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Feature
Wilson Benesch
Discovery speakers.
A discovery for me too.
Actually, the real source as far as I am
concerned remains the original recording,
and I witnessed that with the superb
Fidelio audiophile recordings. Playing
through the jewel-like Nagra PL-L
preamp and MPA amp and streaming
through a pair of Verity Audio Parsifal
speakers, the
percussion recording was superb,
as remastered through Ed Meitner’s
DSD process, as was later Hamadryade,
their remarkable SACD recording of the
Marc Vallée Trio.
Sonus Faber Cremona speakers
from Italy were matched to a quiet and
powerful Stadium 3 subwoofer ( by
Subbass Systems, England) and Christian
McBride (Getting to It) appeared in
the room, right there, with the help of
all-Classé components, CDP-10 player,
CP 47.5 preamp and CA-101 amp.
In the adjoining
room, I was struck
by the music as I walked in.
The score of The Red Violin
was starting, the tension of
the music and the playing of
Joshua Bell’s violin filling the
air through JMLab AltoUtopia
speakers, AudioResearch
tube VT100 amp and LS 25
preamp, the CD handled by
an interesting combination of
an Acoustic Arts CD Player
1 transport and Nagra DAC.
Waiting its turn, a silent and
beautifully designed Gyro SE
turntable by J.A. Michell.
Québec-made Verity Audio
offered me a rare experience,
with a special arrangement of
the music of the Beatles as sung
by the King’s Singers accompanied
by Erich Kunzel’s Cincinnati
Pops on an SACD mutichannel
recording. The polished piano black
Tamino X2 speakers, Tamino C2
centre and back speakers and Rocco
subwoofer were recreating the event
around me through a Classé integrated
amp a n d the Lexicon multiformat
CD player which also
plays the DVD Audio
format.
Speaking of
multiformat, I was
quite impressed by
Linn’s demonstration
of the new
Unidisk player,
producing amazing
sound and images
through an SACD
version of Miles Davis’
Sketches of Spain, or a
DVD-Audio live concert
by David Gilmour on
guitar at the Royal Festival
Hall in London.
In a totally different
setting. I enjoyed the
refinement of the
new Québecm
a d e
LammPipe
super efficient speakers,
each fed by a Tenor 15Wi
integrated tube amp (volume bypassed
for the occasion), and an Audio Aero CD
player. Eva Cassidy’s voice was sweet and
her image appeared perfectly clear in the
wide open space.
Another local success was the
Pierre Gabriel Acoustics Series A speakers,
recreating the warm, natural voice
Clockwise from upper left: the DPS
turntable with Allaerts pickup; Oracle’s
Jacques Riendeau with a speaker
prototype; Oracle’s CDA200 player;
the Roksan Radius 5 turntable; the
Lexicon RT-10 universal player and
MC-8 preamplifi er-processor.
ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 29