of Japan XQAM-1026, CD (1963/2007) Jean-Michel Jarre, Essential Recollection, Sony Music Labels SICP-30789, BSCD2 (2015) John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman, John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman, Blue Note/Esoteric ESSB-90138, SACD/CD (1963/2015) w: Blue Note 6 Great Jazz, „MasterSoundWorks”, Blue Note/Esoteric ESSB-90122/7, 6 x SACD/CD (2015) Madeleine Peyroux, Careless Love, Rounder Records 9836601, CD (2004) Miles Davis, Bitches Brew, Columbia/Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab UDSACD 2-2149, „Special Limited Edition | No. 1229”, 2 x SACD/CD (1970/2014) Pet Shop Boys, Super, Sony Music Labels (Japan) SICX-41, CD (2016) Peter, Paul and Mary, In The Wind, Warner Bros. Records/Audio Fidelity AFZ 181, “Limited Edition | No. 0115”, SACD/CD (1963/2014) Rosemary Clooney, Rosemary Clooney sings Ballads, Concord/Stereo Sound SSCDR-007, „Flat Transfer Series”, CD-R (1985/2016) Sonny Rollins, Vol. 2, Blue Note/Esoteric ESSB 90122, SACD/CD (1957/2015) w: Impulse! 6 Great Jazz, „MasterSoundWorks”, Blue Note/Esoteric ESSB-90133/8, 6 x SACD/CD (2015) Sting, Sacred Love, A&M Records, 9860618, Limited Edition, SACD/CD (2003) Yes, 90125, ATCO/Warner Music Japan WPCR-15914, „7 Inch Mini LP”, SACD/CD (1983/2014) Japanese issues available at [REKLAMA5] CD-35 Signature I think there is no point in beating around the bush about it so I'll get right to it and say that CD-35 is a remarkable device. At first it surprises with its unique price/performance ratio, because it offers same level of performance as other, more expensive competitors. And I mean even those 2-3 times more expensive ones. The point is that in some aspects the CD-35 plays in the same league as the best digital players, and I know regardless the price. This does not mean that this is the best device of this type available on the market, because the top sources by such brands as: dCS, Metronome Technologie, CEC, Ancient Audio and totaldac are able to deliver even better, more surprising performance. But not always and not in every aspect of the sound. Elements that cause jaw-dropping effect in CD-35 – yes, that's exactly what I mean and I'm not afraid of the consequences of these words - are incredible density and energy of the sound. It manifests itself, among others, in the extraordinary density of the sound. Phantom images are large and extremely palpable. They have a three-dimensional, almost holographic body. One might say that they are somewhat approximated to the listened, but not in the sense that they are placed right in front of listener's face. It's not about the bringing them closer along the axis of the presentation to the listener, but rather that the intensity of the sound creates an impression, or makes us fell like we are closer to the sound. Most other digital sources deliver presentation in a more distant way, and only analog sources present something similar to what CD-35 offers. The said intensity is not associated with emphasis of the attack, and it is also not associated with a greater presence of detail, or - even more so – of the treble. It's a kind of maturity that results in a richer tone, slight emphasis in the midrange and incredible resolution. The latter is so surprising, that in conjunction with richness it creates a slightly different presentation than what other, even the best digital sources got us all used to. Listening to Ayon we have no doubt that this is an attempt to re-create something very similar to the live event. It's a cliché, a stereotype used and abused by all audio companies in their promotional materials. Here, however, it is firmly anchored in reality. It is all about the intensity of the emotions that resonate within us while listening to music. Any music. While CD-35 differentiates recordings really well, in this respect is one of the best CD and SACD player I know, this differentiation results from something, not cause anything. The differentiation here is a derivative of the resolution. CD-35 brings out as much information about the recording that we begin to ask ourselves, if there is any limit of information actually written into these discs, that even their creators didn't realize existed. Of course if you ask them they will all tell you they are well aware of that. But from my experience I can tell you that apart from a very few people in pro-audio, it is us, audiophiles with top quality systems, who are able to see much more than those who prepared the recordings. In achieving this goal a highly sophisticated devices can help us, and Ayon is one of the best there are. There is a proper resolution and richness and dynamics. But all this would be nothing if it wasn't for that “something” behind the sound, something that captivates our attention with every successive recording. You should have seen the faces of members of the Krakow Sonic Society, who probably were not quite able to and probably simply didn't want to believe what they heard. My face probably looked the same. The intensity of the sound, its scale, ie. the volume of the instruments and the scale of space, are simply unparalleled. Only the best analog systems either with reel-to-reel tape recorder or turntable, are capable of delivering this type of performance. It also didn't matter whether I was playing a CD or SACD. Carefully listening to both I could tell that SACDs offered a bit more depth and even more powerful harmonics' "punch". The difference is not significant though. CD upsampled to DSD delivered a similar performance. Maybe only a differentiation was a bit smaller, because the qualities of that sound with each CD were equally intense. Listening was therefor very comfortable and rewarding. Even so unsuccessful transfers as Sting's Sacred Love, with a SACD layer undoubtedly prepared using PCM files, will sound at least correctly. And the best SACDs, I know, ie. SHM-SACD, will sound exceptionally well. And even if - as in the case of the Camel album - specificity of their sound, resulting from the times when these were recorded, will be more intense than with the other players, one should understand and accept it as an inherent feature of this recording. But, as I said, the difference between SACD and CD playback is not large, much smaller than with other SACD players. CD-35 Preamp One of the important features that can be added to the basic version of the CD-35 is that of an analog preamplifier. Thanks to it, one can minimize the number of components in the system and - potentially - to improve its sound. The latter may be true because this model introduces an integrated resistor ladder and relays while eliminating active elements of an external preamplifier and one pair of interconnects. To find out what one could really gain and what to lose, I conducted a comparison between a setup with the CD-35 driving directly my power amplifier (Soulution 710), and with Ayon Audio Spheris III preamplifier working between these two devices. I also performed another comparison listening to my Ancient Audio Reader AIR V-edition connected to CD-35 preamplifier and then to Spheris III. As you may recall, Janusz' system, in which for the first time together with other members of the Krakow Sonic Society we listened to the Gerhard's player, is a minimalist system with a CD player with adjustable volume driving power amplifiers. Any preamplifier in this system causes degradation of sound quality. My system is different – it sounds best with preamplifier. Personally, I think that a good preamplifier is in most cases the key to achieving a proper balance in the system, but as you can see, this is not an absolute truth. The preamplifier section of the CD-35 may not have change my approach to the matter, but it directed my attention to some aspects of sound without active preamplifier in the system that were not so clearly present in my system before. The device connected directly to the power amplifier presented more distant sound, with elements such as reverb, reflected sounds, acoustics – so everything that creates what we like to call an ambiance or atmosphere of the recording – playing now more important role. The inclusion of Spheris III in the system resulted in bringing sound closer to me and shortening the distance between the musicians and listener. This direct connection worked best with acoustic music. 1949 recording of Nat 'King' Cole probably had never sounded in my room in such an intimate and relaxed manner. Spheris III made his voice sound more “serious”, and the Cole seemed older. But this incredible ease offered by the system without external preamplifier simply vanished. With the active preamp CD-35 sounded in a more focused way, as if it was more "busy" with something. It resulted in a better definition of sounds and a more powerful attack. Eliminating the preamp in a sense relieved the presentation from sort of a “strain”, but at the cost of blurred edges. The active preamp enlarged everything happening in the back of the soundstage, delivered it in a more distinct way. It didn't bring them closer to listener, I would even say that the scene was deeper, but by enlarging them it reduces the differences between what's in the front of the stage and what's in the back. Without preamplifier these relationships were more nuanced, and the soundstage more vivid; perhaps less precise, but also more natural. With recordings with a lot of sound engineers' "intervention", ie. with rock and electronic music, the active preamp offers a lot of good, because it lowers tonal balance, improves low bass focus and deepens the lower midrange. It also allows more powerful sound delivery, which makes the performance sound more dynamic. In turn, with acoustic music the preamp in CD-35 was doing something "extra", giving a sense of distance, and at the same time of participation - a combination that in this type of music is highly required. So I can not say for sure whether an internal preamplifier will offer sufficient benefits to dispense with an external preamp in your system. But you should note, that the comparison was done using a preamplifier from the top shelf, costing almost 150 000 PLN. Therefore I can say that without a doubt the Ayon CD-35 preamplifier is the most affordable and at the same time one of the most interesting high-end preamplifiers, I know. CD-35 Standard, so what about UPSAMPLING All the above considers the Signature version, ie. including full upsampling. But to be clear it is not like without upsampling Ayon sounds poorly, let alone that it is not worth the price. I would say that a little over 31 000 PLN gets you a Super Audio CD player that plays CDs better than others, costing the same amount of money devices of the same type. Only such a great sources as Ancient Audio AIR V-edition and Audionet Planck (with external power supply Amprere) are capable of delivering even better performance. Ancient is more accurate, more resolving, with range's extremes better extended and it builds a far more expansive soundstage. On the other hand Audionet is even darker and denser, going in the direction in which the CD-35 is pushed by the DSD upsampling. For it is rich and smooth. But these are much more expensive players. The basic version of Ayon is in fact very competent. It nicely builds the presentation, it saturates timbre and tries in the most open way to present vocals and treble. At this or even slightly higher price level I can see no competition for the CD-35. With that said I shall finish with one more thing: it is enough to listen to Ayon with upsampling module on for just one time to realize that there is no going back to listening to it without this module... Filtr 1 | Filtr 2 Available to the listener is not only the upsampling, but also two digital filters. They are implemented in a DAC chip. The filter “1” is a fast roll-off one with a very good attenuation of mirror signals, and the symmetric oscillations before and after the impulse. Filter 2 is a "slow roll-off" one, that is, with milder filtering, but with lesser damping of reflections; its advantage is the absence of oscillations before the impulse, and hence less blur of signal's energy. The choice will be user-dependent because there is no "right" one, both have advantages and disadvantages. In the CD-35 case, however, the matter is more complicated, because the choice will depend also on whether one uses SACD or CD, and if he uses the PCM-DSD upsampling. In my system, with CDs without upsampling, I clearly preferred the filter “2”, which offered richer sound. It slightly emphasizes part of the midrange which cause piano recordings to sound in a more illuminated manner than usually and with these the “1” filter seemed to be more neutral, less intrusive in the matter of sound. In all other cases Filter “2” made me more interested in music, because it had more layers, was more nuanced, and therefore richer. It was different with SACDs. In this case, the filter “1” seemed to me more accurate, because it offered a more tonally balanced presentation. Filter “2” emphasized midrange, which was nice, but at the same it meant shifting tonal balance upward. It delivered more powerful bass and a more palpable sound image. Every time I eventually returned,to Filter “1”, which preserved a saturation of SACD, but with a better resolution. Exactly the same happened with CDs with PCM-DSD upsampling. As if the DSD signal caused a multiplication of the smoothing of the sound caused by slow roll-off filter. I know, there will be systems where the Filter 2 will assure an almost perfect copy of the "analog" sound and I can understand that some users will like that. However, I am more convinced by the neutrality of Filter 1, which combined with upsampling to DSD256 created an absolutely remarkable performance. Long story short, for those tired of this long explanation: CD no upsamplingu + Filter 2, CD + upsampling + Filter 1, SACD + Filter 1. Plus/minus There is no doubt that the CD-35 is an remarkable device. But as each audio device it is not perfect. Even more so as it is not a particularly expensive one. Despite that, there are not many elements of the performance that more expensive players deliver clearly better. But let me try to indicated a few. The Métronome and Ancient Players deliver low bass is a clearer way, it is better defined. It's not about the volume, but tightness, attack and dynamics. Ayon rounded low bass, which is extremely pleasant and works great for acoustic music, but when it comes to rock and electronic music it makes the sound a little milder. Softness and roundness gives the performance a characteristics of an intimate contact with the performer, connects us with him on a slightly different level. With more powerful music is causes exactly the opposite, it introduces distance between listener and the band. The soundstage, ie. the space and instruments in it, are by the CD-35 shown in a similar way as by the CEC TL0/DA0 3.0, setup, ie. without a clear definition, that is, as in real life and so, as I know it from analog master tapes. We perceive rather a big picture and do not analyze where each musician/instrument is exactly located. We pick up these relations under this big picture as the chords, the size of the instruments, their timbre, but we do not perceive them directly. Let's say that it is how the Air Force One sounded like. But I also can not fail to notice that, in turn, in Jacek Gawłowski's mastering studio hi-res files sounded more like the players Ancient Audio and Métronome Players. Summary During the CD-35 test I listened to both CDs and SACDs. I have to say that the difference between them was not big, and with the upsampling to DSD it was actually small. The discs when converted to DSD256 sounded incredibly emotionally mature. I prefer simple solutions and changing the format always seems risky to me; I believe that music should be played in the format in which it was recorded. Therefore the PCM to DSD upsampling never appealed to me and for me (even in the case of the most expensive devices) it always confirmed my intuition resulting in a sound full of artifacts. What people of StreamUnlimited managed to prepare together with Gerhard Hirt is a completely different story. Upsampling changes the sound in a very significant way (besides it also increases volume by 4-5 dB). These are not subtle adjustments, but a transition from a very good, tasteful hi-fi to a full-blown high-end performance. The best digital sources present a slightly better differentiated sound stage in the back, their performance is also more detailed and dCS Vivaldi delivers even smoother one. However, none of the players that I listened at home wasn't able to deliver such a rich, saturated performance as Ayon did, nor such a big scale of the sound nor so large instruments. When one presses “Play” CD-35 fills the space between loudspeakers tightly with sound, and if particular disc includes such signals – equally dense sound surrounds listener. I've never heard anything like that before. I'm not claiming that this is the best possible performance, because it is not. But it is, however, one of the most interesting sounds that I heard from any audio device. For the first time ever I decided to grand the GOLD Fingerprint award to the product that costs less than interconnects used to hook it up. Ayon Audio CD-35 is a Super Audio CD top-loader player with digital inputs: 75 Ω S / PDIF (RCA), USB, I2S, BNC, AES / EBU and BNC x 3 for DSD. Optionally, it may also operate as an analog preamplifier with three inputs - one balanced XLR and two RCA unbalanced. It features also XLR and RCA outputs. A small switch allows user to select which of them is active, but they can be both active at the same time too. The device sports a solid, aluminum housing, that we know from other Ayon products. On the front there is a large dot-matrix display with a red filter, that allows user to read a lot information. Except for CD-text and SACD-text, as these are not active. The icons on the sides and underneath inform about a selected filter, upsampling and the sampling frequency of the digital signal. On the top side there are illuminated control buttons and a recess for a disc. The disc is placed directly on the motor shaft and pressed with a small magnetic clamp. It does not have such a sophisticated method of attachment as such players as: Vitus Audio Metronome Technologie or Audionet, but it seems to be well-centered and equipped with a point on the axis. On top one places an acrylic "grille" that suppresses noises coming from transport. But not entirely - one can hear it through the cut-out on the upper wall, that is there to help cooling tubes working inside the device. On the back one finds really nice sockets - RCA come from CMC. There are also two more switches. One changes gain, ie the maximum output - "Low" equals 2.5 V, and the "High", 5 V. Using the second one determines whether the player shall work directly with a power amplifier or not. In the first position after turning the player on the volume is automatically set at - 40 dB and one can not turn the "Bypass" mode off, which bypasses the volume control. This is a safety measure not to damage the speakers if there is nor preamplifier between player and power amp. Bypass can be accessed from the CD-3D remote control, that features also buttons allowing user to select a digital filter and upsampling, as well as the volume control. The remote is quite nice and its build quality is solid, but it features many identical buttons, which does not make its operation easy. The circuits inside the device spread over several PCBs. At the outputs one finds PCBs with analogue output circuits, featuring 6H30 and the 5687 tubes. They are coupled using Mundorf capacitors. On the left there is a power supply for this section with GZ30 tube rectifier. The filtering circuit uses polypropylene capacitors. Next to the front panel, one can find R-Core transformer and a choke dedicated for this section. A second, identical transformer is used to power transport mechanism and the digital section. They are placed on two separate PCBs, and build around two analog-to-digital AKM converters. The player's operation is pretty straightforward, despite its complexity. The remote might be a bit tricky, but one can get used to it. The only thing that is not so convenient and requires some more attention is a configuration of the digital filters and upsampling. Namely the CD-35 does not have a "standby" mode so one needs to turn it off using the mechanical on/off switch. When one turns it back on the “factory” settings are restored, ie. Filter “1” is on and upsampling is off. I would prefer if the player remembered the setting, if possible separately for CDs, SACDs and for the digital inputs. Specifications (according to manufacturer) Conversion rate: 768 kHz/32 bits & DSD 256 DAC: 2 x AKM DSP module (optional): PCM→DSD & DSD→DSD Tubes: 6H30 + 5687 Dynamics: > 120 dB Output signal (@ 1 kHz): • 0.775 V/-0 dB, Low – 2.5 V fixed or 0 – 2.5 V rms variable • 0.775 V/-0 dB High - 5 V fixed or 0 – 5 V rms variable Output impedance (XLR | RCA): ~ 300 Ω | ~ 300 Ω Digital output 75 Ω S/PDIF (RCA) Digital input: 75 Ω S/PDIF (RCA), USB, I2S, BNC, AES/EBU, 3 x BNC for native DSD S/N: > 119 dB Frequency range: 20 Hz – 50 kHz (+/- 0.3 dB) THD (1 kHz): < 0.001% Dimensions (WxDxH): 480 x 390 x 120 mm Weight: 17 kg [hfgallery] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/ayonaudio/th/05.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/ayonaudio/05.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/ayonaudio/05.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/ayonaudio/th/06.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/ayonaudio/06.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/ayonaudio/06.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/ayonaudio/th/07.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/ayonaudio/07.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/ayonaudio/07.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/ayonaudio/th/08.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/ayonaudio/08.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/ayonaudio/08.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/ayonaudio/th/09.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/ayonaudio/09.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/ayonaudio/09.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/ayonaudio/th/10.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/ayonaudio/10.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/ayonaudio/10.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/ayonaudio/th/11.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/ayonaudio/11.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/ayonaudio/11.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [/hfgallery]

n idea of reconciling two worlds of semiconductors and tubes, is perhaps an utopian one. Each of them is well-entrenched in their positions and is not willing to make any concessions. The situation resembles a religious dispute, because it involves mostly emotions and logical reasoning is treated with suspicion and usually rejected in advance as untrue. However, if you keep an open mind, if you approach the topic without prejudice based on stereotypes, you might find it interesting that some solutions exists that allow one to take advantage of transistors where there is a need for high current and at the same time deliver performance similar to that of tube devices. In most such cases one benefits from qualities of both worlds while such solution involves only few, small compromises. A company that knows how to do it is the Slovenian Audio Alto. The integrated amplifier we reviewed some time ago, the DMI 3 H, sounded as if on my Finite Elemente Pagode Edition rack there was a sophisticated SET amp, but in a small, slim casing. The monaural power amplifier, MSE 60's design is based on the said integrated but it is even more advanced, so expectations were really high before this test. MSE 60 The secret of the integrated amplifier laid in the recourse to techniques that had been known for years, but which were rarely used, because of their limitations, which impose certain obligations on the user. Exactly the same solutions, but in a more elaborate version, one finds in the reviewed amplifiers. Technology MSE 60 is a monaural power amplifier (for a stereo system one needs two of these). The ‘M’ in its name indicates just that, while ‘SE’ stands for Single-Ended, a technology most often used in tube amplifiers, but not limited to them (more HERE). The idea is, that the signal is amplified in a single active element, without dividing it into two halves, as in the push-pull circuits. This is the most purist solution, but not a very effective one, ie. one needs to source a high power of electrical outlet, and only a small part of it is actually used to drive the loudspeakers. The rest is converted into heat and radiated into the air surrounding the device. This means that the output power of such a compact device is limited. MSE 60 delivers 30W with a peak output of 2 x 60 W. I didn't say anything about output impedance because each amplifier is made to order for particular speakers (or rather their impedance) – I'll get back to that. The output stage here is a solid-state one – there are two MOSFETs here. They work a little differently than in a classic amplifier, because the output stage is actually a current buffer with a gain equal to 1. Do you remember solid-state amplifiers by Italian company Audia Flight? I tested one (see HERE; in Polish) and Marek Dyba (see HERE http://highfidelity.pl/@main-2877&lang= ; in Polish) reviewed another and our observations overlap – these amps offer a remarkable approximation of tube-sound using transistors. Audio Alto follows similar path but added a twist to the story, ie. a tube input stage, which make sit similar in principle to products of the Canadian Tenor Audio. MSE 60 is thus a hybrid power amplifier, in which the actual amplification is realized by tubes and transistors are only used to provide current. There is no negative feedback. Disadvantages of these solutions have been known for years: a relatively low output power and a very high temperature of a chassis, and on top of that a low damping factor. The latter here is higher than in tube amps with its value of 40, but it is an order of magnitude smaller than in conventional transistor amplifiers. Slightly higher is also distortion, usually corrected with negative feedback. And last but not least, a thing that one sees in audio least likely: all amplifier stages are powered by regulated power supplies featuring FETs. Tubes' filaments in the driver stage are also DC regulated and stabilized. While this type of power supply for voltage section (that's what tubes are here) is not that unusual, a regulated power supply for output stage is rare. First of all, because this solution is expensive and difficult to execute properly. Well designed, however, it delivers surprisingly good results – it is not a coincident that new Naim 'DR' amplifiers, including the monumental Statement deliver such an astonishing performance – their output stages do feature regulated power supplies. To make the best use of such power supply, it is good to know, which impedance load the particular amplifier is supposed to work with. Audio Alto offers their amplifiers with stated impedance range they work best with. Operation That's it about technical side. As for aesthetics and make&finish all I need to say is this: these are creations of a perfectionist. The height of his devices is rather small, but the depth is impressive. The casings were made of aluminum elements, and the front panel is offered with few different finishes: titanium, chrome, or can be also made of wood. Amplifier features two RCA inputs. One of them is a “classic” one to be used with a preamplifier (brand's lineup includes the PSE 10 preamplifier). The other one is a 'direct-in' input with signal being delivered directly to the output stage. One can use “LOUDSPEAKER OUTPUTS” of one's amplifier, for example a tube one. In this case sound signature of this tube amplifier should be unchanged, but the Audio Alto amplifier will deliver more current to better drive chosen loudspeakers. There are two switches on the front - Power and ECO. The latter reduces the output power by 2/3 (so it is limited to 10W), and thus power consumption. This reduces the consumption of energy, as you should know that the Class A amplifier, regardless of whether we play the music or not, it always works at its maximum power consumption. If you do not use the device, and do not want to turn it off completely or maybe prefer to listen to the music quietly, then the ECO mode certainly might come in handy. The Audio Alto monaural amplifiers were placed on the top shelf of Finite Elemente Pagode Edition rack, one on the top of the other. Perhaps it would be better if they stood side by side, but unfortunately I did not have much space. They drove Harbeth M40.1 loudspeakers and the signal was sent to them from the Ayon Audio Spheris III preamplifier. The source was the two-box Metronome Technologies Kalista CD Player (2016). Amplifiers are delivered with power cables produced by the AA, equipped with a very nice plugs similar to WattGate's, with gold contacts and I used them for this test. The signal from the preamplifier was supplied via Acoustic Revive RCA 1.5 TRIPLE-C-FM interconnect, a I also used SPC-2.5 TRIPLE C-FM speaker cable by the same brand. AUDIO ALTO in „High Fidelity” TEST: Audio Alto DMI 3H - integrated amplifier Recordings used for the test (a selection): A Day at Jazz Spot 'Basie'. Selected by Shoji "Swifty" Sugawara, Stereo Sound Reference Record SSRR6-7, 2 x SACD/CD (2011) Stereo Sound Reference Record. Jazz&Vocal, Stereo Sound SSRR4, SACD/CD (2010) Stereo Sound Reference Record. Nobu’s Popular Selection, Stereo Sound SSRR5, SACD/CD (2010) Tube Only Favourites, Daniel Gaede, Violin, Tacet 229, „Tube Only/Transistorfrei”, CD (2016) Diana Krall, Wallflower, Verve/Universal Music LLC UCCV-9577, “Deluxe Edition”, SHM-CD + DVD (2015); Gesualdo, Terzo Libro di Madrigali, wyk. La Compagnia del Madrigale, Glossa GCD 922806, CD (2016) John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman, John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman, Blue Note/Esoteric ESSB-90138, SACD/CD (1963/2015) w: Impulse! 6 Great Jazz, „MasterSoundWorks”, Blue Note/Esoteric ESSB-90133/8, 6 x SACD/CD (2015) Maroon5, V, Interscope Records/Universal Music LLC (Japan) UICS-9146, CD + DVD (2014); Perry Como, Perry Como’s Song Collection, Going for a Song GFS284, CD (?) Rosemary Clooney, Rosemary Clooney sings Ballads, Concord/Stereo Sound SSCDR-007, „Flat Transfer Series”, CD-R (1985/2016) Wojtek Mazolewski Quintet, Polka, Agora 6813801, CD (2014); Japanese issues available at [REKLAMA5] The amplifiers by Saša Burian performed extremely well and turned out to be a perfect fit into both, my reference system, and my expectations towards any high-end devices. On a surface, these devices seemed completely different from Soulution 710, which was replaced during the test, they filled that gap in a very competent manner. They delivered a different set of features, but with a common “core quality” with Soulution: a fantastic differentiation. Although it is difficult to describe with one sentence a characteristics of these monoblocks, Grzegorz of Nautilus while picking up the Ayon HA-3 after the test sat down for a moment, listened to Slovenian amps and just said, "serenity and power." Although these are only couple of many qualities building up this performance, they are surely among the most impressive ones. We are dealing here with a sound resembling, and in a very suggestive way, what one gets with a sophisticated Class A SET amplifier. But one of those really sophisticated ones, ie. those that deliver what many describe as a “warm” sound which is an intended result of the design but that comes not from “tuning” the tonal balance, softening the attack, or anything like that, but from the wealth of information "building up" a natural sound, that we perceive as "warm"- rich, saturated, relaxing and smooth. That's how these amps sound like - unusually smoothly and nicely. But this is not another "nice" sounding product imitating tube amplifiers, it is absolutely not! These Slovenian devices are so incredibly fast, they have so fantastically shaped tone that one immediately forgets about all those “colored” competitive products. Although their sound might actually seem soft and delicate, in fact, it is extremely fast. That's also how my Harbeth M40.1 loudspeakers sound like, they are quasi-warm, but also tend to surprise all those who visit me with impressive dynamics, and my Soulution amp is yet another example of this type of performance. That's why I really appreciate both this components of my system. Both are extremely resolving, that should be clear. This is not the top-high-end level yet, but considering the price of MSE 60, I have to strongly emphasize that the resolution is way above average, because one doesn't find something like this for the money, and more money, even much more, will buy you only small improvement in this regard. What are the benefits of this quality? First of all, a perfect "compatibility" between the recordings that do not belong to the best there are and those that in my opinion are masterpieces of the best sound and mastering engineers. You can surely remember that I already mentioned an outstanding differentiation, right? In any case, I would like to remind you of it, as the reviewed amplifiers do not unify presentation, each album type is presented in an accurate manner. Yet ALL discs sound “competently” and "professionally". Let me explain this with two examples: the V by Maroon5 and a CD-R copy made of the master of Rosemary Clooney Sings Ballads prepared for the "Stereo Sound" magazine. Saša's amplifiers listened only for a short time, or in a not properly set up system, may not remind you a typical "tube sound". They are open, fast and very precise in building a sound image. They will disappoint those who knowing that this are class A, single-ended with no negative feedback amps with not so high damping factor, would expect slow, warm sound. If that was the case it would be better to immediately look for something else. Alto Audio play so quickly that there is no time for any blurring of the attack. Therefore, one can appreciate the immediacy of the sound on Clooney's album. Everything was beautifully shown, dynamic, highly transparent, yet coherent. With such very good quality recordings the tested amplifiers "open up", present as much information as the source is able to deliver. And now: devices that sound so good with high quality recordings usually tend to “massacre” those of lesser quality, meaning about 99.9% of all recordings. To make thing easy they accurately show the attack of the sound and details, trying to convey them as faithfully as possible. However, there is a class of products, the high price range, which does something more. AA with a compressed signal such as that of Maroon5's recording sounded like good, powerful tube amplifiers because they extracted intentions of the sound engineers and producers of the recording, they eased attack, but did not turn the presentation into a soft, warm “pulp”. It was still an accurate, precise performance, but with something "more", which eased the problems that hid all this precision under timbre, liquidity, simply - the melody. I perceived a reproduction of both range extremes in a very similar way. These amplifiers do not emphasize them, but if the recording included more bass, it is shown in a powerful way. Only that in most cases there is still not so much happening in the lower region area. But even then the differentiation of bass', bass guitar's, etc., tone was really nice with AA. And even if it seemed that the lower part of the range is rather delicate, there were still large phantom images and large scale of a sound as a whole. And this, in turn, proved, that the low frequencies harmonics built something more than I thought, that there was something more there, just like in the real world, like at a concert. And that's how I perceive these amps, as a window opened to the music. If you listen to a studio recording with a “strong” production (ie. compressed, multitrack recording, with a lot of manipulation), the AA will take it all in and merge into something, you will be happy to listen to. On the other hand, when you listen to high quality recordings of a realistic sound, the amplifiers will suddenly open to multiple possibilities and interpretations, letting you into the deeper layers of the recording, not trying to fix anything in it. This, of course, is not a perfect device, because there is no such thing in audio. One of its "disadvantages" is a low output. This is obviously not a disadvantage by itself, but a limitation one needs to remember about. Tube amplifiers with similar power output will play subjectively louder as they will get gently into overdrive. AA are ultra-precise and if they start to overdrive, one can immediately hear that. But it can happen above all with purist realizations with a real-live-like dynamics. With rock and pop music it will be much much less pronounced. And if you pair them with loudspeakers with a higher than average efficiency and friendly impedance curve, you won't hear that at all. The tested amplifiers do not build deep soundstage. They prefer the first plan, spread the stage beautifully at the sides, remarkably deliver sounds out of phase, ie. they surround listener with sounds that are so encoded in the recording. Events on the stage are, however, focused on the line connecting the speakers, that's where listener “sees” all that's happening. Without voices popping-up from the mix, without emphasizing instruments, ultimately they offer a totally different (much higher) performance quality than that. Yet all the time we know that what is happening in front of us is the most important part of the presentation. Summary These are remarkable devices. Built with passion, but also with proper engineering reliability by a man who knows what a good sound is. These amplifiers sound like a high quality SET, but with better bass control and better balance. Only the most expensive amplifiers based on triodes, such as 2A3 (in Polish), 300B, 211 and 845 show even deeper layers of internal relations inside music, a “tissue” applied to the structure of the sound. But even in such company, much more affordable, MSE 60 monaural amplifiers prove their class. If you just do not have too big room, or difficult to drive loudspeakers, you can buy them right away and I'm sure you will not regret it. The MSE 60 amplifiers feature a form of long, solid "drawers". Their mechanical construction has been optimized in such a way as to ensure maximum rigidity to the whole structure and so that the whole body works as a heat sink. The electronics have been suspended from the top wall, that together with the front and rear form a sort of "spine" of the whole design. The bottom is an aluminum plate. Front and back On the front there are two buttons and four LEDs. One of the buttons allows user to activate the device - the red LED will change color to the blue. The activation takes approx. 45 seconds, when various voltages are served and parameters stabilized. This extends the life of the components significantly, mainly the tubes. The second button is used to switch the device to the ECO mode – the blue LED will change color to green ... of course. This button reduces the output power by 2/3. On the back there are two RCA inputs - Hi and Lo, a single pair of speaker connectors (on request you can add a second pair), IEC socket with a mechanical switch and a trigger socket. I should mention about the switch, which can cut off the protective/ground conductor in the power cord which might come handy if there us a problem with a ground loop resulting in a hum coming from the speakers. Inside Unscrewing the casing shows that it is even more complex than it would seem based on external inspection. A steel chassis is bolted to an aluminum frame, and there is also a second one, shielding, among others, a large toroidal transformer. On the sides one finds medium-sized radiators. FET power supply is fixed to one of them, and a powerful rectifier and two IRFP150 power transistors to the other. Near the front panel one finds two PCBs with logic circuits and a separated power supply for them. There are only highest quality passive components – one can find everywhere small and big (10 uF) WIMA polypropylene capacitors, as well as two banks of Nichicon Muse electrolytic capacitors. It turns out that the input tube is a double triode 12BH7AEH by Electro-Harmonix. The circuit looks fairly simple, as it usually is with tube amplifiers. Except, of course, is not this type of amplifier, thus simplifying the circuit required a lot of work. Let me add that designer decided to use a high quality power line filter, placed just behind the IEC socket. Clean, precise work. Specifications (according to manufacturer): Input sensitivity/impedance: 1V / 100 kΩ Gain: 23dB / 0dB (selectable) Noise: - 95dB Output impedance: 0.2Ω Damping factor: 40 Output power: 35W / 4Ω or 6Ω (selectable) Frequency range: 5-60 000 Hz / -1dB Dimensions (W x D x H): 295 x 465 x 90mm Weight: 13kg [hfgallery] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/audio_alto/th/05.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/audio_alto/05.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/audio_alto/05.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/audio_alto/th/06.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/audio_alto/06.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/audio_alto/06.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/audio_alto/th/07.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/audio_alto/07.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/audio_alto/07.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/audio_alto/th/08.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/audio_alto/08.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/audio_alto/08.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/audio_alto/th/09.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/audio_alto/09.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/audio_alto/09.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/audio_alto/th/10.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/audio_alto/10.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/audio_alto/10.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [/hfgallery]

he T.LOVE album has been released in special times. When it comes to its literary layer, it is sometimes journalistic and sometimes lyrical, but always honest. Some people perceive it as “too journalistic”. This is pure nonsense, but the album reflects the spirit of our times well, the atmosphere of (hopefully!) virtual lynch that each of us may be faced with. It is no longer possible to talk about the world in a reasonable way, as nobody listens to such things anymore. The only thing that matters are extreme opinions that polarize the society that is already divided. For all these people, songs such as Marsz (March), Biała (The White One) or Ostatni gasi światło (The Last One Switches off the Light) are an ideal stick to beat their opponents with. It does not matter which side of the political stage the strike comes from – the ones who use the stick will say it is “their own”. However, it is an album that is typical for T.Love and for Muniek Staszczyk, the author of the lyrics – strong, immersed in everyday reality, sometimes touching and sometimes shocking. This time something must have “clicked”, as everything sounds stronger and deeper. I believe that it is largely due to really modern production and great sound that, in a way, is a continuation of the course set by the previous album Love is Gold (2012). Two crews were responsible for the sound of the album – first, there was the Custom34 studio where all the tracks were recorded using an analogue multitrack tape recorder and then given a digital form. In this form, the material was given to Jacek Gawłowski who mixed and mastered the album in his studio – JG Master Lab (more HERE). Jacek also became an official co-producer of the album. Everything was in charge of Maciek “Majcher” Majchrzak, the band’s guitarist, who made final decisions regarding the album’s sound with Muniek and Jacek. SOUND I have listened to this album in almost every possible way. I listened to it from hi-res source files in Jacek Gawłowski’s mix and mastering studio, where he told me about the album with Muniek and Maciek, I also listened to a few songs from the CD and LP during the Audio Video Show 2016 exhibition from a system that costs 2,000,000 PLN. I attended the band’s concert in Forty Kleparz music club in Cracow and listened to the album at home in a few systems, also through headphones (worth over 30,000 PLN with an amplifier and cables). I think I already know something about it. First of all, we are talking about excellent production here. I am starting with this aspect of the album as it makes it different from most Polish albums today and in the past. While listening to these songs during a concert, I instantly knew that one of them was starting. They are exceptionally but also, as I would put it, consciously modern. When it comes to music, we are talking about classic blues-rock sound that Jacek Gawłowski enhanced with perfect mix and mastering. However, everything started with the recording. It is a multitrack analogue recording, which is reflected in noise that is higher than in other contemporary albums. We should be able to hear it during pauses and silent parts of the recording in our systems. Its presence adds authenticity to the recording and enhances the sound of low dense guitars. It is these guitars that build the structure which gives us a kick stronger than almost any other rock album – rock music is not normally recorded so well! The bass is really low and present not only in the sound of the bass guitar but also in drums, in the case of which Jacek suggested additionally recording sub-kicks that would make their sound more complete. Additionally, the treble is dark, energetic and natural. No frying, chopping or chirping. So, Muniek’s vocal comes across as really convincing – it is large and clear. As it is known, it is not easy to reproduce and here it neither seems artificial – I know what it sounds like live – nor “raw”, as it is a creation. The excellent space and an enormous “backstage”, together with dynamics and the filling of the foreground are an incredible mixture. The bigger our loudspeakers are, the bigger the sound and the more we hear – it usually gets worse and worse. It is a beautiful and important album that does not only sound well on the radio, but also in high-end audiophile systems. It is best when it is listened to from a CD, so I am looking forward to the 24/88.2 hi-res files album version that is going to be made available :) Sound quality: 10/10 WyróAwardsżnienia: RED Fingerprint | BIG RED Button Post Scriptum: concert The concert that I have mentioned took place on December 4th at the Forty Kleparz music club (ul. Kamienna 2-4, 30-001 Cracow). It is a small and really atmospheric place that, apparently, had been equipped with a really professional sound system. The event was opened with a song entitled Pielgrzym (The Pilgrim) and I knew from the very start that it is one of the best songs of the band ever and one of the candidates to start EVERY concert: today, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. I was not surprised with how well the band sounds – they are both professional and passionate about music – or with how quickly Muniek started communicating with the audience. I was surprised that the participants knew the new songs, sang them and gave the impression that these songs had been in the band’s repertoire for many years. However, the album had been released less than a month before! The pogo, which reached its climax when the band performed Alkohol (almost punk-style), ended up with (not serious) bleeding from the nose of one of the participants, but also with collective frenzy. A girl who was 150 cm tall when she was standing on her toes impressed me by jumping into a group of tall men doing the pogo and suffering no harm. The new songs beautifully entered the band’s repertoire and some of them are instant classics. However, I knew very well when each of them started because they sound (I know I’m repeating myself, but I can’t help it) modern, and really bluesy and classic at the same time. No other song is going to become more popular than Ajrisz, for example, but the new songs have more than just a good melody and catchy lyrics – there are certain deeper emotions that do not only refer to the circle of the band’s fans, but to a larger cultural community. As I have mentioned, a good sound system was used during the concert, but it was interesting that the other support band sounded equally well (if not better). It was the Babylon Raus band led by Maciek Majchrzak, T.Love’s guitarist. The people who attended the concert reacted to it as positively as to T.Love later on. As Maciek told me right after the concert, he tried out certain patents on the Greatest Hits album that he developed later on while making the T.LOVE album. I am going to receive the former one soon and I will let you know what it sounds like. babylonraus.pl fortykleparz.pl [hfgallery] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/tlove/th/02.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/tlove/02.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/tlove/02.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/tlove/th/03.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/tlove/03.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/tlove/03.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/tlove/th/04.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/tlove/04.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/tlove/04.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/tlove/th/05.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/tlove/05.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/tlove/05.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/tlove/th/06.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/tlove/06.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/tlove/06.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/tlove/th/07.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/tlove/07.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/tlove/07.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [/hfgallery]

I. I AM A WALRUS. OR AT LEAST I WISH I WERE, or a listening session with the first copy of the master tape of Magical Mystery Tour album by The Beatles lready more than a year has passed since my first ever meeting with the first copy of the master tape. It was the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Beatles album (more HERE). It was one of the most important musical and audiophile events in my entire life. It turned out that this was the first time that I REALLY heard the album. Before that, listening numerous times to 24-bit files, then subsequent versions of the vinyl releases I only touched the surface, remaining completely unaware of how much I was loosing out. The sound of this tape played with a reel-to-reel Studer A807 was nothing short of phenomenal. Incredibly dynamic, with an overwhelming amount of details previously unknown to me, it turned it into an extremely deep and satisfying experience. To even further emphasize what kind of experience that was for me I will just say that I needed nearly 11 months before I decided to listen to the Sgt. Pepper's ... on the vinyl again. Earlier, despite some attempts, I just could not get to it. This year, I had another opportunity to widen my knowledge of the Beatles and to start to hate at the same time listening to their next album of LP or music files. This time it happened with Magical Mystery Tour, a very special album for the Big Four from Liverpool. It's the one including one of the most recognizable songs in the history of mankind All You Need Is Love, and also the, originally released as a single, brilliant tandem Strawberry Fields Forever/Penny Lane. It was also the first album of the band released after the tragic death of their manager, Brian Epstein (the special role of this fact is highlighted in, among others, Philip Norman's The craze! The True Story of the Beatles. The listening sessions, one on Friday, two on Saturday and one on Sunday; the second was reserved for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, were organized – same as last year - by Voice during the Audio Video Show 2016. The presentation in a room on the beautiful PGE National Stadium was led by two people, from the point of view of the history of tape in question, essential ones, Mr Tomasz Zeliszewski (Budka Suflera) and Piotr Metz (Radio “3”/Radio Kraków). Why essential? Mr. Zeliszewski is the owner of said tape, and Piotr Metz is a person responsible for tracking it down. Due to their combined efforts we could enjoy the sounds coming from the Yugoton's first copy of the master tape of the Magical Mystery Tour. It is worth noting, that it's as close copy of the original as it gets; as the latter is stored in a safe, hidden in a closely guarded archives. Let me add that we listened to the tape on a system including the Cabasse Le Sphère CTA loudspeakers with digital crossovers, driven by the Chord Electronics amplifiers. The wonderful Studer A807 was used to play the tape. So how does the most direct meeting with the Beatles available for us (that is, music lovers and audiophiles) sound like? Lovely. Perfectly. Phenomenally. First of all I noticed an unlimited, effortless dynamics. Of everything. From instruments, the vocals to the various strange sounds (which the Beatles loved to put in their recordings). There were moments when I thought there were absolutely no limits in that regard for either the tape or the system. Also, a level of timbre differentiation was referential. On discs, voices of Lennon and McCartney's sound, well, quite similar. Of course, the more The Beatles music one listens to the easier it gets to recognize them, but the truth is, though, that every popular and widely available medium makes them sound similar. Only listening to such a tape proves how different vocalists were John and Paul. Noteworthy is also an abundance of small details and subtleties available in the recording. Decay, different noises, sound treatments - it all exists on the tape and has its place as an integral part of the recording. The biggest surprise for me were the differences between the ways individual tracks were recorded. Of course, I was made acutely aware of the fact that Magical Mystery Tour is (to some extent) a compilation including songs recorded at different times, in different ways, with different people. On vinyl record or CD it was not so obvious. But the whole truth was revealed to us by the tape; individual compositions actually sound different from each other. As a result, we could learn more about the intentions of the recording's creators working in the studio. I attended the listening of the first copy of the master tape of Magical Mystery Tour twice. Originally, I was supposed to appear only once (on Friday), but the scale of the emotions associated with the event forced me to go and listen to it once more. I knew it was almost a once in a lifetime experience and that it would be almost impossible to ever top this particular experience. Mr Zeliszewski doesn't have any more this type of tapes (or at least he doesn't want to admit that he does :)). Actually it may be a good thing - I wish I could still listen to some Beatles' album without painful awareness that it is not even close to the (almost) original recording. PS. Let me share one more thing with you. I have no idea why some people participating in the event were obviously unable to focus on listening and being quiet for half an hour. Some of them seemed determined to never stop talking during playback. They looked like adults but behaved worse than children. II. JACEK GAWŁOWSKI – Master (Re)Master, or The Krakow Sonic Society, meeting #106 I do not know if you agree with me, but I feel that the hot competition between Warsaw and Krakow from the past recently has cooled down a bit. I do not know whether this is a matter of different development directions these two cities took, or rather a large number of fast and relatively cheap transport means that allowed residents of the former and current capital of Poland to see "the enemy" with their own eyes and learn that it is not as terrible as it seemed to be. I myself, a man who's been living in Krakow since birth, really like to visit Warsaw; there are many places there where one can eat something special, one can also visit some nice places (eg. a phenomenal, highly recommended POLIN musem), and there are many opportunities for fans of different activities and sports, too. One can even see quite an impressive skyline, which every year gets bigger and bigger. Of course, I'll never admit it (because I do not think so), that Warsaw betters Krakow in any way, but it does not change the fact that with each visit I tend to appreciate our capital city ore and more. HISTORY I would like to think that “High Fidelity” magazine adds its small input into the warming of relations between Warsaw ad Krakow. Its representatives regularly visit the Audio Video Show, and bring to the City of the Polish Kings beautiful stories and photos from Warsaw. And for more than two years now we've been doing even more: we organize meetings of Krakow Sonic Society in Warsaw. First, two years ago, we repeated in front of people visiting Audio Show (this was before the name change) a program of KSS Meeting No. 94 (more HERE). Without going into details, it was based on a comparison of sound quality of four mediums: a reel tape, vinyl, CD-R and 24/192 PCM file. During this meeting - we should add – we were honored by the participation of special guests: Dirk Sommer and Birgit Hammer-Sommer from the Sommelier Du Son label, Gerhard Hirt, the head of the Ayon Audio and Mr. Jochen Räke, the owner of the Transrotor. The 2014 Meeting was, however, just an exercise, barely an introduction to more serious projects. 12 months later, during the Audio Video Show, we organized a full-fledged KSS meeting. And not just any meeting, but the 100th (more HERE)! For visitors we prepared special passes with a special seal of our Society (and yes, we have something like that), and also - perhaps more importantly - a unique program. We decided to take advantage of the presence of the dCS Rossini high-end CD Player and use it to play several different releases of albums by the Beatles. We used a regular CD, SHM-CD, Platinum SHM-CD etc. An atmosphere during these presentation got quite hot a few times (more often during the second one), as the chief editor of the "HF", Wojciech Pacuła, played several releases of the album based on exactly the same remaster, while stating that they sounded different, so not everyone did agree ... Generally, however, it was a great opportunity to exchange views and it resulted in extremely interesting discussions. And it was also about simply having fun too, as participants were reminded with a playback of an audiophile release of the Modern Talking album. The only downside to this special meeting was the absence of some members of the Society; some of them just couldn't make to Warsaw, although they promised to come for next such occasion. In his coverage of the 100th Meeting of KSS Wojciech Pacuła wrote: "Thank you all for the meeting, I was really happy to meet you all. Next year we will definitely prepare something again, perhaps in two different rooms – we already have some ideas." Eventually, these ideas turned into a concept of an event, which was to be even more spectacular and unique. For that to happened, we decided to organize for our readers a meeting with Mr Jacek Gawłowski, a winner of the Grammy Award and the man who is responsible (among other things) for the sound of remastered Polish Jazz series (more about Jacek HERE). The event was titled: "Master (Re) Master" and the idea was to listen to tracks from Polish Jazz series using high-resolution files (24/88.2 and 24/174.4) – the originals and the ones after Jacek's remastering. At the same time our Grammy winner told us a little about his work, explained what mastering and remastering are, and what is a role of a full mix in the whole chain of creating an album. We listened to music using an absolutely unique setup; the biggest stars were the latest Lumen White loudspeakers, Ayon Audio S-10 music server delivered signal and the system included also the top of the line preamplifier called Conquistador. The meeting took place in the room occupied by the Polish distributor of above mentioned brands, Nautilus from Krakow (well, we are local patriots after all). THE MEETING Both meetings with Jacek Gawłowski took place on Saturday, the first at 5 p.m. and the second at 6 p.m.. In both cases turnout was huge and people filled completely a large room. After a brief introduction by Wojciech Pacuła, Mr Jacek Gawłowski started his show. The Master of Ceremony played for us some delicious and phenomenal sounding music (from the Polish Jazz series, but also a track from Aga Zaryan's Remembering Nina & Abbey) and between the tracks he shared interesting stories about his work. A lot of excitement among our guests was raised when Jacek shared information about a truly audiophile setup he uses in the studio. Most likely he is the only man in Polish professional/studio industry benefiting from all audiophile inventions, including cables. Jacek is thus a person of unique knowledge, sort of a liaison between “our” (audiophile) and "their" (pro-audio) worlds. This resulted in many interesting and sometimes funny stories and anecdotes, Jacek also answered many question from the audience. Many of these questions concerned Jacek's own product, high-end speakers called Bauta. We couldn't see these impressive floorstanding speakers in Warsaw, but the scale of interest in them begs the question whether Jacek Gawłowski should present them to Polish audiophiles in the near future. Who knows, maybe he will. A FULFILLED PROMISE KSS's 106th Meeting (and the second official one held in Warsaw) was important for one more reason: finally, fulfilling their promise, members of Krakow Sonic Society participated in it, and not just some of them but most. According to out tradition I asked them to share their impressions. Rysiek B. There were many meetings of KSS this year. One should know that important steps in our development are also our shared private journeys to the world of music, such as the last marathon of all nine Beethoven's Symphonies in Krakow's ICE Hall. Initiated by Chief Editor Wojtek Pacuła, the 106th KSS Meeting with the Master, Jacek Gawłowski during the Audio Video Show for me is the next step in exploring the mysteries of music in terms of the quality of its perception. During this condensed presentation, thanks to the hosts (Nautilus, Ayon Audio and "High Fidelity"), we had a chance to learn about potential that lies dormant in the studio archives. Anyway, you do not need to convince us, audiophiles, that there is always something more to achieve in terms of sound quality. My own “explorer's” passion was supported by coincidental neighborhood of the Music Info – an importer of studio equipment, that I had an opportunity to listen to. This allowed me to get some idea about an influence of the equalizers, preamps and so on. The general manager - Mariusz Czarnecki – (also a professional musician who had a chance to play drums in Tomasz Stanko band) - helped me a lot. Now, my dream was to meet the Grand Studio Master - Mr. Jacek Gawłowski – during the next KSS meeting and to learn as much as possible about secrets of his magic. Wiciu I do not even know, which edition of the Show is Warsaw is it this year. But surely it is yet another, that members of the Krakow Sonic Society (KSS) attend to get some inspiration for our next meetings, where different audio components will be subjects to subjective assessment. Since we do not have any large space at our disposal, regular KSS are attended by a small number of people. I don't think we had ever more than a dozen participants at single meeting, apart from some exceptional events held at some "exotic" locations. We do realize that many regular and sympathetic readers would like to participate in KSS meetings and have a chance to see how it works and also have the opportunity to express their opinions. Hence, a year ago, the editor and founder of the online "High Fidelity" magazine, Wojciech Pacuła, had a brilliant idea to organize an away session of the KSS Meeting during Audio Video Show in Warsaw where fans, as well as the critics of the Society would be able to attend it personally and see for themselves how our assessments are forged. This year, even more members of the KSS, came to Warsaw to Golden Tulip hotel, where in one of the room the Krakow Distributor, Nautilus, prepared an impressive presentation. The meeting was particularly interesting because it hosted two special guests: Gerhard Hirt, the owner of Ayon Audio (music server, amplifiers, loudspeakers), and the main star of the meeting - Jacek Gawłowski – an audio chef capable of preparing a real sound feast for the most sophisticated audiophiles . For me it was a great honor and pleasure to meet Mr. Jacek personally. I had a chance to familiarize myself with his work, his remastering of the iconic Polish Jazz series by Polish Recording during the “Big black” broadcast in Polish Radio II. Just by listening through the radio of the old versions and remastered ones I realized a large difference in favor of the new master. I had no idea back then, early summer 2016, that already few months later I would have a chance to meet the guy in person and to hear so many interesting stories told by the man responsible for truly great quality of many recordings. Mr. Jacek shared his vision regarding shaping a final sound of an album, he told audience a lot about problems he faces when preparing a re-master and surprised us with the information that most sound engineers do not pay any attention to the quality of cables used in their studios. The presentation gathered a large audience, who managed to secure their sits long time before the meeting started. It was a really smart move because there were still a lot of people who came right before the presentation and simply couldn't get in anymore. I look forward to the release of the newly remastered version of Polish Jazz, because I have in my collection some of the original analogue releases, as well as their digital re-editions, but the previous ones. The fragments presented during the meeting confirmed that the new masters highlighted some aspects of the sound, improved spaciousness without interfering with the very essence of the original sound. I believe that the meeting was really interesting and unique (I think that it would be a big problem to get Mr. Jacek to come to a meeting in Krakow), and the way it was organized also allowed much more people to participate – I guess around 60, which is 6-8 times more than usually. I'd like to encourage Wojtek Pacuła to continue this path and keep organizing away meetings of KSS. Seeing how many people participated it is obvious that it makes sense. Tomek This year's "away" KSS meeting was for me absolutely unique in terms of sound. The sound of the system consisting of Ayon Audio electronics and large Lumen White loudspeakers was absolutely astounding. I know that supporters of SET amplifiers listened to in small rooms certainly won't share my enthusiasm, but in “cost no object” category of audio systems listened in a huge room, which I find the most interesting one, the performance was unparalleled. This combination of unconstrained dynamics, momentum, control, large scale of sounds and tight, pulsating bass, with a natural tone, saturation of high frequencies, analytic defined as the ability to track every nuance or the lack of any aggressiveness combined into my personal such high rating for this system. It also forced me to delay my return to Krakow in order to spend some more time listening to several more tracks through the Lumen White loudspeakers. I did it just for fun and relaxation. The meeting due to unique perspective of a person who moves between these two worlds also allowed me to understand more the conflict of "audiophiles vs. sound engineers”. Wojciech Pacuła This time I did not really listen to the recordings, but I had a pleasure of observing you all listening to music and to Jacek's story. I must say that for me it was a great experience because of it led me to a clear conclusion that this type of "lectures" combined with listening to music are needed, your reactions told me that clearly. Even if you couldn't get answers to all of your question, I believe we still managed to give you some idea about art of audio, and I mean an art with a capital "A". It also turned out that one hour for such a meeting is far too short time, because Jacek could not even get really started his story not to mention the fact that you could listen to more music if we had more time. We will do our best, when preparing a presentation for next year, so that this next event lasts longer. I talked about it with Gerhard Hirt and we already have some ideas for the future. We want to thank everyone who visited us and we'd like to invite you already for the next year. We will do everything in our power not to disappoint you! See you next year! WARSAW KRAKOW SONIC SOCIETY The 106th Meeting of the Krakow Sonic Society was a success. I believe everybody enjoyed it: Jacek Gawłowski, who after finishing second presentation shared with me his positive emotions, and our Readers, who “caught” Jacek outside the room after presentation and would not let go home, and the members of the KSS. And also the editors of "High Fidelity", who already try to figure something out for the next year to make sure it will be at least as interesting as this year's meeting. Don't worry we'll figure it out. Because we are pretty sure that there will be next “away” Meeting of KSS in. jgmasterlab.com nautilus.net.pl ayonaudio.com highfidelity.pl

he French company Métronome Technologie was born, like many other major audio companies, out of passion - passion for music. It was founded in 1987 by Dominique Giner, previously engaged in production of furniture. And it all started with furniture because already in 1984 he built an audio rig shaped after a metronome. It was a huge success and thanks to the sale of more than 1,200 copies of this unique piece of audio furniture, he founded his own company, adapting the metronome as a company's name and logo. In the center of his interests were CD Players, and although in the meantime he also presented a turntable, company remained focused on digital audio. Interestingly, the first product designed by Mr. Giner was the JD 1 CD Transport, prepared for Jadis. In the summer of 2014 and therefore twenty years after the foundation of his company, Dominique Giner retired (partially), passing the management of the company to the hands of then 57-year-old Christian Bata and Jean Marie Clauzel (53 years old). Both gentlemen, as well as the founder of the company, are true audio aficionados although they come from completely different worlds - Mr. Bat had worked as a financial director in the automotive industry, and Mr. Clauzel had been an agricultural engineer. Dominique Giner remained in the company as chief designer and is responsible for the latest version of the top of the line source called Dream Play CD. Métronome Technologie is a small company, highly specialized, that in addition the above mentioned bosses employs just six people. All mechanical parts - except transports – are made in France, and that's also where they are assembled. The lineup includes currently three models of CD transports (T-5, T-6 and T-8), three models of DACs (C-5, C-6 and C-8), integrated CD Player CD8 (with its special version, CDT8, with a tube output) and, as a response to market demand, a music server called Music Center 1. KALISTA A top of the line system, Kalista, is in fact a separate line. It even has its own website and is called the "reference CD turntable". The system consists of four elements: CD transport, DAC and two power supplies. Name Kalista has been known for many years and during that time we have seen new versions of the system. However, the basics are always the same: a CD transport and D/A converter with characteristic shape, which you can be placed one on top of the other, or next to each other. As far as the top version is concerned elements may be stacked one upon the other using tall feet which makes this device look a lot like some turntable, for example the Transrotor Artus. CD Transport It features a remarkably artistic form and the only other brands that offered something similar were Jadis and Oracle (model CD 2500). The Philips transport mechanism CDM12 Pro 2 v6.8 and the electronics are placed in aluminum blocks, suspended under very thick acrylic elements. The latter have a shape resembling a three-bladed propeller. At their ends they mounted thick stainless steel columns, ie. feet. These used in transport end with wide cones, and those in the Converter are in fact a decoupling system with a ball placed between two polished, concave planes (see HERE). The form is flawless, and the construction extremely refined. What draws attention, however, at the beginning is a way used to load a disc. Nominally Kalista is a top-loader CD transport, ie one placed the disc directly on the motor's shaft without using a classic drawer. Version used by the French, however, is similar to the one used by the Polish Ancient Audio and Japanese 47 Labs, because the disc is not hidden and spins outside the device so that one can see it. Two things distinguish Kalista from Lektor: how TOC ("table of contents" of the disc) is loaded and the puck/clamp. It took me a long time to get used to it, but it still sometimes annoys me with my Lektor - to make Ancient Audio Player read TOC I have to press a button. Metronome chose a better solution, because there is an optical sensor placed under the disc. So after one puts the disc on the axis, apply pressure (with the "puck"), Player starts reading the disc. At the same time, the puck had matching shape to the base, which helps to control the vibration of the disc. There is a metal cylinder fixed axis of the motor so that the puck is precisely centered. Similar solutions are used by companies such as: Audionet and Vitus Audio. A novelty compared to the previous version is the absence of the control buttons, and using a touch screen instead. This is a very convenient solution and it looks great. Brightness of the screen can be adjusted with the remote control, or it can be turned off completely. Transport features three digital outputs: TOSLink, RCA (both S/PDIF) and AES/EBU. Next to these high-quality output jacks one find a display on/off switch. DAC The converter is a new design. There are actually two converters in a single Kalista body. The designer decided to leave a converter from the previous version, featuring two 24-bit, 192 kHz chips, but also a second one was added, based on two 32-bit AKM chips. The latter is a reaction to the popular market demand, because now Kalista over the asynchronous USB input can accept PCM signal up to 32 bits and 384 kHz, as well as DSD64 and 128. The user can decide which DAC to use at any particular moment. What's more, user can also select a type of an output. This can be a semiconductor, or a tube one. The latter uses Philips JAN 6922, the military version of the 6DJ8/ECC88 dual-triode. They use powerful polypropylene capacitors made for Métronome Technologie by a French specialist SRC. Next to the tubes, illuminated additionally with blue LEDs (McIntosh uses green LEDs to backlight the tubes) one finds very expensive low-inductance resistors, so-called. "naked" ones. Recently I saw similar ones used for the top of the line Dynaudio loudspeakers. The selection between “DACs” is very simple, one just has to press the icon on the display panel. DAC accepts signals from four sources via: USB, RCA and TOSLink (S/PDIF), as well as the AES/EBU inputs. The company prefers the latter. Devices features balanced (XLR) and unbalanced (RCA) analogue outputs. The test was performed in my reference system, where the Métronome replaced my Ancient Audio Lektor AIR V-edition CD Player and Audionet Planck tested beforehand. For comparison, I used also the Döhmann Helix 1 turntable. Dream Play CD was placed exactly at the same spot as earlier the CEC-a TL0 3.0 + DA0 3.0 system on the Finite Elemente Pagode Edition rack. Power supplies were placed on the shelf below, and the second one on the Ayon Audio Spheris III power supply. The signal from the player to the preamp was sent with Siltech Triple Crown interconnect and digital signals between the components using the new AES/EBU cable by Polish company Albedo. Transport and DAC were connected to power outlet using Acoustic Revive Power Reference Triple-C. Recordings used for the test (a selection) Arimasa Yuki & Hisatsugu Suzuki, Duet, Una Mas Jazz UNACD-10-01, XRCD24 (2010) Bing Crosby, On The Sentimental Side, Music Collection International ETDCD 055, CD (1998) Charlie Haden & Kenny Barron, Night and The City, Verve 539 961-2, CD (1998) Depeche Mode, Enjoy The Silence....04, Mute XLCDBONG34, maxi-SP (2004) Dominic Miller, Fourth Wall, Q-rious Music/Rutis Music QRM 114-2, 2 x 180 g LP (2010); Ella Fitzgerald, Like Someone in Love, Verve/Esoteric ESSO-90143, SACD/CD (1957/2016) w: 6 Queens of Jazz Vocal, „MasterSoundWorks”, Esoteric ESSO-90143/8, 6 x SACD/CD (2016) Ivie Anderson, Ivie Anderson with Duke Ellington & His Famous Orchestra, EPM 157352, „Jazz Archives | No. 42”, CD (1932-1940/1991) Lisa Gerrard, The Silver Tree, Sonic Records SON212, CD (2006) Nat ‘King’ Cole, Penthouse Serenade, Capitol Jazz/EMI 94504, „Super Bit Mapping” CD (1952/1998) Novika, Tricks of Life, Kayax 013, CD (2006) Pieter Nooten & Michael Brook, Sleeps With The Fishes, 4AD GAD 710 CD, CD (1987) Rosemary Clooney, Rosemary Clooney sings Ballads, Concord/Stereo Sound SSCDR-007, „Flat Transfer Series”, CD-R (1985/2016) Sonny Rollins, Way Out West, Contemporary Records/JVC VICJ-60088, XRCD (1957/1997) Sting, All This Time, A&M Records 212354-2, SP CD (1991) Japanese issues available at [REKLAMA5] The French like to do things their way. They are proud of their culture, industry, and are proud of themselves. I'd like to use this opportunity to say that I am their fan and that Paris is a city where I could live. These idiosyncrasies, ie. selecting solutions that would distinguish them, mainly from the circle of Anglo-Saxon culture, do not always lead straight to the point, just because the Americans and the British are very pragmatic nations and they often choose more practical solutions. This is something well known and noticeable both in appearance, handling, performance, and sound quality offered by audio products. A “designer's” appearance of the Callisto player, the icons on the display, which are halves of commonly used icons "start", "stop", and so on, the way a disc is loaded and other, less significant features could indicate that type of approach. But all one has to do it to listen to just one track, and it turns out that all this elements of device's “charm”, and the sound is absolutely classic. “Classic” in a sense that the events are presented in a way that helps listener to understand music, without drawing any more attention to the device itself than necessary. I can confidently say that this is one of the most precise sources, I know, regardless of the format. A method of shaping the sound reminded me the precision of the best analog sources, because there is even no hint of attack blur, I could not hear any veiling or haziness of the sound. This applies not only to events in the front of the soundstage, but also to what happens behind and way back in the soundstage. It seems like the “computing” abilities of this player were so huge that the device does not have to choose what to focus on. This, of course, is not a problem of computing power, but the phenomenal resolution and stunning way of attack delivery. The "Hi-Fi News & Record Reviews" magazine reviewed the previous version of Kalista and stated that it is the "Master of the Rhythm" (December 2013). I can't disagree with this, although I would like to modify this statement, adding "and coherence". The "rhythm" itself could in fact be associated with a slight emphasis on the leading edge. And it usually leads to insufficient richness of the sound which makes the sound dry. Kalista is not dry, one could even say that the sound is as ripe as the grapes basking in the warm sun of the South. There's a sweetness, fleshiness and light sourness. The sound is amazingly rich. Speaking of the remarkable resolution of this player, I had to hold myself back, not to add immediately that the sound is also incredibly detailed. I didn't want you to think that it is a player that mercilessly pulls all the details of the disc. It does deliver a sound rich with details, it is true, but it does it with love, enjoying those details, polishing them and combining them into a very clear, "analog" presentation. And this is something completely different than what most understand as highly detailed sound, it more about "presence" of the sound. The "a" word is another one that I wanted to wait with before using it. Opening this review with it would also create a wrong impression from the start. It is used by the Métronome Technologie quite often and it is clear that for the designers it must be their reference. The problem is that it is usually misunderstood and automatically associated with vinyl record. Those who had the opportunity to listen to an analog "master" tape or digital hi-res recording, preferably in the studio, know that vinyl is only an approximation to what was actually recorded on tape or in the form of a file. Most often it is a brilliant approximation, but also an art in itself, changing the sound of the original. The analogue sound of which I speak means that all the details are presented together, in an instant, creating an extremely rich, nuanced performance. Bass and treble are not rolled-off nor warmed up. Most importantly, it does not enlarge objects in the front of the stage. It presents all elements in a perfect perspective, but not by emphasizing a voice or piano or another instrument. And yet we know exactly who the leader of the band is because we focus your attention on him/her, following the suggestions of musicians and producer of the recording. Never before, yes, that's exactly what I mean, piano recordings sounded so natural for me. Attack and vibrancy of this player brought me closer to the source of the sound, as if I opened the window wide. I listened piano recordings for hours. Mostly older ones. For Example Nat 'King' Cole's Penthouse Serenade. Recorded by the trio in July 1952 is a wonderful display of amazing skills of both, the leader and the accompanying musicians. Listening to that I could easily understand the regret often pronounced by Cole and many critics, that his vocal career overshadowed perception of him as a pianist. And he was one of the best jazz pianists of all times. This recording was originally released on 10" LP and included eight tracks. Its 1998 digital re-issue (Super Bit Mapping!), introduced additional tracks from this session, as well as recordings from the January session, when Cole also sang. It was then when the iconic version of Unforgettable was recorded. This part clearly shows what I described before, that the vocal is the most important element of the presentation even though it is in no way enlarged. It is rarely played in such a great proportion to other instruments, that seem equally distinct as the voice but still properly placed in the back of the stage. With that said, I can finally move to the essence of this sound: it's a dark, unobtrusive presentation insanely rich with information. Hence the term starting with "a", and that's why CDs with recordings from the 1930s and 1940s sounded so good, it is why the digital maxi-singles by Depeche Mode sounded really good, thanks to this the hyper-purist Japanese recordings, such as the Duet by Arimasa Yuki & Hisatsugu Suzuki, sounded in equally refined and sophisticated way. It's the kind of player that is completely agnostic when it comes to expressing its "own" opinion, as it goes so deep into the music that a listener forgets about the medium, format or any other technical feature of the recording because he is totally immersed in music. If I had to define the basic features of this device in a way that audio products are usually described, I would say that the bass is well extended, goes really deep and is perfectly controlled. It also has a velvety attack, which gives it a refinement and helps in creating a realistic image of the instrument. Upper treble is as crystal and as it is velvety. The Player rolls off nor rounds anything. Despite this, we have the impression that this is a dark presentation that is slightly soft, but very complex. There is no emphasis in the midrange, but listener focuses on it anyway, because we are made this way. A step back The dynamics of the French source is above average due to the precise attack. Kalista, however, is a product like any other, and that means that it has its specific features, that are a result of designing goals and choices. I would point out a slight shortening of a decay. A long sustain makes the sound of Kalista meaty. But we focus attention on instruments and direct sound, slightly ignoring the acoustic environment, which makes is less present within our perception of the sound. The same happens when you listen to an analog tape. The presentation takes place rather behind the loudspeakers and between them. Recordings that include lot of reflected and out of phase sounds, might not present their full galore. Listener will know what was the idea behind the recording but not because it will be clearly stated, but because there will be some clues that he should recognize. Also those who like large vocals, perhaps even enlarged, may feel disappointed - Kalista will never enlarge them. It always tries to present everything in a balanced way, so it rather withdraws vocals instead of highlighting them. Comparisons I'll try to clarify my observations, comparing it to the best digital sources, I know. dCS Vivaldi (I have not listened to the version 2.0 yet) delivers even smoother performance with a slightly stronger emphasis in the upper midrange. That's why the sound is so beautifully lit, and tonal balance is placed slightly higher than with the French CD Player. The Ancient Audio Lektor SE is equally coherent and as detailed, but when it comes to the leading edge and bass extension, the French source wins hands down; Kalista sounds also darker. Finally, the CEC system (with a SUPERLINK) sounds even more like an analog tape, without clear edges, no precise acoustics, with transitions between instruments rendered in a more pastel manner. However, there is no such precision as offered by the French system. Summary Actually, everything has already been said. There are other, also excellent digital sources, let me mention one more, the totaldac, but Kalista does not have to compete with any of them. It delivers a performance that is simply self-explanatory and it doesn't need any external support or recommendations. You might have been waiting for it, but I did not want to say that before: this system will deliver such a stunning performance in a setup preferred by the manufacturer, ie. with the “older” 24/192 and a tube output. The solid-state output does not deliver such a good, rich structure of the sound, but it does slightly modify the emphasis around 800 Hz, that appears with the tube output. That is why from time to time I listened to music also with the solid-state output. It delivered a darker background and a slightly higher dynamics. The new DAC is also good, especially smoother and more fluid, but neither as resolving nor so rich as the old one. Kalista CD represents the absolutely highest sound quality, so the GOLD Fingerprint award is simply a must. Kalista comprises of two devices: CD transport ("CD Turntable") and digital-to-analog converter. They are built in-house by Métronome Technologie in Roquemaure near Toulouse. The system consists of four elements, because each of the two already mentioned devices features also a separate Electra power supply. CD Transport The basic elements have a unique look that shows, however their function. It is about a combination of aluminum, that transport mechanism and electronics are placed in, with acrylic and stainless steel. This results in a very heavy, compact, vibration-resistant structure. An aluminum element with the transport mechanism is suspended under the acrylic "propeller" and it stands on three steel cylinders. The cylinders end with large cones, which can be placed on the large pads, or directly on DAC's feet (it is a similar solution to the one used by the British Chord). Information about the disc, as well as the buttons are displayed on the color 4,3'' touch screen display. It is mounted on an aluminum element projecting from the player. A disc is placed directly on the motor shaft, with a metal cylinder fixed to it. It allows to precisely center the acrylic “puck” that has the same shape as the base of the player. TOC disc is loaded automatically just a few seconds after the disc is placed in the transport. So there is enough time to put the puck on. The blue LED visible from the back is just a decoration. There are three digital outputs on the rear panel: S/PDIF (Toslink and RCA) and AES/EBU (XLR). On the back is also a socket for power cable connecting transport with power supply. The remote control is made of aluminum and features small buttons with a clear point of operation. DAC The shape of the converter's housing is similar, but not identical. Here, the acrylic top and aluminum bottom form the sandwich, bolted together to the metal feet. The element with a display, however, is the same - the display shows information regarding inputs, DACs and outputs. User may choose between them by touching a proper icon, which are joined together to show user how the signal runs in chosen combination. On the upper side, in a cut-out, one can see two tubes, illuminated additionally with blue LEDs. The inputs are located at the back – there are RCA and optical (S/PDIF), XLR (AES/EBU) and USB jacks. Next to the latter there is a power inlet. Within the electrical system one finds highest quality components such as: polypropylene capacitors and expensive, low-inductance resistors. The analog outputs feature Lundahl matching transformers. Power supplies The power supplies feature a classic appearance, ie. they have a rectangular shape, chassis made of bent metal sheet and a thick, aluminum front. In the cut-out or a "window" under a layer of acrylic, there is a blue LED, and two switches next two it - one switches off the device, and the second disconnect the power cord's protective conductor (useful for eliminating ground loop). Each power supply features three power transformers, a bank of tens of capacitors damping pulsation from power grid. The voltage regulators (seven for transport and 12 for DAC) feature large, beautiful SRC capacitors, custom made for Métronome Technologie. Specifications (according to manufacturer) Transport CD - transport mechanism: Philips CD Pro 2 LH with proprietary software - dimensions: 450 x 135 x 460 mm - weight: 24 kg DAC - display: 4,3" touchscreen - 2 x DACs 24/192 - 2 x DACs 32/384 Digital inputs: - S/PDIF, AES/EBU, Toslink (44,1 - 192 kHz) - USB: asynchronous, 32/384 + DSD128 Analog outputs: RCA | XLR - dimensions: 450 x 105 x 435 mm - weight: 15 kg Power supply - dimensions: 450 x 105 x 435 mm - weight: 15 kg [hfgallery] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/metronome/th/05.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/metronome/05.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/metronome/05.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/metronome/th/06.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/metronome/06.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/metronome/06.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/metronome/th/07.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/metronome/07.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/metronome/07.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/metronome/th/08.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/metronome/08.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/metronome/08.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/metronome/th/09.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/metronome/09.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/metronome/09.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/metronome/th/10.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/metronome/10.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/metronome/10.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/metronome/th/11.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/metronome/11.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/metronome/11.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1612/metronome/th/12.jpg" big="foto_testy/1612/metronome/12.jpg" src="foto_testy/1612/metronome/12.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [/hfgallery]

do not know if you remember the digital amplifier TacT Audio Millenium, which made a lot of fuzz on the marker several years ago, and set a new direction followed today by a large part of the audio world. In Poland its legend was built by Andrzej Kisiel, chief editor of "Audio" magazine, who used it as a reference amplifier, as well as by the owner of ESA who also used it as his main amplifier. This digital amp appealed to the progressive audiophiles, who always seek for novelties and for whom progress in audio has not ended up with a directly heated 300B triode in 1938 and horn loudspeakers from the same period. Presented in 1998, Millennium was the first commercially available digital amplifier, or in other words, a Power DAC. In contrast to analog class D amplifiers, the processor in the Millennium enables the Equibit algorithm to digitally select the correct pulse width combination from among 256 possible width choices. The input signal was so converted to 8-bit, and to an analog signal only in the output analog filter. Looking at Ion, checking its technical parameters, I assumed that this is another realization of such a project, maybe even an interesting one, but still typical. I prepared a short part for this review explaining the principle of operation of the class D amplifiers, the difference between the analogue and digital class D amplifiers and finally also mentioned class G amps. In the meantime, I received answers to my questions from the amplifier's designer, Mr. Jeff Haagenstad and all I could just throw that all away ... JEFF HAAGENSTAD Chief Executive Officer Wojciech Pacuła: Is Ion a so called „switching amplifier”? Jeff Haagenstad: It is NOT a switching amplifier. It doesn't take a musical signal from the Comet, it takes Data from the Comet which is used to control the Power. It is essentially 4 computer networks between the two boxes that they use to talk to each other. It's not a PWM design at all. It's direct control of Power from the PowerDAC circuit. It's a totally new concept. I am not sure that I understand – does it mean it is not a class D amplifier? Neither analogue nor digital one? Neither. It is a PowerDAC. It is a DAC that controls signal in the Power Domain, as well as the Time and Frequency Domains. It is quite literally a power supply that drives the speakers directly. This allows us to render analog transients at digital speeds so it is very clear and articulate - way more so than any other Class D design and in many ways more than Class A design. Just curious – is it a similar concept to the one of Wadia's PowerDAC? It's the same concept as the old Wadia PowerDAC but the technology didn't exist until recently to make it work reliably. What kind of signal does HDMI cable carry? - Digital or analog? It carries digital signals that connect the computing circuitry in the Comet to the computing circuitry in the Ion. Together they essentially become an integrated pipeline processor where the time and frequency are processed in the Comet and the Power is processed in the Ion. What makes it special? - I know you worked on it a long, long time... Well, as I said earlier, it renders analog transients at digital speeds. One of the biggest problems with classic digital amplifiers is that the momentum of a rising or falling voltage makes the output want to continue rising or falling. A digital amplifier needs to shunt off this overshoot or undershoot using filters and that results in the "smearing" effect that makes digital amps sound muddy or veiled. A PowerDAC controls not only the rise and fall time of the waveform, but it also controls the overshoot and undershoot so the transient stops precisely where it is supposed to. Since it's being tightly controlled by a dedicated DSP, we can render an exact analog waveform and since the waveform is calculated using high-order mathematics as opposed to approximation, there are no noise floor artifacts which means that the output is also extremely quiet. So in a nutshell: it's a very quiet and articulate amp which allows it to recreate the sound image very precisely. How about speaker cables - is Ion sensitive to their inductance? The Ion doesn't much like lacquered magnet wire-style speaker cables. These types of cables have incredibly high capacitance (on the order of 10,000 to 12,000 times) compared to traditional speaker cables and badly built and maintained cables of this type can cause a "kickback" into the Ion. Since the Ion is essentially a power supply to the speakers, the last thing it wants to see is an unexpected voltage spike coming back in from the speakers. Actually, regular Class D amplifiers don't perform very well with these cables either. The kickback voltage will eventually cause a lot of digital amplifier designs to eventually fail. Thus we don't recommend cables of this type. Other than that limitation, it's not very fussy at all and performs well with any well-insulated cable. (The high capacitance comes from the thin enameling used to prevent these cables from shorting. The wires are so close together that they have very high capacitance. Also, since the enamel is very brittle, the cables can get micro-fractures and cause short circuits.) Is Ion's firmware upgradeable? Yes, just like the Comet, the Ion's firmware is fully upgradeable. Exogal ION POWERDAC The first Exogal product was digital-to-analogue converter named Comet. It is a small, great-looking DAC featuring several digital inputs including: an asynchronous USB (32/384 | DSD128), AES / EBU (24/192), S / PDIF (24/192), Toslink (24/96) and analog RCA. The Comet features also a function of a preamplifier – the analogue output signal is fully adjustable in 100 steps, and the adjustment is done in the digital domain. Comet sports one more connector - HDMI, which was intended for digital connection with a product still in development - the Ion PowerDAC. As I wrote in my previous test, people behind this company have a vast experience in digital audio, and D/A Converters in particular. They initiated their first project of this type while still working for Wadia. The product was named Power DAC Wadia 790 and despite being able to use that experience to their advantage they have still worked on the Ion for many years. Exogal amplifier is designed to work exclusively with Comet DAC and no other source - there are no analog inputs, and the only digital one is HDMI input. Manufacturer calls it Exonet interface. This link not only transmits signal, but also allows user to control the amplifier using Comet's remote control. The specifications of this small device is quite impressive: its nominal power at 8 Ω load is 100 W per channel, with150 W peak power, the minimum load is 2 Ω (which means user doesn't have to worry about difficult to drive speakers), THD is 0.03% (@ 1W @ all frequencies into 4 ohms). And all is fit into a nice looking, solid chassis measuring only 47.6 x 190 x 292 mm. Connecting the amplifier is simple. First, one connects it with quite large external SMPS. It's not particularly nice-looking so a longer cable would come handy allowing user to hide the black box somewhere behind the rack. In any case, we plug it into one of the three slots on the rear panel. The second one we are going to use is the HDMI input, which allows us to connect it to the Comet DAC. There are many high quality HDMI cables available on the market so one can try different ones to find the best among them. And finally there are speakers outputs. The whole operation should take you no more than 5 minutes from opening the box to having system up and running. PowerDAC Ion is made in USA. During this test CDs were my priority, as they had been when I reviewed Comet. My Ancient Audio Lektor AIR V-edition CD Player featuring Philips CD Pro2 LF mechanism was used as a transport. It was connected to DAC using Acrolink Mexcel 7N-DA6100 digital coaxial cable. All discs were de-magnetized using Acoustic Revive RD-3 prior to listening. I divided my test into two parts. During the first part I compared power amplifiers: • digital signal was delivered from transport to Exogal Comet DAC, then from its analogue outputs to Ayon Audio Spheris III preamplifier and later to Soulution 710 power amplifier driving Harbeth M40.1; in this setup Comet work exclusively as DAC, with output set to 0,0 dB • digital signal was delivered from transport to Exogal Comet DAC, then from its HDMI output to Ion PowerDAC's HDMI input. The latter part allowed me to compare two complete systems – my reference one and the one with Exogal Comet + Ion, with Lektor as transport, and in both cases I used my Harbeth M40.1 loudspeakers. Devices handling digital signals are very sensitive to vibrations, so I placed DAC on Acoustic Revive wooden stands, and the amplifier on the CP-4 discs (more HERE). The second problem of this type of products is large RF noise. To minimize this risk, I used Verictum X-Block passive filters for both, DAC and amplifier. For the amplifier I used Harmonix X-DC350M2R Improved Version (Polish) power cable. EXOGAL in „High Fidelity” AWARD: BEST PRODUCT 2016 - Exogal COMET PLUS DAC - D/A Converter REVIEW: Exogal COMET PLUS DAC - D/A Converter Albums used for the test (a selection) Cantate Domino, dyr. Torsten Nilsson, Oscar Motet Choir, Proprius/JVC Victor Company XRCD 7762, XRCD2 (1976/2003) Carlo Gesualdo de Venosa, The Complete Madrigals, Delitiae Musicae, Marco Longhini, Naxos 8.507013, 7 x CD (2013) Chopin, Piano Concerto No. 1 Ballades, Seong-Jin Cho, London Symphony Orchestra, Deutsche Grammophon/Universal Music LCC UCCG-1755, SHM-CD (2016) Diana Krall, All for You, Impulse!/JVC 532 360-9, XRCD24 (1996/2010) John Coltrane, Coltrane’s Sound, Atlantic/Rhino R2 75588, „Atlantic Jazz Gallery”, CD (1964/1999) Mark Knopfler, The Trawlerman's Song EP, Mercury 9870986, CD (2005) NOVI Singers, NOVI in Wonderland, MPS/Edel/Victor Entertainment NCS-10139, K2HD Pro Mastering CD (1969/2016) Rival Sons, Great Western Valkyrie, Erache Records/Hydrant Music QIHC-10059, CD (2014) Sohn, Tremors, 4AD/Hostess CAD3403CDJ, CD (2014) Japanese issues available at [REKLAMA5] There is this old saying in audio that "big gives big." Ie. if we play music using big loudspeakers with large drivers we shall get a big, powerful sound. Same goes for amplifiers - the larger the device, the more power. For amplifiers in Class D and Class G, however, one needs to modify this belief, because it has nothing to do with reality. Manufacturers used this fact and maybe two years they created a whole new category of audio systems. These are of mini and midi size - which isn't a new idea - but these offer a true high-end performance, and that's definitely new. To support this theory let me mention such examples as systems by: Chord Electronics (Hugo TT + TToby; Polish), or Bel Canto Design (‘Black’ ASC1 + MPS1). Now we can add to this group also Exogal (Comet + Ion). With this in mind, looking at the “baby” amp placed on the shelf above the chunky, mighty Soulution 710, I couldn't rule out a possibility of it delivering a large scale sound, or powerful bass. As it turned out I was right not to. The very essence of the Exogal system's performance is based on energetic and rhythmic sound. I would even say that it was a presentation with a greater momentum and more pulsating bass than the one I get from Soulution. This does not mean that Exogal is a better amplifier, after all, we are talking about devices from two totally different price levels (and it's the quality one pays more for). What it means is that with the American amplifier one does not need to worry about one's loudspeakers being properly driven even in a large room, nor about presentation being very energetic. The Ion PowerDAC delivers amazingly smooth and clean sound. The vast majority of devices of this type modifies sound in a similar way to that of tube amplifiers, ie. they round the attack and "sweetened" treble up and Exogal is no exception. All recordings played with it were beautifully smooth, and when vocals were added to the mix another feature became perfectly clear – an ultimate purity of the sound. Moved by how the Carlo Gesualdo de Venosa's music sounded like right after that I listened to a modern electronic music the Sohn's album Tremors and my impressions were exactly the same. I could play music very loud, and yet it remained on THIS side of force. As if from an Exogal's dictionary word like: "rough", "annoying", "bright", etc., were completely eliminated. The most obvious description of this sound would be “warm”, but that's not entirely true. Treble here is strong, clear, it's more present here than with my reference system. Also bass surprises with its extension and purity. With the aforementioned album Tremors it created an incredible effect, because it's rich with slammy bass. Exogal's amplifier controlled the bass very well and without softening it. The amount of treble and quality of bass does not allow one to place an equal sign between 'Exogal' and 'warm'. On the other hand if we look at the Ion's sound character we might change our opinion on the topic. It has a "golden" flavor, because the attack is slightly rounded - the further up the band, the more so. Therefore, the strong treble doesn't sound aggressive, while the sound is very open. The percussion cymbals, which was most obvious with jazz tracks, do not form heavy, tangible sources, but rather are slightly modified to give them more “flow”. I will say this: it is not a perfectly neutral presentation, but it will appeal to many "High Fidelity" readers. It will be extremely difficult to get to the point where the tweeter will become an enemy and start to attack us, although it will always be very active. So what we get is: purity, extension, openness, gold “flavor”, rhythm (great!), and a liveliness that most Class-D amplifiers miss. What Ion has in common with other, even the best applications of this technology, is the resolution, which in its case is not a priority. I do not know if it's even possible, but I am still to hear this type of amplifier, which could differentiate images, timbre, dynamics and soundstage in as good a way as the best class A and AB amplifiers. In this regard, Exogal is a typical child the technology. Also the soundstage is rather typical and similar to what I heard once with the Jeff Rowland Continuum S2 Integrated. We can “see” large phantom images, the sound has momentum, and the volumes of sound are displayed perfectly. The whole has a common denominator, based on placing the sound in a semicircle in front of us. It's a tight, dense space with a lot happening there. Rear plans are pulled closer o the front, which results in sound sources being slightly enlarged, and it is probably this modification of the presentation that creates this impression of sound "density". If the information allocated exactly to one of the channels, as in the recordings from the 1950s and 1960s, the presence of instruments, voices, etc. is extremely intense. Summary I have to fight the temptation to treat Exogal set as something special, something from “outside the system”. The fact that it is compact and uses techniques that only in the XXI century were properly developed, does not make it something worse, that one needs to treat leniently. This is a bona fide audio system and you have to get used to the fact, that more and more of audio systems will look like this one. Its small size and main stream design open the door to our "audiophile fortress" for the people who do not want to have some ugly, large, awkward-to-use audio products in their houses. The Exogal system is not cheap, you can even say that it is one of the more expensive proposals of that type. But, as I tried to explain, it has clear advantages - see above. Its sound is open, clean and precise, and at the same time very listener-friendly. High output really translates into the unconstrained presentation, so you do not have to be afraid of using even some large loudspeakers. The amplifier's sound resembles one of the tube device, but only with regard to the leading edge of the sound, which is rounded and "polished". Together this creates a presentation so recognizable, it would be easy to make a decision and possibly replace some huge, occupying half of the room setup for something "like" this one :) Ion PowerDAC amplifier is a compact device, measuring 47.6 x 190 x 292 mm and weighing 4 kg. It's a two-box device with the amplifier and a separate 24 V DC power supply. The latter is purchased from an external supplier. It connects to the amplifier with a short cable umbilical terminated with a 4-pin Neutrik XLR plug. The chassis of the amplifier is made of a precision milled aluminum block. On the front there is a single, multi-color LED that using color and flashing indicates the status of the device. On the back there are two pairs of gold-plated speaker connectors, HDMI input for connecting the Comet DAC. The interface between Comet and Ion is called "Exonet." It is a two-way link, and when Ion is connected with Comet the latter in addition to the analog output and headphone one, allows user to use Exonet output. On the rear panel one finds also trigger sockets and USB control connector plus the power inlet. On the bottom manufacturer used an acrylic plate with steel balls that serve as device's feet. The device tends to slide on the wood, so one should consider using some anti-slip elements underneath. The entire interior is occupied by a single PCB divided into two segments - left and right one, or left and right channels. In the middle there is a big DSP chip, probably power supply modulator, and at the front additional, smaller plates, which are elements of the power supply section. Closer to the back there are power transistors - four per channel. It seems that the output is bridged, with LC filters on both branches. The transistors bolted to the upper baffle are MOSFETs. Looking at this circuit it might be hard to believe that this device is capable of delivering such a fantastic performance while not having large heat sinks or power supply transformers. But this is the twenty-first century. Specifications (according to manufacturer) Power output: 100W 8 ohms per channel, 150 watts peak power Minimum load: 2Ω per channel Peak output current: 10 A per channel Frequency range: 5Hz – 22KHz THD: 0.03% THD (@ 1W @ all frequencies into 4 Ω) Output noise: 170 μV VRMS A-weighted 10Hz-20KHz Damping factor: > 30 into 1Ω | >100 into 4Ω Output impedance (@100 Hz): < 0.03 Ω Dynamic range: >105dB (A-weighted) Power consumption: max 800W | typical 50W Power consumption in standby:

nce again I received high-efficiency loudspeakers for a review and again they come from a country of our western neighbors. Looking back at all speakers of that type it seems to me that two European countries are current leaders when it comes to these: one is Germany, and the second - yes – it's Poland. I am sure one could surely name some other examples from various countries of the Old Continent, but just from the top of my head right now I can recall such brands as: the French Ocelia, Czech RD Acoustics, Finnish Existence, the Slovenian Natural Sound. Same exercise for Poland and I immediately come up with much more names: Ardento, hORNS, Acuhorn, Bodnar, JAG, Inaudio, and probably still a few more slipped my mind at the moment. The list of German brands and only those I had a chance to listen to, includes: Bastanis, Avantgarde Acoustic, Cessaro, Acapella, Heco, Klipsch, Voxative, and of course Blumenhofer. I am a fan of this type of speakers so I grab every opportunity to get to know more and more of them. Recently, I tested for you the inexpensive and very good sounding Heco Direkt, and this time I shall review much more expensive model called Genuin FS 3 mk 2 by Thomas Blumenhofer. This German brand caught my attention only in 2015 during the High End Show in Munich. The presentation prepared by the brand for the Show was so interesting that almost all the people that I talked to either at the Show or later, mentioned it as one of several most interesting ones. It's quite a rare case when the same presentation is praised by so many people, especially considering that Blumenhofer is not one of the biggest brands. The conclusion is simple – they managed to prepare something special and obviously their products are worth getting to know them. Blumenhofer Acoustics The Blumenhofer Acoustics was founded in 2006, so it's by no means a new brand. The owner of this company has more than 30 years experience in audio business, although most of that time he was involved in professional audio. His previous company's, Blumenhofer&Schraub, reference list includes theaters, restaurants, clubs and discotheques. After more than 20 years of designing and installing audio systems in such places Thomas Blumenhofer decided it was time to get back to his teenage passion – building loudspeakers for home audio. He founded his own firm named Blumenhofer Acoustics with headquarters situated in a natural park in the south of Germany, not far from Munich. His goal was simple – to design and build high quality and high-efficiency loudspeakers. Why these? I assume that the choice was at least partially influenced by his earlier activity in professional audio, or at least it could suggest some personal preferences. What are the main qualities of such speakers? Unlimited (as far as it's even possible for audio system) dynamics, immediacy, speed and purity of the sound. One way to achieve that is to build a multi-way, huge (usually very expensive) loudspeakers suitable only for very few systems playing in large spaces. Or one can rather choose to build not that big, usually one- or two-way, high-efficiency loudspeakers to achieve a similar performance and our designer took this path. At the top of the Blumenhofer portfolio one finds admittedly huge speakers, I am talking about the Gioia series, but most of his creations are suitable for any "normal" room. FS 3 is the smallest representative of second from the top series Genuin, but even the largest model in the line, FS1, is "only" 116 cm tall and weights barely 60 kg. That's still far (in terms of size) from what many competitors offer. Shortly after the Munich exhibition German brand finally got a distributor in Poland – the Warsaw based Audio System. Until now, I had an opportunity to review one of the models from the lower (than Genuin) series, Tempesta marked with the number "20" for "HiFiChoice". Already this reasonably priced model offered me a very pleasant experience. It may not offer the ultimate refinement, but was a very good match for a low power tube amplifier as well as for powerful solid-state (as well as a hybrid design NuVista 800). As I wrote in my summary: "Even with a rich, warm triode these loudspeakers delivered clean and transparent performance, impressing me with colorful, open and dynamic sound. With more powerful amplifiers they presented their slightly faster and more energetic side keeping the pace even with AC/DC. So it is clear that these are very good all-rounders, although I'd rather match them rather with slightly warm systems than with cold one, as with the latter sound could get too thin and too “cold." Genuin FS 3 mk2 The second version (mk2) of the FS 3 model is a representative of the second from the top series of Blumenhofer loudspeakers Genuin. It is also a two-way design (one of the characteristic features of all Blumenhofers), not particularly big one (less than 1 meter in height and 25 kg in weight), featuring a 10-inch (250 mm – it is one of the differences from the first version which used a 200mm driver) paper woofer and 1-inch Mylar compression tweeter working in the waveguide mounted on a kind of frame on top of the main cabinet. What's more, the tweeter can be moved forward or backward, and a precise (to the millimeter) scale allows you to use the same setting for both of them. The loudspeakers look really good due to the beautiful veneer and original shape of the cabinet. There are no fancy, flashy elements - it is an octagonal, veneered (there are two standard and a lot of special veneers, the latter cost extra) box with a wider, slightly tilted back front panel and a narrower back, set on three solid, adjustable spikes. FS 3 mk2 feature dual speaker jacks that allow user to bi-wire this loudspeaker. Manufacturer provides users with decent jumpers made from a piece of cable that allow them to use a single speaker cable. This is an 8Ω model with a declared efficiency of 92 dB which means almost any amplifier, even low-power tube one, can be used to drive it. Blumenhofer features one additional feature – a jumper that enables impedance linearization circuit. It is recommended for use with tube amplifiers. Of course this is only a recommendation and each user should find the optimal solution that meets his expectations best. To use these jumpers one places them in appropriate sockets located between speaker terminals. BLUMENHOFER ACOUSTICS in “High Fidelity” REVIEW: Blumenhofer Acoustics FUN10 (Polish) - loudspeakers Recordings used for the test (a selection): AC/DC, Live, EPIC E2 90553, LP Alan Silvestri, Predator, soundtrack, Intrada, MAF 7118 , CD/FLAC Arne Domnerus, Antiphone blues, Proprius PRCD 7744, CD/FLAC Cannonball Adderley, Somethin' else, Classic Records BST 1595-45, LP Coleman Hawkins, The Hawk Flies High, Mobile Fidelity MFSL 1-290, LP Isao Suzuki, Blow up, Three Blind Mice B000682FAE, CD FLAC John Coltrane, Blue train, Blue Note TOJJ-6505 (BN-1577), LP John McLaughlin Trio, Que alegria, Verve B00000478E, CD Keith Jarrett, The Koeln Concert, ECM 1064/65 ST, LP Leszek Możdżer, Kaczmarek by Możdżer, Universal Music 273 643-7, CD/FLAC Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington, The Complete Session. Deluxe Edition, Roulette Jazz 7243 5 24547 2 2 (i 3), CD/FLAC Mahler, Symphony no. 1, EMI Classical/ Hi-Q Records, HIQSXR35, Supercuts XRCD24 McCoy Tyner, Solo: Live from San Francisco, Half Note Records B002F3BPSQ, CD/FLAC Michał Wróblewski Trio, City album, Ellite Records, CD/FLAC Miles Davis, Sketches of Spain, Columbia PC8271, LP Mozart, Le nozze di Figaro, dyr. Teodor Currentzis, MusicAeterna Orchestra, Sony Classical B00GK8P1EG, LP Pavarotti, The 50 greatest tracks, Decca 478 5944, CD/FLAC Renaud Garcia-Fons, Oriental bass, Enja B000005CD8, CD/FLAC The Ray Brown Trio, Summer Wind, Concord Jazz CCD-4426, CD/FLAC Japanese issues available at [REKLAMA5] The Blumenhofers just missed the fantastic Air Tight ATM-300 Anniversary amplifier that I just reviewed for HiFiKnights, which is an improved, anniversary version of the Japanese 300B SET, that High Fidelity readers might remember from Wojtek's review (see HERE). So instead I drove them with my modified Art Audio Symphony II with Western Electric 300B tubes, the transistor Audia Flight FLS-4, as well as with the hybrid Musical Fidelity NuVista 600 integrated amplifier. This confirmed the versatility of these speakers – they sounded bit differently driven by each of these amplifiers, but each time I really enjoyed what I heard. Let's start my assessment by saying that these are loudspeakers for both, low-power tube amplifiers and for those who prefer powerful, solid-state beasts; With the latter a common sense in terms of using volume control is highly recommended, but I could say the same describing any speakers. What really matters is the actual quality of performance the amplifier one wants to use with Genuin is able to deliver. I suggest using the best amp you can afford. And don't forget to feed it with signal from a high quality source if you want to hear what these beautiful boxes have to offer. Shortly about one more, very important factor if you want to get the best from Genuin. You need to take proper care about their placement in your room. It will take probably more time and effort than usually but it will definitely pay off. You need to find proper distance from the wall behind them and right toe-in angle, plus you can play with tweeters until you find the optimum setting. Don't worry, when you do you'll know it right away as if it just clicked in the right position. You will notice a large, very large, stable soundstage with big, tangible precisely placed phantom images on it. I started my listening session with these speakers replacing my Ubiq Audio Model One in a setup I'd been listening to for previous two weeks with the remarkable Vermeer Audio TWO (a DAC and preamplifier in one) driving the Audia Flight FLS-4 power amplifier. Do you remember what I wrote at the beginning, that the designer of these speakers for many years worked in professional audio industry? And that probably that's where his passion for highly dynamic, open, direct sound comes from? Genuin FS3 mk2 are a perfect confirmation of this theory. They also prove that the above-described sound, usually associated with the stage audio systems, that are not particularly liked / respected by audiophiles, does not rule out refinement, resolution and saturation of sound that we expect from loudspeakers with an audiophile price tag on them. This combination of features provides a unique performance that wowed so many people during Blumenhofer presentation in Munich. Though it seemed to me that my own Ubiq Audio Model One are in this respect better than most and it is not easy to match, not to mention, beat them in this respect, the FS3 mk2 proved to me that regardless of the music genre, they were able to play it in an even more lively, energetic, fresh way. They did it also at low volume levels, although there is no denying that they like to play loud. Interestingly, this presentation is not driven or winded up with the bass performance which another feature differentiating these speakers from typical stage ones. These boxes will not provide you with a free liver massage, or make your wall vibrate. The bass plays the lead role only if that is the idea behind a recording one listens to. So when I decided to play Marcus Miller his bass was in the spotlight. It was rather fast, tight (which is partly due to his playing style), well differentiated, but not so deep and powerful as it would be playing live. I remember from fantastic Warsaw concert that quite a few times I felt the lowest sounds deep in my belly, but still the most important was the speed and energy Marcus played the music with. These sound qualities were presented by Blumenhofers is a very convincing way and they winded up the whole presentation of this type of recordings, they made it so fast, dynamic, and energizing. The bass is rather tight, punctual, fast but it doesn't go very deep to seismic levels. One gets the impression that these speakers operate mainly in the mid- and upper bass area. Except, when comes a moment when there are some deep, low sounds in the recordings and one realizes that these are very present in the presentation. In other words, Genuins are capable of reproducing even the low bass when it is actually needed, even though most of the time they sound ... less massively, lighter than many other loudspeakers. However, in this case that “lightness” of the sound is, from my point of view, quite desirable. It is not a result of a restricted bass reproduction, except for limitations that come from the size of the woofer and cabinet, but the general easiness, speed, and energy-rich performance combined with the presentation of a higher, beautifully “illuminated” part of the band (I'll get back to that). Hence the recordings of my favorite double bass sounded a bit differently than with Ubiqs. The latter deliver a lot of wood in the sound, while Blumenhofers, in comparison, shift the accent more to the strings. They impressed me with the speed of attack and long, rich decay. It is in the middle stage, sustain, where the soundboard plays key role, thus giving Ubiqs some advantage. Is this really a downside of FS 3 mk2? In my opinion, no, it's not. They distribute accents differently delivering bit faster, more dynamic and at the same time bit less rich sound. This is, however, more of a matter of different interpretation than an actual downside of these great speakers. You can always place these speakers closer to the wall behind them – in my room there was 50-60 cm distance there - or change the distance between bass-reflex port and the floor, which will result in a bit more powerful performance. Except that, in my opinion, the presentation when I did it was less realistic, not so natural, not so unconstrained. Some of this amazing speed is also gone, bass is more powerful but not as tight, and the soundstage not as impressive anymore. These are not huge changes, but clear enough to, without much doubt, choose one of these settings as preferred one. So what we have here is a classic quid pro quo and each user has to choose the option that will best suit his expectation. The sensitivity of these loudspeakers to their positioning in a room proves to be rather an advantage, not a disadvantage, because it gives user more options to adjust the performance to the room and personal needs. I preferred to listen to them placed as described at the beginning, as this positioning delivered most lively, natural sound that also differentiated FS3 from most other loudspeakers. As already mentioned, the dynamics of this presentation is outstanding. This is a lively presentation that energizes listener like a cup of delicious Italian espresso! Just remember that, as with any stimulant, you shouldn't overdo it :). It is easy with FS 3 mk2 to get stuck in one's rock and roll albums collection forgetting about the whole world, housemates and neighbors, because this presentation works like an addictive drug. That's not a mellow presentation that allows you to sit back and relax - limbs involuntarily tap out the rhythm, the head nods and shakes in all directions, and your unlucky (or lucky) neighbors may find out how good a singer are you. And, as already mentioned, with Blumenhofer there is this involuntary tendency to pump up the volume beyond regular listening level. After a few hours of having that much fun common sense told me to slow down, after all I'm not in my 20s (or 30s) anymore. Instead of the next AC/DC, Aerosmith, or Van Halen album I played a purely acoustic album by Rodrigo and Gabriela. In anticipation of the new album, which is to be released soon, I played an older one, 11:11, and already the first track proved clearly that electric current is not at all necessary to rock... The heavy metal past (and probably just heavy-metal souls) these two nice musicians have behind them was exceptionally well audible. This album gave me a chance to appreciate the dynamics not only in macro but also in micro scale and the latter turned out to be as spectacular as the former. The speed and precision of plucked and stroke strings (and soundboxes) were impressive. The proportion between the extremely fast attack phase, a good sustain (better than in the case of double bass, probably because guitars are smaller), and flawless decay (whenever there was any time for these). This performance was based bit more on strings than wood, but this time it came rather from the musicians' style, rather than the Blumenhofer's character. The clarity, transparency and naturalness of the sound, supported by high resolution and the insane level of energy together created one of the best presentations of this album, I happened to hear. I've already mentioned the exceptional spaciousness of this presentation because Genuin FS3 mk2 optimally positioned in a room are capable of offering a truly exceptional performance in this regard. They rendered a large three-dimensional soundstage. It's width was a bit bigger (but not by much) than a distance between speakers. As previously the highly dynamics and energetic performance kept me playing more and more rock 'n roll albums, now, after the first live album, I kept looking for next ones to play. Let me add, that at this stage my 300B SET took the lead as it offered by far most tangible, natural, organic presentation, that couldn't be matched by any other I had at my disposal at the time. Although these are particularly versatile loudspeakers delivering great performance with every, high quality amplification, when it comes to acoustic music, vocals, and especially live albums recorded in small clubs, it is the company of SET that renders best effects. When it comes to this type of loudspeaker it seems safe to assume that midrange is their huge advantage and it is. Though with the SET this part of the band sounded even richer, smoother, it was more colorful, but not colored and which is kind of obvious, amazingly palpable. Interestingly, even with the 300B amplifier the presentation always began on the line connecting speakers, never in front of it. Everything was happening behind it, and yet this feeling of the musicians and singers presence in my room was overwhelming. Blumenhofers were able to present a lot of information including the tiniest details and subtleties. Not just the “musical” but also “non-musical” ones such as audience reactions on live recordings and vast amount of information about the acoustics of the room. Combined with the so many times already emphasized dynamics and energy of this presentation all these elements created a genuine, engaging picture of the events taking place live. There was one more remarkable, key element of the presentation when Genuin were driven by 300B amp. The treble delivered by German speakers is very clean, open and vibrant. When SET adds to this set of features its intrinsic pinch of tenderness and sweetness, the result is nothing short of stunning. We get beautifully lit (but too bright!) presentation which is remarkably fresh and crisp, but you won't find there even a hint of aggressiveness or roughness. Sibilants sound naturally, metal cymbals hit hard with a stick provide deep, but lively sound, the upper tones of brass instruments are very open, with an appropriate dose of sharpness, but of a natural kind, that never bothers listener, never irritates. How resolving, selective and precise these speakers were became even clearer to me when I listened to tracks with drummers using brushes instead of sticks and even in the fastest passages individual brushes never blended into a continuous noise which happens on lesser speakers. In this case the presentation was amazingly colorful, vibrant, open and airy. Summary I am rarely truly impressed with presentations at audio shows. Simply the acoustic conditions there do the presentations no favors and maybe even subconsciously I always feel that what I hear is far from the true potential of presented systems. In the particular case of Blumenhofer there were so many people appreciating it that they simply couldn't all be wrong about it. Well, maybe they could, but apparently they weren't. These are brilliant speakers, though of course not necessarily for everyone (but such speakers that would satisfy everybody never were and never will be made). They deliver fast, dynamic and energetic sound, despite the fact, that bass does not play a leading role. The Genuin FS3 mk2 do not go down to seismic levels. They deliver a coherent, smooth performance emphasizing bass notes only when it's actually needed, but still using a fast, tight, rich, well-differentiated and controlled version of it rather than seemingly more powerful but less controlled, hence less realistic slam that some other speakers use to overwhelm listener. The other band's extreme, treble, is beautifully illuminated, but never too bright, it is smooth, open, full of air and beautifully vibrant. That creates an impression that one can hear more information than on other speakers. Both the bass and treble form a coherent, colorful but not colored whole together with very rich, smooth, palpable and resolving midrange. These are versatile speakers, meaning they will perform great with a 8 W tube SET as well as with several-hundred watts solid-state. There will not be most likely a first choice of heavy metal or hip-hop lovers, but rock fans will appreciate the extremely energetic, fast and dynamic performance. Live recordings sound sensationally well on these loudspeakers, especially acoustic and electric ones recorded in small clubs, where the room acoustics play a big role. Together with particularly natural presentation of vocals and instruments, this ability to show the ambiance, everything that is happening around the musicians, the dynamics between them on the stage, creates an exceptionally convincing and engaging performance. Combination of several unique features – reasonable size, being a great match for any type of (high quality) amplifier and this particularly addictive, energetic performance will mean for many users that they will have finally found their dreamed speakers. Once you have Blumenhofer Genuin FS 3 mk2 you'll be much more likely to replace all other components in your system rather than speakers. The latter may stay with you for many, many years. If you can afford them you should check them out, if you can't better don't listen to them as they are highly addictive. The Blumenhofer Genuin FS3 mk2 is a medium-sized, two-way floorstanding loudspeaker. This is the smallest representative of this, the second from the top, line in German manufacturer's portfolio. It features a down-firing bass-reflex cabinet with a 250 mm woofer with cast basket and a paper cone operating up to 1200 Hz. The octagonal enclosure is made of 18mm thick birch plywood using company's concept of "harmonic construction". Thomas Blumenhofer does not advocate damped enclosures, he developed ways of distribution of excess energy by means of appropriate design. The front, wider baffle is slightly tilted back, the rear, narrower panel is vertical. The sides of the speaker make up a total number of six planes with matched pairs positioned at carefully chosen angles. These are tuned in such a way as to respond to specific frequencies. No parallel baffles (because the front, remember, is tilted back, and so it is not parallel to the rear wall) limit the formation of standing waves, and the whole design developed to control the behavior of the bass chamber. On the main cabinet one finds a horn featuring a 1-inch Mylar compression tweeter. The waveguide is mounted on a metal frame. The latter is attached to the housing using a single screw which allows user to move the horn forwards or backwards. A precise (to the millimeter) scale makes it easy to set both horn at exactly the same distance from the front of the cabinet. On the back panel there is a black panel with robust, dual speaker terminals. Between them there are two more sockets for installation of (included) impedance linearization jumpers. These are useful mostly when speakers are used with tubes amplifiers. Users using single speaker cables don't need to worry – in boxes they will also find a decent jumpers. Each speaker features three extremely robust, adjustable spikes. Specifications (according to manufacturer): Sensitivity: 92dB Impedance: 8Ω Frequency range: 40Hz – 20kHz (± 2dB) Crossover frequency: 1200Hz Dimensions (HxWxD): 990 x 300 x 355mm Weight: 25kg/pc. Polish distributor: AUDIO SYSTEM audiosystem.com.pl [hfgallery] [img mini="foto_testy/1702/blumen/th/05.jpg" big="foto_testy/1702/blumen/05.jpg" src="foto_testy/1702/blumen/05.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1702/blumen/th/06.jpg" big="foto_testy/1702/blumen/06.jpg" src="foto_testy/1702/blumen/06.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1702/blumen/th/07.jpg" big="foto_testy/1702/blumen/07.jpg" src="foto_testy/1702/blumen/07.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1702/blumen/th/08.jpg" big="foto_testy/1702/blumen/08.jpg" src="foto_testy/1702/blumen/08.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1702/blumen/th/09.jpg" big="foto_testy/1702/blumen/09.jpg" src="foto_testy/1702/blumen/09.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [/hfgallery]

hen you name your very first product the „Reference” you're setting the bar really high from the start, especially for yourself as a manufacturer. Usually the name is reserved for the best product that is supposed to be a... well, reference for all other products. So when you start with it you simply must deliver a refined, top-notch performance. The Power Reference One impressed me as such product. It is perfectly made of carefully selected materials (both conductors and plugs), also some wood elements were used placed in the middle of the cable and next to both plugs that absorb unwanted vibrations. The brand name and model name are engraved in these wooden elements, and so is the serial number. The cable quite inflexible. The outer sleeve has a nice, attractive look, different from 99% of cables available on the market. Audio Illuminati is a very young company taking its first steps on the market. Perhaps that is why one can't learn much about the design of their cables from company's materials. So I asked Mr Piotr Kalicki, the owner and designer, for details of his product. PIOTR KALICKI The owner and designer Achieving superior results usually requires, in my opinion, rejecting the generally accepted practices. Only thinking out of the box, without prejudice and assumptions increases a chance of creating something special. This statement can be considered my "credo" as well as a starting point when designing Audio Illuminati products. My name is Peter Kalicki and by education I am an IT security engineer. Practical basic knowledge of transmission I learn already at the university, where special emphasis was placed on the issue of electromagnetic emissions, including the leak of classified information over monitors and scanners, and most of all - the wiring and the power grid. This knowledge and experience gave me a basic technical knowledge and made me aware of the existence of and the impossibility of ignoring things invisible to the naked eye, such as radiation, micro vibration and so on. My professional life turned out completely different, but the knowledge gained on university constantly helps me to realize my passion. In 2007, I bought my first “serious” stereo set and I immediately was absorbed in this incredible adventure, which the world of music and audio equipment for its faithful reproduction is. Over the last 10 years, courtesy of the people close to me, I had free access to the top cables and conditioners made by biggest brands. I analyzed their designs, including conductors, dielectrics, filters (both active and passive), and came to the conclusion that apart from the one known to me firm from Japan, the others only focus on selected aspects of the design, leaving the rest of them to a chance. Observing the market, I can see that manufacturers' awareness is growing, albeit still some important aspects of the design of the cables are apparently ignored, or to lower costs are simply not taken into account. The idea for the new brand was born when I was asked to design a dedicated set of power cables to be used during the Warsaw Audio Video Show 2016 and the forthcoming Axpona show in Chicago (USA) for the Destination Audio whose loudspeakers, by the way, I own and use for testing (however, as one pair of few I own; the others being: Thiel 3.7 and ProAc Response K6). In my opinion there are no perfectly transparent cables, each of them modulates signal in some way, and the only thing left to do for a designer is to try to understand the phenomena occurring in them, and to attempt to master and control them. Audio Illuminati cables' job is to quickly transfer purified energy, which translates into a dynamic, full, juicy, colorful and musical sound. The first product of my company is the power cord Audio Illuminati Power Reference One built based on a custom-made, directional, multi-strand, solid core, copper conductor with a purity of 5N. The cable features three screens, two of which are made of a very dense copper braid and a layer of aluminum foil. The conductor itself is delicately twisted around its own axis. I also decided to use Teflon dielectric. A flax fiber and coat paper layer separating conductors from the screens minimize conductors' vibration. The connectors used for this model are: Wattgate 390 AU Evolution Schuko and IEGO 8085 IEC Gold. This combination was selected as a result of extensive listening tests comparing all currently manufactured connectors made by brands such as: Furutech, Oyaide, IEGO and Wattgate. The cable features also three sleeves made of ash wood that minimize vibration, and also inserts of piezoelectric minerals emitting negative ions. By the end of 2017 another product, a power cord with advanced passive and active filters stabilizing the electromagnetic field in the listening room, will be released. The cable will be dedicated to traditional power distributors. The Power Reference One was compared to three reference cables: Acrolink Mexcel 7N-PC9500, Harmonix X-DC350M2R Improved-Version (Polish) and Acoustic Revive Power Reference Triple-C. I used it for Ancient Audio Lektor AIR V-edition CD Player and Soulution 710 power amplifier. A separate comparison was conducted with the Yayuma ASP 01 sound processor. During each test cables were plugged into Acoustic Revive RTP-4eu Ultimate power distributor connected with electric outlet using 2 m long Acrolink Mexcel 7N-PC9500. Recordings used for the test (a selection): Cantate Domino, dyr. Torsten Nilsson, Oscar Motet Choir, Proprius/JVC Victor Company XRCD 7762, XRCD2 (1976/2003) Franc Schubert, 4 Impromptus D899 & D935, wyk. Maria João Pires, Deutsche Grammophon/Universal Music Japan UCCG-50095, SHM-CD (1997/2011) Paradox, Drifting Feather, Polskie Nagrania „Muza”/Warner Music Poland 9 59035 7, „Polish Jazz | vol. 26”, CD (1971/2016) Rosemary Clooney, Rosemary Clooney sings Ballads, Concord/Stereo Sound SSCDR-007, „Flat Transfer Series”, CD-R (1985/2016) Serge Gainsbourg, Histoire de melody Nelson, Mercury Records/Universal Music France 277 825 3, „Deluxe Edition”, 2 x CD + DVD (1971/2011) Japanese issues available at [REKLAMA5] Every time it surprises me how big are the differences in performance when using different power cables. This element of audio system has been ignored for decades and equated in its importance with a cable to the bedside lamp it waited a long time for being properly recognized. Perhaps it was this long time neglect that finally inspired a growing interest in this subject from both large companies and small manufacturers? It seems that finally there is a chance of performing serious studies and measurements that would clarify at least some of what is happening in loudspeakers - and that a lot happens even the reviewed Audio Illuminati Power Audio Reference One clearly proves. Its sound clearly differs from all three power cables it was compared to (of course I mean the changes it introduces to the sound, but to keep things simple I shall refer to the “sound” of this cable). First, let's look at the tonality. The tonal balance of the Illuminati seems to be shifted up. Although after a longer listening, it turns out that it is not quite so, but I was under impression that the bass did not go so deep as with Acoustic Revive, Harmonix and Acrolink competitors. Let me clear this out right now - this is not true, and actually in this only Acrolink is clearly better than the Polish cable. However, since the “center of gravity” is shifted a bit up, and the bass and lower midrange are not as rich as those of reference cables, for a time it may seem so. The treble in turn is very clear and open. A careful comparison with other cables show that an attack of cymbals, castanets (see - Paradox, Drifting Feather), vibraphone, etc. when played with the Polish cable is very natural. On the one hand, also of a delicate nature. That's good, because with any type of realization it does not introduce annoying coloration and with not so good recordings it does not further “sharpen” the already sharp on the edges treble. I noticed it particularly clearly when comparing Polish cable with the Acoustic Revive – let me add that this is a great cable. The Japanese chord delivers very open sound, but not as clear as what Polish cable delivers. On the other hand, the AR's upper treble compared with the Illuminati's seems to be a little simplified, not as refined, as if above 10 kHz, this cable had a lower resolution. These two features, ie. not so rich lower end and the related emphasis shift to the mid-bass plus the open treble ares largely responsible for the sound of the Polish cable. At least when we're using it in a well-balanced system, in which the Polish cable replaces some Japanese one representing a similar or lower price range. I'm talking about the Japanese cables, because they tend to warm up the sound and only in the most expensive models, whether by Furutech or Acrolink, also Hijiri, the darker sound does not mean less resolving, as it happens with less expensive models. But as I said, the Illuminati does not roll off the bass. The lowest low tones are really low enough but they are not so rich as when delivered by the reference cables, and that's responsible for this bit false impression. It's not an incident but a part of a “bigger picture” - this is a cable that offers proper resolution and selectivity of bass. Compared with it even the Acrolink seemed a bit less differentiating. And so, if our system requires discipline, but one that is not a caricature of correctness, the reviewed cable will push him in that direction, it will allow system to play the double bass, bass, left hand of the piano, kick drum, and so on, presenting them more accurately, with more information regarding both, the details and the placement. What you have to accept with this cable is less acoustics and air n the sound. Illuminati prefers main sounds. And these are not presented closer to the listener, I would say that on the contrary, Polish cable presents them from a distance. And yet they are closer to each other, are more focused. The "halo" around instruments, whether it's a natural acoustics of the room where the recording was made, or an artificial one added at the stage of mastering the recording, is less intense, everything seems to be more direct. Summary Audio Illuminati Power Reference One delivers more precise presentation of all recordings. It opens and disciplines them. It delivers a very nice treble, surprisingly delicate, yet rich in information. It has also a focused, well-differentiated bass. These two elements are above average, regardless of price. As a result of such a great presentation of both range extremes the midrange seems slightly hidden in their shade, because it is just OK. In this respect, the Japanese cables which it was compared to, leave a better impression. The soundstage is withdrawn behind the line connecting the speakers and the sound of instruments and voices are favored rather than their acoustic environment. The whole presentation is so clear, nice and enjoyable. A great debut of a new Polish company - both in terms of performance and build quality!

t was clear from the moment I knew I would receive Kondo OnGaku amplifier for a review that I would also want to listen to it together with my friends from Krakow Sonic Society. These meetings give us not only a chance to meet, talk and listen to some music together but most of all to learn about different approaches to music reproduction. We don't necessarily agree with each of them but we surely learn from them. It also doesn't mean that we all „learn” the same things – each of us differs from the rest and when confronted with audio products we react differently on both, emotional, and rational level. Each of us uses his own experiences as reference what he hears and confronts it with his personal „absolute” sound. This type of devices requires some time to settle in – mostly the output transformers do. Janusz has a complete system and there is no space for any other devices in his rack. So whenever we want to listen to some other components in his place we need to switch it with on of his devices, like in the case of Ayon CD-35, or use a separate rack, like we did with dCs Vivaldi. The latter was the option we used for OnGaku. Audio Center Poland let us use their Naim Audio Fraim rack that gave us multiple configuration options. We placed the Ancient Audio Lektor Grand SE CD Player on a shelf. The Kondo amplifier was to be compared to Ancient Audio Silver Grand Mono. These are both Single Ended Triode low power amps, with highly acclaimed triodes in their output stages and with silver output transformers. They differ with type of output tubes, their number and power these deliver: Ancient Audio uses two 300Bs delivering 2 x 18 W, Kondo features 211 producing 2 x 27 W. We decided to drive both amplifiers from the CD's variable output despite the fact, that Japanese amplifier is an integrated one. We set its volume level to get the same one, as delivered by Ancient Audio. To connect source with amps we used Siltech Triple Crown IC, and between amplifiers and Sonus faber Electa Amator (I) loudspeakers we used Siltech Double Crown cables. As for power, system featured Acrolink Mexcel 7N-PC9500 power cables and Ancient Audio Re-Generator power conditioner. HOW WE LISTENED The method we used for fairly simple as tube amplifiers have their requirements. We listened to Kondo first, then replaced drivers to learn if and how that affected the performance while listening to some recordings we used before and finally we listened to the same set of tracks in the same order on Ancient Audio. Most of the previous 107 CSS Meetings looked quite the same. All participant always occupied the same favorite spot in the room throughout the whole time. It actually meant that one person was sitting in the sweet spot, two others had fairly good, although not as good, spots, and others had to agree for significant compromises. Because it's been going on for years we got used to it and learned to that into consideration when assessing the sound. It's a good thing though to introduce some new elements every now and then so that the meetings would become just a routine. Routine is surely not a good thing for such activity. To be honest until now the level of emotions that are always incited is so high that we don't have to be afraid of a routine, but still some changes are necessary. It was Janusz who inspired me to think about some when he asked each of us to bring one album with him. We always do, but this time it was supposed to be a well thought-through choice instead of “what was handy at the moment” :) I took that idea and added to it another – person who has brought particular recording should sit in the best spot when it is played. Before listening he is supposed to tell the rest something about his choice and suggest what we should look out for in this recording. I think that it worked quite well and I'd like us to continue this new tradition. After each recording the person who brought it commented on what he'd heard and the rest of us added more comments. I decided I wouldn't moderate the meeting nor record it. Instead I asked every one to send me comments via email after they had a chance to think a bit about what they wanted to say and to confront their impression with their own systems. Also, I did not edit whatever I received from participants. SOUND Rysiek B. Stan Getz/Jimmie Rowles, The Peacocks, Columbia/Sony Records SRCS 9186, “Super Bit Mapping” CD (1977/1997) Roku Pańskiego 2017 – Milestones Thanks to many good people, and recently to two Wojteks, Szemis and Pacuła, a moved another step up the high end ladder. The KSS meeting no. 108 was another breakthrough for me. Let me remind you in random order our previous “breakthroughs”: - a head-to-head duel between “small” and “big” loudspeakers Sonus faber Minima Amator vs Guarnieri (Polish), - a session with two-box CD Player Jadis JD1 MK II i JS1 MK III (Polish), - a meeting with Japanese geniuses of Acoustic Revive and Accuphase, - a meeting with cable masters from Siltech. And now in Janusz' audio den we hosted an Emperor of high end audio, the Kondo OnGaku. Comparing this legendary Japanese amplifier with Ancient Audio's Silver Grand Mono seemed to unreasonable due to large price difference, but I was wrong. And yet, even knowing that many will not appreciate what I'm about to share, I will describe it the way I felt it. Both amplifiers deliver performance close to my “ideal sound” and yet are very different from each other. Each of them clearly presented pros and cons of the other one. Here is what I heard during this session; - Silver Grand Mono: absolutely pure, dynamic and tonally rich, - Kondo OnGaku: majestic, well-balanced, holographic, musical and incredibly RICH – beautiful sounding, - Silver Grand Mono: cold, detailed, well-balanced, with wide tonal range, fast and punctual, - Kondo OnGaku: flowing, liquid, warm, slightly pumping up space, pastel and musical. Allow me, please, to dream of the combined advantages of both amplifiers, as that would be my personal Holy Grail. Probably apart from fans of both Wojteks, Pacuła and Szemis, nobody else including both fantastic designers, will read the above. It's a shame as both of them could use it to improve their respective designs, just as another great master, Chopin, did with his works. All of the above mentioned listening sessions confirm my opinion that the high-end combines features of a sound that were present on each of these KSS meetings. The home high-end audio is a coherent combination of what microphones “hear”, sound engineers create in studio and our system is able to play in our room with a live show performed in the best concert hall. In conclusion – it's a real shame that perfect audio components do not exist, but the search for them is so fascinating! Jarek Waszczyszyn ANCIENT AUDIO www.ancient.com.pl Colorado String Quartet, Ethos Percussion Group, Grooving Classics, A Strings & Percussions Fest!,  First Impression Music FIM XR24 044, XRCD24 (2006) First of all, I would like to thank Janusz and both Wojteks for the meeting! There is no denying that Audio Note Kondo Ongaku is a legend, dream and an inspiration. My first tube amplifier Triode was based on Mr Kondo's design. Another amplifier that I made for Janusz featured a silver output transformer to get even closer to the legend. This was the beginning of our cooperation and the entrance into the world of high-end for Ancient Audio. With a hand on my heart, I can corroborate Mr. Wojtek Szemis's words - the cost of the amplifier is the result of the painstaking, time-consuming effort. I know because I make the same way the Silver Grand Mono, and I know what it takes to manually wind a transformer with silver wire. To a large extent, I feel Kondo-San's disciple. Even if a “cursed” one ... So I came to the meeting truly excited. And as it often happens in a real life dreams and memories can not withstand facing reality. Just two days in a row before this meeting I was listening to much cheaper but very dynamic sets. And the first impression after listening Ongaku I was very mediocre. I know Janusz system and Silver Grand Mono very well, even with Sonus faber monitors it delivers a tonally diversified, dynamic and spacial presentation. With the Ongaku tough it sounded monotonously, and chosen recording sounded poorly. I blamed it on a too short accommodation period (I listen to music using different system and my room has different acoustics). The worst thing was that somehow I could not get so ecstatic as some of my colleagues did, seemingly unconditionally. It happened to me a few times before that my hearing was accustomed to certain sonic features (exaggerations) in my previous systems so I had to consider a significant margin for error. Hence, the moment of truth for me was when we switched to Ancient Audio amplifier. My ears proved to be OK. After this flat, little interesting sound of Ongaku I finally got what I'd missed - the dynamics, especially its differentiation, full tonal palette and proper space reproduction, meaning placement of instruments on the stage, the acoustics of the room and so on. When listening to the album Wiktor brought with him, now I heard the sound of cars outside the concert hall. This impression of space was so natural that only stopping playback made me realize what happened. The piano and saxophone on the The Peacocks sounded real, live, not as if they had been recorded 50 years ago. It's the same with Mark Knopfler's guitar. In both cases I felt real emotions. But Ongaku in confrontation with the Silver Grand Mono also showed its strengths. The Japanese amplifier's performance was absolutely smooth. The Silver Grand sometimes presented things too sharply. If I only could add this incredible smoothness to my design! After meeting, we spent a lot of time with Janusz talking because, as usually, emotions were in play for a long time after we turned the system off. It was a special evening. Janusz said during the meeting that if someone offered him Ongaku (without resale possibility!) in exchange for the Silver Grand Mono, he would not take such deal. I fully agree with him. As well as with another of his remarks. The Ongaku was the-state-of-art tube amplifier in the 1970s. It created a canon of uncompromising tube amplifier: directly heated triodes, no feedback loop, tube rectifier, silver wiring and transformers. But for me it was just a starting point for my designs. The Ancient Audio design uses more advanced solutions (especially in the power supply) and components and materials (Teflon in capacitors and transformers, ultra-fast electrolytic capacitors). It's a new age, and a new quality arrived with it. Maybe not everyone likes that, because it shows a naked truth about everything that is recorded on the disc. But it is a goal to which I aspire as a constructor and that's why I admire dCs designers who achieved with their products even bigger realism in music than I did with my Lektor Grand. And something tells me that Hiroyasu Kondo was chasing the same goal. Ongaku is, was and will be a symbol. The younger readers might need some historical background - in the 1970s a supremacy of transistors over tubes was undisputed and so was a primacy of mega-concerns over lone designers. The man who had a courage to oppose this state of affairs was a true giant. Mariusz Verdi Choruses, wyk. Carlo Franci, L'Accademia Di Santa Cecilia, Decca/Lasting Impression Music LIMXR24 018, XRCD24 (1964/2011) First a few words about signal tubes comparison. The essential difference between these presentations was moving the front of the soundstage in the second variant clearly beyond the line of speakers. This way, a listener instead of participating in the spectacle became an observer. Secondly, there was a significant change in the tonal balance: there was less treble which was replaced with an emphasis in upper midrange. As usually in such a case, the sound becomes more substantial giving listener a greater comfort of witnessing an authentic energetic spectacle. This intrusive presentation of a triangle with standard tubes perhaps evokes audiophile emotions, but I had never seen a triangle in front of the orchestra, and so such presentation is definitely not for me. For this meeting I chose the Verdi Choruses album, because it is one of the outstanding Decca releases that I know very well from the first LP release. This is a very complex music, which is especially challenging for a low power tube amplifier based systems. Generally speaking I was disappointed with this presentation considering the quality and price of all system components. I guess not all of them "liked" each other. I could even guess which one was a problem here. Now Kondo vs. AA. AA seemed to have less problem driving SF monitors. It delivered higher and wider soundstage. Many will like that. On the other hand, the sound was brighter. A treble was clearly colored. I was surprised, because I knew the system well and I had never heard it before. I wouldn't accept such a defect not even in a budget system. The only explanation that comes to mind is the smog suspended over Krakow… Since Kondo ensures a greater listening comfort, despite the temptation of a better developed soundstage, I choose Ongaku. However, I wouldn't name it my personal audiophile nirvana. Actually, only when listening to Mark Knopfler's guitar a hint of that musical magic appeared, which may be a reflection of the legend of the Ongaku. Wiciu Mascagni, Cavalleria Rusticana, wyk. Luciano Pavarotti, Decca 414-590-2, CD (1978/1988) 20 years had to pass from April 1973, when I first heard the concert version of Strange Kind of Woman in Sunday's Gaszyński and Witold Pograniczny broadcast, before on October 30th 1993 I finally heard it live in Zabrze. Most likely I heard about Ongaku for the first time in the mid-90s of the last century. I didn't have to wait that long to listen to it for the first time as I did for Deep Purple concert, because the owner of Zena Studio in Krakow, probably in autumn 1997, hosted some listening sessions of - even already back then – legendary amplifier. I remember that the presentation wasn't particularly impressive from my point of view. And again, 20 years had to pass, for me to have another chance to listen to this amplifier, this time in a more friendly environment, during the 108. meeting of the Krakow Sonic Society. Before other participant came, the host played for me three CDs with piano concertos and a symphony by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. My first impression were not overly enthusiastic. I remembered the sound of our host's system well, so good spaciousness, purity and clarity of the presentation delivered by Ongaku did not impress me much. Moreover, especially when listening to the piano concertos (Curzon and Gould on Esoteric releases) the strings tutti seemed too sharp, far more than their natural sound. Thus, when we finally officially started the meeting, I have to admit, I was rather skeptical. It seemed to me that the system highlights the upper midrange which is something I do not like it. It is often regarded as a sign of transparency, clarity of the system and it helps in the creation of spaciousness, but ultimately is make sound “glassy” and unnatural compared to the actual sound of acoustic instruments. My opinion was overturned upside down, when the Ancient Audio CD player played CDs I knew. The first disc of this group was Jimmie Rowles with Stan Getz in the recording, in which the piano sounded very low, natural, without any annoying coloration, while the Getz' tenor sax sounded nothing short of lush. The second recording was a fragment of Mascagni's opera Cavalleria Rusticana. It was an album selected by me. It was presented a little too quietly, but it sounded fantastic. It is a brilliant work of Decca engineers. The recording has a lot of space, but with Ongaku it became almost holographic. The realistic, attracting attention dialogues of female and male chorus plus the wonderful voice of the great Luciano Pavarotti - amazing. The third album, which sounded different than usually was a chorus from Il Trovatore by Verdi, which is often played during our meetings. The orchestra sounded without sharp coloration (also flutes), and my attention was attracted to remarkably clearly sounding triangle, as perhaps I'd never heard it before (interesting). The voices of the choir were balanced, properly sustained and engaging listener in action. And finally the Dire Straits. During the last year I listened to their recordings played on several systems. They sound sharp and unpleasant. This time we played the Six Blade Knife from the band's first album released on the Platinum SHM-CD. Surprisingly, the playback lacked the annoying coloration of the upper band. No sibilance in leader's vocals so irritating in other playbacks. I do not know if ever before, and I have to mention that love this track, I'd realized that Pick Withers used brushes. The brushes massaged drums' membranes and Illsley's bass famously dictated the pulse of this song. The bass was particularly rich, smooth and sparkling. After switching driver tubes in Ongaku its performance changed slightly. Already after two or three re-played discs it became evident that this magic holography disappeared, or at least its charm paled. In contrast, the vocals became more natural, as well as Getz' saxophone. It would take much more time to decide actual hierarchy – whether the first or the second setup was closer to the individual listener's preferences. To summarize – the Kondo Ongaku enchanted me. From the position of a moderate skeptic, after listening to several tracks using two sets of tubes, I could only cry for more!!! This amp has incredible gift of seducing the listener. In the words of Richard S., it is like moving from a beautiful and peaceful hobbits' Shire to astonishing world of Elves. For me, it was like tasting ambrosia. Tempting and alluring. I would like to drink another and another glass of it. I have no idea how this feast would end; either with a crushing hangover or achieving an eternal nirvana. However, I'd be willing to take that risk, if such an opportunity presented itself and I would really love to be left alone with this amplifier and my record collection for a while. Maybe I could learn about it much more than I already do today. For now, however, learning the price of this device simply blew my mind. Tomek Agnes Obel, Citizen Of Glass, PIAS America PIASR905CDX, CD (2016) I must honestly admit that evening with Ongaku for me was one of the most interesting ones I'd ever spent at Janusz'. The realism of the presentation of this amplifier on albums like Filia Praeclara with Divox Antiqua, or Les Ambassadeurs by Sabine Devieilhe Rameau was unprecedented. It offered me a whole new level of experience. In direct comparison with the Ongaku the Ancient Audio was sharp, almost shrilling. Of course, it is an exaggerated version of what I heard, but in this confrontation, considering that we are talking here about the top-high-end devices, such was my impression. All recordings of classical music, vocal, non-amplified (as I call them) instruments, as the saying goes, sounded absolutely fantastic on Kondo. A problem began with the modern sounds, for example, the album I brought with me this evening, the Agnes Obel Citizen Of Glass. Here clearly the Ongaku charm was gone, it was obvious that it was not made for this kind of music, at least with the standard set of tubes. I'd also heard the Dire Straits debut album on Platinum SHM-CD sounding better on other occasion, although the presentation proposed by the Ongaku was very good so I wouldn't reject it right away. To sum it up let me repeat once again that this amplifier was able to present its class in the Janusz' “airtight”, carefully matched system and charmed me greatly which I appreciated particularly considering that I'd never been really interested in SET amplifiers before. Marcin Dire Straits, Dire Straits, Vertigo/Universal Music LLC UICY-40008, Platinum SHM-CD (1978/2013) As "my" song I chose the Six blade knife by Dire Straits. I know this number very well as I've listened to it numerous times on my own system as well as a few times on my colleagues reference sets. So I sat at the sweet spot to have a good listen to the details. I've listened to tracks selected by other participants before, but sitting at the side so now I expected some “cosmetic” effect on the sound. But what I heard from the speakers just crushed me. The softness of the drums, the timbre of the guitar and vocals sounded beautifully. So much color, richness, spacing I'd never heard in any system before. All these elements came nicely together to create a remarkable spectacle. Plus this incredible spacing and imaging with every sound having its place. It was an amazing experience. All aspects of the presentation were a plus except for one, namely this get-up-and-go effect inherent to Dire Straits music somewhat decreased (because I can't say it disappeared completely). At some fragments it sounded somewhat less dynamic, as if they played it more “politely”. But for me it was only a small nuance that was not able to disrupt this phenomenal experience I described above. For me, it was a true musical spectacle. I'd never heard anything like this before. I could spend the rest of my life with Ongaku. It is a pity that a man only has two kidneys :) Bartosz Filia Praeclara, Ensemble Peregrina, Divox CDX-70603, CD (2008) Unlike for (perhaps all) of colleagues from KSS meeting the Ongaku was not such an emotional experience for me. Yes, I was aware of its reputation I knew also the story of his designer's enough to know that here I was meeting on my way a true reference amplifier. But it wasn't enough for me to be overwhelmed even before listening session begun. The session though, turned out to be very important experience for me for two reasons. First of all, because Ongaku is undoubtedly a remarkable amplifier. Its performance is well-thought-out, it squeezes from the accompanying components (source, loudspeakers, cables) everything they got, while the Japanese device seems to deliver the performance as if it was a piece of cake. The sound is very smooth, elegant and refined. The Ongaku is not trying to shock the listener with any particular quality of the sound, instead providing a very consistent presentation. I was even more impressed with the soundstaging. The holography was on the highest level; frankly, I do not remember hearing anything similar in this regard ever. As mentioned above, the meeting with Ongaku was important for me for one more reason. This time a bit more personal. I'm not a particular fan of tubes. The qualities I am looking primarily for are what tubes can not provide: dynamics, energy, aggressiveness. However, I was curious to hear what the crème de la crème of a tube world has to offer in this regard. And although these aspects were presented at high level, as it turns out, some things are just too much for any tube device. A tube amplifier, even the best of the best, is obviously unable to provide as much energy in the sound as high-end transistor competitors (writing these words, I primarily mean the top-high-end Naim Statement). And the great, legendary Ongaku is no exception. At the end I would like to dedicate a few words to the aspect of Japanese integrated amplifier that during the KSS meeting was not (I believe) not discussed. I'm talking about the phenomenal appearance of this device. The Ongaku just looks beautifully, using a lot of aesthetic solutions so beautifully described in a brilliant essay Praise of a Shadow by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki. This is a very "classic" amplifier in its appearance but it takes the “classic” to a level of perfection. Wiktor Krzak HAIKU-AUDIO www.haiku-audio.pl György Ligeti, Lontano, wyk. Wiener Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado, Schott Music Corporation Deutsche Grammophon, CD (1990) The OnGaku is a legendary amplifier. A chance to listen to it is a memorable event that starts long before the button “Play” is pushed for the first time. Just its presence impresses those around it even in the silence when tubes warm up. The first impression, which immediately attracts and dazzles, is this incredible spaciousness. After some time one comes to think whether it is too inflated, if what one hears was really captured in the recording. But maybe it was, but we couldn't hear it before? The second thing that one realizes only after a certain time, but that turns out to be much more important, is the tonality. In this regard, Ongaku does something completely magical and unprecedented by any other device I've ever listened to. Namely, it presents tone and immediacy of the presentation of the original equipment from the 1930s and 1940s, but completing all of their shortcomings. The treble is crisp and vibrant, bass is strong and realistic, and the soundstaging staggering – all these things were unachievable for the old equipment. All these elements are often present in the performance of many good amplifiers, but never in conjunction with the hint of this magical vintage tone. The Ongaku is a time machine, but it doesn't take us back to the days of Stan Getz. It brings him to us, so that we can listen to him playing for us here and now, standing in front of us. This amplifier becomes my reference. Not in regard to its particular internal design, not to its parameters, not even in terms of specific acoustic properties, control, or tonal balance, but in terms of the ability to portrait faithfully the emotions captured in the recording, a sense of the uniqueness of the spectacle, in which listener participates. I believe that Ongaku is not only an amplifier, but a true work of art. Wojciech Szemis SZEMIS AUDIO KONSULTANT www.szemis.pl I would like to sincerely thank everyone in Krakow Sonic Society, and especially to Mr. Wojciech and Mr. Janusz, for inviting me to a very nice evening, I participate in a celebration, or actually, experiencing the phenomenon of living the emotions enchanted in the form of music. However, it was not only the music this Friday evening that was the essence of the meeting, but also the word that were spoken. The limited time only allowed each participant to shortly express his opinion and therefore no unnecessary words were said. Perhaps the breath taking performance and beauty of music was also to blame. It seduced and uplifted us. I do not know whether the credit should go to Lektor CD Player, Ongaku or Electa Amator loudspeakers. No small part was certainly played by cables, too. I admit that I got carried away by the atmosphere of the meeting and now, as I write these words, it seems to me that the most interesting part this meeting was being together and savoring the sound of music. This being together consisted of remarkable personalities of all individual participants. My part was to bring the Kondo On-Gaku amplifier, which is continuously produced from the early 1990s to the present time. This is the first and unique vacuum tube amplifier design featuring output transformers wound with silver wire. However, it not just the use of silver that carries the secret of this amplifier's performance, but also in the manner in which JAPANESE wire is drawn to obtain the molecular structure favorable to the sound and the dielectric used for it. Many designers have tried to copy the idea of ​​silver transformers and simplicity of the Kondo's electrical circuits. We all know the effects of those efforts. All of them always referred results of their work to HOW Kondo-san did it. Why? Because no one was able to do it better. I know six, maybe seven designer of tube amplifiers, who all in their own way measure their achievements with those of Kondo-san, or (even!) try to compete with him. I am very happy about it – his engineering concepts are still an inspiration for many. I fully support them. I am always very interested to learn about their achievements. It is unfortunate that there is only a small number of Kondo amplifier models which limits possibility of such meetings in the future. Although ... each of them is a realization of a separate artistic/engineering vision, offering a different approach to music for every music lover. And that's a lot! Wojciech Pacuła Czyli PODSUMOWANIE Serge Gainsbourg, Histoire de melody Nelson, Mercury Records/Universal Music France 277 825 3, „Deluxe Edition” 2 x CD + DVD (1971/2011) As you can see, the participants were divided into two groups – those for whom the qualities of Ancient Audio amplifier were more important and those who found Kondo unrivaled. This is completely normal situation. We are talking about top-high-end amplifiers. Both featuring tubes but used in different circuits. On this level even small changes compared with the personal "absolute sound" become “crucial”. And whoever believes that the better the audio components the more they are alike is dead wrong. On the surface, this is the case, because the high-end products do not share most problems of cheaper devices, which makes them somewhat “similar”. In fact, however, only after getting rid of these problems the designer's personal beliefs / preferences start to play a key role. These do not concern qualities like treble or bass, that are important but not at this level, but the whole structure of the sound, how is it used to present music. And so despite the fact that both these amplifiers are Single Ended Triodes, despite another fact they both are completely different from the overwhelming majority of today's amplifiers, the differences between them were quite significant and, so to speak, decisive. I agree with Jarek and Bartosz, who pointed to a much better leading edge presentation, dynamics and what Marcin called "get-up-and-go" presented by Ancient Audio. In a direct comparison one can hear that Kondo's band is somewhat narrower – the bass and treble are not as well extended as with AA, and its attack is smoother, as if it were polished. These are the elements that made the disc with a greater signal compression, requiring speed, because that's the only element that can reconstruct the "shape" of sounds, sounded in a more powerful, more vivid way with AA. But it was also immediately clear that Jarek's the amplifier is bright and not that rich. I also wanted to describe its sound as "shrill" sounding, but Tomek beat me to it. This does not mean that it sounds poorly, or even bright. This means that it seemed so compared with Kondo. What is particularly interesting and significant because the Japanese amplifier had to play in a “closed” system, the AA amplifiers were voiced for. It was also clear in this confrontation, that the Polish amplifier was hardly powerful enough to drive Sonus loudspeakers properly – which means my impression was quite opposite to that of Mariusz. I have no idea where this confusion came from. I agree with Wiktor, who off the record said that the Ancient Audio most likely had to work at its maximum output most of the time, meaning probably in a constant overdrive - hence, I assume, the shrillness of the sound some of us noticed. For the first time ever Janusz, who previously defended his speakers, honestly admitted that his loudspeakers were not able to show everything - Kondo forced them to give their best and it was still obvious that Sonus “held back” a lot of music, and they were, I have no doubt about it, the weakest link in this system, with either amplifier. Let me repeat - it was the first time when the limitation of these excellent speakers were so obvious. Even with the dCS system we did not have such observations. Taking all this into account I had no doubt that Kondo and their product is the right proposal for me and it's the one that speaks directly to my musical soul. If its set of qualities included also the fast attack, dynamics and agility, this would be - as Rysiek said – the perfect amplifier. But I wouldn't want it to have the dynamics and attack of the AA but rather of Naim Statement mentioned by Bartosz. I truly respect the Polish amplifier, as well as its designer, Jarek. But for me this comparison proved, however, that when it comes to some qualities such as naturalness, smoothness and holography, the Polish amplifier simply can not match the level of Kondo. And I also learned that, even though a lot of things have changed since the 1970s, much has been improved, but there are still things that Kondo-san's disciples were not able to master as well as the legendary Japanese designer. Therefore, if I only could, I would have stayed with Kondo Ongaku forever. Knowing its weaker sides, being aware of what could be done differently, maybe even in a better way. This would not matter for me, because the music with this phenomenal amplifier is so beautiful that I simply don't care, don't even remember about any shortcomings. But that's just my personal opinion and - it should be clear - one can choose differently, and this other choice will be equally binding as mine. SYSTEM USED DURING THIS SESSION CD Player/preamplifier: Ancient Audio LEKTOR GRAND SE Power amplifier: Ancient Audio SILVER GRAND MONO Power conditioner: Ancient Audio Re-GENERATOR Loudspeakers: Sonus faber ELECTA AMATOR (Polish) Interconnect: Siltech TRIPLE CROWN Speaker cable: Siltech DOUBLE CROWN (bi-wire, 2 x 2,5 m) Power cables (used for all components): Acrolink MEXCEL 7N-PC9500 Rack - Base CD Player – Naim Audio Fraim Anti-vibration accessories and room acoustic treatments: Acoustic Revive Wine: LocusVini.pl + participants I'd like to thank Audio Center Poland and Mr Roman for loaning us the Naim Audio Fraim for this comparison! 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