⌈ SPEC Corporation is a Japanese company founded by Mr. SHIROKAZU YAZAKI, former chief engineer of TEAC and Pioneer, in order to achieve one goal: to provide a tube sound with solid-state amplifiers. The RPA-MG1000 amplifier is its latest and the most expensive product. And it's a Class D one. ⌋ f we were to adopt an evolutionary theory of changes in audio, we would have to assume that we are moving from less advanced to more advanced designs, in fact – that these are getting better and better. However, as we all know, evolution in our world is not linear, often designers return to older solutions, sometimes redeveloping them, to achieve new, better results. It is worth notice, however – that's my opinion at least - that in many respects a real progress has been made in recent years, in a faster and faster pace. Not in every respect, but still. I believe it is not only my opinion - I just finished reading Isaac Markowitz's Why Do Any of This At All in the Stereophile magazine, in which he concludes his observations about the evolution of his own audio system in this way: When it comes to sound reproduction, it seems that we are light years ahead, compared to where we were 20 years ago. One almost feels that the best products simply pick and reject from music all that is not music – like an electric equivalent of Rodin who sees a marble block as a ready sculpture and all the rest just isn't art. Isaac Markowitz, Why Do Any of This At All, „Stereophile” 2019, vol. 42 No. 2, p. 138 But its is just mine, sorry, our opinion, that you may agree with or not. | SPEC and Class D In this approach, I seem to be an ally of the SPEC - a Japanese specialist, known primarily for its amplifiers. We have already written about the company many times, also about the main engineer of SPEC - now retired - Mr. Shirokazu Yazaki (more in My private history of audio and in the Real-Sound Processor RSP-AZ9EX review). This time, however, I am facing a special challenge - this is the company known so far for excellent, expensive amplifiers, has prepared an amplifier costing even more, the RPA-MG1000 – which is one of the most expensive amplifiers on the market. This 60,000 EUR device is nominally a power amplifier, but in fact is an integrated amplifier. We'll come back to that later. The most important fact, apart from the price, is that the SPEC amplifiers operate in class D. In the company materials that I received in May 2013 during the High End Show, when I first met Mr. Shirokazu Yazaki and Mr. Banno Tsutomu - currently the company's chief engineer – I found a meaningful drawing presenting progress: from tube amplifiers, referred to as "the 1st generation", through classic solid-state amplifiers, or "the 2nd generation", up to new amplifiers in the class D, being the 3rd generation of amplifiers in general. And it is not at all that Yazaki-san and Banno-san do not like tubes, in fact they are tube connoisseurs, they design wonderful amplifiers of this type. It is simply that they see the advantages of new technology. In order for them to be utilized and for this to make sense, one should approach the design in the right way and choose the right solutions. For them, the key to achieving top sound from semiconductors is the Class D operation. If we put our prejudices for a moment aside - because there are plenty of poor sounding class D amplifiers - and focus on the basics, maybe it will be easier to understand what I'm going to write about in the “Sound” section. | RPA-MG1000 I think that SPEC's crew have been fascinated by the simplicity of this type of circuits. But simplicity is something that can easily turn into crudeness. That is why so much attention has been devoted even to the tiniest details in the amplifiers of this company, including the latest monoblocks. SHUZOU ISHIMI President We/SPEC corp. established in Jan 2010 have developed various products with particular feeling for "REAL SOUND". 2019 is the year of SPEC brand recognition milestone in the 10th year, that is why we launched this model as a new flagship. We put an end to discussion about the class of amplifiers and finally we were able to launch the RPA-MG1000 which took for a year and a half for the development to offer "REAL SOUND" for a lot of music fans of all over the world. People responsible for this design: Banno TSUTOMU-san (on the right) and Yasuhiro YAMAKAWA-san (on the left). We use plenty of naturally derived resources which is not used any other amplifier manufacturers, and everyone can listen natural musicality without tired of listening. The features of D class amplifiers are high efficiency and low heat generation, high dynamic characteristics, strength against backward electromotive current. To take advantage of these features, a wood base vibrating earth structure is adopted the AUSTRIAN SPRUCE and ITAYA MAPLE from Hokkaido of Japan and walnut wood. We also developed and adopted original capacitor “HIBIKI-ICHI” (joint development with Nichikon). Moreover, for sound quality parts, the RPA-MG-1000 has SOSS circuit technology (Spec Original Sound Snubber; more about „snubber” circuits HERE). The very large capacitor is produced from stacked Ruby Mica of State of Bihar in north India. This capacitor produces high quality and high transparency, purity. On the other hand, you can enjoy listening with SPEC original hermetic seal oil condenser if you like it better. RPA-MG1000 flow chart. We would like to listen to the music long time without listening exhausted, can be listen in a well-balanced even with a small volume and also wanted to deliver a realistic sound that makes you want to hear with a bigger sound. These reason why we launched this RPA-MG1000. Attenuator | The RPA-MG1000 features two line inputs, XLR and RCA. It can operate like a classic power amplifier with an external preamplifier. One chooses this option with a small knob on the back panel and then it is possible to adjust input sensitivity. But these monoblocks were intended to operate as an integrated amplifier. In the company materials I mentioned, a lot of space was devoted to showing that it is better to send a high-amplitude signal to an amplifier and attenuate it just before the output than to send a low amplitude one. Modulator | The heart of every class D amplifier is a circuit that converts an analog signal into a series of pulses that control the output transistors - these can either be fully "open" ("ON") or completely "closed" ("OFF"). Company materials leave no doubt about it: "The performance of a D-class amplifier depends on how manufacturer implements extremely precise PWM switching" (underlining - SPEC). Specially for this role, SPEC developed the IRS2052SM circuit together with the American company International Rectifier. This circuit controls a pair - per channel - of tiny, extremely linear, MOS-FET transistors, which allowed to achieve an output of 300 W at 8 Ω and 600 W at 4 Ω. In their output there is a classic filter composed of hand-wound coils, carefully selected in terms of the sound they offer, as well as capacitors. However, SPEC has its own opinion on capacitors. This is an Class D amplifier, but fully analog. Capacitors | Starting from the very first amplifier and the first filter, Mr. Shirokazu Yazaki bet on two types of capacitors - Arizona Capacitors oil capacitors, modeled on the model known from the 1960s, as well as newer mica capacitors. The latter belong to the MC-DA series and vary in their capacity. Their appearance, however, is similar - they are large, black cuboids. They are made of laminates, which is to reduce the inductance, and the material comes from India, it is the best mica of this type, called "ruby mica". The electrodes are made of sputtered silver. The tested amplifier utilizes both types of capacitors. This is because SPEC gives the user an option to choose the sonic character. For the first time this option was introduced in the REQ-S1EX phono preamplifier from 2013, and with this model this choice was brought to extremes. On a separate PCB, after the output filter, there are two sets of capacitors and resistors. One of them is named "musicality" and the other "neutrality". It is not a tone equalizer, because it does not change the frequency response (bandwidth measurements are identical for both options), but a system that changes character of the sound. One chooses between the two modes using a small switch on the back panel. Power supply | One of the features of almost all Class D amplifiers is a switched mode power supply. It allows manufacturers to reduce the weight and price of the device, and from the technical standpoint it allows to adjust its operation using the amplifier's circuit. Specialist Japanese companies, such as Soul Note and SPEC, decided to take a different approach – they use linear power supplies. SPEC utilizes large R-core transformers - the RPA-MG1000 features a powerful transformer with an output of 800 W per channel. Two separate power supplies work with each of them - one for low-current circuits, this one is regulated, and the other one for output circuits. Both feature oil capacitors, the latter additionally two large electrolytic capacitors. It uses also high power rectifying bridges composed of high-speed Schottky diodes, which minimizes the noise generated during switching. As I said, the tested amplifier has been divided into four units - two of them are amplifiers for the left and right channel, and other two are power supplies, again for each channel separately. Both parts are connected with quite short cables - separate ones for the high-current section and for the low-current, stabilized one. Chassis | SPEC amplifiers look stunning. Their build is extremely sturdy. Their majestic appearance is a result of not only a tasteful design, but also technical goals. It is a fact, that Class D amplifiers generate a lot of high frequency noise and are extremely sensitive to vibrations. SPEC amplifiers, including these under review, feature particularly robust chassis. In this case, it is built of thick, multilayer steel and aluminum sheets. In turn, the bottom and sides are made of wood, the same one that is used for the body of a violin. Each of the four units features three feet, made of various kinds of wood. The whole has been "tuned" - literally - in listening sessions. So it's no wonder that it's very important for sound quality what the amplifiers are placed on. The best option is wood, but used in the high quality racks. The SPEC amplifier has been designed to work directly with the signal source as an integrated amplifier - and so it has been tested. It was placed on two shelves of Finite Elemente Master Reference Pagode Edition rack – the power supplies on the lower level, and the amplifiers on the top level. Since there was no space left for the Ayon Audio CD-35 HF Edition Player, I placed it on a temporary stand, consisting of a stand for the Sonus faber loudspeakers and the Acoustic Revive RAF-48H anti-vibration platform. The amplifiers were powered using the Acoustic Revive Absolute-Power Cords, and were connected with speakers using Siltech Triple Crown cables; During a separate listening session I used Western Electric NOS speaker cables, which Mr. Yamazaki-san once sent me. The Player delivered signal to amplifiers using a balanced Siltech Triple Crown interconnect. However, I very good results were achieved also with the amazing Acrolink Mexcel 8N-A2080III Evo. The SPEC amplifiers were compared to my reference system, i.e. Ayon Audio Spheris III preamplifier and Soulution 710 power amp. I also used my notes and memories from other tests of top amplifiers, such as: Kondo OnGaku, Phasemation MA-1000, AudioPax Maggiore l50 + m50 and Thöress Dual Function Preamplifier + 845 Mono. SPEC in „High Fidelity” REVIEW: SPEC REAL-SOUND PROCESSOR RSP-AZ9EX speaker filter AWARD: BEST PRODUCT 2017 | SPEC RSA-F33EX | integrated amplifier REVIEW: SPEC RSA-F33EX | integrated amplifier REVIEW: SPEC RSP-901EX Real-Sound Processor EDITORIAL | Column: My private history of audio | SHIROKAZU YAZAKI REVIEW: SPEC Designer Audio REQ-S1 EX | phonostage REVIEW: SPEC RSA-V1 | integrated amplifier REVIEW: SPEC RSP-101 | Real-Sound Processor Recordings used for the test (a selec- tion) Andrzej Kurylewicz Quintet, Go Right, Polskie Nagrania „Muza”/Warner Music Poland 4648809, „Polish Jazz | vol. 0”, Master CD-R (1963/2016); Aquavoice, Silence, Zoharum ZOHAR 168-2, Master CD-R (2018); Ariel Ramirez, Misa Criolla, José Carreras, Philips/Lasting Impression Music LIM K2HD 040, K2HD Mastering, „24 Gold Direct-from-Master Edition UDM”, CD-R (1964/2009). Enya, 6 Tracks, WEA Records/Warner-Pioneer Corporation 20P2-2725, CD (1989) J.S. Bach, Sonatas & Partitas vol. 1 BWV 1004-1006, wyk. Isabelle Faust, Harmonia Mundi HMC 902059, CD (2010) Mario Suzuki, Masterpiece II: Touching Folklore Music, Master Music XRCD24-NT021, XRCD24 (2018) Mayo Nakano Piano Trio, MIWAKU, Briphonic BRPN-7007GL, Extreme Hard Glass Master CD-R (2017); Nat ‘King’ Cole, The Nat King Cole Love Songs, Master Tape Audio Lab AAD-245A, „Almost Analogue Digital”, Master CD-R (2015); Rage Against The Machine, Rage Against The Machine, Epic/Audio Fidelity AFZ 244, „Limited Edition | No. 0115”, SACD/CD (1999/2016) Renaissance, Scherezade, Warner Bros. Records/Audio Fidelity AFZ 183, „Limited Edition | No. 0281”, SACD/CD (1975/2014) The Oscar Peterson Trio, We Get Request, Verve/Lasting Impression Music LIM K2HD 032, K2HD Mastering, „24 Gold Direct-from-Master Edition UDM”, Master CD-R (1964/2009) [REKLAMA5] I have to admit to one thing that I "do" probably in all of my tests: I approach each device differently, I treat them differently. It may seem odd, because the basic task of the observer, the researcher - and this is (or should be) what reviewers and critics are - is an unbiased assessment, but in my case reality is different. The different treatment I've mentioned is in my case a different response to what I hear. In all other respects, all subsequent devices are the same for me – just "black boxes" that I must describe, interpret the description and finally evaluate them. Until the first track is played, all products, starting from - say - an amplifier for 1000 zlotys, ending with the top high-end product such as the reviewed SPEC monoblocks, they are all the same for me. However, when I hear the first beats, the first tracks, when a pile of music discs grows around me, I begin to interact with the device and from this moment on I treat it differently. I start to “talk” to it, just like I talk to people I meet. With some, I exchange kind greetings, with some others we joke casually, and with yet another group we only exchange information needed to do some work (action). A dialog | The tested SPEC RPA-MG1000 amplifier, just like the Kondo OnGaku, like the Ayon Audio CD-35 HF Edition, like the Siltech Triple Crown cables and some other audio products that I particularly value, is something (someone) completely different. There are some people who seem so interesting that we want to talk to them, dispute some issues, and often just listen to them. These are people whom we trust, whom we respect. Every now and then, such feedback between us and an audio device happens suddenly, during the meeting, I mean one that was not initially "set" by our expectations. That's what happened with me and the SPEC amplifier - although I knew it would be good, after all I know, respect and admire both the founder of the company, Mr. Yamazaki-san, as well as its chief engineer, Mr. Banno-san, and the whole team, though since I was also aware, that it were very expensive devices, I had concerns whether such pricing wasn't exaggerated, or whether it was style over substance. I will not even try to answer if these amplifiers should cost so much money, because I do not know. Luxury products, including art, are difficult to put a price to and what really counts is how well do they meet our needs and dreams. I will discuss the performance and its influence on me. Naturalness | With the reviewed amplifier I entered the dialog almost immediately, and after a while I mainly listened to it, only every now and then "asking" it some short questions. Because this is a remarkable device. It offers an incredibly refined. performance. And refinement means you can not hear everything right away and that you need to have the right preparation - through listening sessions and concerts - to appreciate it. It is an absolutely natural sound. Natural in such a beautiful way that I only once heard something similar in my room - with the mentioned OnGaku, an icon of tube amplifiers. There is such softness in this sound, such a space, that the listening position disappears, speakers disappear, system disappears - we do not have a feeling that we are dealing with mechanically reproduced music, and simply with music. And that's because the amplifier seems to be dancing to the music, if I may say so. Almost all the other amplifiers I know, except - literally - a few exceptions, sound clumsy in comparison. Even if they seem more "accurate", more "real". And it doesn't matter what music we listen to. Treble | All Master CD-R discs that I have and all I just had to listen to, even if only in short fragments, sounded amazing. Those of you with whom I had the pleasure to compare CDs and Master CD-Rs during the Audio Video Show know, that the latter sound in a more open, much more precise and resolving way, which in lesser quality systems leads to brightness, and with the best ones, creates an impression of warmth - but without smearing, without losing some of the details. The SPEC amplifier conveys this in a remarkable way. Metal cymbals, say, from Polish Jazz discs, sound wonderfully sonorous, while maintaining their weight and density. It was as if I listened to them from hi-res files in the JACEK GAWŁOWSKI mastering studio, as I remembered it. And there is this wonderful vividness, usually associated with vinyl. too. On the one hand, it goes even further in this direction, it's a kind of "simultaneous presence" of analogue master tapes, but with a twist, that is, with the softness that we get only with their vinyl copy. Bass | The amplifier sounds rather lightly and spatially – as I already said. It is the “lightness” of power that knows its capabilities and limitations. Because the bass here is perfectly saturated, beautifully controlled and powerful. I focused on it particularly when listening to the Master CD-R with Aquavoice recordings. I do not know if you remember, but TADEK ŁUCZEJKO, who's the man behind this name, said during the listening session of his material on my system that he did not even realize that there were so many sounds in those recording, that the bass was so well extended. And it goes unbelievably low and is just strong. SPEC handled it perfectly well, after all it is a high power amplifier with a powerful power supply. It was a similar class as with my Soulution 710 amplifier and I am saying it with the seriousness that this fact deserves - it's probably the first such case. The Swiss amplifier goes even a bit deeper down, you can't really complain about it. Also the control it provides is slightly better, but again, the difference is so small, that you can't even use it as Soulutions advantage. Generally, it's the same class. No tube amplifier is able to deliver such performance with large speakers. Vocals | However, the vocals were reproduced better than in my system consisting of the aforementioned power amplifier and the Ayon Audio Spheris III linear preamplifier. Even better, but not by much, they sounded with Kondo OnGaku. All three delivered similar fantastic quality midrange, but - let's be honest - my system would be in third place in this competition. It's all about the way the images are constructed - SPEC builds large phantom images, that are dense and deep. It does not cut them out of the rest of the presentation, it is a remarkable "sticky" sound so to speak, and it draws our attention to them through particular constructions of the soundstage, where the foreground is the most important of it. It was the case, for example, with an excellent copy of the Master CD-R straight from the analog tape of Nat "King" Cole, but "regular" CDs sounded similarly, like Enya's compilation prepared in Japan by Pioneer under the enigmatic title 6 Tracks. It was a real treat! The vocal was stable, in the middle, most important, but without zooming in on it. The whole soundstage was pushed back, far behind the speakers. Besides, not only behind loudspeakers - when I closed my eyes, the sound was even wider, and also came from their sides. But always what was in front of me played a key role. Spacing | Only the best, absolutely best amplifiers, usually tube ones, present sounds in space in such a natural way. Even more accurately, though not so softly, the Ancient Audio Silver Mono amplifiers are able to do it, in an equally soft, but with a bit less momentum it is presented by the Kondo OnGaku, and my system does it in a bit darker and somewhat less spectacular way. To study this respect of the presentation closer, I listened to the Bach's Sonatas & Partitas vol. 1 performed by Isabelle Faust. I reached for it first of all, because I like this CD very much, and secondly - I wanted to prepare for a concert that I'm going to soon. As part of the ICE Classic series, three concerts will take place this year at the ICE Krakow Congress Center. One of them - Sir Simon Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra - is already behind us, and two - Isabelle Faust with Philippe Herreweghe and Orchester des Champs -Elysées (March 17th) and countertenor Philippe Jaroussky together with Ansemble Artaserse (3 July) – are still before us. Anyway, Bach's sonatas and partitas were released by Harmonia Mundi on a Red Book CD – that's the one I have. For years, however, I've been dreaming about the Japanese King Records release. It was released on a single-layer SACD, with both parts of this set. Unfortunately, it is very expensive - if it even appears on eBay, its price is never lower than $ 135 (plus shipment and taxes), and usually stays close to $ 200. For a moment, however, I was able to forget about it. With SPEC amplifiers and the Ayon Audio CD-35 HF Edition player this CD sounded phenomenal. A huge space I was close to, translucent to the sound of Stradivarius violin (the Sleeping Beauty violin from around 1704), which was at the same time far away, in perspective, but also at my fingertips. And that's how this amplifier sounds like with every musical material. And even some heavy tracks, generally requiring lots of power and slam, sounded with SPEC really well, better then with any tube amplifier. Dynamics | Finally, let me shortly talk about dynamics. The huge output of the amplifier would suggest an “avalanche of sound”. However, I have already discussed the bass, so we know that it is not a typical "power amp". The headroom it has is used to convey power, but the power of space, power to be convey quick changes, but within a larger whole. An attack of individual sounds seems slightly rounded, slightly polished and don't ever expect a hard, unambiguous attack. Therefore, it is not an amplifier without flaws, there is no such thing. I does not offer particular selectivity, because its sound reminds that of an analog tape, that does not offer clear layers of the stage, or particularly distinct imaging. These elements appear only on its copies – vinyl, SACD and CD (although SACD is most similar to the tape) releases. Anyway, if you are looking for an amplifier that will clearly outline each instrument - forget about SPEC. The device fantastically differentiates everything except that it does it in a smooth, fluid way. It is not a black and white, flat photo with high contrast, but rather a 3D pastel. Summary The RPA-MG1000 amplifier is one of the few best amplifiers I've heard, regardless of price, design and brand. It is extremely characteristic. This is the sound of tube amplifiers - Kondo OnGaku, Phasemation MA-1000 and others. It sounds warm, dense, creates a huge space, but placed behind speakers. It delivers a powerful, large, refined foreground, but it does not push it in front of the speakers. The sound is intimate, but open and airy. Plus there is this beautiful bass! GOLD Fingerprint! Specifications (according to manufacturer) Nominal output: 300W/4Ω | 150W/8Ω Frequency range: 10 – 30 000Hz (+/- 1dB) THD: 0.02% (1kHz, 80% output) Power amp dimensions (W x H x D): 450 x 170 x 430 mm Power supply dimensions (W x H x D): 450 x 170 x 455 mm Power amp weight: 27 kg Power supply weight: 20 kg [hfgallery] [img mini="foto_testy/1903/spec/th/05.jpg" big="foto_testy/1903/spec/05.jpg" src="foto_testy/1903/spec/05.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1903/spec/th/06.jpg" big="foto_testy/1903/spec/06.jpg" src="foto_testy/1903/spec/06.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1903/spec/th/07.jpg" big="foto_testy/1903/spec/07.jpg" src="foto_testy/1903/spec/07.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1903/spec/th/08.jpg" big="foto_testy/1903/spec/08.jpg" src="foto_testy/1903/spec/08.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1903/spec/th/09.jpg" big="foto_testy/1903/spec/09.jpg" src="foto_testy/1903/spec/09.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1903/spec/th/10.jpg" big="foto_testy/1903/spec/10.jpg" src="foto_testy/1903/spec/10.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1903/spec/th/11.jpg" big="foto_testy/1903/spec/11.jpg" src="foto_testy/1903/spec/11.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1903/spec/th/12.jpg" big="foto_testy/1903/spec/12.jpg" src="foto_testy/1903/spec/12.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1903/spec/th/13.jpg" big="foto_testy/1903/spec/13.jpg" src="foto_testy/1903/spec/13.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1903/spec/th/14.jpg" big="foto_testy/1903/spec/14.jpg" src="foto_testy/1903/spec/14.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1903/spec/th/15.jpg" big="foto_testy/1903/spec/15.jpg" src="foto_testy/1903/spec/15.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1903/spec/th/16.jpg" big="foto_testy/1903/spec/16.jpg" src="foto_testy/1903/spec/16.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1903/spec/th/17.jpg" big="foto_testy/1903/spec/17.jpg" src="foto_testy/1903/spec/17.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1903/spec/th/18.jpg" big="foto_testy/1903/spec/18.jpg" src="foto_testy/1903/spec/18.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1903/spec/th/19.jpg" big="foto_testy/1903/spec/19.jpg" src="foto_testy/1903/spec/19.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [/hfgallery]

⌈ JPLAY is a software music player. It is a specialized software intended to improve quality of sound played from a computer via optimizing several parameters. It replaces default software players implemented in PCs and by many users it is considered to be the best software of this type in the world. The man behind this product is MARCIN OSTAPOWICZ. ⌋ t has been almost eight years since I first met Marcin - I tested the first JPLAY player in September 2011 ( HF | No. 89). I compared it back then with a very good, free Foobar 2000 player and it proved its value - from this moment on it became my "default" player. Eight years in the computer industry, is a very long time. And file players, both software and hardware ones, have undergone an accelerated evolution during this time. Same goes for the JPLAY player. These changes at some point accumulated into something completely new - the JPLAY FEMTO player, that we would like to tell you about. Yes, „we”, because this text is a dialog, a story told by Marcin and me. We split it into three parts. |1| We shall start with a conversation, as I'd like to learn something about this software player and how it differs from the biggest hit of the recent years, Roon. |2| The second one will cover what JPLAY FEMTO really is, how does it differ from original version and what can we expect from it. |3| Last but not least, in the third version we will share with you what we heard while comparing JPLAY FEMTO and Foobar 2000. |1| Part one, CONVERSATION Marcin Ostapowicz visiting „High Fidelity” – February 2019 WOJCIECH PACUŁA: I wanted address you as the owner of JPLAY, but should I perhaps say, the owner of JCAT – which one is it? MARCIN OSTAPOWICZ: JCAT is a brand owned by JPLAY and was created in order to support operation of my software. JCAT is short for: JPLAY Computer Audio Transport. It offers peripherals to improve the quality of sound played from a computer, for example USB cables and network cards – let me remind you that the latter is used by the TRPTK publishing house you wrote about (more HERE). I have recently received their newest release with the JCAT logo on - Martin Van Hees, Remgewoken. When we met for the first time in September 2011… …JCAT wasn't even there yet. Lots has changed since then – for me and for you – both professionally and in our private lives, but you've kept working on perfecting still the same product – your software player. Has the approach to software players changed that much since then? Obviously situation has changed, because first of all the market has changed. Mainly because of streaming services. It seems to me that the sound quality is no longer the most important factor. What counts above all is convenience. Back then, when we met, quality was a priority. But people actually like „PC Audio” because of its convenience.. Yes, but since the storage capacity was limited high-quality sound was not really a possibility back then, but it doesn't mean that people were not interested. But, of course, it was not high-end. Do I understand it correctly – JPLAY was your attempt to introduce high-end sound, right? Yes, exactly. After a few years, streaming services emerged, which took us back, although of course at a much higher level, to the initial situation, when mp3 format reigned. So where do you see a niche for JPLAY? My ambition is to bring thinking about sound quality back to the computer sound, so that it's not only about convenience anymore. Not only on the high-end level, because the new FEMTO also supports streaming, but simply in computer audio intended for audiophiles no matter how expensive is their gear. Has there been any significant changes/improvements considering music files playback since we last met? Sure. It's about knowledge and experience that I constantly gather and that I keep trying to utilize to improve sound quality. So is it still just for geeks? I think that more things today became more of a common knowledge then they were back then. Now a large part of this knowledge are widely accepted facts, you do not need to convince anyone. Today, no reasonable person would question that USB cables affect sound - this is no longer a snake oil. Power supplies in computers - the same. Many companies use advanced, linear power supplies in their servers. And there was a time when engineers thought that a regular switched mode power supply were absolutely sufficient. For them, a computer was not a part of an audio system, it was a common belief among those guys that it had no effect on the sound. And that has changed. Since this has already changed, it should be also easier to understand that a computer program used to play music files also changes the sound. Yes, what was clear for us from the very beginning, now becomes a common knowledge. So what does the JPLAY software do right? After all, anyone can get a free Foobar 2000 - why should I invest in your program? Because it sounds better (laughing). And it sounds better thanks to the extreme optimizations it introduces to the way the computer operates when playing music. And these optimizations lead to better sound quality. The playback process itself, from the moment the files are read from the media, through its decoding, until the audio signal is sent to the D/A converter - each of these stages is maximally optimized. The software also partially improves the behavior of an operating system, but it is primarily about what it does and how it does it. It all does not happen in isolation from the hardware. The effects will differ when software is used on a laptop, from those achieved on a dedicated, high-spec server, which is refined in many areas. What's the difference between JPLAY FEMTO and the original version from 8 years ago? I've learned a lot during that time, many things became clear for me. For example, the capabilities of the operating system were not adapted to send a signal with such low latencies. Because in my experience, one of the key parameters for a file player is the lowest delay in signal transmission while maintaining low usage of hardware resources - thus minimizing distortions. The player became more user-friendly. Back then we had only a JPLAY Mini window, and now you can control it from a tablet, use covers, etc. You can also use Tidal. The playback application is my implementation of UPnP, i.e. it is a "renderer". JPLAY turns a computer into a streamer and server. So what's the difference between JPLAY and probably the most popular audiophile software player today, Roon? In fact, the idea is similar, although Roon features its own graphical interface and is not based on UPnP, but has its own architecture and its own standard, its own concept. Thinking is a bit similar, but Roon is a separate, closed ecosystem. Roon separates the server part from the part responsible for playback - in JPLAY we had it already in 2013 with the JPLAY dual PC mode - one was a server, the other was a player. It was connected via LAN network. Roon adds a visual part to it. Do you believe that JPLAY is better than Roon? When it comes to sound quality, yes, without a shadow of a doubt (laughing). But I am not the only who thinks so - if it wasn't, other companies wouldn't be buying JPLAY licenses for themselves. This is the latest news – the Sound Galleries, a company from Monaco building top music servers, will install my program on their new Extreme model. Both Roon and JPLAY will be available, and the user will be able to choose which one he wants to use. Roon's advantage is that it promoted itself to becoming an industry standard. Yes, it is so for now. The advantage of this program is that it is "fool-proof" - I do not know if I can say that, but that's what it's all about. With JPLAY, there is no graphical interface on the computer, everything operates "underneath", it works like a system service. There is only one window to configure main settings. Can it be customized for particular user? Yes, there are several options one can use for that. First of all, you can adjust the size of a buffer (DAC Link) - this is a basic parameter that is not universal at all. The size of the buffer changes the sound in a substantial way. We have three playback engines for JPLAY and each of them differently caches the data which also changes the sound. It is important that our program, with the default UltraSTREAM engine, does not use data flow and re-sending mechanisms (UDP protocol). And Roon uses TCP, which repeats the data transfer, and this is not beneficial. Re-sending data to preserve their integrity is not good for sound. You need to optimize the code so that the use of re-sending is not necessary. |2| Or what JPLAY FEMTO is Marcin Ostapowicz treats FEMTO as a completely new JPLAY product. It's a complete network player (for audio files) for, as it reads, "the most demanding audiophiles". It consists of JPLAY femtoServer - a media server software compliant with the UPnP standard - and an UpnP audio renderer. JPLAY FEMTO supports almost all popular audio formats, including DSD Native (RAW) and DoP up to DSD256. In combination with any PC, it works the same way as popular music file players from manufacturers such as Linn or Lumïn, with the only difference being that instead of a dedicated hardware platform it utilizes a PC for this purpose. Due to deeply-reaching optimizations, the JPLAY improves the playback quality of files stored locally on the computer – as the previous version did - but those streamed from lossless Tidal and Qobuz services. JPLAY FEMTO provides much better sound quality then all previous versions of the program, while offering also convenience of use via a selected UPnP application installed on a remote device (tablet, smartphone or other computer). The software works as a background service on a Windows computer. Installation and configuration boils down to a few simple steps: 1) You need to download and run JPLAY FEMTO setup file. 2) You need to point to location where you store your music. 3) You need to restart your computer. 4) You need to pen JPLAY Settings and select output device (USB input in your DAC). 5) You need to run UPnP app on your smart device connected to the same network as the computer with JPlay Femto. You have to choose JPLAY FEMTO as a renderer in the UPnP app and JPLAY femtoServer as your music library. Recommended app: Bubble UPnP (Android) Tested apps: Kinsky (Windows, iOS, MacOS),  Glider (iOS),  mConnect  (iOS) Marcin recommends following configuration to get the best sound quality: in the installer, select the version optimized for Intel processors (if you use one in your computer) and select the ‘optimize for Single PC’. In the "JPLAY settings" panel, select "KS: UltraStream, DAC Link" - this is the highest possible value (it depends on the driver for the USB converter you use - drivers enabling lowering the buffer value allow to achieve the maximum value). In the case of a dedicated audio computer, try the "Hibernate" function, which stops most processes in the system and turns off the screen during music playback. Software functions: JPLAY FEMTO UPnP renderer JPLAY femtoServer UPnP media server Lowest buffer value on the market (DAC Link 1000Hz results in a 1ms delay while the minimum value in, for example, foobar2000 is 50ms, which translates into 50x bigger buffer) Supported UPnP control apps: Bubble UPnP (Android), Kinsky (Windows, iOS, Mac), Glider (iOS), mConnect (iOS), MusicLife (iOS), Upplay (Windows) Supported audio formats: FLAC, WAV, DSD DoP, DSD Native (ASIO) 64/128/256, AIFF, ALAC, M4A, MP3, WMA Supported streaming services: TIDAL, Qobuz (including Sublime hi-res) Supported playback methods: Kernel Streaming (KS), WASAPI Event Style, ASIO Special version optimized for Intel CPUs Gapless playback Supported OS: Windows 8 or later (64-bit only)) You can try the player for free – the trial version of the JPLAY FEMTO works for 21 days. The full version including license for two computers costs 149 EUR. Customers who already have one of the previous versions can take advantage of a special offer and purchase the JPLAY FEMTO license in a promotional price of 79 EUR. |3| It's time to listen to JPLAY FEMTO For our listening session we used the "High Fidelity" reference system, that is with the Ayon Audio CD-35 HF Edition player as a digital-to-analog converter, the Ayon Audio Spheris III preamplifier, the Soulution 710 power amplifier and the Harbeth M40.1 speakers. The source of the signal was my old HP Pavilion dv7-6030ew laptop with Windows 10 and files were played from a SSD. The signal was sent via the USB output using the Acoustic Revive USB-5.0PL cable. We listened to individual tracks from different albums - both in PCM and DSD. Most of them were hi-res files, including Master WAV files. Like previously, also this time we first listened to music using Foobar 2000, optimized for my computer, and then we switched to JPLAY FEMTO. WOJCIECH PACUŁA: It's not just some difference, it's a completely different sound, isn't it? MARCIN OSTAPOWICZ: Yes, I believe it is (laughing). Lots of things have changed since 2011, I have not wasted this time. It seems to me, that Foobar sounds more „showy”. And for people who do not have much experience with well-played music it may be more attractive. You're right. Foobar simplifies presentation, so it is easier to accept. There is more power to this presentation, every element seems stronger. It was particularly obvious with the new Led Zeppelin remaster. JPLAY is not about making impression on listener, but about high quality, natural sound. I wanted the sound to be as refined as possible and to sound as "little digital" as possible. It is to sound analogue. Maybe it is a cliché, but that's ultimately what we strive for - the music should sound natural and at the same time as resolving and as transparent as possible in relation to what has been recorded. Have you noticed, that with JPLAY sound seems a bit quieter? But all you need to do is to increase volume by 1 dB and… Exactly, with my player the sound gets deeper. Such quieter presentation does not mean worse, quite the opposite, it's an indicator that the presentation is more resolving. It was very clear with the Aretha Franklin's DSD recording, but even better with the master WAV files from the Polish Jazz series. It sounded really good with Foobar. But comparison with JPLAY quickly proved that with Foobar it actually sounded rather flat – am I right? Yes, you are (laughing). What, in your opinion, has been improved in the new JPLAY? Long story short – to be blunt - everything. The most important thing to me is the refinement of this new sound. It's no longer the coarse sound of Foobar, but it's also better than what the early versions of my program offered. High resolution and its combination with - as I call it - "romanticism" are now simply much better. Music has a "flow", makes more sense, and is not a technical collection of sounds. With Zeppelins it was easy to hear that with JPLAY everything calmed down on one hand, kind of sorted it in time domain, and on the other hand it was clearer. With Foobar it was more subdued, muddier. JPLAY is more vivid and offers better bass control, which was very clear with Aga Zaryan recordings. The double bass is heavily "tuned up" there and JPLAY coped with it better without losing its timbre. When we were listening to this track with Foobar, we both smiled at the same time - there was too much of the bass there. I don't really like to talk about how my product sounds like – it feels like I was trying to push it on potential customers… In my opinion, you do not have anything to be worry about - I think that in the trade press manufacturers and designers don't have enough voice, so to speak. Even if they are in a certain way "biased" by the fact that it is "their" product, they still have a lot to say. We lack more statements from people who really know something . OK, so let me complain a bit - if you had a newer, faster computer, the positive effect would be even bigger, more impressive. The sound was very good, but it can be even better. And having a dedicated computer, would make another significant difference. And we did not even use the hibernation mode, so we did not use the maximum potential of this software. And the buffer was not set to maximum value. So – the hardware, meaning a computer one uses, is equally important. Yes, of course, that's the foundation of a good sound. JPLAY is just a software. As I've said at the beginning, every element of the system plays important role – same as in a classic audio system. The good news is that computer audio will get better and better. We have faster CPUs, RAMs and more and more experience. Changing your computer to a newer one, with a faster processor, you will also improve the sound. Technology improves the sound. Any final words for „High Fidelity” readers? The problem at this moment is the USB connection. But I think it's the ultimate solution for computer audio and we just have to work on improving it. Although we can't forget about the whole path of audio signal with its all elements that have to be of a good quality - starting with the USB port we send the signal out to the DAC – it makes a difference whether it's the default motherboard output, or whether it's a dedicated USB card. It matters how the card is powered, what USB cable we use, and last but not least what USB receiver board is installed in the D/A converter. It is also important what driver we have installed on the computer. And finally – the software player plays its role, in this case: JPLAY FEMTO. So having a dedicated computer makes sense? Of course it does, but only when it is properly optimized. There is still a long way ahead of us, but even what we already know today is enough, to achieve really good results. Thank you. Thank you and see you again! | Summary I've known Marcin for years and I think that he is one of the best specialists when it comes to playing music files from a computer. He is also a man immersed in music. I trust such people. His first JPLAY player was excellent, and the information he shared with me opened my eyes on many issues. Even though many computer specialist thought we were crazy. Today we know that he was right and they were wrong. When Marcin said at the time that even changing the interface language changed the sound, it could be treated as some voodoo. Today we know that it was just about changing the system parameters, which in turn always changes the sound. His latest player, JPLAY FEMTO, was - paradoxically - created in even more difficult conditions. On the one hand, it should have been easier, because no reasonable person, who spent at least half an hour comparing, would claim that different software players sound the same. On the other hand, the expectations for digital audio are incomparably bigger today, and in addition, a strong competition in the form of the entire Roon system has grown. But again - you can compare them yourself and draw your own conclusions. I know one this - with FEMTO using digital music we're again closer to analogue sound. And that's what we search for, right? So congratulations are due to Marcin and his company, but there is still one thing left to do for them – to offer a dedicated device with the JCAT logo to play music files with. I am pretty sure it will come one day. ■

⌈ LS3 / 5a is simply a symbol for many audio fans. And yet it refers to a product that would fit in a student's backpack. These are loudspeakers manufactured under the BBC license, intended for broadcasting studies, which have also conquered our audiophile world. This text will explain their history, why they are so unique and will tell you about their latest incarnation, the only version currently certified by BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION. ⌋ can not name any other audio product that has been available in stores for so long and which would attract such a large crowd of admirers and sometimes even fanatics like the BBC's LS3/5a speakers. Although, when I thought about it, another product of this type came to my mind: the McIntosh Mc275 power amplifier from 1962, today one can still buy it's already 6th version, and that not even counting some special versions prepared for special occasions. If we would slightly bend the rules to this – very short - list we could add Klipshorn Heresy loudspeakers, introduced in 1957. The LS3/5a loudspeakers, however, beat both competitors in terms of the number of sold items (pairs) and fame. From 1975, when they were designed, the number of all LS3/5a speakers sold reached from 60,000 to as many as 100,000 pieces (this number varies depending on the source; the Illustrated History of High-End Audio Volume 1: Loudspeakers edited by Robert Harley cites the latter number). And it wasn't really supposed to be like that. The speakers were designed in the BBC's (British Broadcasting Corporation) research department for professionals, engineers working in mobile sound production studios. Their story began in the late 1960s in the BBC Research Department, which was commissioned by its parent company to develop a small near field monitor. In 1970, engineers had a prototype ready, a 9-ohm LS3/5, utilizing KEF drivers: B110 (A6362) and T27 (A6340), and the BBC FL6/23 crossover. Its development cost a staggering amount of 100,000 British pounds, and only 20 pairs were produced BBC decided that these loudspeakers would be produced under license by selected companies. There were many licensees over the years including: KEF, Spendor, Harbeth, Rogers Audio, Chartwell, Stirling Broadcast, Goodmans, Falcon Acoustics and others. In total, there were eleven of them, but no more then three in a given period. Both these and other companies offered also similar speakers to LS3/5a, or perhaps – products inspired by them. Among them the most important variations were presented by Linn, Harbeth and Chartwell. The one and only true LS3/5a had to be licensed by the BBC, and it was warranted only when a product passed meticulous tests in the BBC's laboratory and measured exactly the same as the original speakers made by KEF. | LS3/5a by Falcon Acoustics Falcon Acoustics | By the end of the previous millennium, the original, carefully stored drivers and licensed models disappeared from the market. All subsequent "LS3/5a" loudspeakers were just similar to the original ones, but they featured new drivers and - of course - they did not have the imprimatur from BBC. And yet in 2014, Falcon Acoustics presented its version of this legendary speaker, surprisingly with the BBC's blessing. And that's because Falcon began producing identical, to those from 1975, drivers the B110 and KEF T27 utilizing the same 15-ohm crossover. Falcon Acoustics Ltd. was founded in 1972 by Malcolm Jones. He is a British engineer employed by Raymond Cooke, the KEF owner, in 1961 for the position of Chief Engineer. He was responsible for the most important speakers, but also - and perhaps above all - for KEF's drivers: B139, B200, B110, T15 and T27. He parted his ways with KEF in 1974, two years after founding his own company. Just before he left, he managed to finalize the development of yet another milestone, not only for KEF, but for the entire industry, the majestic KEF Reference 104 speakers. Though Malcolm Jones was the face of the company, he was actually running it together with his wife Valerie from the very beginning. After retiring in 2006, Valerie Jones became seriously ill and passed away two years later. In 2009, Mr. Malcolm also retired and handed over the helms of his company to Jerry Bloomfield, while remaining in the company as a technical consultant. JERRY BLOOMFIELD Owner Falcon Acoustics A.D. 2018 – Malcolm Jones (on the right) and Jerry Bloomfield (on the left); Mr. Bloomfield holds a LS3/5a prototype in his hands. WOJCIECH PACUŁA: How far back does the story of Falcon Acoustics LS3/5a go? JERRY BLOOMFIELD: The history of the Falcon Acoustics LS3/5a can be followed even further back to the design of the original drive units in 1964/1965 by Malcolm Jones who was then the Chief Designer for KEF and is also the founder of Falcon Acoustics. When have you joined the Falcon Acoustics? I took over Falcon Acoustics from Malcolm Jones in 2009. Malcolm stayed on as Technical Consultant and in 2011 Malcolm Jones re-designed the original B110 and T27 drive units. These are now made again using just the original materials by Falcon Acoustics. The original notebooks used by Malcolm Jones at KEF with all the original test results for the B110 and T27 designs have been used to ensure 100% authenticity and accuracy to the original designs. Falcon Acoustics is one of the biggest drivers' suppliers in UK – are you going to sell also the B110 and T27? These drive units are unique to Falcon, we do not supply them to any other manufacturer. When checking out the crossover I noticed coils with Volt labels… Indeed, the coils used in the LS3/5a crossover are custom made for us based strictly on our specifications by Volt Acoustics. These coils are identical to those that used to be produced in the 1970s. For example for Rogers. The BBC, in turn, used their own coils, also featuring transformer cores. What was your goal, what did you want to achieve with your new/old LS3/5a? Our objective is to produce a 100% authentic LS3/5a, no compromises on crossovers, no compromises on different drive units bought from suppliers, everything is to be exactly as the BBC originally specified and demanded. The Falcon LS3/5a is the only LS3/5a in production that is 100% correct to the original BBC 1976 LS3/5a Specification. It does not differ in any way from the original Specification. These are fragments of a longer interview with Mr. Jerry Bloomfield; the whole interview will be published in May edition of the „High Fidelity” magazine (HF | No. 180). LS3/5a | The Falcon's version of the LS3/5a is - besides small elements, such as speaker terminals - identical to the original. First of all, there are the same drivers – this time produced by Falcon and redesigned by a man who originally developed them for KEF. These are a 19 mm Mylar dome tweeter and a 110mm low-midrange woofer with diaphragm made of material called Bextren. It features also the same cabinet made of birch plywood ("Baltic Birch"). There is also an identical front grill with a material called Tygan, hand-made by one of the British specialists; the grill features, as in the original model, Velcro to fix it to the front of the speaker. And there is a 15-ohm crossover, which is exactly the same as in the original LS3/5a. These are really tiny speakers measuring just 305 x 190 x 165 mm and weighing 5.35 kg a piece. However, they look stunning. Simply astonishing! I felt similar before, with the Chartwell version, but this is yet another step towards perfection. The new speakers differ from the original ones in a few details. First of all, speaker terminals - those used in the new Falcon are solid, rhodium-plated. The resistors and capacitors in the crossover are also different. But the coils are the same - the tested pair featured coils wound on a transformer carcass and made by Volt, which – let me remind you - produced drivers for the LS3/5a made by Chartwell. Another novelty is also a selection of veneers to choose from. Three of them being basic ones: European Cherry, European Walnut and European Elm (each of these finishes costs PLN 11,990 per pair) and three "premium" ones: Rosewood, European Yew, Butt Burr Walnut (PLN 12,490 per pair). Stands | These speakers were intended for listening in the so-called near field, meaning they should be placed 1-1,5 m from the listening position, and for use in small rooms of a mobile studio - hence their designation "LS3", which in BBC vocabulary meant these were speakers for mobile radio and television studios; the "LS5" series were intended for stationary studios. But when audiophiles started to use them, they had to operate in completely different conditions - larger rooms, placed further away from the listener and on the stands, not on the mixing console. Still, in the Falcon's manual, one finds information that the loudspeakers sound best when placed away from walls. One should also use stands of certain height of 600 to 700 mm, depending on how high one sits when listening to them. To get exactly the sound, the company intended, they offers their own stands. These were made of four metal beams with a rectangular cross-section, welded to two countertops. These metal beam are set around the perimeter, so that the front side shows wider side of one of them and a shorter one of another. To properly tune them the company fills them with dry sand of appropriate weight. This is my speculation, but exactly this type of stands of identical (high) class of make and finish are produced by Polish companies - Rogoz Audio and VAP. Who knows, maybe it was one of them who worked with Falcon to make those stands. The stands cost PLN 4490 per pair. Recordings used for the test (a selec- tion) The Art of Fugue by J.S. Bach, wyk. Charles Krigbaum, Red Rose Music RRM 5, SACD (2001) Ariel Ramirez, Misa Criolla, wyk. José Carreras, Philips/Lasting Impression Music LIM K2HD 040, K2HD Mastering, „24 Gold Direct-from-Master Edition UDM”, Master CD-R (1964/2009) Chet Baker, Baker’s Holiday, Verve Records B0003279-16/SUHD 009960, Test Press SACD (1965/2004) Jean-Michel Jarre, Equinoxe Infinity, Sony Music | Columbia 1 90758 76442 9, CD (2018) Johann Sebastian Bach, Sonatas & Partitas, wiol. Henryk Szeryng, Sony Classical/Sony Music Japan SICC 840-1, 2 x CD (1965/2007) Mayo Nakano Piano Trio, MIWAKU, Briphonic BRPN-7007GL, Extreme Hard Glass CD-R (2017); Megadeth, Countdown to Extinction, Capitol/Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, UDCD 765, gold-CD (1992/2006). Pet Shop Boys, PopArt: Pet Shop Boys – The Hits, Parlophone/Toshiba-EMI TOCP-66252-54, 3 x CCD (2003) Peter Gabriel, So, Realworld/Virgin SAPGCD5, SACD/CD (1987/2003) Stan Getz/Joao Gilberto, Getz/Gilberto, Verve/Lasting Impression Music LIM K2HD 036, K2HD Mastering, „24 Gold Direct-from-Master Edition UDM”, Master CD-R (1964/2009) Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio, Midnight Sugar, Three Blind Mice/Impex Records IMP8308, Gold HDCD (1974/2004) [REKLAMA5] Most comments concerning any version of the LS3/5a reflect a thought, that which could be summarized as: these speakers did not get old at all. Unlike – let me add - almost all other speakers from the 1970s. Amen, brothers, amen to that! It turns out that this design is actually a 'monitor', i.e. a speaker intended for monitoring - in other words: controlling - recordings. And as far as reliability is concerned, nothing has changed since then - either you do something right or you do not. The Falcon Acoustics LS3/5a are, next to Chartwell version, the best speakers of this type I have listened to. Even the original, 15-ohm KEF version sound a little “dirtier”, less resolving. The differences are not large, yet modern solutions used to precisely manufacture drivers' membranes and high-quality components in the crossover let us get even closer to the "monitored" signal. And now - we listen to a legend, a large part of British engineering enclosed in a box that would perfectly fit a pair of small size slippers. My Harbeth M40.1 feature a midrange driver chamber that would fit in the whole LS 3/5a speaker in. So they can not be treated like full range speakers, because they were never meant to be ones. It's just that Falcons do not provoke such leniency. Their limitations are clear, undisputed, but these are - so to speak – technical limitations, not musical ones. Their most important advantage, the quality that most loudspeakers' designers dream about, regardless the price point, is communicativeness. What they offer seems to be tailored to suit listener's needs and sensitivity. They do not fight us, they do not try to convince us of anything. They create the world of a recording in front of us in such a way that one can believe in its truthfulness. It is a psychoacoustics' phenomenon that is still not completely understood. These tiny loudspeakers are able to find proper channels to communicate with us, to deliver music to us in a more direct way, as if bypassing some decision centers. I'm exaggerating, it probably is not quite like that, and yet that was exactly my impression. In absolute terms, these speakers are almost completely deprived of lower bass and deliver a “light” form of its medium part. Their performance is almost entirely dominated by the midrange. Listening to them, it will be easy to understand where the so-called "British Sound" came from and why it was so popular. It's just about beautiful timbre and perfect harmonics together with the basic sound forming an internally rich, multidimensional sound - a sound that one easily, really easily, associates with the term "natural". For a very long time, probably to this day, such presentation was associated with perfect reproduction of vocals and "incompatibility" with other types of music. It's not like that, it is not what BBC speakers, regardless of the purpose and size, were about. Falcons prove that they are unbelievably versatile and that their limitations do not limit what music they can play, but only limit their credibility - in the sense of: neutrality - with the transition to lower regions and transition to major orchestral performances. Because they play every music with commitment. Knowing other speakers of this type, knowing what to expect from them, I could automatically reach for one of the crooners and purr along with Falcons using my beautiful vocal. But I actually started with Megadeth Countdown To Extinction, the Mobile Fidelity release, but still. It sounded very good. There was drive, rhythm, great guitars and very good vocals. The presentation lacked some momentum and power, it is probably clear. And yet the structure of this music, its emotional layer, mood - all of that has been conveyed in a very nice way. Looking at these tiny speakers, it's easy to come to the conclusion that they should play in small rooms placed rather close to the place where we sit. Experiments in my large room, at a distance of 2 m, however, produced at least satisfactory results. I liked recordings with a small number of instruments most as in these Falcons sounded like much larger speakers. I truly loved performance of Henryk Szeryng, with which the natural, dark ambiance accompanying his violin was rendered in such a fantastic way as if I listened to much more expensive loudspeakers. Because these speakers offer an outstanding resolution. Within their limitations, they are able to present details every performance, recording and releases as if they did not have any limitations. They are not ruthless, but rather sympathetic with recordings. The best recordings, it's about emotions in them, not necessarily about the technical side, are presented in a truly refined way and they sound deep and dark. Those of lesser quality, such as the heavily compressed Megadeth, or the Pet Shop Boys recording – still sounded nice, enjoyable, with a pulse, an internal fire. I knew right away that it was a completely different presentation to the one I was used to, but without any brightening of the sound, without exposing any problems these recordings had. Because it is, in general, a warm sound. Warm by excellent resolution and coherency. The space was built surprisingly well, for this type of speakers. BBC monitors never really were described as masters of spatial presentation or imaging. And that's because the BBC engineers who developed them never talked about "space", they did not get excited about it, it was created sort of "by the way" while they dealt with other features of the presentation. The Falcon speakers are the first that present this aspect of the sound in such a great way. I think they owe it to the precision their drivers and crossovers are made with. Although the sound does not come forward, the elements out of phase do not create a "bubble" around us, but what is presented behind speakers is large, solid, strong, perfectly combining the instruments and performers. Large images are slightly diminished by these speakers. Like, for example, in Misa Criolla with the beautiful part sang by José Carreras. It was a very special experience, but also the scale of the recording was reduced and limited. Simply because these are just small speakers, period. Summary The Falcon Acoustics LS3/5a speakers are the most beautiful sounding speakers of this type I know. On the one hand, they are versatile, but they are also really "specialized", that is, they will sound best in a small room, placed quite close to a listener. They do not play low bass. But the repertoire they are able to play is very wide, and good recordings of classical music, jazz and vocal music will be conveyed by them with breathtaking realism. They do not have to play with a tube amplifier. They sounded fantastic with the Leben CS-300 (Custom Version), but they showed me what I paid for when buying the Soulution 710 solid-state power amplifier too. With Leben, they will create a pair so pleasant in listening, so unique that no one will pass by it indifferently. These are speakers that prove that top engineering is still - just – that, even fifty years later. ■ Technical specifications (according to manufacturer) Frequency range (+/- 3dB): 70Hz – 20kHz Sensitivity: 83dB (2.83V) Nominal impedance: 15Ω Crossover frequency: 3kHz Dimensions (W x H x D): 304 x 190 x 165 mm Weight: 5.35 kg/pc. [hfgallery] [img mini="foto_testy/1903/falcon/th/05.jpg" big="foto_testy/1903/falcon/05.jpg" src="foto_testy/1903/falcon/05.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1903/falcon/th/06.jpg" big="foto_testy/1903/falcon/06.jpg" src="foto_testy/1903/falcon/06.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1903/falcon/th/07.jpg" big="foto_testy/1903/falcon/07.jpg" src="foto_testy/1903/falcon/07.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1903/falcon/th/08.jpg" big="foto_testy/1903/falcon/08.jpg" src="foto_testy/1903/falcon/08.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1903/falcon/th/09.jpg" big="foto_testy/1903/falcon/09.jpg" src="foto_testy/1903/falcon/09.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1903/falcon/th/10.jpg" big="foto_testy/1903/falcon/10.jpg" src="foto_testy/1903/falcon/10.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1903/falcon/th/11.jpg" big="foto_testy/1903/falcon/11.jpg" src="foto_testy/1903/falcon/11.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1903/falcon/th/12.jpg" big="foto_testy/1903/falcon/12.jpg" src="foto_testy/1903/falcon/12.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1903/falcon/th/13.jpg" big="foto_testy/1903/falcon/13.jpg" src="foto_testy/1903/falcon/13.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [/hfgallery]

⌈ ABSOLUTE is the top series of cables from the Japanese company Acoustic Revive. There are currently three products in it: analog interconnect (RCA and XLR), AC power strip and AC power cord. We test the latter, the Absolute-Power Cord. ⌋ f there was any place where marriage of industry and music could be a normal state of affairs in daily life, it would be Japan. I do not know any other country - maybe accept for Switzerland - where research results and technologies development would be used so often and with such a good effect in products designed to reproduce music. I believe that this is happening for one reason - the Japanese are extremely meticulous and are able to reject prejudices and are not afraid to take a chance. And changing the mindset in the audiophile world is always risky. We receive regularly news coming from the Japanese islands about new solutions, techniques and technologies, originally developed for industry, medicine, defense industry, etc., which, if properly applied, contribute to improving the sound quality. Let me point out to such ideas as a power filter originally developed for a computer mouse with an optical sensor, or an artificial mass, a widespread use of crystalline materials, and work done in Japan on copper suitable for audio cables, and so on. Most of them were initially perceived by the rest of the world as charlatanism, at best as a quirk. With time it turned out that the people from the Japanese Isles were right and that the rest of the world wasn't simply ready for those innovative ideas. Sometimes it takes many years for us to realize that there really is something in such ideas, and that we actually can't live without what them. One of the people particularly active in this field is Mr. Ken Ishiguro, the head and chief designer of Acoustic Revive. I have been using his products For years and I believe that the AR is one of the most important companies of this type. Founded in 1997, from this moment on it has been regularly offering following products, without which it is difficult for me to imagine contemporary audio setups, such as: anti-vibration platforms, Schumann wave generators, demagnetizers, and finally signal and power cables. | ABSOLUTE-POWER CORD In December 2018 I reviewed RTP-4EU Absolute power strip, that replaced in my system the previous version called Ultimate. Simultaneously Acoustic Revive introduced also a new power cord - the Absolute-Power Cord (that's exactly how manufacturer calls it but I shall use a simplified name - „Absolute”). While both power strips look quite similar, the new power cable attracts attention with a metal cylinder placed in the middle of its length. Historically, this type of "boxes" placed on cables have been known in audio for years. These are usually passive filters for correcting the amount of high frequency noise, sometimes for phase correction. The new Ishiguro-san's cable is different. Its design is based on the well-known Power Reference Triple-C, but with some changes and tuning. It features solid-core copper conductors with an oval shape (2.8 x 2.4 mm), created in a forging process similar to one of making swords - its surface is repeatedly hit, which changes its crystal structure. Hence the name: Triple-C. Silk tubes are used as a dielectric. According to Mr. Ishiguro, these are produced by one of the best Japanese companies, that also cooperates with the Paris Fashion Week (Paris Fashion Week). The shielding is provided by a flexible copper tube insulated with a Teflon tube, developed jointly by one of the industrial manufacturers and Acoustic Revive. The new model utilizes the same Furutech NFC plugs as the less expensive model. Same connectors are used also by Siltech in their power cables and some other brands. In the tested cable, however, inside there are discs made of a rhinestone, placed over each of the three wires both on the IEC plug, as well as Schuko's end. They are used to reduce noise and vibrations. The already mentioned aluminum cylinder, is also a completely new element. It is not fixed and can be moved along the cable, which means it is not electrically connected to the cable. KEN ISHIGURO Owner, designer For the Absolute-Power Cord we used a technology called „Dagawa method MD” (Mag-Noise Supressor). A tunnel-like structure unit in which a plurality of special shaped magnets are alternately combined, then this unit is covered with a blend of natural ore particles. By passing the power line through No-magnetic tunnel, the current energy is amplified, and only the noise component is absorbed and extinguished by heat conversion. This is a very new and epoch-making system. Degawa method MD unit absorbs all kind of noise (a high-frequency noise, low frequency noise and noise in audio band) on the power line and on the earth line as well. At a same time, it demonstrates the booster effect that improves the supply capability of power source energy, and realized a sense of silence and energy that could not be achieved anyone else. The module using "Degawa method MD" is a magnetic suppressor of thermal noise. The phenomenon of thermal noise is commonly known as Johnson-Nyquist noise. It was discovered and measured by John B. Johnson at Bell Labs in 1926, and was described by his classmate, Harry Nyquist; their names were used while naming the phenomenon. Thermal noise is caused by the chaotic collision of electrons and is a function of resistance and temperature during the flow of current through the conductor in an electrical system. This noise has been a research object for years. Under laboratory conditions, much attention is devoted to reducing them and thereby to improve the precision of the measurement systems. One of the solutions is "Degawa method MD". As Ishiguro-san says, it is patent pending in Japan. During the test I compared the Absolute-Power Cord with three other cables that I use in the "High Fidelity" reference system and I used it in three different applications: |1| First, I compared it with my reference cable at the time, the Acoustic Revive Power Reference Triple-C; I use this cable with Soulution 710 power amplifier. |2| Secondly, I compared it with Siltech Triple Crown; I use this cable with my Ayon Audio CD-35 HF Edition Player. |3| Thirdly, the 2,5 meters long Absolute-Power Cord I compared with the 2,5m Acrolink Mexcel 7N-PC9500, that connects Furutech's wall outlet with power strip's inlet. Finally, I listened to the full Acoustic Revive power system, which I simply named Absolute Power System that consisted of: the Absolute Power Cord (2.5 m) → RTP-4EU Absolute power strip → Absolute Power Cord (2 m, for preamplifier and power amplifier) + the RPC-1 plugged into the strip + anti-vibration platform RST-38H + RAS-14 Triple-C filters on all Acoustic Revive cables. I placed a crystal signed by Mr. Ishiguro on top of the power strip – he uses the same crystals in power systems in his own home. ACOUSTIC REVIVE in „High Fidelity” AWARD | STATEMENT AWARD 2018: Acoustic Revive RTP-4EU ABSOLUTE | power strip AC REVIEW: Acoustic Revive RTP-4EU ABSOLUTE | power strip AC REVIEW: Acoustic Revive RCA-1.0 ABSOLUTE-FM | analogue interconnect REVIEW: Acoustic Revive RAS-14 TRIPLE-C | RPC-1 - passive power filters AWARD | BEST SOUND 2016: Acoustic Revive RCA-1.0 Triple C-FM (1.8x1.4) | POWER REFERENCE Triple-C - interconnect + power cable REVIEW: Acoustic Revive RCA-1.0 Triple C-FM (1.8x1.4) | POWER REFERENCE Triple-C - interconnect + power cable REVIEW: Acoustic Revive RCA-1.5TRIPLE C-FM + SPC-2.5TRIPLE C-FM - interconnect + speaker cable, see HERE INTERVIEW: Ken Ishiguro – owner, designer, see HERE REVIEW: Acoustic Revive – anti-vibration system, see HERE | GOLD Fingerprint Award KRAKOW SONIC SOCIETY, meeting #76: Acoustic Revive – anti-vibration and isolation accessories, system, see HERE REVIEW: Acoustic Revive RTP-4eu ULTIMATE + POWER REFERENCE - power strip + AC power cord, see HERE REVIEW: Acoustic Revive USB-1.0SP/USB-5.0PL – USB cable, see HERE REVIEW: Acoustic Revive RST-38 i RAF-48 – isolation boards, see HERE (Polish) REVIEW: Acoustic Revive Disc Demagnetizer RD-3, Grounding Conditioner RGC-24, see HERE (Polish) REVIEW: Acoustic Revive DSIX/1.0 - 75 Ω digital cable, see HERE Recordings used for the test (a selec- tion) Puer natus est, wyk. Stile Antico, Harmonia Mundi USA HMU 807817, SACD/CD (2010) Aquavoice, Silence, Zoharum ZOHAR 168-2, Master CD-R (2018); Chet Baker, Baker’s Holiday, Verve Records B0003279-16/SUHD 009960, Test Press SACD (1965/2004) Mateusz Franczak, Night-Night, Too Many Fireworks Records 2mf027, Master CD-R (2018) Nat ‘King’ Cole, The Nat King Cole Love Songs, Master Tape Audio Lab AAD-245A, „Almost Analogue Digital”, Master CD-R (2015); Rosemary Clooney, Rosemary Clooney Sings Ballads, Concord/Stereo Sound SSCDR-007, „Flat Transfer Series”, Master CD-R (1985/2016) Stan Getz/Joao Gilberto, Getz/Gilberto, Verve/Lasting Impression Music LIM K2HD 036, K2HD Mastering, „24 Gold Direct-from-Master Edition UDM”, Master CD-R (1964/2009) Suzanne Vega, Close-Up. Vol.1, Love Songs, Amanuensis Productions | Cooking Vinyl COCKCD521, CD [REKLAMA5] |1| Absolute-Power Cord vs Power Reference Triple-C The description you could read in the first part of this test shows that the technical differences between the two top Acoustic Revive power cables are not overwhelming. Apart from the cylinder placed on the cable, which however is not electrically connected in any way the cable, that features no ferrite rings, but only magnets that lift each other's magnetic fields, these are almost the same cables. But the differences in performance... If I could suggest something to you, as a piece of general advice, never reject something that you do not understand just because you can't comprehend it. Even more so, when it comes to the Japanese and their ideas for audio. The differences between these cables are essential. And at the same time their sound character is almost identical. The basic power cable, the Power Reference Triple-C, is excellent, it's - in my opinion - the first power cable from this company that offers the same level of performance as the best cables available on the market. And yet ... There are too many three-dots, I know and I'm sorry for that. However, I wanted you to think about it for a moment - and that's the purpose of using this punctuation mark, it mainly suggests something unsaid. What is not said here is everything that is most important in audio and what the Absolute cables brings to the table. At first it is a bit confusing - the sound seems louder with it, and by a lot. I've never heard anything like this before. In a moment however, it turns out that in fact everything is a bit quieter and we can, without hesitation, increase the volume, "pump up" the sound without feeling of any fatigue or irritation. The initial impression is correct, as in a way it is a far-reaching sound, but the second impression is also true, because everything is a bit quieter. What I have called the "far-reaching" is a result, as it seems to me, of a higher energy of the sound that I got with the Absolute. The presentation is more vigorous with it, if I can say so, it is more multidimensional, just more resolving. When more things happen in the sound, it seems to be louder. And that's exactly what will happen every time you switch to the Absolute from the Power Reference or almost any other cable. But its higher resolution and better differentiation make the sound deeper, more natural. This in turn means that the sound is less direct, less obtrusive. And yet the Power Reference is definitely not obtrusive, it is - I would even say – a smooth and warm sounding cable. It does, however, seem more direct when compared with the Absolute. The new Acoustic Revive cable presents an incredibly vivid and deep sound and beautiful imaging. It seems unusually soft, but when needed, that is when it is s in the recording, it is able to deliver a very fast punch. The softness comes simply from resolution and the fact that nothing is overdone. It's still a bit warm sounding cable, with slightly emphasized midrange. But it is also extremely open and dynamic. |2| Absolute-Power Cord vs Siltech Triple Crown Siltech Triple Crown is, in my opinion, the best power cable available on the market. If there is an even better one - I am still to hear it. That is why I was curious how the latest cable from Mr. Ishiguro-san, which - let me remind you – costs half as much, fares against the best of the best. In such an extreme level comparison, the Acoustic Revive cable confirmed everything that I heard before, but I could also hear more of what it introduced to the sound itself. This is a cable that focuses listener's attention in the middle part of the band to a greater extent than Siltech. The latter delivers well extended band's extremes – both bass and treble. The AR withdraws foreground and shifts the entire presentation back. While Siltech presents saturated, juicy vocals, the Japanese cable changes the perspective as if we were not sitting anymore in a small club, but rather in a large room, in the fifth, maybe sixth row Such a change in perspective creates a possibility to shape the system's character in a different way. It's not about it being better or worse, but about it being just different. Yes, the Siltech is more resolving, slightly softer in the middle of the band, but surely these are not as big differences as the price difference would suggest. It's really similar presentation, punchy, slightly soft (naturally soft) in the bass, but in the case of Acoustic Revive a bit harder in the upper midrange. The Japanese cable greatly differentiates recordings and releases, without focusing too much on the technical side of the music we listen to. It is full-blooded, impressive sound. |3| Absolute-Power Cord + RTP-4EU Absolute All the advantages and disadvantages – after all every product made by man is imperfect – of the Ishiguro-san's new cable were also clear when it was used to power the entire system replacing the Acrolink Mexcel 7N-PC9500. Once again, I listened carefully to the selected recordings, and with a lot of certainty I can say that these are two high-class, excellent cables with a very similar way of “voicing” the sound. They have common features, but they are not the same. Therefore, what seems more important to me is what is what makes them different. The Acoustic Revive cable shapes the tonality differently and it is probably the most important difference. Although it sounds low, full, with a delicate top, only now I could hear that Acrolink delivers even lower, even warmer sound. It saturates the colors and tunes them up. In such a comparison one can also hear clearly that it is a slight transition to the warm side of power, but also that the Acoustic Revive sounds in a more open and detailed way. The resolution of both is similar, but this shift of the accent changes the perspective from which we observe the music. With the Acoustic Revive the presentation is even more exciting and seems faster. This is not the case, and yet the emphasis on the attack, slightly larger than in Acrolink, evokes such an impression. The Absolute cable is also more open at the top of the band, there is no doubt about it. It is still smooth and delicate, but there i simply more of everything there. Acrolink in turn, shifts the tonal balance down, it delivers a more weighted bass and lower midrange. This brings the foreground closer to the listener - not by much, but the change is noticeable. We get a larger volume of sounds with it - if something is closer, it seems bigger. Also, the space seems to be bigger with it, again due to a larger presence of the bass in the sound. And the bass is even better extended. A system with the Acoustic Revive as the main power cable is very resolving, open, transparent and dynamic. But it is also silky smooth and vivid. It is not a cable that would harden the attack or add more contour to the sound. It is rather about combining individual elements of the presentation, about the best transition between them. The background here is absolutely black and only two other cables do it equally well – the Acrolink in question and Siltech Triple Crown. It's density and velvetness in one. ABSOLUTE POWER SYSTEM The Absolute-Power Cord is the last element of the top Acoustic Revive power system. The first two were filters: RAS-14 Triple-C , a linear filter, a kind of "switch" between the powered device and the power cable, and the RPC-1, a parallel filter, that is plugged into the power strip next to the power devices. The second element is the RTP-4EU Absolute. The third, and last one, is the reviewed cable. This system is completed with the RST-38H anti-vibration platform, that the strip and the RPC filter are placed on and the RCI-3H cable supports. That's the system I put together at home, and the icing on the cake was a beautiful crystal ball, with a wooden, lacquered stand, signed by Mr. Ishiguro, that I was to place on the power strip. This is one of the two ultimate power systems I know, along with the Shunyata Research system with the Triton v3 power conditioner. The Japanese system delivers a remarkably resolving, incredibly dynamic and open, sound, while remaining - it's a feature of top products - on the dark side of "power." It flawlessly reproduces low tones and fantastically pictures vocals, with warm, thick timbre. Its upper treble is slightly withdrawn, but it is not rounded. The system sounds a bit soft, although it's more of a natural softness than artificial softening. Differentiation is excellent with it. It is energetic and dynamic, though still on the silky side. It's is a beautiful, wonderful sound, perfectly matching my vision of sound, one that in my opinion is the best. Hence the GOLD Fingerprint award for the whole system - this is one of the best ways to power a high-end audio system - not the only one, but one of very few. Summary The Absolute-Power Cord is the best Ishiguro-san's product so far. On the one hand, it is open and clean and on the other hand it is slightly soft and silky. It delivers a strong top and bottom, though not as spectacular as the Siltech Triple Crown does. It presents the foreground a bit further away from the listener compared to Siltech and Acrolink, it also has a more distinct upper midrange - it's just a bit different. However, it is still one of the leading power cables and a beautiful testimony of the audiophile ethos associated with a faith in what one can hear, in spite of all techno idiots, with top technological solutions confirmed by "hard" data in the form of measurements, in spite of other idiots, this time those from the world of perfectionist audio. Acoustic Revive is one of those companies that made this type of cooperation the basis of its work, which makes it a role model for other companies, same as the aforementioned Siltech and Acrolink. The ABSOLUTE system is simply remarkable period. ■ [hfgallery] [img mini="foto_testy/1903/acoustic/th/05.jpg" big="foto_testy/1903/acoustic/05.jpg" src="foto_testy/1903/acoustic/05.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1903/acoustic/th/06.jpg" big="foto_testy/1903/acoustic/06.jpg" src="foto_testy/1903/acoustic/06.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1903/acoustic/th/07.jpg" big="foto_testy/1903/acoustic/07.jpg" src="foto_testy/1903/acoustic/07.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1903/acoustic/th/08.jpg" big="foto_testy/1903/acoustic/08.jpg" src="foto_testy/1903/acoustic/08.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1903/acoustic/th/09.jpg" big="foto_testy/1903/acoustic/09.jpg" src="foto_testy/1903/acoustic/09.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [/hfgallery]

⌈ KARL-HEINZ FINK is now the owner of two companies: Fink Audio-Consulting and FinkTeam. The former deals with commissions from external companies, designing loudspeaker columns for them. The latter has been created to present Mr Fink’s top-of-the-range designs to the world, under his own brand name. We talked to Karl-Heinz Fink in mid February at the seat of “High Fidelity”, on the occasion of testing his latest loudspeaker columns – the BORG model. ⌋ I think that what Mr Karl-Heinz Fink first said to me, having asked for tea and sitting down after we hugged and greeted each other, was: “We have a common friend – Dirk”. He was talking about Dirk Sommer, the editor-in-chief of the hifistatement.net magazine that we have been collaborating with, a member of the Krakow Sonic Society and sound engineer, mastering specialist and owner of a vinyl record label (more HERE and HERE). It turned out that the owner of Fink Audio-Consulting used to write for hifistatement.net, as well as produced, together with Dirk, an album containing a recording of Hans Theessink’s concert entitled Live at Jazzland (Sommelier Du Son sds 0016-1, 180 g LP, 2014). The cover of “High Fidelity”, December 2014 (HF | No. 128) with a photo of Hans Theesink taken during a concert at the Audio Show 2014 exhibition The memory triggered off a whole bunch of associations – in 2014, Hans Theessink visited “High Fidelity” and gave a fantastic concert during the Audio Show 2014 exhibition. Another common friend of ours, Matthieau Lattour, the CEO of the Nagra company, also released his album with Dirk – it was a “live” recording, this time one of Leon Russel from the Montreaux Jazz Festival in 2011. Naturally, the concert was recorded on the Nagra T tape recorder (Edel: Content 0208394CTT, “Triple A Series”, 180 g LP, 2013; a coverage of the visit at the seat of the Nagra company can be found HERE). It demonstrates that, in the audio world, people with similar tastes, beliefs, sensitivity, etc. join together to form different constellations, a bit like crews forming jazz bands, often for the purpose of recording one album only. You may have already noticed that Mr Karl-Heiz is a versatile person with a lot of interests. On the one hand, he knows Dirk through his birthplace – Bohum and, on the other hand, thanks to the fact that he used to write for German audio magazines, mainly for “Stereo”. When he was a teenager, he constructed loudspeakers and sold some of them to his acquaintances. Untypically for a German person, his point of reference were British constructions, including ones manufactured by the Harbeth company. But, as he adds, his mentor was Ted Jordan, the owner of the ALR/Jordan company, i.e. a German firm (one from Essen – the city where the seat of the Fink Audio-Consulting company is located). Quite early, he started working as a consultant. It is a profession known in every field, including the audio domain. A large company hires someone to carry out a single project which it then sells under its own name. The name of such a consultant is usually given (see the fashion industry) but equally often nothing is said about him or her. As it seems, the aim is for the company not to tarnish its image. It is assumed in specialized fields that the manufacturer is also the originator and that they actually carry out the project. If they need some outside help, it means that they are “not coping well”. The Naim Ovator S800 – one of the constructions made by people from Fink Audio Consulting Reality is a bit more complex. That is why Mr Karl-Heinz Fink and his Fink Audio-Consulting company are one of the most (un)known chapters in the history of audio. It is because the designs of many important series of loudspeaker columns, mainly for British, German and Japanese companies, come from Essen. Among others, firms such as Tannoy, Yamaha, Q Acoustics, Boston Acoustics, Castle, Denon and Marantz have used the company’s services. One of the constructors that it employs is Mr Lampos Ferekidis, who once worked on the NXT project and whose experience proved valuable for the Ovator S-800 project (with an NXT panel) for the Naim company and, right afterwards, for the car-audio system for Bentley cars (by Naim). In 2016, Mr Karl-Heinz came out of the shadow, offering the enormous WM-3 loudspeakers. Their design included everything that the FinkTeam company, established for the purpose, had to offer. These were enormous, three-way, four-driver loudspeakers. The midrange/tweeter section had the form of D’Appolito arrangement, i.e. there were two midrange drivers on both sides of the tweeter. Below, there was an enormous 15-inch woofer. The FinkTeam WM-4 loudspeakers during the High End 2017 exhibition in Munich All of these drivers were very characteristic. The tweeter was an AMT driver based on Dr Oscar Heil’s patent. The midrange drivers had characteristic flat membranes – these were FMWD (Flat Membrane Wide Dispersion) drivers based on the NXT technology. The woofer resembled units used in Pro (stage) loudspeakers – it had a paper membrane, textile surround and concentric “circles”. A year later, during the High End 2017 exhibition in Munich, their development version, the WM-4 model was presented. We saw something equally exciting then – Mr Fink’s latest design, the Borg model. This loudspeaker is to include distilled WM-4 solutions in a much smaller form and at a more affordable price. The presentation attracted a lot of interest from the press and visitors. It was repeated during the Audio Video Show 2018 exhibition in Warsaw and it attracted the crème de la crème of the European (and not only European) audio press. There was everyone who has any significant importance in this world. The loudspeakers, with Thrax Audio electronics and the Kuzma Stabi R turntable delivered simply excellent sound. Let us add that it was also largely thanks to wonderful setup done by the RCM company– Mr Karl-Heinz couldn’t praise it enough. A natural consequence of such wonderful performance was the Best Sound • Audio Video Show 2018 award given by our magazine. The FinkTeam BORG loudspeakers during the Audio Video Show 2018 exhibition The loudspeakers sounded very much like what I hear every day in my reference system. So, right after the exhibition, Mr Roger Adamek (the company’s distributor for Poland) and I arranged for their test that you will find in this issue of “High Fidelity” (HF | No. 178). In order to make everything go the way it should, we invited their constructor to Cracow. Making use of this opportunity, I asked him about a few things connected with the design of the Borg loudspeakers. You will find the interview below. KARL-HEINZ FINK is interviewed by Wojciech Pacuła accompanied by Roger Adamek, the owner of the RCM distribution company. Mr Karl-Heinz next to the Borg loudspeakers in the “High Fidelity” reference system WOJCIECH PACUŁA: When exactly were your companies founded? KARL-HEINZ FINK: Fink Audio-Consulting was established in 1986 and FinkTeam started three years ago, but we used its name for the first time two years ago. What was FinkTeam’s debut loudspeaker? Our first loudspeaker was the WM-3 model – something like a made-to-order loudspeaker for Ken Ishiwata, which was to accompany Marantz at the High End exhibition in Munich – and that was three years ago. A year later, we presented the WM-4 model and it was the first one with the FinkTeam logo. Which of the projects carried out for external companies has brought you the most satisfaction? I think that the Q-Acoustic Concept 500, as well as the NAIM Ovator S800 loudspeakers gave me a lot of fun. I’ve seen your presentation in Warsaw at the Audio Video Show 2018 exhibition and I was very impressed with your Borg loudspeakers. I was even more impressed because these are two-way speakers. And there are so many issues with two-way speakers having such a big woofer. How do you deal with them? The crossover is at 1,600 Hz and at this frequency the woofer works really well. To be honest, there were more problems with the tweeter. We needed some time to ensure the desired Air Motion Transformer operational parameters at 1,600 Hz. The woofer itself runs flat at 2.3 KHz. But, again, the crossover is set at 1,600 Hz and if you measure out of axis, you can see that the whole response slowly goes down there. It is sensible to design a loudspeaker to go a little bit down out of axis. And if you compare this loudspeaker with one having a conventional 25 mm dome tweeter, for example, you can see that frequency response at the crossover point in the conventional one first goes down a little, then goes up and remains higher, and then goes down again. The overall curve measured for our loudspeakers is a slightly falling one. That makes them it a bit easier to use in different listening rooms. The woofer seems to be a very conventional one, like one from the 1960s or 70s. You’re talking about the corrugated speaker surround, aren’t you? I like this kind of surround because it doesn’t have the hysteresis that you get with typical rubber surround. I am not saying you can have every single loudspeaker with this kind of surround, but it is an important design element of both this and our bigger model. There’s a difference in the way we make the surround stiff. So, in the conventional model you have a very loose surround and a relatively stiff (invisible – Editor’s note) spider. Our loudspeaker surrounds have similar stiffness, so they can be better controlled. OK. But this implies high sensitivity, which is not the case here. The Borg speakers have quite high sensitivity but it would be advisable to define what we consider to be ‘high sensitivity’ in the first place. First of all, we are talking about the declared level of sensitivity in connection with relatively high impedance. We are not trying to do something at the level of 3.5 ohm and then define sensitivity at 2.83 volt, as that would just not be true. There’s a relatively easy law referring to the dependence of bandwidth on sensitivity. If we want a loudspeaker to go down to 35Hz and we have a cabinet of a specific size, equipped with a specific drive unit, then we get specific sensitivity. If we want to have more bandwidth, e.g. up to 20Hz, we have to sacrifice or compromise sensitivity – that will cost us 2 or 3 dB. If we make a loudspeaker with a driver that allows us to obtain 96 dB, then there’s really nothing below 50 Hz. So, these rules are quite commonly known, but it is crazy that most people think that the values of, for example, 97 dB and 35 Hz given in a loudspeaker specification are true... This is not possible. When it comes to the Borg model, it is not about marketing, but real sensitivity. The crossover consists in two parts, right? Why? I personally don’t like bi-wiring, bi-amping, etc. From my experience, one set of posts is better than two. If you want to use bi-amping, you have no other choice but to divide speaker terminals at the crossover. This is what we want to do. In Warsaw, I saw the bass-reflex construction that you have used in the Borg loudspeakers. Are you going to patent this technology? We have been thinking about getting a patent, but there were similar developments already in the 1970s. Nowadays we can construct it in a similar way, but it is a lot easier and based on better measurements. The problem is that if you get a patent, you show it to other people and give them your idea. So, when we work on new solutions in cooperation with our engineering company, we sometimes file a patent with the customers that we are working with on the given project. In this case, it really makes no sense and I admit that we have never got a penny from the patents that we filed. So, the answer is “no”. Is making your own loudspeakers more difficult that working for someone else? Obviously, these are two different worlds. Yes and no. When we work for external clients, it is natural that we can never do 100% of what we would like to do. On the other hand, we don’t have to care about distribution or what the client will do with the loudspeakers. When we make your own loudspeakers, we can do it exactly as we want to, but then we also have to sell them. So, that means we have an additional job to do. We are arranging the loudspeakers – this is a parallel arrangement preferred by Roger Adamek A tough job, isn’t it? It’s hard to survive in the world of audio. We have David Jeffries in our team. He is an old industry horse who takes care of our exports. He has worked for Tannoy and Mordaunt-Short, among others. We also have our marketing specialist, Stephen Harris from the UK, who also has a lot of experience of working with all sorts of companies. We wouldn’t be able to work without those people who are an important part of our team. And which company does Stephen Harris represent? He runs his own company called AudioPlus, specializing in marketing and public relations. He does international PR for a few really big clients, so he has a good network. So, one might say these tasks are easy to carry out (laughs)? No, it’s not easy (laughs). But one good thing is that we don’t feel the pressure. I don’t have to call my distributors every week and push them to sell another and yet another unit. We have the freedom to really choose distributors and partners that suit us and not ones who just want to draw benefits from cooperating with us. Despite its shape, the bass-reflex design, etc., the loudspeaker still looks like a pretty conventional one. Why are we still using the same technologies to manufacture loudspeaker columns as 100 years ago? Probably because of the fact that nothing better has been invented yet. Some time ago, one of our colleagues was working on NXT panels and everybody would say: ‘Wow, what a wonderful new technology!’ Everyone wanted to have them. And did they work? Not really. Conventional loudspeakers still have a lot of potential and if you compare the quality of today’s designs to the ones from 20 years ago, modern ones are a lot better. There’s a lot of progress and development is still unfinished, so we still have a lot to do – look at distortion, for example. In the old days we would say that a loudspeaker is the weakest element of a system, owing to distortion. Distortion measured for the Borg model, for most of the bandwidth and SPL, equals 0.1% and there are a lot of tube amplifiers that have more. We get 0.1% at 90 dB, so if we turn down the volume (and that’s what we normally do), distortion is even lower. So, what direction in loudspeaker production is the most promising right now? I think that drive unit designs are really advanced – at least we know how to make a drive unit characterized by very low distortion, low intermodulation and a flat response curve. For me, the most important design element today is the cabinet. The Borg model has a three-part cabinet, doesn’t it? Yes, but the cabinet design is relatively complicated, if you really look into details. Compare the driver cone area to the width of the front panel. Every little vibration you have on the surface of the cabinet will be relatively loud compared to what the drive unit does, if you make calculations for all the surfaces. We did a research project in which we really worked hard on that for two years, to find out what actually happens to the cabinet. As a result, we have invented a few new ways of damping the cabinet. And if you look at the high-end sector, what makes it different from medium hi-fi? Drive units are almost the same. Everyone buys them from Thiel, Accuton, Eaton or Scan-speak and puts them into cabinets. We didn’t want to use a technology which consists in selecting the biggest drivers. We wanted to do it in a slightly different way, based on simulations, calculations and measurement. We have a laser scanner that allows us to scan the surface of such a loudspeaker. We can translate the measurements into sound, using calculations. Returning to our cabinet, it has many different layers, braces and some extra material inside to add some loss. It does not resemble our designs made for other companies. It’s a different technology because I didn’t want to use the old one anymore. So, there’s a lot inside the Borg cabinet that we cannot see on the outside. Is it better to damp or to control vibration? And what is vibration control? It’s a combination of a few different elements. What we’ve found out is that we can make a cabinet very, very quiet but then you have some individual peaks showing out of the spectrum. I think it is worse compared to having no peaks, but perhaps there is a little bit more noise flaw which covers everything. “Why don’t we toe them in a bit?” – Mr Fink prefers a little more toed-in loudspeakers. If we go back to the BBC loudspeakers for a moment, we will see that they vibrate all the time, but only in the low end and never in the midband. That means we shift problems into an area where they do not sound that bad. If we study what Dr Harwood did at the BBC, we will find out that the solution he developed for the BBC monitors was not the best one, but just the cheapest one. What mattered was the price-quality ratio. That was our starting point – we made use of all the research that had been carried out and tried to do something better, using the latest technologies and more modern materials. So, might one say that these are modern BBC loudspeakers? I wouldn’t say that these are BBC loudspeakers, as that has never been our intention. However, we make loudspeakers in a way that makes it possible for us to use them as monitors in our own design work. That’s how the whole project started: that was the WM-4 loudspeaker, the big one, which we actually made for ourselves. I can see it’s really big. The first time I saw it, I thought that the midrange drivers are covered with something. Do you remember the first Utopia model by Focal? They had a wooden cover for these speakers, preventing them from being damaged. Yes, that was a flat cover, but it was not part of the WM-4. This model had midrange drivers with a flat membrane. We have sold out all WM-4 units and we are working on its new version, with a lot of elements that we have in this loudspeaker as well, just to be up-to-date with technology. However, I can tell you already that it doesn’t have a flat cover (laughs). Is there a plan for something else in the line? Yes, there’s a smaller loudspeaker coming, but I think the new version of the WM-4 will be first. We might call it the WM-5. We make and assemble cabinets in-house and we are limited to a certain number per year. Woodwork really takes us a lot of time. I don’t want to get stressed to finish this loudspeaker just for the image. The working name of the smallest model is the Canale Grande. I am not sure, though, if we manage to finish it before the exhibition in Munich. However, the next important worldwide show is the one in Warsaw. It doesn’t make any difference to me if I go to Munich or Warsaw. The only problem connected with exhibitions occurs when you have a distributor who has no idea of what he is doing – then things get really difficult. Our distributor for Germany, the Benelux, Switzerland and Austria is a really nice guy with a lot of experience in selling and distribution. However, I need to do the setup. Before a show, we load a truck with room acoustics, we send it out with the rest of our equipment and I go there to do the setup. That happens in many countries, but not in Poland. The RCM crew set the Borg loudspeakers up in a simply perfect manner – I walked in, played a few albums and knew everything was ideal. Could you now describe the audio system that you use to listen to new loudspeakers? My analogue sources are the reel-to-reel Telefunken M15A tape recorder, the Transrotor FatBob S turntable with the SME arm and VOLPE (or van den Hul Condor) cartridge, as well as the Technics SP10 with the SAEC 308 arm. The digital source that I use is a computer that we have constructed ourselves – a Mini PC with Volumio software, our own line amplifier and a few insulators, and devices for retiming signal. The digital-to-analogue converter that we use is a modified Marantz SA-10 player. We made the phono stage ourselves. Walter Fuchs, a well-known designer of such devices, is part of our team. It is a symmetrical circuit with current amplification. The line preamplifier was manufactured by the Funk company from Berlin. This is a professional audio element, but it sounds excellent (a test of the Funk Tonstudiotechnik LAP-2.V3 amplifier can be found HERE – Editor’s note). We have also constructed the power amplifier. Let me also add that we use a few Isotek filtering devices: the Titan, Genesis Mosaic and Sigma. Thank you very much for the interview. Thank you. ■

⌈ The BORG are loudspeakers manufactured by the German FINKTEAM company. The person who came up with the idea and designed them is Karl-Heinz Fink, a man well-known and much respected in the audio domain. Until recently, however, he has stayed in the shadow, designing loudspeakers for many well-known brands. Thanks to the Polish distributor, the RCM company, Karl-Heinz came to the “High Fidelity” editorial office especially for you, in order to listen to our system and to how his new loudspeakers operate in it. ⌋ he enormous WM-4 FINKTEAM loudspeakers caused a lot of confusion among people during the High End 2018 exhibition in Munich. Looking at them and not knowing what it was all about, it was hard to say why, however. They did look a little different than most loudspeakers at the exhibition, but they still seemed to be mainstream – these are stocky loudspeakers with D’Appolito arrangement – two midrange drivers and a tweeter, with a really large woofer below. Only having looked at them closely, one could become suspicious of their “ordinariness”. It was then possible to see that the tweeter is an AMT Mundorf driver, the midrange drivers have flat membranes and they have been made in-house according to the FMWD (Flat Membrane Wide Dispersion) concept (do you remember the NXT technology?), while the woofer is an enormous 15-inch unit with a paper membrane and textile surround. Just as many (if not more) innovations were hidden inside the loudspeakers. It was not the company’s first attempt to include them, as the earlier WM-3 version of the loudspeakers had already been presented in 2016, while a year later a working version of the WM-4 was shown. However, things took on colour only in 2018. Looking at the loudspeakers is one thing, while knowing who designed and manufactured them is another thing. They were created by Karl-Heinz Fink. It is a man who stays in the shadow, but still strongly shapes the audio market. He specializes in designing loudspeakers for large audio companies that then sell them under their own brand names. His consulting (design) company is called Fink Audio-Consulting. Although he is a native German and comes from Bohum, his main inspiration have virtually always (i.e. since he was a teenager and constructed DIY loudspeakers) been British designs, including ones by the Harbeth company. As he says, however, his mentor was Ted Jordan, the owner of the ALR/Jordan company, i.e. a German person. Karl-Heinz’s clients include Tannoy, Yamaha, Q Acoustics, Boston Acoustics, Castle, Denon and Marantz. He was even responsible for the Naim Ovation model and drivers used in the Bentley by Naim car audio system. So, it is highly probable that you have heard his devices in one or another audio system. | THE BORG One of the causes of the confusion and “colours” that I have already mentioned, was the presentation of the latest FinkTeam loudspeakers, the Borg model, in Munich. It turned out that the company’s aim was to manufacture a model that was possible to use at the homes of most music lovers. The former model can only be placed in large and very large rooms – the letters in the WM-4 symbol are an abbreviation of the word Waschmaschine, i.e. a “washing machine” – a large one, let me add. FinkTeam’s Borg is a two-way floorstanding design featuring a 10.25-inch high-power mid/bass driver and an Air Motion Transformer (AMT) tweeter. The Borg was a significant design exercise, as combining a 10.25 inch mid/bass driver, albeit an extremely fine one, with a HF unit is never easy. To combine the two drivers to achieve a flat frequency response and, more importantly, a slow mid/HF roll-off in power response is a significant feat of engineering. There is no off-axis hole in the middle effect. finkteam.com, access: 24.03.2019 Yes, a two-way loudspeaker of this size, with such a large mid/bass driver is a rarity and a challenge. As I have already said, however, what you see on the outside is just the tip of an iceberg. The rest is hidden under this “skin”. The few areas for which the company has proposed its own solutions are: the cabinet, crossover and impedance, distortion, mid/bass driver, tweeter and spikes/domes. The cabinet | The cabinet of the Borg model can be compared to various different constructions – a Stealth bomber, Avalon loudspeakers or a pharaoh sarcophagus. It is because technical aspects were more important to their designers than artistic values. The shape of the loudspeaker has been optimized with respect to minimizing diffraction, and improving stiffness. Vibration was measured using a laser system and the person responsible for this aspect of the work was Markus Strunk, FinkTeam’s vibration specialist. As he told Alan Sircom from the “Hi-Fi+” magazine, the cabinet is still an important element of the puzzle, even with optimized drivers (Alan Sircom, Meet Your Maker - Karl-Heinz Fink of Finkteam, “Hi-Fi+” 28 Oct 2018, access: 19.02.2019). The cabinet of the tested loudspeakers has a layer structure (sandwich design), with two MDF layers on the sides and damping material between them. The thickness of the boards is not the same and it differs depending on the place where they are situated. Another element that adds stiffness are folds visible next to the tweeter. They are included to minimize diffraction on the edges, but they also have impact on the mechanical contents of the cabinet. Effort has also been made to make the mid/bass driver operate in comfortable conditions. So, it is not attached directly to the MDF, but to a metal ring which reinforces the edges of the hole. The cabinet has been optically divided into three elements: the front, rear and base. It is a mechanical whole, but having different functions. The front and base have been covered with enamel (a special kind of varnish that yields a hard surface after it dries) – as Karl-Heinz said, this is his carpenter’s favourite varnish. The rear is covered with natural veneer. There are three colour versions available – one with a dark grey front and a dark rear, one with a cream front and a lighter rear and one with a black front and a light rear. The crossover | One of the simplest methods of dividing bandwidth is by connecting drivers with the use of a few elements that constitute a first-order filter (6 dB/octave). It is preferred by many audiophiles, owing to its simplicity. It also has its disadvantages, however. They can be avoided when crossovers of a higher degree are used, i.e. ones characterized by a steeper falling slope. What has been used in the Borg model is a complex sophisticated Linkwitz-Riley 4th order crossover with time delay between two sections. As Karl-Heinz said, he wanted wave propagation to be balanced across the whole bandwidth – not only on the axis, but also at a wide angle. The crossover divides the bandwidth at an untypical point (for such loudspeakers) – 1.6 kHz, i.e. very low. The purpose was to cut the large driver low enough not to narrow wave radiation. However, that required using a big AMT driver having the surface as large as 6464 mm2. The crossover has been installed on two separate boards and that is why there are two separate sets of slots on the rear panel. So, we need to use clamps. These are comfortable and durable Mundorf jumpers. Other elements manufactured by the company, including polypropylene capacitors, can also be found in the crossover itself. One of the goals of the ‘Borg’ project was, on the one hand, to obtain as flat time response as possible, with emphasis on the lack of peaks and holes, but also, on the other hand, smooth impedance curve. It is not a high-sensitivity driver, but it should constitute a comfortable load for the amplifier. When we look at the impedance curve available on the manufacturer’s website, we will see that it does not fall below 6 Ω and reaches its minima at 38 Hz (7 Ω) and 20 kHz (6.5 Ω). It is flat throughout the whole mid-band frequency and stays at the level of 12-13 Ω. Based on the graph, one can also see that the bass-reflex port is set quite low. Fine-tuning | Next to the clamps, we will find something that is rarely found in home audio systems, but is considered almost compulsory in professional ones, i.e. tone and impedance control. Midrange control is a shelf filter operating within the range of 300-2000 Hz, making it possible to control the position of the virtual stage, placing it closer or further away from the listener. It can also be used to compensate too lively room response. There is also a “Presence” control here, i.e. a narrow filter with the center at 2.5 kHz. Its function is to change the characteristics with reference to the signal source, cables or amplifier used. The manufacturer points out that the plus setting is suitable for soft systems, while the minus setting is for bright and hard systems. There is also tweeter level control. Positions of the controls during the test: Damping: 2 Mid: + Presence: +1 High: - After Karl-Heinz has looked at my system, he only asked me about a few things, including wooden boxes lying on the loudspeaker bases. When I said: “These are SPEC filters that counteract the electromotive force generated by the driver system of the woofer”, my guest smiled, saying that he has used an exactly the same system in the Borg loudspeakers. It has four settings: 1. Standard, for transistor amplifiers having a high damping ratio. 2. For transistor amplifiers, but with a lower damping ratio, e.g. ones without feedback. 3. For tube amplifiers only. However, Karl-Heinz set all the controls in my system himself, agreeing on each setting with Roger Adamek, the owner of the RCM company. Despite this, it is worth mentioning that the given recommendations are just a starting point and not the ultimate recipe. The gentlemen set the “Damping” control in my system at “2”, i.e. the position designed for amplifiers characterized by high output impedance and, therefore, low damping. This is not true about my amplifier – the Soulution 710 has a fairly untypical design with very high feedback and thus very high output damping – the manufacturer has given the value > 10,000 while good amplifiers have between 500 and 1000. So, let us remember that all the tips given by the manufacturer should only be the starting point for our experiments. The drivers | The third of the gentlemen, Mr Lampos Ferekidis, is responsible for drivers in the FinkTeam company. He makes measurements using the Klippel R&D System, deals with calculations and writes programs for specific measurements. It is a very experienced engineer and one of the people responsible for developing the NXT drivers which, let me remind you of that, seemed to be the future of the audio world for some time. The Borg loudspeakers have the company’s own custom-designed mid/bass driver. It has the diameter of 10.25” (260 mm), a paper membrane and textile surround. We have known similar drivers from pro-audio applications, but, from a historical perspective, all drivers used to look like this. It has a solid die-cast chassis, a large magnet with aluminium rings that enhance the linearity of the magnetic field, as well as a large-diameter coil (3”). The textile surround implies high sensitivity, but that was not what Karl-Heinz wanted the most – it was more important to him, as he says, that there is no hysteresis characteristic for rubber surrounds and that the stiffness of the surround is similar to the stiffness of the spider. The tweeter is a construction that we have recently discussed, on the occasion of testing the Audiovector QR5 loudspeakers. It is not a cone driver, but an AMT – Air Motion Transformer. Its design resembles a concertina with magnets at the folds. The surface of the membrane is very large, thanks to which the driver frequency response is broad, both at the top and the bottom. This was utilised in the Borg loudspeakers by setting the crossover at 1.6 kHz. As I have already mentioned, Karl-Heinz came to Poland especially for us, in order to listen to music and arrange the loudspeakers with me. As he said, my room is a little overdamped and much smaller compared to the room where the loudspeakers are designed. On the other hand, however, which was also pointed out by Karl-Heinz, I sit close to my loudspeakers, which largely eliminates the problem. So, he bore that in mind when he set the controls on the rear panel. We also devoted quite a lot of time to the arrangement of the loudspeakers, mainly to toeing them in. As you may remember from an article on microtuning, two types of arrangement have worked out in my listening room – one with loudspeakers in front of the listener and another with loudspeaker axes crossing in front of me. Both Karl-Heinz and Roger have different views on this issue. The most extreme arrangement was the one proposed by the owner of RCM. He believes that loudspeakers should stand parallel to each other and closer than usual. When he arranged the Borg loudspeakers, they stood at the distance of 190 cm from each other (measured from the centres of the front panel) and 220 cm from my ears. Karl-Heinz most often chooses to toe loudspeakers in a little, but not too much and to place them quite wide apart from each other. In this arrangement, the loudspeakers stood at the distance of 230 cm from each other and also 230 cm from my ears. The Harbeth loudspeakers in our “HF” system are positioned in a yet different way – they are toed-in in such a way that their axes are directed straight towards me. They are placed at a similar distance from each other and from me as in the arrangement proposed by Karl-Heinz. The Borg loudspeakers were powered by the Soulution 710 power amplifier with the Ayon Audio Spheris III preamp. During the test, I listened to two different sources. One of them was analogue and that was the Tentogra Oscar turntable with the Kuzma 4Point 14 arm and the Miyajima Madake cartridge. The other one was digital and that was the SACD Ayon Audio CD-35 HF Edition player. FinkTeam’s audio system is completely different. As the company owner said, he most often listens to music from files, as it is the most comfortable method, taking into account constant changes. However, it is a system that is being optimized and improved all the time. As Karl-Heinz says, everything is important – the cables, LAN filters, sources, etc. The digital sources in his system are the MacMini and an Auralic player with a Mutec clock. Naturally, Karl-Heinz also has turntables. An important source signal is also the recently bought Telefunken M15A reel-to-reel tape recorder which weighs 50 kg. The amplifiers are mainly Octave devices, but one can also see Marantz ones in the system. It is no coincidence – Karl-Heinz and the brand ambassador, Mr Ken Ishwata, are old buddies and friends. That is why they organize some premieres during the High End exhibition together. Recordings used for the test (a selec- tion | Compact Disc Andrzej Kurylewicz Quintet, Go Right, Polskie Nagrania „Muza”/Warner Music Poland 4648809, „Polish Jazz | vol. 0”, Master CD-R (1963/2016); Ariel Ramirez, Misa Criolla, José Carreras, Philips/Lasting Impression Music LIM K2HD 040, K2HD Mastering, „24 Gold Direct-from-Master Edition UDM”, CD-R (1964/2009). Frank Sinatra, Sinatra Sings Gershwin, Columbia/Legacy/Sony Music Entertainment 507878 2, CD (2003) Nat ‘King’ Cole, The Nat King Cole Love Songs, Master Tape Audio Lab AAD-245A, „Almost Analogue Digital”, Master CD-R (2015); Peter, Paul and Mary, In The Wind, Warner Bros. Records/Audio Fidelity AFZ 181, “Limited Edition No. 0115”, SACD/CD (1963/2014) Shubert, Sonata for Piano in G Major, Op. 78 D894, „Fantasie-Sonate”, wyk. Valery Afanassiev, Denon Co-78923, „Mastersonic | One-Point Recording”, CD (1994) w: Welcome to the Concert. The High End Reference Sound, Denon Co-78921-25, „Mastersonic | One-Point Recording”, 5 x CD (1994) Vangelis, Blade Runner, Atlantic Records/Audio Fidelity AFZ 154, „Limited Edition | No. 2398”, SACD/CD (1998/2013) | Long Play Benny Carter, Jazz Giant, Contemporary Records/Analogue Productions AJAZ 7555, „45 RPM | Limited Edition #0404", 2 x 180 g LP (1957/2009) Brendan Perry, Ark, Cooking Vinyl/Vinyl 180 VIN180LP040, 2 x 180 g (2011) Cannonball Adderley, Somethin’ Else, Blue Note/Analogue Productions, AP-81595, „The Blue Note Reissues, 45 RPM Special Edition #2468”, 45 rpm, 2 x 180 g LP (1958/2008) Clifford Brown and Max Roach, Study In Brown, EmArcy/Universal Music Japan UCJU-9072, 200 g LP (1955/2007) Czesław Niemen, Katharsis, Polskie Nagrania „Muza” SX 1262, LP (1976) Hans Theessink, Jedermann Remixed – The Soundtrack, Blue Groove 1910, 180 g LP (2011) Leon Russell, The Montreux Session, Edel 0208394CTT, „Triple A Series”, 180 g LP (2013) Mel Tormé, Oh, You Beautiful Doll, The Trumpets of Jericho - Silver Line 904333-980, 180 g LP (2000) OMD, Dazzle Ships, Virgin Records, 205 295-320, LP (1983) The Cure, Disintegration, Fiction Records 532 456-3, 2 x 180 g LP (1989/2010) [REKLAMA5] As I wanted to maximize the benefits of having the constructor of the Borg loudspeakers with me, not only did I conduct an interview with him and asked him to arrange the loudspeakers the way he wanted, but also suggested listening to them together. We divided the listening session into two parts. During the first one, we listened to my system, with the Harbeth loudspeakers arranged as usual and recordings that I had prepared. During the second part, we listened to the same recordings, but with the loudspeakers arranged according to Karl-Heinz’s and then Roger Adamek’s instructions. We only used the SACD player then. I conducted a third part of the listening session myself and then I listened to both CDs and SACDs, as well as vinyl records. | Karl-Heinz, the Borg loudspeakers and me WOJCIECH PACUŁA: So, we started with toed-in speakers and after that we moved on to a parallel arrangement. KARL-HEINZ FINK: Almost parallel. WP: You said that the loudspeakers in your system are a little bit more toed-in than Roger suggests. KHF: Yes, but my room is completely different. There are diffusers everywhere, also behind the loudspeakers, on the left and on the right. So, it’s really difficult to have a listening session in an ordinary listening room the way we do it in our listening room. That is why I really toe the loudspeakers in during shows – they almost “look” at each other. However, I do it only for people sitting outside the listening axis. Thanks to that, the solid image is always in the middle. WP: I’m not sure if I’m right, but it seems to me that we get lower volume with the Borg model than we do with the Harbeth loudspeakers. KHF: If you are asking me for an opinion, I prefer my loudspeakers, because they produce more realistic sound. The Harbeths make it all very big. It can be attractive – I’m not saying this is bad, but I prefer more natural sound. ROGER ADAMEK: I think there is lot of coloration on the midrange in the Harbeth loudspeakers. KHF: I haven’t listened to them long enough and haven’t heard them in my room to be able to comment on that. This is typical sound for this kind of loudspeakers – they have their own style that in one way is attractive, but in another way – a little bit “old-fashioned”. But, again, I would like to emphasize the fact that I prefer my own methods. I’m not saying they are the only effective ones. It is especially important when it comes to the Harbeths. When I started my business around 1982, I was in contact with Dr Harwood and sold his 6.5’’ drive units made of clear polypropylene. They were one of the first loudspeakers with very rigid cabinets that I made. WP: And how does this listening room differ from the one at your company, in terms of sound? KHF: Our room is bigger. It’s not a problem and I can say I easily recognize the sound of my loudspeakers. Here they sound like they always do. The Harbeth loudspeakers show the image closer to the listener and make it bigger. My loudspeakers move it backwards, which I like more. However, it is impossible to say which arrangement is “right”, as each of them will simply suit different people. ROGER ADAMEK: For me, this room is overdamped. KHF: It’s not a problem for me. The elements that make hi-fi and high-end different are: attention to details and the actions you take to get your system working the way you would like it to work. I have my special method that I like and I will always set a system up, so that I like its sound. And I have no problems when other people say: “No, I want the image more at the back or the front.” Fine, if someone sets up their own system, they can do whatever they want to their sound, as long as they do not tell me to do the same in my system. In order to make it easier, you make these little adjustments to the system and its setup. When I go to a show, I always take two or three sets of interconnects and loudspeaker cables with me. And sometimes, you know, when the room is not so good, I use a cable made by one of the well-known companies, because there’s always something in it that strongly surprises your listeners. If a room is boring, it always helps it a little bit. But if we have a room that is a little bit more “lively” or is not overdamped, the cable that I am talking about would just hit you between the eyes and it would not be pleasant. So, we tune everything on the location with what we have available to get the sound that we like – just like here. | Me, the Borg loudspeakers and only me The arrangement | The first thing I checked when I was left alone with the Borg loudspeakers was their arrangement – something I have already mentioned. It was an interesting experience, as each of the people who had been present in the room has a lot of (different) experience in the field, which resulted in some additional possibilities. Before we move on to the substance, it is important to remember than none of these or any other arrangements guarantee “natural” sound and “natural” space, as these qualities are not and will not be present in sound reproduction systems. It is a reflection of the reflection of reality – art rather than a documentary. So, by selecting a specific arrangement we also choose a set of particular advantages and disadvantages, as well as the vision of the person who has recommended the given option. The loudspeakers do something else in each of the three arrangements – they interpret recorded signal in their own way, pointing out the values that we consider to be important and the features that are significant to us. It is essential that we remember about it, no matter what we are talking about in the audio domain. At our level of quality, with so much accumulated knowledge and experience as in the case of the Borg loudspeakers (I am now thinking of all the participants in the meeting), words such as “bad” or “good” must always be put in quotation marks. The “straight ahead” arrangement (by Roger) results in a very stable sound image and the lowest tonal balance. It is normal, as, in the end, here we listen to the loudspeakers largely outside the main axis. What was not fully instinctive, however, was the fact that the bass went lower and was denser and stronger, although still wonderfully controlled. Space had very good proportions, while imaging, i.e. presenting solids in space was very convincing. One disadvantage was that the sound volume decreased, there was less air between instruments and attention was focused on the foreground. The depth of the stage was good, but everything behind the main performers was less significant. The broader arrangement, with the loudspeakers a little toed-in (by Karl-Heinz), resulted in breath, momentum and light between the performers. The bass was a little shortened and the front of the soundstage moved back. Compared to the previously described arrangement, the depth of the stage improved and we had better insight into the front-back axis. But the bass became shorter and the tonal balance rose a little. In this arrangement, I decided to set the “Mid” control back to its neutral position. This arrangement gave me the broadest stage, the most momentum and a good perspective into the depth, at the cost of selectivity and the definition of instruments. However, I conducted the actual listening session the way I always listen to music – i.e. with the loudspeakers set quite wide apart, with the axes crossing right in front of me. I am not saying that it is the best method, but the advantages that it offers are simply more convincing to me than what I had got before. However, I must admit that some of the recordings sounded just as good to me in the “straight ahead” arrangement. I am mainly referring to monophonic recordings. With loudspeakers arranged “straight ahead”, they were characterized by the best compactness and “essentiality”. What also sounded very good were minimalist classical music recordings, such as the Denon ones, recorded using a single stereophonic microphone (the “Mastersonic | One-Point Recording” series). However, when it came to stereophonic recordings, I preferred “my own” arrangement. The sound | Having had this experience, I already knew what I could expect from the Borg loudspeakers and what they would not give me. These loudspeakers pay tribute to the “BBC school” in an incredible, literally ravishing way. It is not the same “school” – in the end, we are talking about a different constructor, different techniques and technologies. The main idea, however, is clear and, in my opinion, similar. It is dense, low sound with tangible sound sources. It beautifully creates moods, is characterized by high resolution and “natural”. In a way, it combines some features of the low range of my Harbeth loudspeakers, the treble of the Kaiser Acoustics Kawero! Chiara loudspeakers and the midrange of the YG Acoustic Hailey 1.2 loudspeakers. It does not mean that the FinkTeam loudspeakers are better than all of the abovementioned devices, but that they provide us with a set of features known from other top-of-the-range loudspeakers, but in such a unique combination. We also instantly become sure that low distortion is not only declared by the manufacturer, but is actually real. It is very clear sound, which is rare for low-set tonal balance and low sound like here. The recordings have their own character and are not modified in order to make listening more pleasant – and that is what the Harbeth loudspeakers do to some extent. I could hear one more time how similar goals, i.e. low distortion and phase shifts, can be reached in different ways – the Borg loudspeakers sound totally different than the Hailey 1.2 model, although both of the manufacturers were guided by similar initial assumptions. To put a long story short – if someone likes the FinkTeam loudspeakers, they probably will not be impressed by YG Acoustic devices (and vice versa). The American, perfectly made loudspeakers are more transparent, open, faster and much more selective. Their bass seems lighter, but it actually goes lower and has greater weight. The Hailey 1.2 loudspeakers sound less energetic than the Borg model, if we define ‘energetic’ in terms of sound physicality, i.e. speed with more “body”. What is interesting, despite the high resolution of the German devices, manifesting itself in saturated, dense, a bit dark sound with many colours, it would be hard to say that they are especially selective. I am familiar with AMT drivers used in a lot of devices and the best ones have a very similar signature. They are smooth, silky, beautifully pastel and pleasant. However, they do not show the weight of the instruments and their three-dimensional body as well as the best dome drivers, e.g. the Dynaudio Esotar (in the Sonus faber Electa Amator I) or the new driver used in the YG Acoustics Sonja 2.2 loudspeakers. The musical message from an AMT is more homogenous and uniform. It has nicer, more pastel colours, but it does not differentiate the energy of individual sound sources so well. In this case, however, the driver is magnificently combined with the mid/bass driver. As a duo, they produce a presentation called “wood” in musical circles. It is emotionally engaged sound without sharp edges, with an elaborate harmonic response, creating highly tangible prolonged response. In this respect, it resembles the sound of both the Kaiser Acoustics and the Harbeth M40.1 loudspeakers. The Borg model seems to be more expressive than they are and to better articulate the sound of individual instruments. Paradoxically, however, the Harbeth loudspeakers sound more tangible and energetic. They build up larger phantom images and create broader space. Another paradox is that even though the Harbeth loudspeakers sound calmer, despite the fact that the first line is bigger and closer with them, the Borg model is more neutral. Does it mean that it is also more “natural”? This is a question you will need to answer for yourselves. Each of the three people participating in the listening session had a different view on this issue. I compare, bring closer and project the sound of the Borg loudspeakers onto other devices, as I want to give you a broader picture. Perhaps, however, as I have just thought, it is simply more important how they play, without comparing them to any points of reference, as these are unique loudspeakers. They aim to show the inner truth about the recording and the instruments. They are not fussy, i.e. they are equally engaged while playing Sonny Rollins’ music from the latest reissue of Saxophone Colossus on a SACD (Analogue Productions), Depeche Mode from Blu-spec CD2 and electronic music accompanying Laurie Anderson on the Homeland album. For a longer while, I listened to really old Benny Goodman’s recordings from the year 1934. I have a few different collections of his early recordings. The album I am talking about is part of a 10-disc box released by TIM (The International Company) from Germany as part of the “Past Perfect” series. The recordings are put in a chronological order, in accordance with the time of recording. Musicians who later became jazz superstars, such as: Coleman Hawkins, Gene Krupa, Hank Ross, Benny Carter, Buddy Clark and others play in Goodman’s band on this album. It includes four sessions that were recorded between February 2nd and November 26th. It is sound typical for that time, i.e. with limited frequency response and quite flat from the perspective of dynamics. However, the Borg loudspeakers showed something that makes us listen to these recordings with true pleasure – their musical, artistic truth, resulting from the simplest recording method – direct-to-disc – and a lack of manipulation on the signal. So, the album sounded really smooth. The slight concentration of the sound of these loudspeakers on the midrange did not turn into “shouting out” information. The Borg loudspeakers rendered the colours of the instruments well, without thickening them. One could also hear, however, the Borg model’s own specific features. They have quite a hard “push” – something that closely follows the strike. I have heard this type of a musical message, although not such a good one, from JBL loudspeakers that also have paper membranes (e.g. the S3900 model). The push is better differentiated in Karl-Heinz’s loudspeakers, thanks to which their sound is deeper and denser, but still fast. The imaging of these loudspeakers focuses on larger planes, without clearly detailing them. Everything is there, it is real high-end, but it is going in the direction of “adjusting” the message and not towards analysis. Conclusions The sound of the Borg loudspeakers places them, in my opinion, between the warm and a little coloured, but extremely emotional and substantial sound of the Harbeth M40.1 model, and the precision and clarity of YG Acoustics loudspeakers, but probably the Carmel 2 model rather than the Hailey 1.2. The sound of the Borg model is relaxing and exceptionally musical – i.e. colourful and precise at the same time. Their centre of gravity is set low, but they do not stun listeners with the lowest bass. We hear them as one large driver, thanks to how well their drivers have been selected and tuned. Their energy, i.e. emotionality is a little lower than in the case of the Harbeth loudspeakers, as, in the end, it is a different idea of sound. The purpose was to show the message more clearly, a little further away from the listener, with a little smaller sound sources (volume). In this respect, the Borg loudspeakers resemble the AudioMachina Pure NSE loudspeakers, which I have not yet mentioned. However, I would like you to understand me correctly – all the points of reference have been mentioned for the sole purpose of “spatial” orientation, and not in order to tell you that the Borg model is similar to them. It is an independent being and a separate design, so different from all other loudspeakers and so sophisticated that those who find colour, rhythm, mass, filling, clarity and precision important, must simply listen to these loudspeakers. We hereby award the Borg loudspeakers our RED Fingerprint, i.e. the second award after the Best Sound • Audio Video Show 2018. As you can see, there is something going on, isn’t there? ■ Technical specifications (according to the manufacturer) Frequency response: 41 Hz – 30 kHz (- 6 dB) | 32 Hz – 35 kHz (-10 dB) Average impedance: 10 Ω Minimum impedance: 6.5 Ω/20 kHz Sensitivity: 87 dB (1 m/2.83 Vrms) Distortion (THD): [hfgallery] [img mini="foto_testy/1903/fink/th/05.jpg" big="foto_testy/1903/fink/05.jpg" src="foto_testy/1903/fink/05.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1903/fink/th/06.jpg" big="foto_testy/1903/fink/06.jpg" src="foto_testy/1903/fink/06.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1903/fink/th/07.jpg" big="foto_testy/1903/fink/07.jpg" src="foto_testy/1903/fink/07.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1903/fink/th/08.jpg" big="foto_testy/1903/fink/08.jpg" src="foto_testy/1903/fink/08.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1903/fink/th/09.jpg" big="foto_testy/1903/fink/09.jpg" src="foto_testy/1903/fink/09.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1903/fink/th/10.jpg" big="foto_testy/1903/fink/10.jpg" src="foto_testy/1903/fink/10.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1903/fink/th/11.jpg" big="foto_testy/1903/fink/11.jpg" src="foto_testy/1903/fink/11.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1903/fink/th/12.jpg" big="foto_testy/1903/fink/12.jpg" src="foto_testy/1903/fink/12.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [/hfgallery]

⌈ MICROTUNING consists in actions that aim to precisely set up, equip and arrange loudspeakers, electronics and cables. In small steps, we can totally change the sound of these devices. Read our third article on the subject, this time solely devoted to CABLES. ⌋ hile preparing the first two parts of the “Fine-Tuning” (or “Microtuning”) cycle, one related to loudspeakers and the other one to electronics, I moved within quite well known and respected borders. Most basic assumptions in these fields are shared by academic engineers that might be called ‘theoreticians’ and people connected with perfectionist audio, both engineers and music lovers that we analogically call ‘practitioners’. One of the oldest audio cables – the American Insulated Wire Corporation WE16GA, a speaker cable made of tinned copper Theory and practice | It is obvious that these two worlds overlap and there is no such person as a pure ‘theoretician’ or a pure ‘practitioner’. Despite that, there are dipolar views on both sides – one of the parties has a tendency to minimize the influence of many solutions used in audiophile devices and loudspeakers, while the other party ignores technical basics and focuses only on listening sessions. Which of the parties is right? I would cautiously say that neither. However, it is not worth wasting time and living cautiously. So, I will tell you that I am closer to ‘practitioners’, although rather those who have some theoretical background. It is because theory cannot explain a lot of things that we can evidently hear and that appear repeatedly during every well-constructed listening session. The fact that theory cannot explain them does not mean that they do not exist. It is simply necessary to wait for someone who combines the passion of a music lover, audiophile and scientist, and will try to find out the truth. Anyway, dipolar views are a fact. So far, we have been talking about things that seem to be obvious – loudspeakers and electronics. When it comes to cables, things are most often very radical: either a full YES or a full NO. The problem is that while the former two fields have been investigated by engineers, scientists and the industry as a whole since the 1940s, thanks to which some common positions have been established, appreciating the meaning of cables in the process of shaping sound is a matter that has been researched for, let’s say, the last twenty-five years and therefore it is still controversial. Cables change sound | That is why it is so difficult and conversations about cables are so stormy. However, checking the simple fact that cables change sound in different ways, depending on the conductor used, dielectrics and their topology, as well as plugs is very simple – it is enough to listen. For that purpose, one needs a well set up, i.e. balanced and quite transparent system characterized by good resolution. The difference can be noticed already after five seconds of listening. If there is no difference, it is because the cables are identical, the system is a “bottleneck”, or the listener is insensitive to these differences. Let us assume for the purposes of this article that we agree with the statement above, that it is important to us and that we would like to improve the operation of our systems by optimizing the use of the cables that are included in them. To the point – let us assume that we are FOR it. I will demonstrate a few ways to do it for those of you who are still with me. As a basis, I will use my experience gained at recording studios and on stage, as well as while working in the audio industry. It relies on hundreds of tests, listening sessions and comparisons, both carried out by myself and as part of the activity of the Krakow Sonic Society. I will also make use of external information sources. The article has been divided into seven parts. The first part is related to the construction of cables, the second one – to vibration damping, the third one – to directionality, the fourth one – to burning, the fifth one – to the influence of cable length on sound, the sixth one – to methods of improving connection between contacts, while the eight one includes a few tips on how to arrange cables. What is important, the article is to be a guide for practitioners and I want to share my observations and conclusions in it. So, I will try to reduce the theoretical part of the discussion to a minimum and will not engage in a dispute with other points of view. Theory is naturally indispensable, but I leave it to others who are better prepared to deal with it. I offer pure practice. | CONSTRUCTION The terms: conductor, wire, lead and cable refer to different things but they are often used interchangeably. Theoretically, one might connect devices with one another and the power source using a conductor, i.e. a non-insulated wire or stranded wire. It is virtually impossible in practice, mainly because of user and equipment safety. However, it is much more important that such a connection is sensitive to electromagnetic and mechanical distortion – hence the need to use dielectrics. A conductor in a dielectric is a cable. It is characterized by three basic parameters: R (resistance), L (inductance) and C (capacity). In reality it is all about their equivalents for alternating current, but in order to simplify things we talk about the trinity: RLC. The parameters are closely connected and if we change one of them, the other two also change. It appears that the following factors influence cable measurement: the arrangement of conductors in a cable, type of dielectric used, type of conductor, type of screen (or a lack of it), vibration damping materials, etc. Conductor | The most researched element is the type of conductor. Since I remember, i.e. since I started dealing with perfectionist audio, there have been two camps among audiophiles – some think that copper is the best conductor and some prefer silver. There are naturally other solutions, such as silver-plated and tin-plated copper, silver with an addition of gold, as well as cables made of more exotic materials, e.g. molybdenum, tungsten, etc., but copper and silver constitute two poles that set the boundaries for discussion. The Siltech Triple Crown interconnect made of high-purity cast silver What effect does this have on sound? It is said that silver cables sound fast and transparent, and are dynamic, but they lack bass base and are often too dry. Copper, on the other hand, is respected for deep bass, a low centre of sound gravity and filling. Indeed, a lot of cables nicely fit in this description. However, I think that it is mainly because it is not always possible to utilize the advantages of a given conductor within a given price range and what one can actually hear is not the cable itself but its errors. When it comes to the best cables, material is not connected with sound in such a simplistic manner. For example, let us look at the products of the Siltech company. Inexpensive cables made by this manufacturer sound fast and dynamic, are clear and have nice distinct treble. They can be used in systems that are a little ponderous or where we want to obtain transparent sound without colourings on the midrange and treble. These cables lack filling in the low midrange a little. However, something strange happens in the most expensive Siltech models – they sound like the best copper cables but with all advantages of silver cables. On the other hand, we have copper Cardas cables. And again – cheaper ones sound a little dark, dense and low. All of them emphasize mid bass a little. So, they are excellent for the purpose of putting weight on sound, giving it mass and “effectiveness”. This company’s cables form large phantom images and a dense network of relationships between instruments – the higher the price of a given cable, the easier it is to hear it. Again – the most expensive series have much more open treble and they are more neutral, because of which they resemble other “copper cables” less. Let us add that manufacturers try to combine the characters of both materials in silver-plated cables, while tin-plated cables calm the musical message and make the treble softer (e.g. Supra). When it comes to silver with an addition of gold, used e.g. in cables made by Crystal Cable, it makes cables sound warm and dense, but not as open and selective as silver ones. To make things clear, let me add that not everyone thinks that these changes occur. For example, the owner of the AIX Records record label, Mr Mark Waldrep, writes the following in his monograph on sound in audio systems: Suggesting that the choice of cables should be made on the basis of sound changes that analogue or digital cables introduce in signal transfer is illogical and results from having insufficient information. […] If you have a cable that has withdrawn treble the moment it supplies signal from signal source to the preamplifier, there is something wrong with this cable. It is necessary to replace it with a cable which does not modify high frequencies. Mark Waldrep, Music and Audio: A User Guide to Better Sound, AIX Publishing 2018, s. 635 I respect Mr Waldrep and think he is an excellent sound engineer (more about him HERE). However, I can do nothing about the fact that I hear these changes. So, we can choose cables for our own system on the basis of the conductor that is used in them. Generally (and only generally), we can apply the description that I give above. Actually, however, from my own experience I can say that other cable elements are much more important – in fact, the most important. | VIBRATION DAMPING In fact, the material a cable is made of is a secondary thing. Other elements are much more important – topology and dielectrics. There is no simple answer to the question “What is better?”, as everything depends on the remaining elements. One of the most important things in cables is mechanical vibration damping. The noise that vibrations produce is called triboelectric noise. It is possible to measure it, but it used to be ignored for a long time, since it was thought it has no influence on sound. A schematic of the VertexAQ cables or rather their anti-resonance box So, a cable that is well-constructed mechanically will be a little thicker than other cables, unless it is flat, like e.g. Nordost ribbons. I have heard sceptics laugh at thick cables with thin terminals many times. I would then explain that this is not about cheating people but damping vibration. The VertexAQ company did it the extreme way, using regular vibration “absorbers” in the form of boxes including anti-resonance supports in its cables. In order to improve the operation of resonance-damping elements, it is worth using, or rather necessary to use cable supports. I know this is yet another step towards mastery, as I put it, or another step towards hell, as other people will say, but that’s just the way it is. On the one hand, cable supports are to reduce the effect of ground vibrations on cables and, on the other hand, change the capacity of cables by keeping them away from the ground. Supports of this type are produced by many companies, most often cable manufacturers – Acoustic Revive, Nordost, Cardas, Shunyata Research, Furutech, SSC and Harmonix, but also manufacturers specializing in anti-resonance supports and racks, such as Rogoz Audio. Each of the companies has a different patent for how these elements should be constructed, because of which their products change sound in different ways. It would be best to test a few of them, as a lot depends on what they are going to stand on, what cables they will cooperate with, etc. It is a also necessary to remember to have quite a lot of them, as the distance between such supports should not exceed 50 cm for rigid cables and even 30 cm for flexible ones. The Furutech NCF-Booster Signal Connector & Cable Holder. Photo: Furutech What do they change in sound? They mostly calm it down. They do not slow it down, but extinguish nervousness. Some of them, such as those by Nordost, Furutech and Shunyata Research, add opening to the treble, slightly reducing bass. Other ones, such as those manufactured by Acoustic Revive do the opposite – reduce the treble a little and put weight on low midrange. Generally speaking, however, the effect of using supports is positive. If you do not hear their influence, then the system might have too little resolution or it has bigger problems somewhere else and they conceal the improvement made by supports. The effect of using cable supports can be heard most clearly in the case of speaker cables, then power cables and, finally, interconnects. It is also worth testing how they work under power cable connectors – a special support of this type is offered by Furutech – the NCF Booster Connector and Cable Holder model. It is worth testing one or perhaps two such Furutech holders, but not more. They work best when a single one is used. | DIRECTIONALITY Cable directionality is another “ignition point” in discussion. But little arrows on cables and connectors refer to two different things – one of them is connected with the electrical structure of cables and the other one with the inner structure of conductors. The electrical structure is connected with unbalanced RCA cables made using three-core cable, such as in balanced cables. Positive and negative signal is sent in them using the same cores, and the screen is connected on the side of the transmitter, i.e. signal source. The advantages of such a design, i.e. a lack of a low-pass filter that is created by the screen are obtained only when we follow the instruction, i.e. connect it in accordance with the arrows, i.e. “directionality”. The Shunyata Research Venom SP speaker cables with printed on arrows showing directionality What might be controversial is another kind of directionality resulting from the crystal structure of conductors. It did not use to mean a thing and the aspect was not given any attention, but alongside an improvement in system resolution it appeared that it does matter in what direction we connect the given cable. Where does this come from? The problem is well-explained by the Wireworld company whose CEO and founder is an engineer attached to measurement: It’s all about grain structure! The microstructure of copper and silver conductors is actually made up of individual grains of the metal. Unavoidable angular patterns in this grain structure can cause cables to perform differently in both directions. Wireworld cables are manufactured utilizing a proprietary Grain Optimization™ process that specifically controls the grain structure of the metal to produce the highest fidelity when the signal flows in the direction of the arrows printed on the cable. Some other brands of audio interconnects are directional because their shields are only connected at one end of the cable. The shields in Wireworld cables are connected at both ends to provide superior isolation from noise. Wireworld Tech & Philosophy: Directionality in Cables, wireworldcable.com, date of access: 08.05.2019 Crystal structure is formed by wire-drawing – and this is always done in one direction. It is less important in cables cast using the OCC technology, but still appears quite important there. So, let us follow arrows printed on cables. If they are connected the other way round, they usually sound darker, less transparent and lose information. | BURNING The directional structure of cables is strictly connected with another thing, i.e. cable burning. Burning, as a method of ensuring the optimum operational parameters of an audio product has been known for many years. However, even though it is well-known and understood in electronics where it is mainly used for the formation of capacitors and establishment of transistor operating points, etc., in loudspeakers where it is related to forming the flexibility of membrane suspension, and even in turntable cartridges where it is used to ensure the flexibility of bracket suspension, it still constitutes a matter of dispute in the cable domain. It should not be like this. Burning is a standard procedure used by many companies, similar to another process known as annealing. The aim of annealing is to soften metal – during production, material becomes mechanically hard. It appears that it then has lower conductivity and, above all, “sounds” worse. After suitable temperature processing, it returns to the former state. Cryogenic processing has a similar aim – cooling down quickly to a very low temperature and heating slowly. Both types of processing serve to order the crystal structure of metal. Cable burning also has a connection with cable structure, but a different aim – minimizing the so-called “diode effect” that occurs when electrons move between crystals. That is why cables with very long crystals are so popular. However, it is about something more, something that we may not fully understand, as OCC cables also undergo burning. What is burning? – it is simply playing music with the use of the given cables for a specific period of time. Everyone who has dealt with expensive cables must have noticed that a system starts to sound better some time after better cables are introduced. The differences are often so big that listeners get the impression the system had been faulty before. Those who think it is nonsense talk about the accommodation of hearing and say that listeners simply get used to new sound. It is hard to disagree with that, as it is definitely one of the elements of this change. But it is enough to compare a cable taken straight out of the box with a cable that has already been subjected to burning, to confirm the fact that they sound different and after some time these differences disappear. The Proburn cable burn-in accelerator from Blue Horizon. Photo: Isotek How long should burning last? That depends on cable design, but a general rule says that it is a process which lasts not shorter than a few weeks. However, it is worth being patient and simply listen to music with the cables, as the effects are excellent. Impatient people may use so-called “burn-in machines”, i.e. devices that only perform this single function, e.g. the Blue Horizon Proburn or the Nordost CBID-1, as well as discs with appropriate signals that accelerate the process. | LENGTH The length of signal and power cables is another element of the puzzle and yet another thing that many engineers negate. Let us read this: Transmission line effects at the typical length of speaker cables should be ignored. As a rule of thumb, we always recommend keeping cable lengths as minimal as possible, but not too short that it compromises accessibility to equipment. Gene DellaSala, Speaker Cable Length Differences: Do They Matter?, audioholics.com, date of access: 08.05.2019 However, it is enough to listen to the same cables of different length for a short time to see that this is not an adequate picture of reality. Cables of certain length sound better than the same cables of different length. And these are not small differences. I have carried out such comparisons many times (a few dozen times, I think) and the result of these comparisons has always been the same – cable length has an effect on sound. Nordost, the American company that I have already mentioned, has one of the best research programs in the world (like Wireworld, Shunyata Research, Siltech, Cardas or MIT) and has created many interesting solutions thanks to measurement supported by listening sessions. During audio shows, it conducts seminars in order to present its observations and prove it to anyone interested that the findings are true. These are very instructive meetings and I recommend them to anyone who cares about learning and is not as dumb as to negate something just because they think it’s “impossible”. We will find the following tips in FAQs on the manufacturer’s website: The signal loss on Nordost cables is very low due to the use of extruded FEP insulation and Micro Mono-Filament technology. Nordost cables can run over longer distances with less signal loss than regular cables. However, when planning a system set up, it is wise to keep lower level signals such as tonearm cables and analogue interconnects relatively short.  It is better to use longer loudspeaker cables as these typically have much more current and voltage being provided by the power amplifier. Frequently asked questions: Length, nordost.com, date of access: 08.05.2019 Except for statements related to the superiority of these cables over other cables (even though it is understandable that any constructor considers their product to be the best – otherwise their work would make no sense), it is worth paying attention to the fact that first of all, Nordost thinks that the length of cables matters and, secondly, that it is better to make speaker cables long and interconnects short while setting a system up. What lengths are we talking about? The minimum recommended lengths of Nordost cables are as follows: Power cables – 2 meters Analogue interconnects – 1 meter Digital interconnects – 1.5 meters Tonearm cables – 1.25 meters  Loudspeaker cables – 2 meters It is not the only specialist company pointing out that cable lengths need to be adjusted, but no other company has prepared such clear guidelines so far – guidelines that I do agree with, by the way. I have written about cable length so many times that I’ve lost count. The statement that has had the greatest impact so far was included in the report from the 72nd meeting of the Krakow Sonic Society entitled Acrolink Mexcel 7N-PC9100 vs Acrolink Mexcel 7N-PC9300. I said that an Acrolink cable of 2 m length “sounded” better than one of 1.5 m length. What is more, another cable of 2.5 m length sounded even better. Completely independently, Witek Kamiński came to similar conclusions and described them in the coverage of the 4th Plichtowskie Sonic Meeting entitled On cats and dogs, i.e. does length matter?. The Nordost Tyr 2 speaker cable made using the Dual Mono-Filament technology. Photo: Nordost Nordost wrote about their own cables. In reality, the effect a cable of given length has on sound depends on the cable’s structure. From my own experience, I can recommend the following: a power cable should be at least 2 m long an analogue interconnect should not be shorter than 1 m, but also not longer than 1.8-2 m, a digital interconnect should be 1.2 – 1.5 m long, a USB cable should be 1 – 3 m long, with exceptions when one can use a USB cable that is up to 5 m long, speaker cables – minimum 2 m long, but should not be much longer than ca. 5 m. This is my opinion, of course – you may think different. The fact that cable length matters, but is not especially important, is mentioned by The Chord Company on their website in the Speaker cable guide (date of access: 13.05.2019). The decision is yours, as always. | CONTACT Connectors and power cables are a mobile element of the audio track. Cables used to be permanently soldered to devices and loudspeakers, and had plugs only on one side. Today they have plugs on both sides and the only exception are some cables that come out of turntable arms. It appears that plugs are an important element of such a construction and have at least as much influence on sound as the cable itself. Again – I have written about it so many times that recalling all the articles does not make sense. So, the example I am giving you today is not my article but one written by already mentioned Witek Kamiński, entitled Ja szpieg... Czyli o wtyczkach i innych aspektach audio (Eng. I spy... A few words on plugs and other aspects of audio). Mr Ken Ishiguro, the owner of the Acoustic Revive company, applying spray to an IEC supply socket – I’ve been using it myself for two years But a plug is one thing and a contact is another. Different types of materials are used to enhance it. Among others, they are offered by the Acoustic Revive company. I’ve been using them for a few years and I can recommend them. We spray liquid on plugs and sockets, including supply sockets. The ECI-50 Conduction Improvement Cleaner is special transparent oil containing tiny carbon particles that fill micro depletions in the surface of metal. It is a solution applied in Japanese laboratories, improving the speed of signal transmission by 20% (as measured). Sound becomes denser and deeper thanks to it. The changes are not big, just a few per cent, but it is worth checking if these are not “the few per cent” that we have been missing. You can read more about it in the coverage of the 88th meeting of the Krakow Sonic Society. Another equally fantastic solution are products offered by the McKenic company. They sell material prepared by an American specialist for industrial purposes – that is why it is sold in large containers and one lasts for a long time. | ARRANGEMENT The final stage of cable preparation is their appropriate arrangement. The recommendations given so far may be new to a lot of you, but the way cables should be arranged seems to be clear and simple. Let me cut the story short and give you the most important recommendations in a few sentences. Interconnects and speaker cables should not be stretched tight and stiff. Stresses badly affect connections with plugs, as well as change topology inside cables, which is not beneficial. It would be best for these cables to hang a little loose (interconnects – power cables are a little bit more resistant) and they also should not cross power cables, because the electromagnetic field around the latter has an effect on audio signal. It is sometimes hard to handle this issue because audio devices have power and signal sockets in different places. However, if we have no choice and our signal cables – interconnects and speaker cables intersect with power cables, let us make sure they intersect at the angle of 90 degrees. It is also worth separating them somehow – the further away they are from one another, the better. Speaker cables should not be coiled – loops are simply coils and they constitute low-pass filters. These cables should be laid straight or in arches. If we have to do something with their excess, let us coil them in the shape of a snake. | A FEW FINAL TIPS I hope I have set the direction for you, at least to a certain degree, and the problem of cables is not that big anymore thanks to it. These are naturally my own observations, even though they are supported by other people and companies, but they are still mine. And there are other views – as I have said, there are a lot of reasonable people who think this is nonsense or an attempt to make music lovers spend money. I cannot help it, as everyone can have their own opinion. Mine is different. However, you do not have to and even should not agree with me. The beauty of audio results from the fact that everyone can do experiments in the form of individual listening sessions. Only such experiences can give us a basis to say that something matters and something else does not. It is important that the direction of these tests has been set for you. The problems that I have mentioned are the most important, but not the only ones. There are other issues, e.g.: which are better: balanced (XLR) or unbalanced (RCA) connections? Should speaker cables be of the same length or can they differ in length? Should bi-wiring or single cables be used? How to say something about the role of speaker jumpers in loudspeakers with more than one pair of clamps? Where should speaker cables be plugged if we use such jumpers? In order not to make it too long, I will only tell you what my choices are, without giving any explanation. Whenever I can, I use RCA connections. Speaker cables can be of different length, but the difference should not exceed ca. 20% (people from the Chord company talk about 40%). There should be a single speaker cable. Jumpers are as important as the cable itself and I always connect signal from the amplifier to tweeter clamps. However, again, this is me and my system and your observations can be different. I would like to encourage you to carry out tests, listen and read, as only an idiot does not listen for no good reason or negates something without having listened to it, just because they think something is “impossible”. Audio, at the level that we are talking about, is an “organoleptic” activity and it is thanks to such experiments that we learn more and more, while the sound of even inexpensive systems is unquestionably better than before. ■

⌈ COMPACT DISC TRANSPORT is a device used to read an audio signal from a Compact Disc and send it to an external digital-to-analogue converter. The CD transport includes two main elements: a drive (mechanical part) and transmitter (electronics). Many engineers believe that with a proper oscillator a CD transport should not affect the sound. I do not need to say that they are wrong, so wrong! ⌋ he coming end of a given technology is determined by replacing it with a newer one, sometimes by its natural demise. Both cases are a result of a change in time. We observe it every day, because few people today make horseshoes, there are few coopers and tailors are not as popular as they once were. In electronics, this regularity is probably even easier to observe, because it has constantly been undergoing changes in the most recent times. However, there is such a thing as a “cultural buffer” which causes us, even though we are tempted by new ones, to be reluctant to abandon old solutions, especially if they work. Because such “buffer” exists we can still enjoy both vinyl records, Compact Discs and music files. | It's not dead yet! Compact Disc technology is a relatively primitive - from today's point of view - method of transferring musical material; it's about transferring it from the recording studio to our homes. Today there are much more technologically advanced and more elegant methods, above all streaming, where we get an almost perfect copy of files that came from mastering studio. Why, then, do we deal with this outdated technology? The answer is as simple as it is worrying: because still through it we can get the top sound, usually better than through streaming. Why, then, do we even still deal with this outdated technology? The answer is as simple as it is worrying: because using it allows you to get the top sound, usually of higher quality than the one achieved with streaming. The coming end of the Compact Disc has been anticipated for many years. I remember that some ten years ago a representative of Cambridge Audio, so a company that kept an eye on the pulse of the mass market, told me that they were preparing to extinguish this category of devices, although they would produce them until as long as there would be a demand on the market. Today, Cambridge Audio still offers CD players, CD transport and prepares for the premiere of the top Edge series CD player. Which mean – there is still demand for such products. Symptomatic for this way of thinking about the CD's end was the premiere of the Hegel CD player in 2017, which was named Mohican. Its name speaks for itself - it was supposed to be the last player of its kind in the company's history, signaling the dusk of a certain era. How much the Norwegians rushed the end of CD is clearly demonstrated by the fact that Cambridge Audio is active in this field, and even more strongly by the information we received just a few days ago, namely that Pro-Ject prepared a brand new CD transport whose mechanics were build as a result of cooperation of this brand's engineers with their counterparts in the Austrian company Stream Unlimited. Something tells me that the rumors about the death of the Compact Disc format were premature:) Again! | CDT-777 TOKU At the time of writing this test, there is virtually no information about the CDT-777 Toki transport from Reimyo. Search engines offer maybe two records related to it, and they are rather useless. Also, Mr. Kazuo Kiuchi, the owner of the company, doesn't want to talk about, suggesting that I should listen to it myself. So we have to collect the little information that is available. Reimyo, in Japanese 'miracle', is a brand belonging to the Combak Corporation, which offers electronic devices: CD transport, D / A converter, line preamplifier, power amplifier and power conditioner; the preamplifier and power amplifier are tube devices. In 2016, Mr. Kazuo Kiuchi, after two years of work, presented a new version of the DAP-999EX Limited DAC additionally designated as TOKU (current price: PLN 63.990,00). This device was inspired by texts from "High Fidelity", as well as the RED Fingerprint award, which is why this version is also called DAP-999EX Limited Toku High Fidelity Edition. The changes compared to the previous version were significant and concerned almost exclusively the digital signal conversion. In TOKU, the signal is converted synchronously, in the K2 JCV8009 chip, to the 24/176.4 form; conversion of 16-bit words to 24-bits in the K2 system is performed by interpolation, not by adding "empty" zeros. The Toku plate on the front of the CDT-777 Toku transport means that it too has been modernized. The manual does specify any particular changes and it differs from the earlier versions only with a red stamp. This is a Top-loader Compact Disc transport. The disc is placed directly on the motor axis and a CD stabilizer is placed on top. Closing the transport - manually - initiates reading the TOC, ie the table of contents. The elements that we know about are: a Philips CD-2M transport with an in-house-made, large-sized disc stabilizer. This one, however, has the usual fixing, i.e. a plastic element with a trapezoidal shape. The device features an excellent chassis made of aluminum plates and stands not on straight feet, but on aluminum flat bars, to which the cones were screwed in; the whole is placed Harmonix pads, products of another of Mr. Kiuchi's brands. Mr. Kazuo Kiuchi's Digital Audio Processor Toku did just one thing: it converted the digital signal from the Compact Disc to analog one, accepting only the 16-bit signal. The CDT-777 Toku transport is equally minimalistic: it only reads CDs (CDs, CD-Rs and CD-RWs) and features one digital output: RCA S/PDIF. There is no upsampler, no link to clock synchronization between transport and D / A converter, no external clock input. This is a “pure” CD transport. | HOW WE LISTENED TO IT It just so happens that I listened to the earlier version of this transport with the DAP-999EX TOKU High Fidelity Edition DAC. For comparison, I had at my disposal - this was in 2016 - my CD player, also with the Philips CD Pro-2M mechanism, the Ancient Audio Lektor AIR V-edition. Since then, a lot has changed in my system, because the source of the signal today is the Ayon Audio CD-35 HF Edition player, powered by the Siltech Triple Crown Power cable, I also have new speaker cables - also Siltech Triple Crown model. Reimyo's Transport and D/A converter were placed on the shelf of the Finite Elemente Pagode Edition rack. In the device's manual, Mr. Kiuchi points out that the best results are to be achieved using his cables including power ones. So for the transport I used the 聖 Hijiri SMT ‘Takumi’ Maestro, anf for the DAC the 聖 Hijiri SM2R ‘Sound Matter’. I also used a new digital cable 聖 Hijiri HDG-R1-Harmonix HS-102 to connect transports with DAC. The Reimyo system was placed in the same place where I listened earlier to its version with older transport, and also the CEC system - TL0 3.0 transport with DA0 3.0 DAC and the Métronome Technologie Dream Play CD: Kalista. The test was an A / B comparison with A and B known. The musical samples were 2 minutes long. I also listened to full albums using both, loudspeaker and headphone systems. REIMYO in „High Fidelity” AWARD | SPECIAL AWARD 2016: Reimyo DAP-999EX TOKU High Fidelity Edition | DAC TEST: Reimyo DAP-999EX TOKU High Fidelity Edition | DAC TEST: Reimyo DAP-999EX Limited – DAC, see HERE TEST: Reimyo CAT-777 MkII – linestage, see HERE TEST: Reimyo KAP-777 – power amplifier, see HERE KRAKOW SONIC SOCIETY, meeting #77: Reimyo KAP-777 – power amplifier, see HERE KRAKOW SONIC SOCIETY, meeting #72: Kazuo Kiuchi (Combak Corporation) in Krakow, see HERE INTERVIEW: Kazuo Kiuchi (Combak Corporation), see HERE TEST: Reimyo CDT-777 + DAP-999EX - CD transport + D/A Converter, see HERE Recordings used for the test (a selec- tion) Polish Jazz Quartet, Polish Jazz Quartet, Polskie Nagrania „Muza”/Warner Music Poland, „Polish Jazz | vol. 3”, Master CD-R (1965/2016); Aquavoice, Silence, Zoharum ZOHAR 168-2, Master CD-R (2018); Stan Getz/Joao Gilberto, Getz/Gilberto, Verve/Lasting Impression Music LIM K2HD 036, K2HD Mastering, „24 Gold Direct-from-Master Edition UDM”, Master CD-R (1964/2009) Voo Voo, Za niebawem, Wydawnictwo Agora 5903111492953, CD (2019) MAP feat. Krzesimir Dębski, Groovoberek, AC Records ARC 012, Master CD-R (2019) [REKLAMA5] The listening sessions were divided into two, or rather three sections. During the first of them |#1| I compared Reimyo with transport section of my Ayon Audio Player – both were connected to Toku DAC using RCA-RCA digital cable. I wanted to check how the Reimyo transport compares to a regular, not specialized SACD/CD transport. During the second part |#2| I connected the CDT-777 Toku using the same digital cable to a digital input of the Ayon player. Any signal in Ayon is converted firstly to DSD256 and only then to an analogue form. In this part I also compared SACD discs played using Ayon to CD layers of the same discs played by Reimyo. I wanted to assess the differences between them. | Comparison #1 The comparison of the Reimyo transport with the transport being part of the Ayon Audio CD-35 HE Edition connected to the former's brand's DAC can result in a small heart attack. Or at least in serious palpitations. Reimyo is a much, much better system to read data from CDs. Not "a bit" better, not "to some extent", and certainly not "maybe" – the CDT-777 Toku outclassed the reading system in Ayon, pure and simple. This is, of course, not a fair comparison, because the real advantage of the Austrian device is born in its digital section and it results in an outstanding performance, however, it confirmed something that I suspected for some time, namely that the transport used in the Ayon is not the best. However, this comparison is still valuable because I compared the transport of my player with other brands' transports in the same way before. So I know its strengths and weaknesses, and only in one case the effect (the difference) was similar, when I compared it with the CEC TL0 3.0. The thing that I immediately notice was a subjective difference in volume level. The Reimyo seems to play louder. This is a subjective feeling, because the level of digital signal is the same for all CD transports, and yet - Reimyo played "louder". I think this is a result of flattening the sound by Ayon's transport, as well as its dulling. These are probably two elements that objectively change the most. All the discs I used during my listening sessions, starting with the beautiful, new album of the Voo Voo group Za niebawem, the CD-R master version of the Polish Jazz Quartet and master CD-R with Getz / Gilberto, to the master CD-R of the unpublished MAP's Grooveoberek album, the Adam Czerwiński's group that plays with Krzesimir Dębski - they all sounded more real, stronger, dynamic, in a much more open way with Reimyo. This is probably the most important advantage of this device - opening the sound, while maintaining the character of the recording itself. Poor transports often dull the sound, and often - as in the case of Ayon - falsely warm it up (I am still talking about the transport, not about a complete player). They dull the treble, making the sound warmer and more "analog". In fact, the sound is of lesser quality, not "analogue". The true, not-falsified "analogue" sound, or completeness of sound, was presented by the CDT-777 Toku. I could hear it perfectly when listening to the Grooveoberek album. It includes a jazz, ethereal version of Godzinki, old Polish liturgical songs. It is extremely moving and incredibly well-recorded album - it's just a killer and a future hit on all audio show for the next several years. Interestingly, it was recorded "by the way" as a supplement to the album. But to the point - I listened to it from the analog master tape, the "varnish" from which the matrixes were made and from the test pressing, and finally from the CD. And? And the CD version tonally and with its ambiance was closest to the master tape! The vinyl versions were excellent, but they modified sound in a different direction. I heard very similar differences when comparing the transports of Ayon and Reimyo. The latter was closer to what I heard from the analog master tape. | Comparison #2 Listening in a system where the Ayon Audio SACD player worked as an integrated player, with the Reimyo CD transport connected to its digital input, brought less emotion. This is because the performance of both systems was at a similar level, differing only in the way of music presentation. Reimyo as the source sounded a bit harder, with a more pronounced bass. Sound was less saturated in the treble, with slightly smaller elements in the midrange. But it was also energetic, lively. Ayon sounded softer, more pastel. Interestingly, also in such a comparison the same discs played by Reimyo seemed a little louder. This time it was caused not by a better definition of information by this transport, and by providing information closer to a listener. Ayon shows a deeper scene, also the foreground is a bit more distant with it. It seems that the advantages of running a digital signal through the I2S link inside the player - and so the mechanisms are connected with D/A converters in integrated players, offered some advantages that allowed Ayon to counterbalance advantages of a much better in mechanical terms, Reimyo transport. But, as I say, these were not differences that would eliminate one or the other drive. Until it came to playing SACDs. With Ayon they sounded in a deeper, stronger, more saturated way - they were simply more sophisticated. The same CDs, but played by Reimyo from CD layers, were a bit simpler and not so "analog". | Comparison #3 The last comparison I made was listening to the full Reimyo Toku system and then to my reference player. With CDs both systems sounded fantastic. The Japanese player presents everything more tightly, more clearly and closer. The bass is better extended, and it is tuneful and very well defined. In turn, Ayon fills the midrange better and offers a softer, more "spatial" treble. The music reproduced by the Reimyo system sounds somewhat more similar to a vinyl record, while Ayon is closer to an analogue tape. Both interpretations are equivalent. The more so that Mr. Kiuchi's player presents musical events with spontaneity and tangibility, which I know from XRCDs, and I like this way of presenting music, it's just the same "family" of emotions. The bass is nicely controlled and goes down low, which gives the presentation a feeling of a live event - the instruments have proper dimensions and are not a small dot in the "image". SUMMARY Ultimately the comparisons proved, that both systems offered a similar level of performance. They sounded a bit different, but both delivered an equally high level. Which leads straight to the conclusion: the new Reimyo transport is one of the best CD transports on the market, best of the best. The Philips mechanics have their own "sound", it has not changed, but it is now more versatile and going in the direction of what SACDs have to offer. So if your primary source of music are CDs it will be difficult to find a better source than the Reimyo system. I have not listened to all the top CD and SACD players in the world, but on the other hand I have heard most of them. The Reimyo CDT-777 Toku CD transport combined with the DAP-999EX TOKU High Fidelity Edition DAC could be my system. I value is as much as the full set of dCS Vivaldi, as the Spectral HDCD player, as aforementioned CEC system, and last but not least, as my Ayon Audio player. The GOLD Fingerprint award for the Reimyo's transport, as well as the company's full Toku system, is therefore indisputable.. Reimyo CDT-777 TOKU is a Compact Discs transport; CDT = Compact Disc Transport. Its only task is to read information from a CD and send it to an external digital-to-analogue converter. This device combines the world of mechanics and digital electronics, to some extent repeating what a turntable with a cartridge does. Chassis | Mechanics require a solid, well thought out structure. That is why the CT-777 chassis is very heavy. It is build from aluminum, thick plates combined with steel elements. The top cover is bolted with a dozen or so screws and additionally reinforced by two "bars", which also “hide” the screws. The whole stands on four aluminum cones screwed into thick plates widening the outline of the device, thus lowering its center of gravity and improving stability - a similar solution can be found in loudspeakers. Front and rear | The front features a small, poorly visible display, which is part of the Philips CD-Pro 2M transport kit. I think it's worth to think a nice large LED display, for example in red color, would be a nice upgrade. A disc is placed in a manually-operated chamber and an aluminum stabilization disc is placed over it. The signal is sent out through a high-class RCA socket where the mass contacts first, which prevents damage to the converter. There is also an IEC power socket on the rear panel. Inside | The inside has been divided into several chambers using thick aluminum plates. On the left side there is a very large power supply, and on the right a drive servo. In the power supply there are as many as three, large R-core transformers, favored by many Japanese manufacturers, in this case outsourced from Kitamura Kiden. One of them sits right next to the power supply, and two more, which did not fit there, were placed behind the drive. There are a lot of stabilized lines, and at the IEC socket there is a double Pi filter and an element by the Enacom, one of the Combak Corporation brands - it is a noise filter. The drive itself has already been discussed. Here you can see that it is screwed "rigidly" to a solid metal element, and this one to the side aluminum plates. The servo on a circuit board, as well as the S/PDIF transmitter, were placed on the PCBs on the other side of the drive. Remote | The remote control could be used in the popular electronics museum as a representative of the late 1980s or early 1990s. It is not very ergonomic and quite ugly. Reimyo, however, is extremely conservative in this respect and I would not expect that it will ever change. Technical specifications (according to manufacturer) Digital output: IEC958/EUB Standard Signal's amplitude: 0,5 Vp-p (+/-0,25 V 0-p) Output Impedance: 75 Ω Power consumption: 15 W Dimensions (W x H x D): chassis: 430 x 325 x 88 mm with feet: 466 x 361 x 131mm Weight: 14 kg [hfgallery] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/reimyo/th/05.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/reimyo/05.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/reimyo/05.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/reimyo/th/06.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/reimyo/06.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/reimyo/06.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/reimyo/th/07.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/reimyo/07.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/reimyo/07.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/reimyo/th/08.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/reimyo/08.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/reimyo/08.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/reimyo/th/09.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/reimyo/09.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/reimyo/09.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/reimyo/th/10.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/reimyo/10.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/reimyo/10.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/reimyo/th/11.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/reimyo/11.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/reimyo/11.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/reimyo/th/12.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/reimyo/12.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/reimyo/12.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [/hfgallery]

⌈ Mr. KAZUO KIUCHI, the owner of Combak Corporation, is a typical Japanese - he has a master belt in Kendo, he loves opera, he is also a fan of high-class sound. In addition to the production of electronics under the Reimyo brand, Harmonix and HIJIRI cabling and Bravo! loudspeakers, he is also a co-owner of the XRCD24 patent and releases CDs with this logo: jazz in the Master Music series (JVC) and classic in the Hi-Q Records label. A typical Japanese ... ⌋ t seems that with the SM2R "Sound Matter" cable a symbolic change took place - the Harmonix cables seem to be replaced with the full lineup under the brand name 聖 Hijiri. This process began in 2015 with the HGP-10R „Million” analogue interconnect, and the symbolism that I am talking about concerns the fact that the Harmonix X-DC350M2R IMPROVED-VERSION, the predecessor of the reviewed SM2R "Sound Matter", was used in JVC studios when mastering XRCD24 releases. It made it an important element of the company's strategy. And the XRCD24 format, and more broadly the music, is for Mr. Kazuo Kiuchi, the owner of Combak Corporation, which owns 聖 Hijiri and Harmonix brands, a particularly important undertaking. It is there that the the world of music and technology meet and the proper selection of all elements/details decides whether they complement and support each other to achieve fantastic result or they get in a way of success. (More about the XRCD, XRCD2 and XRCD24 in the article entitled PRAISE OF A (NON)FORMAT: XRCD An attempted description ) | SM2R „Sound Matter” 聖 Hijiri means a 'maestro' or an 'important leader'. Initially, it seemed that it would be the name of only one cable, the interconnect we talked about, because Mr. Kiuchi wanted to highlight its distinctiveness and emphasize the importance of it. Something had to change though, because when the market warmly received new products, 聖 Hijiri became a brand, not the name of one cable. The X-DC350M2R Improved-Version was a improved version of an older cable, also used in JVC studios, the X-DC "Studio Master". It took the company ten years to get from one to the other. The transition from the X-DC350M2R Improved-Version to the SM2R "Sound Matter" took "only" seven years, but only because a moment earlier, in 2015, a different power cable "happened" with the Harmonix logo, the X-DC Studio Master Million Maestro. It was a reference cable, very expensive one, and it was the basis of the tested SM2R "Sound Matter". Kiuchi-san offers very little information about his products, because he believes that only sound matters and no description can replace it. All we know is that assessing this cable took a whole year and the cable will be offered in limited quantities. What's more, it will be sold only in two countries in the world – in Japan and in Poland! The power cables developed by Mr. Kiuchi have characteristic visual features, because of their sleeves a cotton material resembling a braid of a iron cord, that we remember from our youth. In this case, it features a yellow-black interlace. However, using the SM2R "Sound Matter" cable, you could probably iron the sails of a huge ship because it is thick and heavy. It is slightly less flexible than the older version, but the only element that distinguishes it is a wooden "band" placed mid-length of the new model, to which the brand's logo was glued. The connectors look the same - they are very good, rhodium-plated, Wattgate plugs. The X-DC350M2R and X-DC15SM-MR models differed in both conductors used and - although to a lesser extent - in connectors; the more expensive cable also featured an exclusive, large wood element placed mid-length and was delivered in boxes handcrafted by a Japanese artist. In a nutshell – the Studio Master "Million" Maestro was made of directional wires of PCOCC copper, and the Improved-Version of OFC copper. What was used in the latest cable? - We do not know. | HOW WE LISTENED TO IT The X-DC350M2R Improved-Version is a power cable that I have been using continuously since the moment I tested it. I just had to buy it because it was unmatched in its price range. So this is the case in which the tested product is compared above all to its earlier version, which for many years was part of the reference system. The top cables in my system are the Acrolink Mexcel 7N-PC9500, Siltech Triple Crown Power and the Acoustic Revive Absolute-Power Cord. The new cable was facing a tough competition, especially since I really like the X-DC350M2R. To learn about the new power cable as much as possible, I tested it in three different applications - two analog and one digital, comparing it from one side to the older Harmonix, and on the other to the top Siltech. In analog systems, it powered phono preamplifiers in the following configurations: | 1 | Miyajima Labs. Madake cartridge → ViV laboratory Ltd. Rigid Float 7 / Ha tonearm → RCM Audio Sensor Prelude IC phonostage, | 2 | DS Audio DS-W2 cartridge → Schröder CB Tonearm → DS Audio DS-W2EQ phono preamplifier (part of the system with cartridge). Both arms were mounted on the Döhmann Helix 1. In a digital system, the cable powered the Ayon Audio CD-35 HF Edition SACD player (№ 1/50) and Reimyo CDT-777 Toku CD transport. The rest of the system consisted of the Ayon Audio Spheris III line preamplifier, the Soulution 710 power amplifier and the Harbeth M40.1 loudspeakers on the Acoustic Revive Custom Stands. Interconnects and speaker cables - Siltech Triple Crown. The test was conducted as A/B/A comparisons with A and B know. I used 2 minutes long music samples, as well as full albums. HARMONIX | HIJIRI in “High Fidelity” AWARD | BEST PRODUCT 2018: Hijiri H-SLC25R | speaker cable TEST: Hijiri H-LSC „MILLION” SOPHISTICATED LISTENER’S CHOICE | Power cable TEST: Harmonix TU-800M TRIBUTE + TU-812MX „Million” Maestro Series | tuning record matte + record tuning clamp TEST: 聖 Hijiri H-SLC25R „MILLION” SOPHISTICATED LISTENER’S CHOICE | speaker cable TEST: 聖Hijiri SMT ‘TAKUMI’ MAESTRO | power cable AC TEST: 聖Hijiri NAGOMI X-DCH | power cable AC AWARD | BEST SOUND 2015: 聖HIJIRI HGP-10R „MILLION” | analogue interconnect TEST: 聖Hijiri HGP-10R „MILLION” | analogue interconnect TEST: Harmonix TU-666M „BeauTone” MILLION MAESTRO 20th ANNIVERSARY EDITION | anti-vibration feet TEST: Harmonix X-DC STUDIO MASTER MILLION MAESTRO | power cable AC TEST: Harmonix X-DC350M2R IMPROVED-VERSION | power cable AC TEST: Harmonix RS15-ANV | anti-vibration platform KRAKOW SONIC SOCIETY | meeting #72: KAZUO KIUCHI (Combak Corporation) in Krakow TEST: Harmonix HARMONIC-STRINGS HS101-EXQ EXQUISITE + α1 | speaker cable + speaker cable supports TEST: Harmonix HS-101-GP + HS-101-SLC | interconnect RCA + speaker cable TEST: Reimyo + Harmonix + Bravo! | Combak Corporation system Recordings used for the test (a selec- tion): Brendan Perry, Ark, Cooking Vinyl/Vinyl 180 VIN180LP040, 2 x 180 g LP (2011) Depeche Mode, Personal Jesus 2011, Mute Records Ltd 12BONG43, 33 1/3 rpm maxi-single (2011) Frank Sinatra, Swingin’ Session!!!, Capitol Records/Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab MFSL 1-407, “Special Limited Edition | No. 346”, 180 g LP (1961/2012) Komeda Quintet, Astigmatic, Polskie Nagrania „Muza”/Polskie Nagrania | Warner Music Poland 190295452032, „Polish Jazz vol. 5”, „Limited Edition Coloured Vinyl | № 299”, LP (1966/2019) Max Roach Quartet, Live in Tokyo Vol. 1, Denon Jazz YX-7508-ND, LP (1977) Shinji Tanimura, Shinji Tanimura, Stereo Sound SSAR-013, „Studio Master Series. Stereo Sound Analog Records Collection”, 180 g LP (2017) Takeshi Inomata and his Friends, Get Happy, Audio Lab. Record ALJ-1030, LP (1975) Varius Manx, The Beginning, Polskie Nagrania „Muza” SX 3008, LP (1991) [REKLAMA5] He you ever wondered what the designer are driven by when looking for better solutions? I mean, what exactly do they want to achieve? Better sound - it's clear, but what does "better sound" mean and what would make it "better"? One way to improve a product is to improve some element, for example, make it more detailed, with more range extension, more palpable, more spacial - there many aspects of the sound I could name here. It is a good way that brings the benefits that we expect. There is another possibility that you can fit into one word: resolution. However, there is a problem with it - while correcting individual sound aspects is relatively simple, i.e. it can be achieved in a relatively short period of time, it is not so with the resolution. These are not details, sound components, but rather a proper combination of them. It is not possible to "decreed" a better resolution. Achieving it is a result of a multiple actions that are not explicit and which do not necessarily lead directly to producing more detailed sound with better bandwidth extension, greater palpability and a deeper sound stage. As it is the case with the SM2R "Sound Matter" cable. | SM2R vs X-DC350M2R The comparison of these two cables shows what I have expressed in the previous paragraph. I know, like and respect the sound of the Harmonix cable because it has never let me down. And despite the fact it has a clear own sonic signature, it does not dominate over recordings. Nevertheless, the new cable outperformed its older brother (or sister) in almost every aspect. And again - not because Harmonix was a poor sounding cable, and because the 聖 Hijiri is so good. Its resolution is two orders of magnitude better. This is something that can not be invented, you have to put a lot of work to it to achieve such improvement. What one needs for it is: a great background, a high starting point, and an awareness of the direction in which one has to go. Mr. Kiuchi's new power cord sounds much lower and fuller - these are basic features of high-end sound. The center of gravity of the tonality is set in the lower midrange, which results in a darker sound than with Harmonix. And yet, it is not a closed-in sound. In direct comparison, it turns out that the cymbals are strong and unambiguous with it, perhaps even stronger than with the older version. That's how, for example, the Max Roach Quartet Live in Tokyo Vol. 1 sounded like. This is a disc recorded in 1977 in the PCM by the Denon label. I wrote about it many times, so it will not surprise you if I say it offers a great sound. Slightly shifted up on the scale, but extremely dynamic, consistent and clean. 聖 Hijiri presented this album in perfectly accurate way. It did not pretend that there is a lot of bass there, because there isn't, but it also presented, in a much more sophisticated way, the advantages of Denon recording technique, which - in my opinion - until the DSD times no other digital recording technique, no matter the bit depth, could match. Soundstream recordings could have been an even better way, but it's a matter for another article. In any case, the reviewed cable delivered internal complexity, resolution (real, not one resulting from the theoretical bit depth) and the phenomenal dynamics of this disc. And the dynamics is an important element here, because this is the feature that was great in the older cable, and if the comparison is made by someone less experienced, they could point to the superiority of X-DC350M2R in this respect. In fact, compared to it, the 聖 Hijiri sounds "more", but only if we know what a good sound is. If we don't, then there may be a situation similar to that, when one compares audiophile power cable to a regular power cord that is added to audio equipment. It may seem more accurate, faster, more open. But it is an illusion, a delusion, it is simply not true. Because the tested cable, to be clear, is better, so much better. It sounds lower, denser, there's a lot more information in it. And to tell you the truth, it's closer to the Harmonix X-DC Studio Master Million Maestro and Siltech Triple Crown Power than to the X-DC350M2R Improved-Version. | SM2R vs Triple Crown Power The comparison of SM2R and X-DC350M2R cables was aimed at determining in which direction Mr. Kiuchi's thinking of sound went. It turns out that it is similar to the one followed by the best specialized manufacturers. In turn, the comparison with my reference Siltech cable was to show where we are objectively at this price level. It's about the structure of sound, not details - about important things, not about "beating around the bush", as our friend Janusz, the host of the Krakow Sonic Society meetings, often says. The performance as a whole is more important than individual sonic features. And it is similar to what both aforementioned cables do. The sound is low and there are lots of details in it. But these are not "details" that people often talk about discussing audio components, because you do not hear them as details. It's something that builds large, dense, three-dimensional bodies. In direct comparison with Siltech it become clear that 聖 Hijiri focuses a bit on the middle of the band. It presents vocals closer to the listener, like Sinatra from the Swingin 'Session!!!. It was slightly better separated from the band behind him and closer to the listening position. Same happened with Brendan Perry and the Ark album. His vocal has a much smaller volume than Sinatra's, and a different role to play, but it was also a bit more selective. And this is because the Japanese cable focuses more on this part of the range, extracts individual layers of the stage, polishes them, because it does not have to control so much what is happening at the bottom of the band. The bass is low, dense, very nice. But it also does not go as low as with Siltech, it's not that kind of presentation. It didn't lack anything because when needed - as in some fragments of the analog version of the Varius Manx debut entitled The Beginning - it surprised me with its weight. But it was also clear to me that this cable's priorities were different. | SUMMARY One of the basic objections of the “academic” people towards the "audio" people is that the latter do not test the audio components using the ABX comparison regime, i.e. a double-blind tests. Without going into details, let me just say that we do not do it because it does not work for music, so the test as such is defective. It actually tests something - the tester himself. I have the impression that although I use A / B / A tests, with A and B known, I rather test myself to some extent and that you are reading not only the description of the sound of a given product, but also a description of my own preferences and sensibilities. But it must be so, it's part of the critic's job in any field. And my preferences are really well described by the 聖 Hijiri SM2R "Sound Matter" - it delivers the sound I like, value and believe to be the right one. First of all, it offers a great resolution, thanks to which the recordings live deeper, are interesting, each time we hear something different, because we pay attention to something else. It's about focusing our attention in the middle of the band - not even through an emphasis, but because the most is happening in this prat of the band, and we are evolutionarily more sensitive to this range. There is a great, dense treble, and a low, strong bass. However, they are a bit “behind” the midrange, as if by half a step - to complement it and not to suffocate it. It's a beautiful sound, that's why the 聖 Hijiri SM2R "Sound Matter" gets a well-deserved RED Fingerprint. ■ Dystrybucja w Polsce MOJE AUDIO ul. Sudecka 152 53-129 Wrocław | POLSKA tel. +48 606 276 001 mojeaudio.pl [hfgallery] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/hijiri/th/05.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/hijiri/05.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/hijiri/05.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/hijiri/th/06.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/hijiri/06.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/hijiri/06.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/hijiri/th/07.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/hijiri/07.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/hijiri/07.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/hijiri/th/08.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/hijiri/08.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/hijiri/08.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/hijiri/th/09.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/hijiri/09.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/hijiri/09.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/hijiri/th/10.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/hijiri/10.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/hijiri/10.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/hijiri/th/11.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/hijiri/11.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/hijiri/11.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/hijiri/th/12.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/hijiri/12.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/hijiri/12.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/hijiri/th/13.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/hijiri/13.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/hijiri/13.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/hijiri/th/14.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/hijiri/14.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/hijiri/14.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [/hfgallery]

⌈ HAIKU-AUDIO is a Polish company with its headquarters based in Krakow, specializing in the production of audio amplifiers. Established in 2012, it took its name from the type of output amplifier by company called Talcomp. The name of the circuit refers to its simplicity and effectiveness, a harmonious combination of content and form. The owner of Haiku-Audio and its chief designer is WIKTOR KRZAK. The name of the company, the name of the particular model, but most of all the approach to its products meant that the Polish device had to be included in the issue dedicated to products from Japan. ⌋ iktor is a musician - a phagocist - playing both symphonic music and experimental forms. But for years he has also been an active audio amplifiers designer. He started in 2002, but the company was not founded until ten years later, when its founder found his own path. Initially, the products with the Haiku-Audio logo were available mainly in the form of kits, in various stages of assembly. With time, finished products became dominant position in the lineup and today they are the basic activity of the company. When we look at the offer of this Krakow-based company, we will see that the designer's passion, or continuous striving for improvement, a need to try new solutions - that all of this culminates in a separate series of products called "Haiku Custom Works". We can find in it short series, often one of the kind products, which are something like "special products", using NOS type tubes, high-end components, even more sophisticated circuits, and so on. In other words – elements that in a bigger scale production are simply too expensive to use and using them make it impossible to maintain repeatability of products. | Relativity theory in practice When during the Audio Video Show 2018 I saw the new Haiku-Audio amplifiers called Origami - I was speechless. It was a tube devices that could well be made in Japan. It was about both the external design and the quality of workmanship. There were two amplifiers utilizing the EL34 and 6550 tubes, and each of them was available in two versions: integrated and as separates. For the latter, the division was made in a quite unusual way, because it was not a preamplifier or power supply sections that were placed in separate chassis, but the input selector and attenuator. We agreed to test this amplifier, but without setting a specific date. We finally managed to meet beginning April this year, I mean Wiktor and me. Which, in the experimental way, allowed us to prove the theory regarding the relativity of time and space - the route from the current headquarters of the company on Zabłocie Street to my place takes 18 minutes by car, via Zakopianka, and an hour on my feet, through Kalwaryjska street. While carrying an amplifier it would probably take twice as long, because one would have to make a stop on the way and rinse one's throat in one of the pubs near the Bernatka footbridge. When Wiktor, along with the company's representative, began to unpack the amplifier, I felt a slight twinge, but I did not know what was going on. And even the 300B tubes put in the sockets by Wiktor did not knock me out of the stupor - I looked and did not see. It turned out that somewhere along the way, with time, not only he and the space were relativized, but also the object of the test. Ultimately he delivered for assessment a device, which had just been assembled with the 0001 serial number, the integrated amplifier called SEnsei 300B. WIKTOR KRZAK Owner and designer WIKTOR KRZAK: Have you heard that Revox is launching a new tape recorder? - Unfortunately, it will not record, but only play music… WOJCIECH PACUŁA: That's not an issue for me – if you want to records on reel-to-reel you have to buy Nagra, or Revox PR99 III and at the cost of just a few thousands you'll become an owner of a professional equipment. While the Revox, or Thorens – as they are also about to release a tape recorder – are meant to to play already recorded copies of master-tapes. WK: But the times have changed and we can choose from many available devices today, right? Until recently, there was just a CD player, few used LPs, but until few years ago nobody even thought about tapes... WP: The 300B single-ended tube amplifiers can be compared in this context to tape-recorder, can't they? WK: Actually, yes, one could say that :) There are more and more tube amplifiers n the market, hence soon it may not be a niche market anymore. How is the SEnsei different from all other devices available on the market? On the one hand, this is a sum of all my experiences resulting from studying and listening to other amplifiers. That's why I gave it this name - I've been watching the masters. On the one hand, there is Kondo and Audio Note, on the other Verdier - the latter is sort of my private tube world guide. This is absolutely not a copy of any of them, but a result of my conclusions. There are a few things in it that I finally managed to do and implement. For example - in this amplifier there are no semiconductors at all, not a single one. The 300B heating is managed with an alternating current, which is a rare solution. Haiku-Audio's workshop in Krakow's Zabłocie. 30 years ago, in the same place, in Unitra-Telpod factory, during my school's workshops and assembled potentiometers and capacitors… And there is no hum? No, none. Only while switching on you will hear a not so loud crack coming from speakers and this is the only inconvenience of such a solution. There is nothing to be afraid of :) There are two gain stages for small signals and a third output stage. The feedback is used differently than in the amplifiers - and, that is most important, there is a NFB. It is not parallel, and serial, applied in a completely different way. How does it work? This feedback is sourced form a separate tap of the output transformer. This is a SE circuit, where the NFB does not include the entire amplifier. I did want it however, to loose control over the performance. This circuit reacts differently to the sound than a regular one, because it does not harden the sound as the voltage NFB does. I can see only single loudspeakers out – isn't it a problem when using speakers of different impedance loading? No, it is not a problem at all, as the amplifier operates in the 4 to 8 Ω range, while delivering 9 W output without any problem. The secret of such a solution is the power supply. I decided to use a GZ34 rectifying tube and a large choke, that you can see in the front. The filter is a classic "Pi", but an improved one - recently I took it as a challenge to design power supplies with the smallest possible capacity. And this requires very large chokes – in this case it is as big as the output transformers. It also features a very good metal and it is the main filtering element. In my opinion, such a circuit behaves better tonally. Of course I used spatial assembly. As for novelties that I do not use in any other products, there are new bakelite sockets for tubes, that have made a come back recently. They are cut out on CNC machines, the legs are grabbing mechanisms, etc. Bakelite is closer to the spirit of the past - this amplifier is supposed to be a bit nostalgic. I did not try to achieve some particular measurements with it. Obviously, the amplifier must be resistant to aging, it must not have any hum, noise, etc., but this is not my goal. The goal is to get listener closer to the music, to other times, to create the right mood. The 300B delights when it comes to chamber music - that's when wonderful things happen. For example, when we listen to a string quartet, when the musicians enter together into a small room. When real acoustics are recorded together with music, to hear that you can not have anything better in your system. You do not pay attention to the fact that there is a crack on the record, or that the bass is somewhat unclear - it doe What speakers do you use with these amplifiers? I use my own design that has no name yet, it is not commercialized. This is an old project, from the time when I worked at Talcomp. It was there that we designed loudspeakers together with the team, which are still in the development phase :) And they are my reference speakers. I am still testing some drivers - we make our own bass drivers. There is a man here, Irek, who himself extrudes the suspension; the membranes are from Tonsil. My columns have 90.5 dB efficiency at 8 Ω. | SEnsei 300B SE The output | As I said – I threw up my hands. The problem was not the amplifier itself, but its output 9 W for my Harbeth M40.1 speakers is definitely not enough. Although they are quite easy to drive, have a "friendly" impedance, and I sit quite close to them (every additional meter of distance from speakers requires doubling the amplifier output to get the same volume level), their sensitivity is not particularly high and experience teaches that all their advantages are shown with high output amplifiers, preferably solid-state ones. And the SEnsei 300B SE amplifier offers just 9 W per channel. I said my piece and - it might have seemed - we ended the same matter. But we looked at each other with Wiktor and I promised that I would give it a try anyway and if I think that the amplifier can not handle this loading, we will think about some other device for the test. As you can see, I did the test. The latest Haiku-Audio amplifier proves something that Kondo crew, Jarek Waszczyszyn and other key tube amplifier designers have always known: output power is one factor, and current efficiency is a whole different one.In this case we are dealing with an oversized power supply with small capacity, but also a powerful choke, not much smaller than the output transformer itself. And the latter is surely not a small one. Design | Both, the power supply transformer and the choke, as well as both output transformers, were screwed on the top of the device. This is a classic design for tube amplifiers, known since the 1940s, where all transformers and chokes, as well as tubes, are mounted outside the chassis, which provides them with better cooling and shields the audio circuits. SEnsei 300B SE is a tube amplifier, with a tube power supply. It operates in Class A SE, i.e. single-ended. This means that the entire signal, both of its halves, are amplified in one gain element - starting from the E802CC input tube, through the ECC81 driver, and ending with the 300B power tubes. All tubes, including the GZ34, that is a full-wave rectifier, come from the Slovak company JJ Electronics (the Japanese Leben also sources tubes for its devices from JJ). The electrical circuit is very simple, but it is a sophisticated simplicity. To be simple and functional at the same time, you have to know what you can give up. There are capacitors from the Polish company Miflex inside along with Ohmite resistors and CMC speaker connectors. The assembly is spatial, i.e. point-to-point, without any printed circuit boards, but with auxiliary elements. So, here we already have two main features of this device: extensive, not very typical power supply, as well as the signal's path. Equally important, maybe even the most important, are the output transformers. They look inconspicuous, but they conceal the patent applied by Wiktor in the SET amplifier for the first time, and previously known from the QUAD II amplifiers; Mind you - QUAD II were push-pull amplifiers. | Thesaurus Class A = parameters of amplifying elements (tubes and transistors) are described by means of static characteristics, so-called curves. Depending on the point on the curve, the amplifier operates in one of four classes: A, AB, B and C - the first three are used in audio. Class A allows you to amplify the entire signal in the most linear part of the characteristic, but with very large energy losses, emitted as heat. Triode = is an electronic amplifying vacuum tube consisting of three electrodes inside an evacuated glass envelope: a heated filament or cathode, a grid, and a plate (anode) SE = Single-Ended, type of circuit in which the whole signal is amplified by a single element in a non-symmetrical circuit PSE = Parallel Single-Ended, it is still a non-symmetrical circuit, but with couple elements operating in parallel SET = Single-Ended Triode, which is a triode operating in a single ended circuit DHT = Direct Heated Triode, type of a tube in which a heater is a part of a cathode 300B = direct heated triode (DHT), developed in 1933 by General Electric, introduced to consumer market in 1937. It provides maximum 9W output ECC = designation of low power tubes with a noval (glass) base, where 'E' means a 6,3V heating voltage, and 'C' means a triode; in this case, two triodes, because it's a double triode The point is that there is no global feedback loop in the whole amplifier. Instead, the feedback signal is sourced from one of the secondary windings of a multi-section output transformer, which is connected by a split load technique to anode's, grid's and power tube's cathodes paths. The amplifier features an aluminum front with two large knobs – volume control and input selector. There are four inputs. Amplifier features single loudspeakers connectors - Wiktor ensures that the amplifier's operation is stable in a fairly wide range of impedance load. The on/off switch is placed on the right side of the device. The amplifier does not feature remote control. It's been one of the hallmarks of the Haiku-Audio designs for many years. Today you can order different versions of devices, also including a remote control. HAIKU-AUDIO in „High Fidelity” REVIEW: Haiku-Audio IOVITA | integrated amplifier AWARD | BEST SOUND 2017: Haiku-Audio HOMMAGE Á WILIAMSON 6CA7 ULTRALINEAR | integrated amplifier REVIEW: Haiku-Audio HOMMAGE Á WILIAMSON 6CA7 ULTRALINEAR http://highfidelity.pl/@main-783&lang=en | integrated amplifier REVIEW: Haiku-Audio GANYMEDE + BRIGHT Mk3 POWER | line stage/phonostage + power amplifier AWARD | BEST SOUND 2016: Haiku-Audio SOL III | integrated amplifier REVIEW: Haiku-Audio SOL III | integrated amplifier REVIEW: Haiku-Audio HAIKU BRIGHT Mk3 | integrated amplifier Recordings used for test (a selec- tion): Beethoven, Complete Sonatas for piano & violin, wyk. Isabelle Faust, Alexander Melnikov, Harmonia Mundi HMC 902025.27, 4 x CD (2009) Bill Evans, Bill Evans At The Montreux Jazz Festival, Verve /PolyGram Records 539 758-2, „Verve Master Edition”, CD (1968/1998) Bill Evans, Bill Evans At The Montreux Jazz Festival, Verve /Universal Music LLC, SHM-SACD (1968/2014) Perfect, Live, Savitor/Damian Lipiński Pro-Audio Mastering (niepublikowana wersja remasteru), Master CD-R (1983/2017) Richard Strauss, Also Sprach Zarathustra Don Juan, dyr. Herbert von Karajan, wyk. Berliner Philharmoniker, Deutsche Gramophon/Polydor K.K. POCG-9357, „Karajan Gold”, Gold-CD (1984/1993) The Danish Radio Jazz Group, Krakow Jazzklub, Poland 1966, Jazzhus Disk JD-7631, CD (2012) The Oscar Peterson Trio, Night Train, Verve Records 521 440-2, „Verve Master Edition”, CD (1963/1997) The Oscar Peterson Trio, Night Train, Verve Records/Universal Music K.K.Uccu-9430, SHM-CD (1963/2007) Varius Manx, The Beginning, Polskie Nagrania „Muza”/Metal Mind Productions MMP CD 0425, CD (1992/2006) Varius Manx, The Beginning, Polskie Nagrania „Muza”/SPV Poland SPV 00232, CD (1992/1994) Vladimir Horowitz, Horowitz at the Met, RCA Red Seal/BMG Classics 633142, „High Performance”, CD (1982/1990); [REKLAMA5] The hands I threw up at first now I had to use to applaud this amp. OK, that's not accurate, I didn't feel like applauding but rather like celebrating with some nice drink, but it reflects well the change in my attitude towards this amp that happened between Wiktor's arrival and the end of this review. This small, low-power device delivered an effortless, beautiful performance, a large scale sound and an amazingly low bass - and it was able to do it paired with loudspeakers that are not so easy to drive. I am sure that you've heard many times the catch phrase that "only the first watt counts." Like most such sayings, also this one incites suspicions. You can't really believe any such “statements”, as everything is subject to interpretation. In this case the point is, that the first watt counts wherever it has a chance to do the job. Which means, above all, in systems with high efficiency speakers. But let me tell you something else - the first watt counts in any system, with an amplifier of any output, provided that it is a "high quality watt", so to speak. In this context and in my understanding of this saying, the first watt symbolizes the resolution, clarity, dynamics and tonal richness, which is applicable in case of my Soulution 710 power amplifier (120 W / 8 Ω, 240 W / 4 Ω), 480 W / 2 Ω, current efficiency: 60 A), in the Leben CS600X (32 W / EL34) integrated amplifier, as well as when it comes to the tested Haiku-Audio SEinsei integrated amplifier (9 W). And the bigger output (more watts) has some advantages but also some disadvantages, as everything else in life, but they are only something extra, a bonus that comes at some cost (as does lack of it). When it comes to lesser quality amplifier, also the "first watt" is of lesser importance. In the case of the reviewed device, the first watt plays a key role. It just happens that it is one of the coolest 300B amplifiers I know. Maybe I'm not an expert on this type of device, but I've heard dozens of top products like that, some were just phenomenal, and I have healthy distance to the topic. And such devices as the Victor's amplifier, awaken the best part of myself. They are a combination of technical knowledge and musical sense. They are simply very good. Haiku-Audio plays “pastel” sound. It is not pushing forward as the costing a little more, Accuphase and Luxman amplifiers do, it's about a different modeling of the sound. This is about something inexpressible, which means that even though at first glance, there is not much emotion in it - these in a sense are "instilled" in listeners by the aforementioned amplifiers, and I would also add Leben CS300X to the bunch - but one still is excited about the music. I think that this is due to the aforementioned vivid three dimensionality of the presentation, i.e. the natural, very organic drawing of the panorama in front of the listener, as well as the low, strong bass and thus the foundation of the sound being placed quite low, a bit like with the Kondo OnGaku. The Polish amplifier has neither the resolution nor momentum of the Japanese masterpiece, but when it comes to the massiveness and volume of the presentation, it offers a similar approach. It is surprising, because the combination of nine watts with the Harbeths rarely works. And yet, in this case, it works. Impressed by how capable the amplifier turned out to be, I listened with it to a few discs in which the bass lines translate directly into their artistic expression and none of them disappointed, whether it was Richard Strauss and Also Sprach Zarathustra, or an instrumental debut of the Varius Manx The Beginning. It was a powerful, deep sound without any artificial emphasis in lower regions or underlining the upper bass, or hardening its attack. The sound was actually always and in every recording rather soft but with an intentional, not forced softness. I say "actually", because we have to remember of the 9 watts output which can't break lows of physics, it can only be skilfully used. In this case, it relies on the amplifier's very smooth transition input the overdrive state. Various amplifiers cope with this in a various ways, and tube designs soften or harden the sound, depending on the design (most often it depends on the feedback method). The SEnsei played all the time offering similar level of performance, without changing the consistency of the sound or its color. When pushed to its limits SEnsei signals it only with a slightly simplified macro-dynamics. But you have to know what to look for to realize it. In "blind listening" it will be very difficult. With high efficiency speakers it probably will not come out to that, but even with the Harbeths it was not in any way annoying, let alone disqualifying. One of the next things that drew my attention was the way of presenting space, or imaging. It's an amplifier that presents or develops events behind speakers. When needed, it accurately reflects the out of phase layers, but always in connection with the "base" that is placed behind the line connecting the speakers. It builds everything far into the depth of the stage, but - this is the second feature - the most important are the foregrounds. As a result, we receive an involving, intense presentation, but at the same time it is slightly distanced, the sound comes to us with a slight "delay", already fully formed and arranged. And I think that's what I wanted to get to, the gravity pushed me in this direction, to a brief statement: it is a very nice, pleasant and - yes - well-arranged sound. It has something of nonchalance of a successful man to it, one who doesn't have to do anything, but is able to do almost everything. It plays in a soft way, with a truthful softness, and not pretend one, one that lets you experience the music in a deep, meaningful way. And yet, it is extremely resolving, because it very well emphasized the differences between the various editions of The Oscar Peterson Trio's Night Train ("Verve Master Edition" and SHM-CD), and the already mentioned Varius Manx's album. At the same time, the SEnsei added to them its own sonic "feature", making them slightly more three-dimensional and making the listening experience more enjoyable. Even The Danish Radio Jazz Group, recorded in an unknown Krakow club in 1966, on a rather primitive, mono tape recorder, sounded nicely and pleasantly with this amp. | SUMMARY The SEnsei 300B SE is a versatile amplifier that can work well with a wide range of loudspeakers, not necessarily high-efficiency ones. Which gives it an advantage over other low power SET amplifiers, because it allows you to choose the loudspeakers you want, not ones we have to choose because of their specifications. Over time, you will realize that it offers not only a pleasant sound, but also an intrinsically complex, multidimensional, resolving and palpable. At some point you will stop listening to it for the sound and start listening to the music. With a strong low bass, great control over the speakers and a relaxing but tangible panorama. RED Fingerprint! ■ Technical specification (according to manufacturer) Output: 9 W Operation: Class A SE Tubes: 2xECC81, 2x300B, 1xGZ34 Front: black or silver Frequency range: -1 dB: 14 Hz–35 kHz -3 dB: 7 Hz–51 kHz Power consumption: 250 W Dimensions: 450 x 380 x 190 cm Weight: 20 kg [hfgallery] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/haiku/th/05.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/haiku/05.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/haiku/05.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/haiku/th/06.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/haiku/06.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/haiku/06.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/haiku/th/07.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/haiku/07.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/haiku/07.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/haiku/th/08.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/haiku/08.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/haiku/08.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/haiku/th/09.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/haiku/09.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/haiku/09.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/haiku/th/10.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/haiku/10.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/haiku/10.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/haiku/th/11.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/haiku/11.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/haiku/11.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/haiku/th/12.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/haiku/12.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/haiku/12.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/haiku/th/13.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/haiku/13.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/haiku/13.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/haiku/th/14.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/haiku/14.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/haiku/14.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [/hfgallery]

⌈ DS AUDIO is a Japanese company specializing in optical systems. Using its experience, they proposed a phono cartridge in which instead of a coil and a magnet there is a diode and a photo cell. The light falling on the photo cells is modulated by a tiny element attached to the cantilever at the same place where the magnets (MM cartridges) or coils (MC cartridges) are usually placed. It is a completely ANALOG system, which aims to eliminate the main issues of classic phono cartridges. We get to test the DS W2 system. ⌋ The last High End Show in Frankfurt at the Kempinski Hotel took place in 2003. This was the first audio show I attended as a journalist, back then of the "Sound & Vision" magazine. In addition to several conversations that I carried out at the time and a few devices that impressed me, I still remember only two presentations, two sounds that I "carry" in my mind ever since. One of them was prepared by the German company Ascendo, which presented its room acoustics correction system, and the other by the Japanese company ELP Japan. The ELP presentation concerned a turntable in which vinyl records were read by a laser beam - in a similar way as is the case of optical discs (CD, DVD etc.) players. The system called LT-1XA Laser Turntable was very large, very expensive and extremely sensitive to dust on records, but the sound was remarkable. The idea of using a laser to read a groove of a vinyl record was not a new one, as it had been developed since 1972, and in 1977 at the 57th Audio Engineering Society (AES) meeting, William K. Heine presented a document titled A Laser Scanning Phonograph Record Player, however, a working record player was presented only in 1997. Despite significant financing, the bankruptcy of the Finial Technology, the first company that dealt with this topic, even more money invested by the ELP, the idea did not work out. Why? As it seems, the key obstacle was on the one hand the funds that were still lacking, and on the other, the habits of audiophiles, who the laser and - more broadly - the optical technique associated only with digital recordings, and thus did not give it a chance. And yet the ELP turntables were completely analog and had nothing to do with the "digital" playback. | LED cartridge It seems that DS Audio was more fortunate and its products were accepted, despite also using optical reading system. Its mother company, the Digital Stream Corporation, was founded in 1998 by Tetuji Aoyagi and specialized in developing advanced optical technologies. For example, twenty years ago, they were Microsoft's partner at the time when the company introduced optical computer mouse to the market (more HERE), and today it produces almost all systems in the world used to test drives and CD-ROMs. DS Audio is its "audio" division and its director is Tetsuaki Aoyagi, 33-year-old son of Aoyagi. The company focused on cartridges. The idea for an "optical" cartridge is not a new one. Already by the late 1940s, the model called Beam of Light was presented by Philco. The cartridge, however, got very hot during operation, making it unreliable. The C-100P cartridge of this type proposed by Toshiba was not entirely successful either. But it was the impulse or inspiration for development of the first DS Audio product. The first goal was to identify issues of classic cartridges. The quick response is that there is always an issue with a vibrating mass and a low level of the output signal. The first problem is addressed by replacing magnets attached to the cantilever with coils – i.e. changing the MM cartridge into a MC one - and then reducing the number of turns in coils, and the latter by using stronger magnets and more precise winding of the coils. Both methods, however, have their limitations and small improvements require investing significant amounts of money. DS Audio is a company specializing in optical technologies - its mother company is a manufacturer of industrial computer drives for testing errors on CD-ROMs. So they did a seemingly simple thing and replaced a coil-magnet system known from classic cartridges with a diode-shading plate-photo cells system. So there is a classic stylus, a classic cantilever, but at the other end there are no coils but rather a square element that obscures photo cells. When the stylus with the cantilever vibrate due to modulated grooves of the record, the shading plate also moves to the rhythm of the vibrations. It's a completely analog system, the cartridge behaves like any classic one, however, on its output we get a completely different signal. The MM, MI and MC cartridges are speed measurement systems in which the output voltage increases with both increasing speed and frequency. In turn, the optical system proposed by DS Audio is sensitive only to the amplitude of vibrations. To properly "translate" this signal and to amplify it in a classic line preamplifier, one needs to combine a dedicated phonostage with DS Audio cartridge. | DS W2 The DS W2 is one of the latest models of this brand and it is located below the top DS Master 1 in their portfolio. On the outside it looks like any other cartridge - it features an aluminum body with holes for mounting screws, a boron cantilever and a Micro Ridge stylus (both made by another specialist, Adamant Namiki Precision Jewel Col, Ltd.) and gold-plated pins that send the signal outside. The whole weighs 8.1 g, which is in the upper registers of the medium weight range. For comparison, the Miyajima Laboratory Madake cartridge weighs 9.7 g, and the Denon DL-103 - 8.5 g. Also, its VTF is completely "standard" with recommended value of 1.7 g. The element that differentiates it from “normal” cartridges is the red LED highlighting the translucent element on its front, and a solid, weighing 12 kg, DS W2 EQ phonostage. The company describes the color of the diode as "Natural Rose". The phonostage is actually a powerful power supply, equipped with twelve capacitors smoothing out grid ripples, with a capacity of 56 000 μF each, with a thick, copper base and an aluminum housing. The top cover is transparent, which allows us to see the inside. As it reads in an interview I've already pointed you to, it was designed by an engineer responsible for the amplification system for Toshiba cartridges from forty years ago. The actual phonostage circuit is small - it is a vertical PCB with precise elements, with input and output sockets soldered to it. There a single, unbalanced input using RCA sockets. There are two outputs, however, each of them featuring both, RCA and XLR sockets. These outputs offer different characteristics. One of them (No. 1) offers a flat frequency range, and low tones are cut below 30 dB (6 dB / oct). The second (No. 2) features two cut-off points - first at 50 Hz (-6 dB / oct), and then at 30 Hz (additional 6 dB / oct). The user can decide which one suits him better. The preamplifier delivers an output signal rated at 500 mV, which is similar to the one gets from most classic phono preamplifiers. | HOW WE LISTENED TO IT The DS Audio DS W2 is a complete system consisting of a phono cartridge and a phonostage. One can not be used without the other, which is a similar solution to the Soundsmith's Strain Gauge system. This system needs to be compared to other cartridge/phonostage sets. In our test the DS W2 was used in the Schröder CB Tonearm on the Döhmann Helix 1 turntable. It was compared to the Miyajima Lab. Madake cartridge on the ViV laboratory Ltd. Rigid Float 7/Ha tonearm. The signal was amplified in the RCM Audio Sensor Prelude IC phonostage, the Ayon Audio Spheris III linestage and the Soulution 710 power amplifier. Records used for the test a selec- tion): Bill Evans Trio, Waltz for Debby, Riverside Records/Analogue Productions APJ009, „Top 25 Jazz", Limited Edition #0773, 2 x 180 g, 45 rpm LP (1961/2008) Brendan Perry, Ark, Cooking Vinyl/Vinyl 180 VIN180LP040, 2 x 180 g LP (2011) Frank Sinatra, Swingin’ Session!!!, Capitol Records/Mobile Fidelity MFSL 1-407, “Special Limited Edition | No. 346”, 180 g LP (1961/2012) Janusz Zabiegliński And His Swingtet, Janusz Zabiegliński and His Swingtet, Polskie Nagrania „Muza”, „Polish Jazz vol. 9”, LP (1967) Joscho Stephan Trio, Paris-Berlin, Berliner Meister Schallplatten BMS 1817 V, „Limited Edition | No. 53”, 180 g Direct-To-Disc LP (2018) Max Roach Quartet, Live in Tokyo Vol. 1, Denon Jazz YX-7508-ND, LP (1977) Shinji Tanimura, Shinji Tanimura, Stereo Sound SSAR-013, „Studio Master Series. Stereo Sound Analog Records Collection”, 180 g LP (2017) Takeshi Inomata and his Friends, Get Happy, Audio Lab. Record ALJ-1030, LP (1975) Yama & Jiro’s Wave, Girl Talk, Three Blind Mice/Cisco TBM-2559-45, „45 RPM Special Limited Edition | No. 0080/1000”, 2 x 45 RPM 180 g LP (1975/2006) [REKLAMA5] You do know that there is no such thing as an "analogue sound", right? This is just an idea, a stereotype that makes it easier for us to communicate. There is no such thing in the sense, that it is impossible to explicitly point to a repetitive set of features that would make the sound "analog" as opposed to "digital" one - because this is a dichotomy it is usually about. There are so many different turntable systems that it would be really difficult to isolate a common "core" set of features from them. It would be even more difficult considering the fact that the DSD256 digital recordings are more and more "analogue". If we add to it yet another variable, or reel-to-reel tape recorders, it turns out that the term "analog" has such a wide meaning that in practice it ceases to describe one type of sound. And yet - when I heard the DS Audio cartridge in my system, when I compared it with - almost textbook “analogue” - Miyajima Labs Madake cartridge, the “A” term came to my mind right away. The optical cartridge sounds so creamy, dense. It presents large phantom images from the foreground, adding some body to them, as it also does to everything around them. The Joscho Stephan and Sven Jungbeck guitars from the direct-to-disc record by Joscho Stephan Trio had a larger volume, were warmer and smoother with it - but smoother in the sense that they seemed more "analogue". Partly responsible for this effect is the deepening the midrange, especially in its lower range. It was obvious not only with the aforementioned album, but also with the original, monophonic pressing of the Janusz Zabiegliński And His Swingtet from the Polish Jazz series (vol. 9), which with the Miyajima cartridge sounded quite high, a bit like watching one of the Polish comedies from 1960s. With the DS Audio its sound has deepened, lowered and got richer. The sound was still open, based on the upper midrange, but now with a stronger bottom and better bass. I heard it also with the fantastic re-edition of the Bill Evans Trio Waltz For Debby, prepared by the Analogue Productions label on two 45 r.p.m. records. Its sound with the DS Audio was juicy, saturated and smooth. In turn, the Miyajima was more intense in presenting dynamic shifts, as well as more clearly differentiated the sounds of cymbals, here mostly sweet and heavy. The DS Audio system has something in it that calms the sound down - it does not put listeners to sleep but relaxes them. This is not a "race-car-type" audio product, but rather a comfortable limousine. Both the Waltz For Debby and another great re-release, this time by Cisco label, Yama & Jiro's Wave album titled Girl Talk, sounded ultra-analogue, if you know what I mean. Because there was an incredibly fast sound attack, both when it came to the lead piano from the record originally released in Japan by Three Blind Mice, as well as from the one by the American label Riverside. It was interesting to hear, that the optical cartridge controlled the bass so well, and that it was a bit stronger and denser with it. I listened to a few records, including the Brendan Perry's Ark, and it turned out that DS Audio has something like a "brake" in-build that counteracts the prolongation of the bass sound. It makes it not go so far down as with the Miyajima Labs cartridge, nor so dynamic, but it is always well-controlled and on the right side of power. It also affects the way the vocals are presented. Frank Sinatra from the re-release of the Swingin 'Session album, Shinji Tanimura from a record released by the 'Stereo Sound' magazine, aforementioned Brendan Perry, etc. - all those vocalists with the optical cartridge had a slightly larger volume and were presented in a richer, more substantial way. Does it make that this presentation was superior? It depends, as always, on what one considers to be "better" :) The DS Audio cartridge achieves all this in a way that a cynic might call a "trick", and what I would rather consider a "measure". What it does, it approximates the foreground plan, which makes it a bit larger and seems more substantial. It also pulls the back of the sound stage closer, and as result what is closer to us seems richer, denser. The Miyajima's cartridge builds the soundstage way back, more accurately - for example - by separating percussion on the Zabiegliński's album from the leader's brass, pushing the guitars away on the Joscho Stephan album, giving them more space to "breath". While adding a bit richness to the presentation, the optical cartridge also levels the "importance" of individual events. The point is that everything is nice and pleasant with it, rich and refined - but I mean everything and not just what the sound engineer placed in the foreground. It offers incredible effects, as with the Sinatra's record, who had a truly seductive voice, like with Evans' piano, which sounded almost as if it stood in my room, just slightly diminished. Also records sounding a bit bright, somewhat - let's say - digitally, are subjected to these measures. It is delivered effortlessly, beautifully, but there is a cost to it - a little lesser - though still excellent! - color differentiation or a smaller depth of the sound stage. However, all this is happening at such a high level of performance that it is really difficult to say which way is better or worse, it will depend on what one expects and which compromises are acceptable. Because there are always some compromises with both, DS Audio and with Miyajima. The optical cartridge has a feature that makes it necessary to select the records carefully - it is a design that strongly reacts strongly to uneven plates, i.e. wobbly records. Classic cartridges, due to their design, to some extent are able to absorb such defects, while the DS Audio shows them directly as the variation in a pitch. So you have to listen to perfectly flat records with it. On the plus side, we are still talking about the playback mechanics, one can write down the fact that the DS Audio system is completely quiet: there is no hum, and the noise is located almost exclusively in highest frequencies. The RCM Audio phonostage I use is a little bit less noisy, but only at the very top – in the midrange and bass area there is more noise than in the DS Audio system. Generally, therefore, the optical system from Japan adds less distortion to the sound than classic cartridges and phonostages. | SUMMARY Rarely, very rarely in audio we encounter a technical solution that brings something valuable enough that the solution doesn't matter anymore, but rather what it has to offer. The DS Audio optical system is one such proposal. Technically it is radically different from classical solutions, but it doesn't make its performance quirky or even different, and yet it does have features that are typical only for it. The sound it offers is extremely comfortable. It is rich from the top the the very bottom, it beautifully shows the foreground, which is large, rich and strong. There is high dynamics here and great resolution. The cartridge tends to slightly embellish the sound and focus on a close, strong foreground. The presentation is complemented by perfectly controlled, meaty bass and sweet treble. This is a proposal for refined high-end-fans who do not search for the most detailed, most resolving sound anymore but rather want to enjoy their records with a wide spectrum of music in comfort. ■ Technical specifications (according to manufacturer) Cartridge VTF: 1.6-1.8 g (recommended: 1.7 g) Chanel separation: >25 dB (1 kHz) Weight: 8.1 g Output: >50 mV Cantilever: boron Body: aluminum Stylus: Micro Ridge Phonostage Output: 500 mV (1 kHz) Output impedance (RCA | XLR): 120 Ω | 600 Ω Dimensions (W x H x D): 430 x 107 x 384 mm Weight: 12 kg [hfgallery] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/ds_audio/th/05.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/ds_audio/05.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/ds_audio/05.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/ds_audio/th/06.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/ds_audio/06.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/ds_audio/06.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/ds_audio/th/07.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/ds_audio/07.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/ds_audio/07.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/ds_audio/th/08.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/ds_audio/08.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/ds_audio/08.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/ds_audio/th/09.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/ds_audio/09.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/ds_audio/09.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/ds_audio/th/10.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/ds_audio/10.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/ds_audio/10.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [/hfgallery]

s it seems, every music genre and each trend within it and, on the other hand, every national discography have their “rarities” – rare and special, often simply “cult” albums. ⌈ cult «liked very much by a particular group of people» ⌋ The word “cult” is a shortcut that points out to the timeless and exceptional status of what it refers to. When it comes to albums, it is most often related to rarities, such as the Kaitaiteki Kokan (sometimes also spelt as Kaitai Teki Kokan) album that is being reviewed here, recorded by the Masayuki Takayanagi & Kaoru Abe duo. The title is translated as Deconstructed Exchange in the USA. It refers both to music and the situation on stage when two musicians exchange ideas and “deconstruct” them on an ongoing basis. Its exceptional status is reflected both on the material and emotional level. The album was released in 1970 in Japan, in only, as it is said, 100 copies. It is one of the rarest albums and is very seldom offered on auctions. The last transaction ended at the price of 4000 American dollars. The status of this album as a form of artistic expression is equally important. It is because this is one of the most radical demonstrations of jazz music in the improvised free or free jazz form. The free jazz trend originated in the 1960s in the USA. Ornette Coleman is regarded to have been its creator while the name was coined on the basis of his album Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation released on December 21st 1960. It is music which relies on collective improvisation (Charles Mingus), modal experiments (John Coltrane), etc. The most important musicians representing the trend are, among others: Don Cherry, Archie Shepp, Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor, Albert Ayler, Peter Brötzmann and Theo Jörgensmann. In Poland, a representative of this trend was Tomasz Stańko. | THE MUSICIANS AND MUSIC The album was recorded by two free jazz Japanese musicians: Masayuki Takayanagi (高柳昌行) – electric guitar and Abe Kaoru (阿部薫) – saxophone. The album was recorded live, i.e. in one take on June 28th 1970 at the Kōsei Nenkin Kaikan concert hall in the city of Shinjuku. Masayuki Takayanagi was the record producer, and Kozuo Kenmochi was the sound engineer. Apart from the saxophone, Abe Kaoru also played the bass clarinet and harmonica here. MASAYUKI TAKAYANAGI was born on December 22nd 1932 in Tokyo and appeared on professional stage in 1951. He set up his first of many groups called New Direction in 1954. From then on, he was the key member in almost any avant-garde music group in Japan. Outside Japan, he is known mainly thanks to the album New Century Music Institute ‎– Ginparis Session = 銀巴里セッション (TBM CD 1809) from the year 1963, released by Three Blind Mice. At the end of his life he devoted himself to “Action Direct” which consisted in playing music with the use of a system that consisted of a “tabletop guitar”, tape and electronics, creating something that he himself called “pure noise”. He lived on cultural peripheries and was not considered to be an important musician by journalists in his lifetime. So, his name was often not mentioned. There is an anecdote concerning the American guitarist Henry Kaiser who was asked about his inspirations during his first stay in Japan. He only pointed out one name: Takayanagi. The journalist who was conducting the interview was so scared that he changed the name to Wynton Marsalis in the printed version of the interview. Masayuki Takayanagi died on June 23rd 1991. His discography in English can be found on diana.dti.ne.jp (date of access: 08.04.2019). ABE KAORU was a Japanese free jazz musician and saxophone player, known not only because of his music, but also his crazy life and wife, a popular science-fiction novel writer. Suzuki Izumi is considered to be the key writer in the domain connected with gender issues. He was born on May 3rd 1949 in Kawasaki, Kanagawa district. When he was 17, he dropped out of school and moved to Shinjuku, a city which constitutes a synonym for counter culture changes in Japan. He taught himself to play the saxophone and developed his own theory related to chords. His musical style is almost solely based on experience collected at the time when he was playing for himself only. That is why most of his recordings are solo ones. Kaitaiteki Kokan was his debut and a unique album in this respect – he recorded it in a duo. The classic way to go for a jazz musician in Japan began with looking at how others play music, then consisted in playing with older and more experienced musicians and slowly shaping one’s own “voice”. Abe Kaoru turned this upside down, as he started by himself and was a very “selfish” musician, i.e. he did not look at others. He would play for hours on the side of the Tokyo-Yokohama motorway, close to the place where he lived, which would surprise drivers going that way. He died on December 9th 1978 in Nakano (a district of Tokyo) because of drug overdose. An English version of the musician’s biography is available on Wikipedia and on the internet forum organissimo.org (date of access: 08.04.2019). | ISSUES The Kaitaiteki Kokan (Kaitai Teki Kokan) album was originally released in 1970 on an LP. The first reissue was produced in 1999 by the DIW record label, while a year later some additional copies of the reissue were released. I do not know this version, so I don’t know w In 2017, the Craftman Records record label released the first reissue on black 180g vinyl. The Japanese record label specializes in reissues of Japanese albums, mainly with jazz music. Among others, it offers Blow Up by Suzuki, Isao Trio/Quartet and Girl Talk by Yama & Jiro's Wave, originally released by Three Blind Mice.‎ An LP reissue still requires a lot of investment. The album costs 80 USD, but considering 4000 USD for the original, it is not much. The problem might be that it contains material copied from the original vinyl record. It is similar when it comes to the digital version released in 2018 – it is also material copied from the original vinyl record. The CD is a very elegant “mini LP”, i.e. a replica of the vinyl version, with a cover made of beautiful black paper with silver letters. In order not to distort the graphic composition, OBI was shortened. The disc was pressed using the Ultimate HighQualityCD (UHQCD) technology, i.e. an improved version of the HQCD. The technology consists in utilizing ultra-transparent temperature-stable material used for LCD production instead of ordinary plastic. Its additional advantage is that it hardens after being treated with UV light, thanks to which it fills cavities in the stamper more precisely. Instead of ordinary aluminium, a layer of a silver-based aluminium alloy is applied to the base. | SOUND For the first time since a long time ago, I do not know what to say or write and how to assess it all. The intensity of the music is overwhelming and we are hit on the head with it like with a baseball bat, because of which the technical aspect of the musical message, i.e. sound quality becomes less (or rather much less) important. So, let us first approach it without emotions. The reissue of the Kaitaiteki Kokan album was not made using the analogue master tape or its digital copy, but an LP – it is the so-called needle drop. When we listen to it via loudspeakers, it is not that obvious, but it is enough to shortly listen to it through headphones to hear subtle noise. It seems that the material was remastered with the objective to eliminate high-frequency crackling noise components and noise, but it was not total removal of sound that was offered by Damian Lipiński on the album entitled Tonight by Savage. Each of the approaches has its advantages and disadvantages. The advantages of the musical message that we get here are its resonance, lightness and open character. A disadvantage is the presence of sound elements related to playing the vinyl record on a turntable. The instruments are recorded from a certain distance, have little volume and are concentrated on the midrange. Their sound is penetrating, even including the harmonica which enters in the first minute of the second track. When it comes to the division into tracks, it seems artificial because track one is muted, while track two is also muted at the beginning and I am sure that this is the continuation of side one. A much better idea would be to introduce the division a few dozen seconds later when the harmonica enters – it is the only moment for a deep breath on the whole album. I do not know the original vinyl edition, so I do not know how it was decided, but if the reissue that we are talking about was really copied from the vinyl edition, we simply get a projection of not the master tape itself, but its vinyl copy with the artificial division into sides. The sound of both instruments (as the harmonica may be omitted), i.e. the electric guitar recorded from a guitar amplifier and the saxophone is penetrating and irritating at times. However, it is not because of what they sound like but because of the music itself. As Marcin Oleś (a jazz double bassist who listened to this album through headphones in my system) said, it resembles a street argument and not a conversation. I do not know how the sound engineers did it, but it is not tiring – naturally, on the condition that it is the music that we are looking for. The volume of the musical message is small, has virtually no depth or textures, but it is still interesting, engaging and hypnotizing. And this is how I would perceive this album – as a hypnotizing, subliminal message. After the initial shock, as the musicians give their 100% from the very beginning, we begin to accept it and then we get involved in the musical message. Sound is obviously not the best here, but after a moment we stop paying attention to what it all sounds like, or even to what music is being played, as we are in a parallel universe, outside time and the planet Earth. ■ Music: UNBEARABLE/SENSATIONAL Sound quality: PROBLEMATIC/UNIMPORTANT

⌈ A lot has already been said ABOUT ANALOGUE TAPES – by us as well. However, it was the first time we had had the opportunity to compare an analogue “master” tape with the “lacquer” cut from it and then with the LP test pressing. It was all carried out in the presence of the albums’ producer, Adam Czerwiński, the owner of the AC RECORDS record label, in a unique room and with the use of a special system. ⌋ he most expensive music format (in the world) video published by a person with the nickname Techmoan has 1,437,204 views on YouTube (as for May 13th 2019). It is a lot when it comes to audiophile standards. There is a short introduction below the video: Is Reel to Reel the new Vinyl? Short answer: No. Long answer: It's complicated - Press Play. In this video I'll be playing pre-recorded tapes from 1957 & 2017. The first half concentrates on the history & background, and the second moves onto the current day and the most expensive pre-recorded music format available for the home. Of course, this is about the most advanced form of analogue tapes – those recorded at the speed of 38 cm/s, on reels of 27 cm (10.5”) diameter, with the use of stereophonic two-track recording on the whole ¼” surface of magnetic tape. The phrase “the most expensive format” is no exaggeration – recorded tapes, second- or third-generation master tape copies, cost between 300 to even 1000 American dollars, depending on whether the given album fits into one, two or three reels. What is this all about and why is there so much ado about it? The answer is simple: it is all about sound. The sound of a well-recorded analogue tape of this type is gorgeous. It does not resemble a vinyl recording at all. An LP is an analogue copy of tape, but it requires specific sound processing and undergoes various changes in the production process itself, which changes sound in a way that, on the one hand, takes us further from the master copy and, on the other hand, adds something to sound – something that makes vinyl the most beautiful format in the world. | THE MEETING Comparing analogue tapes, vinyl records and their digital copies is one of the most interesting and exciting things to do. The Krakow Sonic Society has had such an opportunity twice – first using Master Tape Sound Lab tapes with music recorded by Kostas Metaxas and then using records released by the Sommelier Du Son label, recorded by Dirk Sommer. This time, for the first time in history, we managed to meet and compare all the stages of the analogue path leading from a master tape to an LP. We were able to do it thanks to our cooperation with the AC Records club and friendship with Adam Czerwiński who plays on both albums that we listened to, is their producer and the owner of the record label. Let us add that once the records are ready and available, you will find the anniversary “High Fidelity” logo on their covers, as they are being released under our patronage. The records are not ready yet, since their release has been planned for the months to come. On the day we met, the first record with our logo – the Hollywood Trio was available, having an exceptionally beautiful cover. The albums that I am talking about are |1| Piano Sketches with piano music, featuring such musicians as Artur Dutkiewicz, Wojciech Niedziela, Piotr Orzechowski, Kuba Stankiewicz, Michał Tokaj and Piotr Wylężoł, as well as |2| Groovoberek recorded by the MAP band, featuring Krzesimir Dębski. The tapes that I am talking about were recorded at Custom34 studio using the 24-track analogue Studer A 827 tape recorder and the Neve Custom Series console. The material was mixed and mastered there by Piotr Łukaszewski, and then was transferred onto ¼” tape recorded on the Studer A80. The tape was taken by Adam to London, to the Abbey Road studios, where it was taken good care of by Sean Magee, using Shadow Hills Valve Compression, among others. Sean Magee, a Grammy winner, is an exceptional person. He was responsible for, for example, mastering and cutting the monophonic versions of The Beatles albums in 2014. Let me repeat that we compared “master” tapes with “lacquer” cut from them and then with test pressings. When it comes to the Groovoberek album, we also listened to its Compact Disc version. | THE SYSTEM It was possible thanks to a unique system set up by an amazing person with the help of other people. The result of their work is really impressive: the listening session was conducted in a specially adapted room, where there is nothing else but music. Julian, the owner of the room, is an analogue lover and that is why he has three such source in his system – a reel-to-reel tape recorder, a cassette recorder and a turntable. However, he is not solely limited to the analogue, as he also listens to CDs. JULIAN SOJA Host of the meeting I have been listening to music ever since I remember, i.e. since my early primary school years. I started with the radio Trójka (especially night broadcasts) and recording music onto cassettes. Then there was a turntable and, later, a CD player. I remember the times when one had to go to a rental store to get a CD, in order to copy it onto a cassette at home, while in order to get garage cassette copies with a new Jean-Michel Jarre’s album, one had to queue for a long time in front of a music store at the market in Cracow. History is repeating itself and Jean Michel Jarre is releasing music on cassette tapes again today (Planet Jarre). I like jazz (especially with a good vocal) and classic rock from the period between late 1970s and mid 1990s the most – it is the music I was raised on. I have been building up the system for several years now – the process never ends :) I started by listening in an 18 m2 living room, in an old tenement house in the centre of Cracow. I used an extension cord to supply power from the only plug in the flat that did not transfer the noise of all the washing machines, dryers and fridges from the whole building. My first serious sound source was the Nottingham Analog turntable with two arms (including the SME 3009 with replaceable “headshells”, which made it possible for me to test numerous cartridges easily) and a CD SONY player modified by Swoboda. What is interesting, I also bought a fantastic power amplifier then, from the anniversary Electrocompanieta edition limited to 300 units (I still have it today) and a 4-box Mark Levinson preamplifier (I do not remember what model it was, but these were generally two monophonic preamplifiers + an external power supply unit for each). For these several years, I have tested dozens of different devices, but the greatest change occurred when we decided to build a house. It was perfectly clear that there must be some space for a listening room there. However, when we moved in, it appeared that things were not that simple, as the system which had been tuned and adjusted in different acoustic conditions did not sound as I had expected in the new house. Fortunately, we then met Tomasz Kursa leading his own AUDIOFORM company which produces excellent loudspeakers, but also carries out acoustic adaptations. The adaptation was conducted in a few steps. It was, in my opinion, the only right way to do it, as some phenomena in acoustics often mask other phenomena and it frequently happens that only after removing some identified problem it is possible to identify another one. The first design was prepared and implemented solely by AUDIOFORM, while in the subsequent phases we used the support, measurements and advice from Bartłomiej Chojnacki from AGH University of Science and Technology. All diffusers and bass traps have been supplied by AUDIOFORM, while a few sponge absorbers come from the MEGA ACOUSTIC company. JS We will move on to Tomek Kursa in a moment, but let me tell you a few things about the system itself first. It consists of the following elements: reel-to-reel tape recorder: Technics RS-1500 (modified by dc-components) turntable: VPI HRX with the JMW MEMORIAL arm (12”) and the ZYX Omega Premium X (Cu) cartridge, placed on a dedicated platform produced by AUDIOFORM with J.Sikora record clamp, step-up transformer: Lyra Erodion, phono stage: ART AUDIO VINYL ONE REFRENCE SILVER, a puristic version made by ART AUDIO commissioned by the Polish distributor (Hi-End Studio Pełne Brzmienie) without the MC stage and without any switches or regulators, but in silver internal wiring, line preamplifier: VAC (Valve Amplification Company), the Vintage Line Amplifier model (modified by dc-components), power amplifier: VAC (Valve Amplification Company), the PA 80/80 model (modified by Audio Azyl), CD player: Marantz CD-16 (modified by Z.U.E. Skorpion), cassette recorder: Technics RS-B965 (modified by NOMOS), loudspeaker columns: Wilson Benesch, the A.C.T. model, AC power cables: Acoustic Zen Gargantua II, Cardas Clear Power, Audio Note ISIS, DIY, signal cables: Ortofon 905 Silver, Audio Note AN-V, Stage III Concepts Analord Prime, Audio Tonalium RCA Line AR-H/15CSm, DIY, speaker cables: SOYATON. The key element of the system, at least from the perspective of our meeting, was the reel-to-reel Technics RS-1500 tape recorder. As Tomek Kursa, a connoisseur and lover of reel-to-reel tape recorders says, the Technics RS-1500 and 1506 tape recorders belong to the group of the best (and in his opinion – they are actually the best) design solutions in the world – what he has in mind is mainly the engineering thought behind them. The front of the tape recorder is a metal (mainly zinc) cast that is both a decorative front panel and a chassis to mount the elements of the construction supporting the electronics and elements of the drive (it is a unique solution). Other elements of the tape recorder are: brushless motors, direct drive controlled using quartz, the diameter of the flywheel – ca. 16 cm, the roll ca. 3 cm, two pressure rollers, tape transport system with the Omega Drive (like in, e.g. the Pioneer RT 909 and Tascam 52, but using a more advanced design consisting of four heads – the Technics recorder operates both on 2T and 4T in different RS 1500 / 1506 circuits). Tomek adds that this is one of the most stable drives with the most advanced (and best) regulation and tape tension control system, which is absolutely essential for the quality of playback. The same drive was used to design the Technics RS-1700 (a 4-track tape recorder with auto-reverse) and the RS-1800 with two external monophonic modules with electronics – it is a unique solution on a global scale and this is one of the most expensive reel-to-reel tape recorders that one can buy (the price can be as high as €40,000 for one that is in good condition). | THE ROOM A listening room is as important as other elements of the audio system – when you listen to music through loudspeakers, ca. 50% of the end result depends on it. With such an advanced audio system and a free room, it was natural that it had to become a unique place. As Julian said, Mr Tomasz Kursa and Mr Bartłomiej Chojnacki are responsible for the final effect, although “final” is a temporary situation, as new corrections are still being made. In this case, acoustic adaptation consisted in preparing the room for being used to listen to music. As Tomek says, it is an important issue, as the adaptation of a room designed for listening to music is considerably different from adapting a room for sound recording. In this case, the aim was to shorten reverberation time, while maintaining low losses in acoustic pressure, as well as to reduce modes in order to ensure line characteristics of the room to the extent that it is possible. First, a geometric analysis of the room was performed. Next, an adaptation design was prepared, including first- and second-order reflections, and resonators. 1D N11.2, N17.4 and Skyline N23 diffusers, covering dispersion frequencies from 660 to 8004 Hz, as well as resonators (commonly called bass traps) covering modes from 23 to 213 Hz were used to perform the adaptation. The next step was to conduct measurement (inventory) which demonstrated the effects of the work and yielded guidelines for making corrections. As it appeared, the following were successfully obtained: balanced reverberation time for the frequency band of 100 Hz and above, at the level of 0.32 ms, and line characteristics, except for 31 and 54 Hz frequencies that were not revealed in the geometrical analysis (the effect is connected with other elements of the interior). Unfortunately, reverberation time for frequencies below 100 Hz increases exponentially from 0.32 to 2 ms. In connection with that, plans were made to make special low frequency absorbers that do not have an effect on the rest of the bandwidth and have a minimal effect on pressure, as well as additional resonators tuned to 31 and 54 Hz (during the meeting of the KSS, two 54 Hz “beta” version resonators were already placed in the room and they brought about an evidently audible effect). | THE LISTENING SESSION The listening session took place on a Saturday afternoon, on a quite cold April day. The following people participated: ADAM CZERWIŃSKI, who told us interesting things connected with recording and mastering the material, JULIAN SOJA – the host of the meeting, WIKTOR KRZAK and JAREK ŁUKASZEWICZ – people from the Haiku Audio company, TOMEK KURSA – the author of the adaptation design, as well as RYSIEK B., WICIU, TOMEK and MARCIN, i.e. the members of the Krakow Sonic Society – and me. The session was divided into two parts, as we listened to material from two albums. We played the tape first and then the lacquer cut from it. When it comes to the Groovoberek album, we also listened to its test pressing and a Compact Disc. Before I let my friends speak, let me tell you a short anecdote. Adam Czerwiński brought the “master” tapes straight from the Custom34 studio where they had been copied from a multi-track tape recorder. The recording director had mentioned that they needed to be rewound, but forgot to say how. Tapes are stored in a way that makes it impossible for them to copy. In order to do it, one needs to rewind them onto the second reel. Remembering that, we “turned” the tape with Piano Sketches and sat down to listen. The sound was excellent – dark, dense and warm. It was beautiful and we really liked what we heard, until we asked what piano it was and why its sound differed so much from what we heard from the lacquer. It was as if a Bösendorfer piano (hidden under a quilt) had been recorded on the tape and a Steinway piano had been recorded on the lacquer. You have probably already guessed what happened – we were playing the tape on the other side and not on the side where the ferromagnetic layer is. It is a miracle that it sounded so well! 1 ╟ PIANO SKETCHES | “master” tape vs lacquer Tomek | I really liked both versions, although I felt the first of them (tape) was better. It was more pleasant, better when it came to the dynamics of the recording – its scale and range. The tone was also nicer and more natural. The lacquer was also great, however. Jarek Łukaszewicz | Frankly speaking, I did not have time to listen to it carefully, but the tape may have sounded more delicate. The decay of the piano keys and sound suppressions are better. Lacquer is prepared to make further copies and that is why it is not reliable to me as a recording, i.e. I don’t know what a vinyl recording would sound like. Adam Czerwiński | I get the impression that the lacquer produces more spacious and stereophonic sound. Wojciech Pacuła | That would be right – I don’t know if you remember, but during our both meetings with tape we came to the same conclusion – tape doesn’t show “instruments”, but the whole musical message and it is vinyl that brings space out and enlarges it. Adam | I will tell you why – during mastering, i.e. cutting, signal is transferred through mastering devices. Stereophony in bass is cut, monophony is introduced below 100 Hz, but at the same time space is added to the treble. Jarek | So, in fact, a vinyl recording is not an exact copy of the tape. I think this can be heard – it seems to me that the sound from the lacquer is more aggressive and therefore less credible. Sitting at the piano, I am closer to what is recorded on the tape. Marcin | The lacquer sounded very nice and I liked its sound, mainly because of its transparency and crystalline quality. The tape gave one more thing – the sound was dense, tangible and filled. That is why music from the tape was better and stronger. Wojciech Pacuła | Are these disqualifying differences? Jarek | Perhaps not disqualifying, but if I were to listen to the lacquer at home, that would not be my favourite recording. When it comes to the tape, it would be one of those recordings that I would listen to with pleasure, as it is great. Marcin | These differences are not disqualifying to me. They are strong and clear, but I would not say that either of the recordings is impossible to listen to. The tape is excellent, but the lacquer also sounds fabulous.. Wiktor Krzak | I have the impression that we have already noticed it a few times – what you said about space, i.e. that this is not “made” in any way but incredibly natural. Music from the tape is fantastic. If it is chamber music, I get the impression of being in a real room. It is not always ideal, but even when I sit in a corner, I get the impression that I am sitting in the corner of a room where someone is playing music and the impression is incredible. Adam | The room where we were recording is 8.5 meter high and there was a percussion standing in the middle, so there is plenty to record… Marcin | I get the impression that this is a difference similar to what we heard while comparing SHM-CD Platinum and DSD files – DSD made sound filled. SHM-CD Platinum sounded very good, but DSD files gave us yet something more, some meat and fill. The tape sounds like a DSD file, i.e. there are such differences. Wiktor | I liked the tape much more, although its sound is less spectacular. It is sound that needs to be savoured. The sound of the lacquer was technical – really correct, but technical. It could be heard that this was sound that had been processed by a device. Wojciech Pacuła | So, these problems with hard attack and raised treble probably disappear with subsequent copies and the result – an LP is soft and warm thanks to that. A conscious engineer needs to take this into account and predict these changes. Adam | This is exactly what Sean Magee, the engineer who cut this for me while I was standing next to him, told me. He was comforting me by saying that the material would soften and gain shape on the LP. By the way, the vinyl record will be released in June. The material will also be available on tape. Wiciu | I am not going to add anything. At the very beginning I was wondering which version I would prefer and I pointed to the tape. I also thought what you said – the tape sounds fuller, the sound is richer and saturated, while there are more overtones and there is more treble on the lacquer. However, the differences were not big to me. Rysiek B. | We usually quarrel, while here we fully agree. I am concerned about the unanimity… I’ve been trying to find some counter-arguments and there is one: I don’t have a tape recorder :) It is the only thing that I have against the tape. It worries me, but I think that the idea of releasing tapes is great. That is why I definitely preferred the tape recorder. The first thing is the wealth of colours – I always pay attention to colours and there are many more of them on the tape than on the lacquer. Another thing is the acoustic surroundings. While listening to the tape, we heard the studio and acoustic surroundings, which I did not notice in the case of the lacquer. Tomasz Kursa | Tape and just the tape – because of the “presence of the artist”. Simply because there is tape at the beginning of the path, while then there are five thousand things that happen before we get the music. With the tape, we are the closest to the source. Wiktor | During listening sessions and while commenting on them we have a tendency to exaggerate differences, which is understandable. In this case, I get the impression that the differences are really that big and that we are actually diminishing them. The difference between the tape and the lacquer is enormous. Rysiek B. | No, I would not say it is enormous, as the lacquer is clearer and more transparent, for example. Jarek | No, I don’t think so – the transparency and clarity are rather falsification of what was recorded on the tape, not an advantage. It is not transparency but an exaggeration. Tomasz Kursa | A lot of records are made in a way that produces the “wow!” effect. An inexperienced listener may then prefer such a record. However, we already know what is really recorded on the tape and that tapes are rarely effective – but they are true. Wiciu | But this is OK for me. Most sounds from the records where instruments are not of acoustic origin are artificial sounds that are to fascinate the listener. That is why I would not give the lacquer up, as it has its role to play. Wojciech Pacuła | It is probably so – people are not necessarily looking for the absolute truth, but for something they will like. From this point of view, lacquer, as well as vinyl are the answer to their needs. Adam | Additionally, we are living in times that have changed our way of listening – now we are used to headphones and the omnipresence of bass. We are learning a different kind of aesthetics. We come from the times when we listened to real recordings, whereas young people may not understand at all what they are listening to. 2 ╟ GROOVOBEREK | “master” tape vs lacquer vs test pressing In this part of the listening session we changed the order and first we listened to the test pressing, then to the lacquer and finally to the tape. Tomasz Kursa | To me, it is like sitting in different rows – with the tape it was like listening to an event taking place in front of me, with the lacquer I was sitting in the fifth row, while with the LP – in the 27th. That’s it. Adam | Let me tell you straight away that the album pressed on vinyl sounds better than the test pressing – a test pressing is made using special vinyl that cools down in a different way than classic vinyl. Rysiek B. | These were three different sound versions. Let me put it straight: I was disappointed with the lacquer, though one aspect, i.e. certain musicality, constituted its advantage. However, it lost some of its clarity and distinctiveness, and the colour spectrum was smaller. When it comes to the tape, it was too aggressive in the rock part of the title track (i.e. the opening track of the album – Editor’s note). I didn’t like it. The “folk” part, on the other hand, was wonderfully clear and rich in sounds. The test pressing was somewhere in between these two versions. I would find something good for me in each of the three. Wiciu | To me, the lacquer sounded tragic. I do not know what they do to it to make it become a fantastic record. I had a good impression of the test pressing, however. It was because the violin and Dębski’s vocal sounded really natural and vivid, as if he was standing here. I can say the same thing about the tape. When it comes to the lacquer, sound was flattened and less dynamic. The bass in the rock part sounded tragic with the lacquer version. It simply rumbled. I was impressed with the first part, but I liked the whole track a lot. Bass sounded correct on the tape – it was dynamic, vivid and it did not muffle. I would say that what we get is closer to the master tape and not to lacquer. And thank God! Wiktor | For me, the differences were not as dramatic as in the case of the Piano Sketches album. The lacquer sounded more aggressive, but I would not say that this was a disadvantage. The sound was more distinctive with it and stronger. However, something strange was happening to bass – it was too monotonous. The difference between tape and a test pressing is that tape throws us into a room. It’s not about the sharpness of the location, but the reality of the event. The second track that we listened to, Godzinki, is excellent. However, in my opinion, the vinyl path is not equal to the tape recorder here – it is worse, as if distorted. Wojciech Pacuła | I will say something opposite – for me, when it comes to Godzinki, both the tape and the test pressing sounded equally interesting. And, to tell you the truth, I did not hear any distortions with the test pressing. The violin sounds more aggressive with it, but not to the extent that would make it all unpleasant. I will say more: I liked the vividness on the tape much more, in the sense of creating 3D images, which we, audiophiles, like. The tape lacks it. The test pressing has advantages that are not audible with the tape. And did you not get the impression that everything was deeper with the lacquer and that the musicians were simply standing further away? The tape and test pressing showed it closer. Rysiek B. | Yes, that’s exactly what I meant. Wojtek, you seem to really hear things :) It worries me that I agree with you… However, going back to Godzinki – I was very impressed with the test vinyl record. If I am to reject my audiophile expectations and focus on emotions and impressions, then definitely, for the first time, I liked the vinyl record. It had one weakness that we have already mentioned – bass. It was not so well-defined. The tape was soft, pleasant, and suitable for a long listening session. For the first time, my emotions voted for the vinyl disc. In my opinion, the material was enhanced somewhere on the way – the processing was perfect. Wiciu | When it comes to Godzinki, it was hard for me to choose which version I liked more – the test pressing or the tape. But I thought it would be so nice if other record labels released such vinyl records! The consumer gets the product in the form that was conceived by the record creators – and this is what we get with this record. And it is worth paying more for such a version. Maintaining such high quality on the vinyl record gives the listener a lot of satisfaction. Marcin | The test pressing sounded really nice – both the folk and the rock part in Groovoberek were amazing. When it comes to the lacquer, it did not sound that impressive. When it comes to the tape, it literally blew my mind – the way it started “happening”, the way it all appeared – it was ingenious. It was a real performance. That is why the difference between the test pressing and the tape was very large – it was exactly what I had expected. As regards the lacquer version, I remained indifferent to it. I remember from our first Krakow Sonic Society meeting with tape that it crushed everything that we compared it to. It is not because the LP sounds bad – the one today sounded fantastic, but because the tape showed such things that I got the impression of participating in the recording, as if vapours from the wedding reception that they took Dębski from were still somewhere in the air here. Jarek | Strings on the tape sounded excellent. Not only were all the notes and overtones juicy and excellently reflected, but they also had suitable space. The test pressing was less rich, but it was quite a good presentation and I listen to such records (this relates to the folk part). For me, the rock part is densely packed and compressed. But if I were to listen to it, I would prefer to do it from the tape. With the lacquer it was dry and bright, while the test pressing sounded like the Exodus band used to do – it was boring and flat. Marcin | On the tape, even though there was a lot of sound in the rock part, it was characterized by high resolution and clear. When I heard the first half of Godzinki, a track that was excellently played, from the test pressing, I was thinking: ‘What elements that are missing here could possibly be added by the tape recorder?’ – it is because the test pressing is amazing. Its sound was unique and one would like every vinyl record to sound like this. It was possible, however, to notice a difference with the tape – we could hear what processing robs us of. The direction of changes is the same – there is more fill on the tape, the sound is more “alive” and there is mass that cannot be found on the otherwise excellent vinyl record. Tomek Kursa | | We often have conversations about music with my brother and we talk about whether sound and music are “present” in a recording. When it comes to the tape here – they are. Jarek | As regards the Groovoberek track, both when it comes to the test pressing and tape, they are “present” in the acoustic part, but as far as the rock part is concerned – they are “present” only with the tape. Julian Soja | I am a tape fan and it has not disappointed me again. I think it is pure truth when you listen to it. However, I am pleasantly surprised with the fact that, generally speaking, the difference between these versions is not that big. I have a lot of tapes and production copies, and, in general, when one is compared to a vinyl record, the difference is striking – as if half of the sounds are not included in the vinyl record – but this is absolutely not the case here. But I think that I could listen to the tape all the time, anyway – the physical presence, planes, everything was excellent and I am impressed. However, if I only listened to the vinyl record, I would also do it with pleasure. Adam | As a vinyl record producer, I can say in good conscience that I liked the tape the most :) But this is natural – it was all recorded onto the tape, while each subsequent copy means losses. | CONCLUSIONS While preparing meetings of the Krakow Sonic Society, I first ask myself the fundamental question: What would I like to get to know? In other words: What would I like to learn? I think of myself, but not only – I want to share the effects of these meetings both with the Krakow Sonic Society members and their guests, but also with my readers. We are all at the same level – we are learning. If I do not come up with an idea or topic, I do not organize anything. Meeting No. 120 was supposed to teach us how the individual stages of preparing LP records differ from one another. I also wanted to show that the “analogue” does not always mean the same and that a vinyl record is significantly different from the master tape, that it constitutes a certain creation. I have been writing about this for years. For a long time, I used to feel that we do not understand each other and that my interlocutors think I exaggerate when I say that “analogue” does not mean “vinyl” and that it may only mean the analogue “master” tape. This could be heard exceptionally well during the meeting. The new thing for me was how different the lacquer used to make stampers for pressing LPs is from the master tape and the final record. Let me remind you that there are the following individual stages of an LP record production: “MASTER” TAPE (digital or analogue) ↓ LACQUER (or DMM master) ↓ STAMPER ↓ LP RECORD Lacquer is so different from the preceding and the subsequent final stage that the fact we get such good LP records is kind of a miracle. Apparently, cutting the vinyl master copy (i.e. the lacquer) is a form of art and requires incredible experience. However, this is not the only thing that struck me. At the very end, right before a snack and saying goodbye to our Hosts, we listened to one more medium – the CD in the form of an ordinary edition of the Groovoberek album whose LP version will be on sale in June. When it came to basic observations and impressions, we had all agreed before, but now… Adam Czerwiński | Everything is OK, but the Earth is flat and the CD is flat. Tomasz Kursa | No, when it comes to the characteristics, the CD is incredibly close to the vinyl version. I am not talking about space and presence, because these are better with the vinyl record, but there is a striking similarity when it comes to colours. The treble is softer. Rysiek B. | Exactly – the treble is darker and better on the CD, and bass is better controlled than on the vinyl record. I liked the CD a lot. It only does not have so many colours. Wiktor Krzak | I liked the CD a lot, really! It is really OK. In many respects, it sounded like the tape. It is a very good digital recording. Marcin | It is strange that it sounds so good and that it is so close to the tape. The CD is very well-made. Jarek | I only heard the ending, but I must say that the CD is really OK, even though we confronted it with the master tape. Perhaps I missed the inner echo in the drum, but when it comes to the representation of colours and their quality, then I must say that Godzinki sounded beautiful, really beautiful with the CD. Rysiek B. | OK, it was fine until I heard the tape… The CD is matt, as if someone had taken a sepia photograph. Wiktor Krzak | No, no – after making such a comparison, one can hear how much is lost in the process of LP production and what is left when we make a CD out of it. […] | Post scriptum I already have my tapes – they will soon be available on sale. ■ [hfgallery] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/kts120/th/05.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/kts120/05.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/kts120/05.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/kts120/th/06.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/kts120/06.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/kts120/06.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/kts120/th/07.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/kts120/07.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/kts120/07.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/kts120/th/08.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/kts120/08.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/kts120/08.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/kts120/th/09.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/kts120/09.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/kts120/09.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/kts120/th/10.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/kts120/10.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/kts120/10.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/kts120/th/11.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/kts120/11.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/kts120/11.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/kts120/th/12.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/kts120/12.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/kts120/12.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/kts120/th/13.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/kts120/13.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/kts120/13.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/kts120/th/14.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/kts120/14.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/kts120/14.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [/hfgallery]

⌈ Leben is a small, Japanese company that is treated with great attention in its country of origin. It owes this to its founder and chief designer, Mr. TAKU HYODO. It is mentioned by Japanese magazines among the most important designers of tube amplifiers in this country. The CS600 integrated amplifier was introduced to the market in 2005. Fourteen years later, come the new version called CS600X. ⌋ 1992 Triode33 | 3C33 power amplifier • KFH brand 1995 RS-35a | 6L6GC power amplifier 1998 RS-28c | E288CC preamplifier 2001 CS-200 | 6V6GT power amplifier 2002 CS-250 | 6K6GT power amplifier 2003 CS-300 | EL84 integrated amplifier 2004 CS-700 | 6CK4 x 8 power amplifier, limited edition 2005 CS-300X | Mullard EL84 power amplifier 2005 CS-600 | 6L6/EL34 integrated amplifier 2006 CS-300X | Mullard EL84 power amplifier, limited version 2006 CS-300XS | Sovtek EL84 power amplifier 2006 RS-28CX | GE 6CG7 preamplifier 2006 CS-660P | KT66/EL34 power amplifier 2007 CS-200P | 6V6GT power amplifier 2008 RS-30EQ | phonostage 2009 RS-100/RS-100U | linestage 2012 CS-1000P | stereo power amplifier 2013 CS-300F | JAN-6197 integrated amplifier 2019 CS-600X | EL34/6L6 integrated amplifier EBEN STEREO HI-FI COMPANY has a separate room in my heart, with all the comforts. This is a brand that in twelve years, since I met it, has gained more and more respect and affection in my eyes and confirmed what I instinctively felt when, for the first time, testing their device, the Leben CS300 integrated amplifier, namely that there is magic in it. This story begins like many other. At the beginning of 2006 I came up with the idea of honoring Japanese companies with a separate edition of "High Fidelity" magazine. I'm an admirer of audio products, CDs and accessories, and in general, the entire culture of this country, so honoring it seemed completely natural to me. Products for such an issue from such brands as: Marantz, Denon, Yamaha, Onkyo, Pioneer, Sony (back then still with the hi-fi and high-end audio department) and other devices from the wide mass market offer, were easily available. Later, from time to time I still used this availability, but I wanted to find some special products. The first selections were quite obvious - in the no. 29 issue we reviewed, among others: the Accuphase P-3000 power amplifier, the STAX SR-007 electrostatic headphones (Omega II) + SRM-717, the C.E.C. TL51XR CD Player, Furutech E-TP80E power strip and Sumiko Celebration cartridge. Apart from Furutech, these were relatively small specialized companies, so they fit into this concept of special products perfectly. However, I still missed something even more special, which would emphasize the uniqueness of this issue. Without much hope for a success I wrote to several companies that I knew from - I would like to say "reading", but it wouldn't be completely true - paging through subsequent editions of "Stereo Sound" magazine. In response to my emails I received just one that proved to be effective. In a very polite manner Mr. Yoshi Hontai answered me saying that he would be happy to help in the preparation of such an issue, and although the magazine was young and completely unknown to him - HF was just over two years old at the time - he would talk to the companies he represented and see what could be done. Mr. Yoshi Hontai runs Muson company that acts as an intermediary between Japanese companies and the rest of the world. A month later I received a large package in which I found three products: RCA Oyaide PA-02 TR interconnects, Oyaide Tunami Nigo speaker cable and two integrated amplifiers - TRI TRV-300Se and Leben CS300. In the case of Leben and Tri, these were the first official tests of these brands outside Japan, and Oyaide had the first test outside of Asia. Tests were published in September 2006, soon after all three brands found their distributors, and I asked for a special unit of the CS300 amplifier, dedicated to our magazine. Mr. Taku Hyodo, the owner of the company and its designer, responded to my request with a unique gesture and made a one-of-the-kind of the Class A, 8W power amplifier featuring unique EL84 Toshiba tubes. This was the first "dedicated" issue in the history of the "High Fidelity" magazine; since 2008, every year we have celebrated Japanese products in May, celebrating at the same time our magazine's anniversaries. Since then I have tested all Leben products, almost all Oyaide and Acrolink ones, I hosted Mr. Ken Ishiguro, owner of Acoustic Revive in Krakow (that's yet another brand from the Muson "stables") and made friends with Yoshi-san first and then with his son Elia-san. | CS-600 The CS300 was a small, wonderful amplifier that became a benchmark device for other manufacturers. Since its premiere in 2003, it has undergone several changes. First, a special version called CS300X was developed, with a choke in the power section, better tubes, etc., followed by its version with Sovtek output tubes - the CS300X (S); in this version it was known for the next few years. In 2013, the company presented a new model, which from the outside did not differ from the previous ones, and in the name only one letter was changed - the CS300F. However, the device was modified in a rather serious way inside. Instead of the EL84 power tubes, General Electric JAN-6197 (6CL6) originally designed for use in computers were used. The "300" family is not, however, the only series of integrated amplifiers from this manufacturer, because since 2005 the CS600 model was also present in company's lineup. In short, one could say that it is a bigger, more power and slightly more functional version of the CS300. The devices looked almost identical and if it were not for differences in dimensions and additional knobs, it would be difficult to distinguish them. The real difference was hidden inside. The CS600 is an amplifier that allows different types of output tubes to be used. (For some time, while the stock of tubes lasts, the CS600 and CS600X will be offered.) As standard tubes the 6L6GC (5881) beam tetrodes are used, but you can also use popular EL34 pentodes (their American version bears the symbol 6CA7 and it is slightly different). This required a change in the anode voltage and the cathode resistor value - these are changed by switches placed inside the amplifier, and the selection is indicated by LEDs on the front panel. | CS-600X Changes in Leben's lineup happen extremely rarely. - the case of the CS-300 is special, due to its extraordinary popularity. All other devices are manufactured for many years, without any upgrades/changes. Information released about the new CS600X was a big surprise. Yoshi-san, who is mainly responsible for them, will tell us about the implemented changes and reasoning behind them. YOSHI HONTAI MusonPro | CEO YOSHI HONTAI during Munich High End Show 2018 The mains reasons to replace CS600 with CS600X, were: 1| It's difficult today to purchase a larger quantity of the 6CS7 tubes, and our stock is limited (we have only 400 pieces for 100 amplifiers). 2| A compatibility of the 6CS7 is not too good. That is why Leben decided to modify the circuits of the amplifier, based on Mr. Hyodo's suggestions, in such a way that instead of a single 6CS7 we could use two tubes: 12AU7A and 12BH7A. It means that two tubes share a task of a single 6CS7. The advantages of the CS-600X are as follows: a) the 12AU7A and 12BH7A tubes are currently manufactured, so there is no problem with availability, b) since there are also many NOS 12AU7A and 12BH7A tubes on the market, it should be easy to use some of them and to enjoy the sound known from older units (I don't have to add, that the CS-600X accepts a few different output tubes, as specified on attached list), c) Leben features high quality anti-vibration aluminum feet (same ones as in the CS-1000P). Archival photo of Leben's transformer, it's a version for external customers. Let me add, that all transformers and chokes used by Leben are made in-house - this is one of the most important skills of its employees. There was even a plan at the time to sell these transformers to external companies, but we decided that they should stay in the "family." Functionality | Leben CS600X is a typical Japanese product - it is very traditional in appearance and in design, and has many features that over time other manufacturers got rid of. It's an integrated, unbalanced tube amplifier - and it's a fully tubed one, as the power supply is also based on a tube. There are a lot of knobs on the face-plate, with the largest one being volume control. Next to it there is an input selector, another know that operates the loop for recording and one more to switch channels. On the other side there are two more – one for balance between channels and another for the "Bass Boost" system, which boosts low tones by 3 or 5 dB. With three switches below, you can activate the input from an external preamplifier (or from a source with its own volume control), mute the signal ("Mute") and change the output from speaker ones to the headphone. This is an important switch, because one of the most important advantages of Leben amplifiers is their excellent headphone output, which is placed here unambiguously, because under the volume control knob. And there is also a power switch with its own orange diode and two pairs of LEDs, in red and green, indicating positions of the switches, that allow user to set the anode voltage and the cathode resistor for the output tubes. The input sockets - gold-plated RCA - are placed in two rows on the back panel. Next to them, there are two more pairs - an input to the power amplifier stage and a recording output with a fixed level. There are only two pairs of loudspeaker outputs, which is not common for tube amplifiers. With such an arrangement, we have to carefully choose loudspeakers and their impedance determined by the amplifier's manufacturer. Some solution is the possibility of re-soldering the output transformer taps, or simply using two outputs - usually for 4 and 8 Ω impedance. The Leben CS600X is much more convenient for use and more versatile. Although it has a single pair of loudspeaker outputs per channel, a switch is located between them to select the transformer taps - we can choose up to four different loads: 4, 6, 8 and 16 ohms! This last value will be useful, for example, with fantastic, 16 Ω Falcon LS3/5a. Tubes | As already mentioned, one of the hallmarks of this amplifier is that we can use various output tubes in it. The default version comes with low power tubes, dual triodes in the preamplifier - 12AU7A and 12BH7A - and EL34 output pentodes. The tested unit featured the ECC802S and 12BH7-A made by the Slovakian JJ Electronics in the preamplifier section. These are ultra-low noise versions - they operate here in the SRPP (Serial Regulated Pull-Push) system. The output stage featured the EL34EH model from the Russian company Electro-Harmonix. 6CA7 / EL34 tubes are one of the best-known audio pentodes, invented by Philips, characterized by high input sensitivity and high output power; historically, they were used in most Marantz tube amplifiers. In this configuration, the amplifier's delivers 2 x 28 W (at 1 kHz), which achieves an anode voltage of 410 V with a 460 Ω cathode resistor. However, one can order the CS600X with 6L6WGC / 5881 tubes. The 6L6 is a 30 Watt beam tetrode, originally designed in a metal housing, not a glass one. Over time, it was upgraded to 6L6GA, 6L6GB and 6L6GC models. This tube was designed for use in professional devices, for example guitar amplifiers and power amplifiers. For the first time in home audio there were used in the first Marantz amplifier, the 50W-1 model from 1949. Another known device from this manufacturer using 6L6 was the MC-240 amplifier from 1955. With these tubes, the CS600X achieves a power output of 2 x 32 W, at 450 V anode voltage and with 680 Ω cathode resistor. But there are even more options – using appropriate combinations of anode voltage and cathode resistor values the tested amplifier allows us also to use the following types of tubes: KT66, KT77, KT88, 6550A, 6L6GA / GB / WGB, and even 350B. And there is one more tube - the 6CM3 / 6DN3. It operates in a power supply section with a choke. This is not a typical rectifier, although it consists of two diodes. Originally it was developed for horizontal deflection circuits in TV sets. In the technical descriptions from these times, we find the remark that it should not be used as a rectifier, but with time audio engineers have learned how to use it. The CS600X features a NOS 6DN3 tube made by the American company Sylvania. Appearance and design | Leben amplifiers can not be mistaken for any other brand's. They feature gold fronts with dark green elements. Also knobs are gold. The appearance resembles devices from the 1970s, for example by Luxman. And not without a reason - Mr. Taku Hyodo, its founder and designer, was responsible for the designs and production of the most famous tube amplifiers at Luxman. After its acquisition by the Alpine concern and the transfer of production to the northern part of Japan, in 1979 (he was then 30 years old) he founded his own company Kouri Denki Co. (KDC), producing PCBs and electronic components. Since he was also a collector and tubes enthusiast, he started to build amplifiers for cafes, clubs, etc., under the KHF brand. In 1992, with the Triode 33 amplifier featuring 3C33 tubes, he returned to the audio industry for good. The Leben company was established a year later. Anyway, the CS600X looks great, combining a golden front and back with a massive dark gold top plate and wooden side walls made of Canadian ash wood. It also weights a lot - 23 kg. There is no remote control, digital-to-analog converter, Bluetooth receiver, WiFi connection, or streamer, this is a "clean" amplifier. It features only linear inputs. The circuit was assembled using the point-to-point method, without printed circuit boards, using high quality, selected components. CS600X is a beautiful example of Japanese engineering. | HOW WE LISTENED TO IT The Leben CS600X amplifier was tested in the "High Fidelity's" reference system, placed on the shelf of the Finite Elemente Pagode Edition rack. The source was Ayon Audio CD-35 HE Edition SACD player, and the speakers were Harbeth M40.1. The signal from the player to the amplifier was sent via Crystal Cable Absolute Dream interconnects (silver with an addition of gold) and Acoustic Revive RCA-1.0 Absolute (silver-plated copper). The signal to the speakers was sent using the Western Electric WE310A NOS cable. The Oyaide Tunami GPX V2 The Ultimate chord was used to power the amplifier. The amplifier was compared to a system, consisting of the Ayon Audio Spheris III preamplifier and the Soulution 710 power amplifier, as well as the modified version of the Leben CS300X (S) amplifier. The sound of headphone output was checked using HiFiMAN HE-1000 V2 (magnetostatic) and Sennheiser HD800 and AKG K701 (dynamic) headphones. The reference was the Ayon Audio HE-3 headphone amplifier. LEBEN in „High Fidelity” AWARD | Leben CS300F | integrated amplifier TEST: Leben CS300F | integrated amplifier TEST: Leben | power amplifier AWARD | SPECIAL AWARD 2012: TAKU HYODO, Leben HiFi Stereo Company TECHNOLOGY | MODIFICATION: Leben CS300XS [Custom Version] | modified by Linear Audio Research AWARD | STATEMENT AWARD 2010: Leben CS300X | integrated amplifier TECHNOLOGY | MODIFICATION: Leben CS300XS [Custom Version] | integrated amplifier TEST: Leben CS660P | power amplifier TEST: Leben RS28CX | preamplifier/phonostage AWARD | BEST SOUND 2006: Leben CS300 | integrated amplifier TEST: Leben CS300 | integrated amplifier Recordings used during the test (a selec- tion) Fusion. Best Sound Selection, sel. Yoshiro Obara, Stereo Sound SSRR-12, SACD/CD (2019) Andrzej Kurylewicz Quintet, Go Right, Polskie Nagrania „Muza”/Warner Music Poland 4 64880 9, „Polish Jazz | vol. 0”, Master CD-R (1963/2016); Aquavoice, Silence, Zoharum ZOHAR 168-2, Master CD-R (2018); Camel, Moonmadness, Janus Records/USM Japan UICY-40048, Platinum SHM-CD (1976/2014) Janusz Zabiegliński And His Swingtet, Janusz Zabiegliński and His Swingtet, Polskie Nagrania „Muza”/Warner Music Poland 01902 9 55883 7 3, „Polish Jazz | vol. 9”, CD (1967/2018) Krzysztof Duda, Live, GAD Records GAD CD 084, Master CD-R (2018) Laboratorium, Quasimodo, Polskie Nagrania „Muza”/Warner Music Poland 01902 9 55885 1 9, „Polish Jazz | vol. 58”, CD (1979/2018) Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin (I), Atlantic/Warner Music 8122796439, „Super Deluxe Box Set”, 2 x CD + 2 x LP (1961/2014) Richard Strauss, Also Sprach Zarathustra Don Juan, dyr. Herbert von Karajan, wyk. Berliner Philharmoniker, Deutsche Gramophon/Polydor K.K. POCG-9357, „Karajan Gold”, Gold-CD (1984/1993) Wes Montgomery & Wynton Kelly Trio, Smokin’ At The Half Note, Verve 2103476, „Verve Master Edition”, CD (1965/2005) Wes Montgomery & Wynton Kelly Trio, Smokin’ At The Half Note, Verve/Analogue Productions CVRJ 8633 SA, SACD/CD (1965/2013) White Stripes, Get Behind Me Satan, V2 Records 63881-27256-2, Reference CD-R (2005) [REKLAMA5] Without knowing the technical details of the new Leben amplifier, and only listening to it, one could easily confuse its performance with a large, solid-state power amplifier, at least in terms of power and sound volume, as well as bass extension. This is a large device, heavy, so it should deliver this type of performance, but it is also a tube-based one. And the tubes in terms of output can't really win against transistors. Leben, however, seems not to recognize such technological limitations. It presented, for example, the Fusion. Best Sound Selection - a new release of the "Stereo Sound" magazine, a selection made by its editor, Mr. Yoshiro Obara - in an incredibly powerful way. There was pretended extension or volume of the sound. There WAS a powerful bass and THERE WAS a real volume. Fusion is a quite specific musical form, also in terms of the strategies used during recordings. In short - it's a soft, quite compressed sound, but using an analog compression, it is mainly obtained by a strong saturation of the tape, up to +6 and even +9 dB. There is no particular resolution and selectivity, but there is a pulse, rock, softness and harmonies. Leben beautifully presented all these elements, highlighted them. Because it offers a similar performance, which made it "sympathize" with the recordings in question. It's an amplifier with a big, soft, thick sound. So you can say that it sounds "warm". However, you should listen to some recording with lots of information in the upper part of the band - it's about information, not about brightening - let it be Go Right, one of the best-sounding albums from the "Polish Jazz" series (although it was only included in it in 2016, hence it became the track number '0'), and you will hear something that will force you to shrug the suggested "warmth" off. The cymbals from this album sounded beautifully, because they had proper weight, power, but they also with a natural, long decay. Leben;s treble delivers a lot of information in a powerful and unambiguous way. So we can say that it is an amplifier sounds in an open way. And it does. The device does not mask anything, does not push it deeper into the stage, tries to be faithful. It is the type of openness that seems to say: "I know will tell you, but I will do it in my own way". After all it is a tube amplifier and one with an excellent EL34 tubes application. What I am talking about, i.e. an open but also warm and resolving and vibrant and rounded sound, is a set of feature that I've heard on this level with these tubes only once before, with the Kondo Overture II. It's a about utilizing all EL34's advantages while overcoming its limitations. Because although the bass is soft, it is also surprisingly well controlled and extended. I have already mentioned the Fusion. Best Sound Selection album and that's were the bass pulse was heard the best, ultimately it is a music genre that is based on it. But two other albums impressed me even more: Aquavoice's Silence and Also Sprach Zarathustra by Richard Strauss conducted by Herbert von Karajan. Both of them showed a very characteristic feature of this Leben: it builds a large volume of sound, he does not shy away from mass, from slam. This is not a muddy sound that some associate with EL34 tubes, but an agile, energetic, powerful one. So how is it different from the reference system, that is from the monster, which is the Soulution 710 power amplifier? Generally speaking - not how one would expect it to. There is both, momentum and power, and dynamics, and richness. But we also known that Leben's output is many times lower, it is also much cheaper. This can be heard in the way of sound formation, including bass. It has the form of a drop, with a mass in attack, which smoothly, but irrevocably, flattens in the direction of sustain and decay. The point is that more expensive and more powerful amplifiers, whether my reference system, or Kondo OnGaku, or other, high-end devices, offer a better balance, i.e. they more accurately present the body of sound, they are more resolving. Leben greatly differentiates recordings, because I had no problem to point out the differences between the various releases of Wes Montgomery and Wynton Kelly Trio's Smokin 'At The Half Note, (the first US edition, "Verve Master Edition" and SACD by Analogue Production). But there is something else – best integrated amplifiers integrated in this price range, but solid-state ones, say Accuphase and Luxman, have a slightly better shaped sound structure. They better select events and organize them, even though their sound is not as refined and smooth as with Leben. But when it comes to bass, besides a slightly, but only slightly, better control in the lowest range, these solid-state devices are not able to outperform Leben. Wow! | Headphones One of the basic advantages of the CS300 amplifier, apart from its performance, design, make and finish, was the excellent sound quality of the headphone output. The CS600X outperformed any version of the CS300, even the one I had, and by a large margin. The high output translates into an excellent control of headphones. The HE-1000 v2 from HiFiMAN, or magnetostatic headphones, are not particularly demanding on paper. Experience, however, tells me something else, that the more power, the higher quality power (that is, related to current efficiency), the better they sound. And so is the case with the tested Leben. It drove the HiFiMANs just perfectly. The slightly soft, forgiving character of the device, combined with the open, clean top end and high dynamics allowed the headphones to sound in a way they never had before, and allowed to me to lay down enjoying the sound without questioning if the performance could be further improved. The amplifier offers a wide soundstage and large volume of sound. A bit sweet, but also resolving. And the bass ... You see, all tone corrections are banned in audio. Eliminating them from the signal's path was a good idea, because most of such circuits were really bad. Simplifying the signal's path translated into a clearer sound, and after some time also into a better resolution. Those who designed such circuits correctly, however, were quite right to keep using them. I mean such brands as Accuphase, Luxman, Leben - although the latter uses only bass correction, and only in two steps. Listening to the latest Accuphase devices with headphones I used tonal corrections on regular bases, because it simply improved sound quality. It is the same with Leben – almost all the time I used the +3 dB setting of the "Bass Boost". I don't mean that without Bass boost the sound was bad, not at all! It wasn't also too light or dry. It's just that once used it seemed like a natural choice. Using this setting I got a low, dense sound – similar to the one delivered by my Harbeth M40.1 speakers. I could additionally change the color and emotional temperature by adjusting impedance of the load. The principle was that the lower the impedance, the lower and warmer the sound. Such a sound character encourages us to keep listening to the music for a long, long time without any fatigue, without irritation. It allowed me to listened to all six albums from the "Polish Jazz" series prepared for a review to be published in the same issue of the "High Fidelity" as the Leben. I did it with pleasure. I was particularly impressed by two albums: Janusz Zabiegliński and His Swingtet's under the same title (vol. 9 1967) and Laboratory's Quasimodo (vol. 58, 1979), each of them for a different reason. The Zabiegliński's album is available for the first time in the stereo version and it offers an outstanding stereo. This is now my second, after Go Right, favorite album of this series. Leben presented its lightness and gravity, pulse and sound chiseling at the same time. On the other hand, with Quasimodo it fantastically conveyed what Jacek Gawłowski managed to do with this record, while mastering it. The annoying compression disappeared and the leader's bass was low, rich and deep. It was the type of sound I like and value and which is - in my opinion, but I will not pretend otherwise - the only right one. Saturation, emotions, beautiful imaging, all this meant that I wanted "more". And even my Ayon HA-3 was not able to captivate me so much. The Austrian headphone amplifier offered a cleaner, more direct, but also lighter sound and it required a more careful headphones selection. Leben is also completely different in that that it plays at its maximum with any headphones. Or in other words: it allows any headphones to be at their best. Each and every headphones model that I have sounded well, addictive with it. I could easily hear their "own" sound, but it was complemented by Leben's charm. And so – the AKG K701 presented their excellent midrange, closed top and quite shallow bass. After using 3 or even 5 dB of “Bass boost”, their sound filled in and perfectly balanced with the high tones; I have never heard such a good treble from these headphones before! Sennheiser's HD800 also played mainly in the midrange region, but they showed a much wider range of sound and at the same time a perfect stereo presentation (I mean as for headphones, of course). They did not need bass boost to do that. The HiFiMAN HE-6, probably the most difficult ones to drive, found a lifelong partner in the CS600X. Bass, perfect treble, much cleaner than Sennheiser's, deep, massive bass, beautiful midrange – they never sounded so good before. | Preamp In The CS600X features an input described as "Preamp In", which the manual describes as intended for an external preamplifier. These type of input allows usage of a higher class external preamplifier or use the volume control applied in the signal source - a digital player or a phono preamplifier. Since the Ayon Audio CD-35 HF Edition SACD player features a volume control, I did try out this option as well. The first surprise: the Leben potentiometer also works when Preamp in is used. Almost always, such inputs bypass the entire preamp section, along with the attenuator, but not in this case. But it is also typical solution for Leben, because they equip even power amplifiers with attenuator in their inputs. One uses it to adjust output voltage of the preamplifier to the sensitivity of the output stage. That is still a unique solution for an integrated amplifier. The second surprise: the device without the preamplifier loses its charm, as if its preamplifier was the heart of the whole device. The sound flattens and looses some richness. The bass is slightly better articulated, has slightly better selectivity, but its mass and density disappear. To be honest, I did not like what I heard, so I quickly returned to the classic layout, with the CS600X operating as an integrated amplifier. | SUMMARY It just so happened that within a short time I listened to two great reasonably priced devices - last month it was the Mytek Brooklyn Bridge streamer, and now it's the Leben CS600X. I have not heard such good audio products in a long time. Leben charms with beautiful timbre - this is just a given with Japanese amplifiers - but Leben also offers great dynamics, great bass and spacing, that is elements that are not commonly associated with the EL34 tubes. This is an extremely functional device, because it is also a high-end headphone amplifier and one can used various output tubes in it. The only thing missing is a remote control. Everything else is great! That is why I have to award it with the RED Fingerprint and give it my fullhearted recommendation. ■ Technical specifications (according to manufacturer) Tubes: EL34EH Electro-Harmonix ECC802S, 12BH7-A JJ Electronics 6DN3 Sylvania (NOS) Output (@ 1 kHz): tubes EL34 – 2 x 28 W tubes 6L6 – 2 x 32W Frequency range: 10 Hz – 100 kHz (-0.1 dB) Input sensitivity: 900 mV (20 W) Impedance loading – loudspeakers: 4/6/8/16 Ω (selectable) Loading impedance – headphones: 300 Ω Power consumption: 195 W Dimensions: 450 x 360 x 142 mm Weight: 23 kg [hfgallery] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/leben/th/05.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/leben/05.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/leben/05.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/leben/th/06.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/leben/06.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/leben/06.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/leben/th/07.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/leben/07.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/leben/07.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/leben/th/08.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/leben/08.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/leben/08.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/leben/th/09.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/leben/09.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/leben/09.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/leben/th/10.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/leben/10.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/leben/10.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/leben/th/11.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/leben/11.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/leben/11.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/leben/th/12.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/leben/12.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/leben/12.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/leben/th/13.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/leben/13.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/leben/13.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1905/leben/th/14.jpg" big="foto_testy/1905/leben/14.jpg" src="foto_testy/1905/leben/14.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [/hfgallery]

WORLD PREMIERE ⌈ TRILOGY AUDIO is a British company founded in 1991 by Nic Poulson. From the beginning associated with tube amplifiers, in 2008 it presented their first hybrid amplifier, the 990 integrated. In 2010, the 907 phono preamplifier was introduced, and in 2012 the 933 headphone amplifier. 2014 was the year of the 925 hybrid amplifier, and in 2016 the top, separates system 903 + 993 went to market. Three years later an even more advanced set, consisting of the 915R preamplifier and 995R power amplifiers replaces the previous one as company's flagship. All these devices utilize tubes in their output stages. ⌋ here is no such category, at least to the best of my knowledge, but if there was, Trilogy's devices would be in its forefront. Massiveness, that's what I'm talking about, is one of the hallmarks of high class audio amplifiers. Probably with time, i.e. with the advancement of techniques related to SMPS and amplifiers, this will change, but for now the heavier the device the better the sound. It's about the design of the chassis and power supply, to a lesser extent in the heat sinks - if it is a solid-state amplifier. All three elements can be found in the tested system, consisting of the 915R line preamplifier and two 995R monaural power amplifiers. It took their boss and chief designer of Trilogy Audio Systems, Nic Poulsen, three years to develop them. Their premiere took place during the Festival of Sound in the Hammersmith, in September 28-30th, 2018, in London. The set was paired with Wilson Benesch loudspeakers for the event. NIC POULSON Owner, designer Wojciech Pacuła asked me, why have I designed these amplifiers, what was my purpose – that's a difficult question. We are not a market driven Company. We don't set off trying to make an amplifier have this or that specification and a market price to enhance sales. I just wake up one day with the seed of inspiration. The final product may end up just like that seed, but sometimes meanders around, going on a journey. Sometimes it even ends up back where the original idea was. The 995R did indeed take a journey. The original idea back in 2015 quickly led to the same form factor that we have today, but the circuit, it's features and the performance changed considerable during this time. The last "R" or reference product we did was the parallel push pull 211 amp back in 2001. And I thought it was time for another. So I pushed this amp as far as I could given a "reasonable" footprint and price. It wasn't really one particular thing that changed, after all it already was using many of our house concepts like choke input power supply for the output stage, fully bridge zero feedback output stage, our hugely expensive bespoke machined heat-sinks and a highly linear, high current balanced gain stage. But rather an continual evolution of small changes that lead to an overall product that was worthy of out R status. However, it wasn't until I decided to add the Class A facility, which in itself was not very difficult to implement as the infrastructure of the amplifier was so capable, that the gains in resolution enabled further improvements to be made elsewhere, which simply were not audible before. At the end of this I was very happy with the 995R. One further brilliant suggestion from our UK distributor, Nigel Crump of Symmetry, was to try to make the amp "greener" whilst maintaining Class A undoubted superiority. In all my 35 years in this industry I've never heard a "pseudo Class A" that has truly delivered. So it was decided that the amp should be true Class A, but we added a feature that dramatically reduced power consumption when the amp saw no input signal. Instantaneously achieving full bias when signal returned. That way the 995R is fully biased whenever music is being amplified, but uses very little power when you "walk out for lunch". A similar birth occurred for the 915R. The 995R and 915R share a similar compact compound gain stage, in this instance transformer coupled at the output. As in the power amp, all the voltage gain is made in this one stage. Some 90% of the real estate is given over to power supply and optimum layout. This quickly saw the adoption of a vertical format within the pre. Although this is much more expensive the results were very worthwhile. The signal path is very direct indeed considering the size and is also balanced from input to output of both the 915R and the 995R. On a personal note I am extremely happy with these products. They took considerably longer than I though to bring to market but I am pleased to have a return of Reference products in the Trilogy range. ▪ | 915R The 915 preamplifier's form is similar to that of the previous Trilogy Audio reference model, the 903 and it also features a similar functionality. However, it is a much larger and even more chunky device. It is a tube preamplifier, with a semiconductor power supply, controlled by an advanced microprocessor. It is a fully balanced design, but it offers both unbalanced and balanced inputs; its outputs are buffered using transformers. The device has an extremely solid aluminum chassis damped using bituminous mats, with a second housing inside, shielding audio circuits. The amplifying elements are four 6N6П Soviet NOS tubes - there was one in the 903 model. They operate with very high currents, in transconductance mode (with gain = 1), so one should make sure there is enough space around the device for proper ventilation. It seems that the voltage gain is applied only by output transformers, and the tubes operate as a current buffer with a gain = 1. The device features six line inputs, three of them are balanced and three unbalanced, as well as four line outputs - two XLR and RCA ones. Operating the 915R preamplifier is a pure pleasure, but it's something Nic spent a lot of time developing. The basis of the so-called user interface is a large knob and a large display. Together they allow for comfortable volume control and input selection, but also allow user to easily make changes in the menu. And the latter is quite complex, because we can enter individual names for inputs, set their sensitivity, integrate the entire system via the TAS link, use the internal clock to turn the system on and off, etc. An interesting fact – once you disconnect the device from power completely after you turn it back on before you can use it again you have to enter a PIN delivered with your unit. The TAS link is an internal communication system based on Ethernet cables, used to have all individual connected with it components in the system to act as if it were a single device. The device comes with a nice, heavy remote control. It is not particularly ergonomic, because there are no separate buttons for the volume control, but once you get used to it it will be fine. | 995R The 995R is - if memory serves - the first device of this type in the Trilogy Audio lineup. These are monoblocks, i.e. monophonic amplifiers, featuring a characteristic type of chassis, which is often referred to as a "tower". It's because they look like ones - they are relatively high and narrow, which makes them resemble castle towers. The form itself has been known in audio industry for years, let me remind you such devices as: Theta Digital amplifiers Citadel Monoblock Amplifier, Mark Levinson ML33, and newer ones № 53 by Classé Audio and Omega Mono Amplifier monoblocks, or last but not least their most perfect - in my opinion - incarnation, or HD Amp amplifiers from Nagra https://www.nagraaudio.com . This form serves several purposes. Firstly, it allows for sensible placement of audio and power circuits inside the chassis, and at the same time such amplifiers have relatively small footprint. In this case there is one more element that makes Trilogy unique, namely a huge and heavy heat sink that is also a front of the device. The heat-sink of these dimensions - makes up to almost 1/3 of the total depth of the device - is justified in this case. The Trilogy Audio monoblocks are capable of delivering huge output of 200 W in class AB @ 8Ω , but as much as the first 40 watts are actually in class A. So - they get quite hot. In fact, there are three modes of operation. In the first one, when only the red LED lights up, the amplifier works in the AB class. However, it can be switched to work in pure class A - the blue LED will additionally turn on. And finally, there is the eco A mode. As Nic explained, this mode was suggested to him by Nigel Crump, owner of the Symmetry, one of the largest distributors in the United Kingdom. The point here is that when we listen to music, the output transistors work in class A, but if there is no signal on the input for one minute, the bias for the transistors is significantly reduced, which saves power consumption. The blue LED flashes. After we start playing music again, the amplifier returns to class A operation. Nic also told me, that software development for the control processor took him 4 months, hence the information about this mode was not included in the user manual. The 995R's design is not that common because it is a hybrid power amplifier, with an input stage featuring tubes - the 6N6П - and a transistor current stage. This is a fully balanced design, with XLR and RCA inputs, and a small switch to choose between them. Have I already said that the amplifiers are very heavy? Even if I have, it will not hurt to repeat it - despite the relatively small size, they require two people to move them. Every component comes with high quality Isolink cables by ISOL-8, another Nic Poulsen's brand dedicated to development and production of power-related products. | HOW WE LISTENED TO IT the reviewed Trilogy Audio set consists of three components: a preamplifier and two power amplifiers. The latter are too big to be placed on a standard rack, one has to purchase platforms of proper size for them. I placed the preamplifier on the Finite Elemente Pagode Edition rack, next to the SACD CD-35 HF Edition player (№ 1/50). The power amplifiers were placed in front of the rack, on the floor. I treated this Trilogy set as a complete system, meaning I compared the whole set to my reference amplification consisting of the Spheris III linestage and Soulution 710 power amplifier. Both amplifiers drove my Harbeth M40.1 loudspeakers via Siltech Triple Crown speaker cables. During the test I also switched the latter with NOS Western Electric WA310. The preamplifier was powered using the Hijiri SM2R „Sound Matter”, and power amplifiers using the Acoustic Revive Absolute-Power. The Ayon Player was connected to preamplifiers using Siltech Triple Crown RCA IC, preamplifiers and power amplifiers on the other hand were connected using balanced Acoustic Revive Absolute FM. TRILOGY AUDIO in "High Fidelity” TEST: Trilogy Audio 903 + 993 | preamplifier + power amplifier AWARD | BEST SOUND 2015: Trilogy Audio 925 | integrated amplifier TEST: Trilogy Audio 925 | integrated amplifier Recordings used for the test (a selec- tion) Fusion. Best Sound Selection, sel. Yoshiro Obara, Stereo Sound SSRR-12, „Stereo Sound Reference Records”, SACD/CD (2019) Alexis Cole, A Kiss in The Dark, Chesky Records JD366, CD (2014) Bogdan Hołownia, Chwile, Sony Music Polska 5052882, „Pre-Mastering Version”, Master CD-R (2000) Laurie Anderson, Strange Angels, Warner Bros. 7599-25900-2, CD (1989) Pat Metheny Group, Offramp, ECM/Tower Records PROZ-1095, „ECM SA-CD Hybrid Selection”, SACD/CD (1982/2017) Röyksopp, The Inevitable End, Dog Triumph DOG013CDW, „Promo | No. 25”, CD-R (2014) Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus , Prestige/Analogue Productions CPRJ 7079 SA, SACD/CD (1956/2014) Takeshi Inomata, The Dialogue, Audio Lab. Record/Octavia Records OVXA-00008, SACD/CD (1977/2001) Tame Impala, Currents, Universal Music Australia/Hostess 4730676J, CD (2015); The Beatles, Rubber Soul, Parlophone/Apple/Toshiba-EMI TOCP-51116, CD (1965/1998) Voo Voo, Za niebawem, Wydawnictwo Agora 5903111492953, CD (2019) [REKLAMA5] Let me say it again: in audio we are dealing with a constant progress. Yes, often we sacrifice some features in the name of some others, but in the long run it is balanced and we ultimately end up with them all improved. I respect "anachrophils", I think I understand their point of view, but I think differently - progress is obvious to me. It is best observed in two areas. One of them is the resolution. This is something that can not be faked, although companies do try, which results from better and better components, a better understanding of the role of power supply in audio systems, and the fact that manufacturers can use not only their own knowledge and experience but also ones of their predecessors. The second areas in which progress is amazing is the timbre. When I started my professional life adventure with consumer audio devices, less than twenty years ago, the high-end product had to deliver a strong top, well-controlled bass and a clear midrange. It sounds idiotic, because in this way we cover the whole band, but it would be enough for you to spend a moment with such a product to make you understand what I'm talking about. And the point is that each of these elements demanded listener's attention. Each of them seemed to shout at us "look how awesome I am ......!" The Trilogy system, but also my reference one, and even relatively inexpensive integrated amplifiers from Leben - CS600X - and Ayon Audio - Spirit V - follow a completely different way, and thus they achieve something that amplifiers from a few dozen or so years ago did not - credibility. The Trilogy system is, in what it does, very credible. I can't really say that it sounds neutral, but it is precisely the impersonal neutrality that was one of the features of "yesterday's high-end". The high-end's main feature here and now is credibility. One of the manifestations of this type of presentation is that the tested amplifier sounds in a soft, warm way. This is one of the distinguishing features of the Nic Poulson's devices. And it worked fantastically well before with his older amplifiers that were incredibly ease to listen to, i.e. one could live with them happily for years, having wonderful “discussions” with them by feeding them next albums and listening to them responding with a beautiful sound - beautiful in every meaning of that word. I do believe though, that this time the designer wanted to break through a barrier - because it is after all a barrier - and he wanted to improve communicativeness. Oh boy, how beautifully, how wonderfully he did it! But he did it in his own way, not following the path trodden by others. He did it differently - the presentation of his system is close to us, at the fingertips, and at the same time the sound is not at all pushed closer to us. We simply blend in with the music. We feel as if we were sitting in a recording studio - and I know what I'm talking about. The instruments are cleansed from successive layers, which were added to them on the way between the performer and us. I do not know if you ever had to deal with thermal or chemical paint removal from wooden surfaces. It is a fantastic feeling when the natural color and the texture of the wood emerge from underneath the damaged paint. And this is what Trilogy does for recordings, I'd say using thermal means to do that :) I listened to The Beatles album titled Rubber Soul on this system for a long time. It comes from the period when George Martin pushed the vocals hard, raising their sound. With Trilogy this strategy is clear, but also other elements, overlooked by lesser amplifiers emerge, such as deep colors, harmonic chords, layers. It's still George Martin, there is no doubt about it, but one taking a similar approach to that of his son, Giles Martin, remixing Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and White Album - adding some density to the sound, and thus creating the impression of closeness. It's mainly about intensifying emotional side of events, musicians, albums. It's a very similar action – of Martin on the source material and Poulson's on what the amplifier does with it. But there is more. Although the amplifier sounds low, which is a hallmark of a modern high-end, it does not push instruments or vocalists in front of the speakers, it is not the case. It does something else, namely shortens the reverbs, which makes everything seem clearer - richer and more saturated, yet clearer. | Battle of classes One of the features of the 995R power amp, which makes it a more versatile device than it might seem, is the choice given to the user between different operating classes of the output solid-state stage; the tube input section always works in class A. All you have to do it to press a small button in the back and after a while, after the power supply stabilizes, you can choose between three modes: class A → eco class A → AB class. The eco A class saves electricity. I compared class A and class AB. The sonic differences between these classes are large, I would even say - very large. In the AB class operation everything is clearer, more distinct and more dynamic. The presentations gains from the opening of a upper midrange and a slight reduction of the saturation of its lower part. These are the features associated with top-high-end that result in a sound that is both warm and open. Due to this combination of features combined with everything I have already written about this amplifier, recordings from the Takeshi Inomata's The Dialogue album, a volcano of energy, sounded in a more relaxed way, more detached from the speakers. Same happened with Laurie Anderson from the Strange Angels, whose vocals were cleaner and had better maintained proportions between the bottom and the top. However, I had a problem with this presentation - this is obviously my problem, not the amplifier's - namely that while everything was more neutral, it was, for me, less convincing. Class A takes us in a completely different dimension, sucks us into the world created between the speakers. In turn, the AB class throws sounds into our world, presents them to us in our space. Yes, Anderson's vocals had a more powerful "pop" at the bottom in class A, like when one sings to the microphone without the mesh in front of it. But, I believe, that's how it was recorded, not very clean at all, that's why it was so believable. I heard the same with the Bogdan Hołownia's master CD-R Moments ... by (in the version without post-production). In class A it had density and saturation, internal wealth, which with the AB class moved towards "purification." Paradoxically, it was with the AB class that the foreground was closer to me, as if demanding my attention. In this mode this amplifier sounds like a high-class device from this price range, but also similar to many other amplifiers of this type. In class A it becomes something more - it becomes an amplifier that offers a unique top level approach to the music. Therefore, from this moment on I shall write only about my impressions from listening to the Class A performance. Do you remember me mentioning at the beginning that the “old” high end devices sort of demanded listener's attention? Paradoxically, the Trilogy does something similar. But "similar" does not mean the same - what asks for our attention in this case is not the sound but music, it's artists who appeal for our commitment, we are not tempted with cheap tricks. It was beautifully shown with the Beatles, because every next song was strong and "here and now". But not by emphasizing something, but by piercing a curtain between us and the performer And yet - it would be difficult to call it a "distinctive" sound. It is exactly the opposite, because I felt like there was something else behind what I heard, that it was strongly suggested. And maybe it's the true high-end, not the one where all the cards are on the table from the very first moment, where there is no secret? I do not know, it is hard to say, but it is one of the most interesting proposals to solve the age-old dilemma of designers and music lovers: how much do you have to hear to hear the truth? Quite often "more" does not really mean "better" at all. So one of the most important features of this system is a close, saturated sound with something behind it, which makes it much more complex than offered by more communicative amplifiers. Its second feature is the incredibly rich, weighted sound. In part, I have already referred to it, but now I would like to (sic!) extend it to the bass range. It's really well extended and well controlled, but it always maintains a "human" softness, warmth, fantastic feeling. It's a bass that is not excessive, and yet it organizes the whole presentation, everything else is built upon it. I heard it already listening to the aforementioned Beatles album. Although it sounds quite light, there are a lot of low drums on it. Because they are low on the volume scale, they can be treated like a low-level signals. And these almost always die, obscured by midrange and treble. Not in this case - Trilogy presented them equally well as my reference system, with equal commitment and feeling. The immediacy and palpability of the reviewed amplifier's presentation also apply to the bass range. Although nothing pops up, it does not attract attention, but such a dense and nice bass sets our perception as if it reprogrammed us. Only with devices of this class will we hear what Jacek Gawłowski heard in his studio when he, for example, worked on the Voo Voo Za niebawem album. Due to the fact that he uses such large and so good loudspeakers in his studio, he knows exactly what he works on, while the vast majority of other sound engineers only suspects what is really happening in the music material. Or they simply do not know anything about this sphere and can not even imagine it. Listen to, for example, It's like that track with fast, short bass impulses, and you will know what I'm talking about and what can happen when a person knows what he's doing and can hear what he's doing. What does it give us? - Fullness and momentum, but focused. It is not an amplifier that would present particularly deep space. It cleanses the foreground from any “impurities” and shows it in an incredibly natural way, also extinguishing the reverbs that blur it for us. Even albums released by Chesky Records as part of the "Binaural+ Series" played with a fairly close perspective, although normally you can hear everything on them, like from a distance, with a long reverb. With Trilogy I listened to them sitting in the second, third row, while with my reference system I sat in the fifth or sixth one. I do not even need to add that there is no brightness here, right? This is the antithesis of brightening. But it is resolving and dynamic enough so that it does not collapse into density and warmth. The top of the band is warm, delicate, but also surprisingly resolving. I would even say that it is slightly more resolving than the one of my reference system, although it is also a bit more withdrawn. The Trilogy system does not have the momentum of the Ayon Audio + Soulution system, it does not show the depth of the stage in the same way, but - as I said - it's just a different approach to the sound presentation, not a flaw. | SUMMARY The Trilogy Audio system meets all the requirements a modern top high-end system has to fulfil. I mean, it does not focus our attention on the sound, it does not ask for attention for itself, and by saturating the presentation with emotions it demands respect for the music. It will be difficult to listen to individual tracks with it, because - it just somehow happened naturally – while testing it each times after listening to a track I wanted to hear the whole album, interested and already intrigued by the first song. Even if it seemed to me that a particular album is not particularly interesting. It's a warm, low-set, rich sound with fantastic bass. The whole is slightly rounded and soft, but only slightly and I perceived it as an advantage. The perspective from which we can see the performers is a very characteristic feature for this sound. It is as if we sit close to them, maybe even on the other side of the glass in the recording studio. And that's because the sound is so immediate, so full and so clean (I finally said it :)). It's a beautiful example of audio engineering and a proof that 'progress' is not a bad word in the high-end world, and that it is desirable. This is a phenomenal amplification system - extremely expensive, but everything offering such a fantastic performance costs a lot of money. | DESIGN The housings of both devices are made of aluminum, milled plates screwed to the steel base, and a bent part of the latter forms the backs of the devices. The aluminum top covers have been damped with a bituminous mat. The devices feature small, plastic feet – amplifiers use three of them. | 915R Front and rear | The front of the device features a large, convenient knob and a high quality display. With the knob one adjusts the volume level or changes settings in the menu. The display is made of LED modules with large dots; you can adjust its brightness. Next to the knob there are two buttons – they are elements of the menu control. The RCA and XLR sockets on the back are of the highest class - if I'm not mistaken, these are Cardas Audio sockets with Rhodium plated (RCA) and gold plated (XLR) contacts. Inside | The electrical circuit seems to be relatively simple, but it's all the systems around it that made its simplicity possible. It is based on four 6N6П tubes, two per channel, and two, enclosed in metal shields, output transformers. The tubes are placed horizontally - so that from their outputs and inputs only very short lead wires had to be used to connect them with an input PCB (at the top) and transformers next to it; than from them, with equally short wires, signal goes to the output PCB (at the bottom). The inputs are switched by a microprocessor in a row of reed switches. The gain stage is surrounded by a very thick, milled aluminum screen, which is a kind of "housing inside a housing". Plates with power supply are screwed its outside surface. It features three toroidal transformers and a large size choke for the anode voltage for the tubes. | 995R Front and rear | The front of the 995R amplifiers is simply a 110 mm thick aluminum block milled to act as a heat sink. On the front, rounded baffle, there is only a standby button and two red and blue LEDs. The latter only turns on when the amplifier operates in Class A. The rear panel sports RCA and XLR sockets and single, solid Mundorf speaker terminals. And, of course, RJ45 sockets used for communication between Trilogy components. Next to it, there is a "Mode" button, which allows user to change amplifiers' operating mode. There is also a socket for connecting an external, passive ground. Inside of the device a PCB with the current stage, which consists of six pairs of complementary transistors, is screwed to the heat sink in the front, and the input section, or voltage one, to the rear panel. There are two 6N6P tubes because the signal is amplified in a balanced circuit. At the bottom there is a power supply, with a shielded, powerful power transformer. It is unusual that the power supply for the output section features a choke - it is almost as large as the transformer itself. | PRC remote The 915R preamplifier features a PRC (PRC = Personal Remote Control). It's made of aluminum and features small metal buttons with a clear trigger point. It will allow user to adjust volume level, select inputs and settings in the menu. The manufacturer says that it is equipped with a powerful infrared transmitter, so you do not have to aim it in the direction of the device for the control to work. The upside is a nice appearance, high quality fit&finish and good balance of the remote, and the downside is that the volume buttons are not clearly separated from the others. Technical specifications (according to manufacturer) | 915R Gain (RCAXLR): 14 dB (+/- 0.5 dB) Frequency range: 2 Hz-45 kHz +(/- 0.5 dB) Weight: 19 kg | 995R Output: • Class AB: 200 W/8 Ω • Class A: 40 W/8 Ω Frequency range: 2 Hz-100 kHz +(/- 0.5 dB) Gain (RCA | XLR): 31 | 25 Weight: 38 kg [hfgallery] [img mini="foto_testy/1906/trilogy/th/05.jpg" big="foto_testy/1906/trilogy/05.jpg" src="foto_testy/1906/trilogy/05.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1906/trilogy/th/06.jpg" big="foto_testy/1906/trilogy/06.jpg" src="foto_testy/1906/trilogy/06.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1906/trilogy/th/07.jpg" big="foto_testy/1906/trilogy/07.jpg" src="foto_testy/1906/trilogy/07.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1906/trilogy/th/08.jpg" big="foto_testy/1906/trilogy/08.jpg" src="foto_testy/1906/trilogy/08.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1906/trilogy/th/09.jpg" big="foto_testy/1906/trilogy/09.jpg" src="foto_testy/1906/trilogy/09.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1906/trilogy/th/10.jpg" big="foto_testy/1906/trilogy/10.jpg" src="foto_testy/1906/trilogy/10.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1906/trilogy/th/11.jpg" big="foto_testy/1906/trilogy/11.jpg" src="foto_testy/1906/trilogy/11.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1906/trilogy/th/12.jpg" big="foto_testy/1906/trilogy/12.jpg" src="foto_testy/1906/trilogy/12.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1906/trilogy/th/13.jpg" big="foto_testy/1906/trilogy/13.jpg" src="foto_testy/1906/trilogy/13.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1906/trilogy/th/14.jpg" big="foto_testy/1906/trilogy/14.jpg" src="foto_testy/1906/trilogy/14.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1906/trilogy/th/15.jpg" big="foto_testy/1906/trilogy/15.jpg" src="foto_testy/1906/trilogy/15.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1906/trilogy/th/16.jpg" big="foto_testy/1906/trilogy/16.jpg" src="foto_testy/1906/trilogy/16.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1906/trilogy/th/17.jpg" big="foto_testy/1906/trilogy/17.jpg" src="foto_testy/1906/trilogy/17.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [img mini="foto_testy/1906/trilogy/th/18.jpg" big="foto_testy/1906/trilogy/18.jpg" src="foto_testy/1906/trilogy/18.jpg" desc="HighFidelity.pl"] [/hfgallery]