The system assembled by Audio
Passion comprised of disparate set of components. An Air
Tight ATM-1S integrated amp ($8995CDN) that is rated at 36 wpc from
4 6CA7/EL34 tubes, and equipped with newly developed Hashimoto transformers,
drove Jean Maurer Model JM370E
loudspeakers ($19,999CDN) from Switzerland that had an interesting combination
of wood, metal and brown glass on the cabinet. With 92dB sensitivity and a
nominal 3 Ohm load, it would seem to require a well-designed amplifier such as
the Air Tight if tubes are to be used. Interestingly, quartz sand is used in
the cabinet to damp vibrations. The analog front end was a Kuzma
turntable with a newly designed tonearm ($5000CDN) along with a Benedict
Audio phono stage ($899CDN) that was not playing at the time. The
digital front end was comprised of an Aqua La
Diva transport ($9,999CDN), Aqua La Scala MKII DAC ($6999CDN), Aqua La Voce
DAC ($3499CDN). The end of a piece of music we were listening to was met with
polite applause. On a shelf behind the main rig was a pair of Resolution
Audio components—their Cantata C50 integrated ($5799CDN), which
has been upgraded recently with special T-network capacitors, putting out 50
wpc in Class AB with a clean, minimalist design featuring a choppy-sea top
panel, and a matching Cantata Music Center ($8299) that forms a digital hub
with built-in slot-loading CD transport. The two Resolution Audio units were
offered at special show prices, so they may have been the earlier models, not
the 2.0 version. Nonetheless, they can be upgraded.
Turning
The Corner Onto The 1300 Hallway...
In the Audio Pathways
room (1306) we were treated to the world class sound of the Raidho
Acoustics D-2 speakers ($50,000CDN) driven superbly with bel
canto Black series monoblocks on HRS
amp stands. A Bergmann turntable
with their air-bearing tangential tonearm and the new Kiseki
Purpleheart N.S. cartridge ($3299US) was atop an HRS rack which also housed
what looked like bel canto transport and DAC/preamp. Kimber Kable
interconnects combined with Synergistic Research speaker cables and AudioQuest
Wild power cords. (No partisanship shown here)! Along with the world class
transparency, there is a solidity and three-dimensionality to the music coming
from the Raidho speakers that almost completes the illusion that you are
listening to live music. Certainly, the line between tube and solid state
electronics was destroyed by this presentation that easily ranks among the
very Best Rooms at the show. Some
others might have heard the Raidho C1.1 seen on stands in the background in
this room. More intriguing, from a real-world perspective, was a pair of more
modest Raidho speakers wired to a pair of red anodized Questyle
monoblocks on silent display. Were these the same Questyle amps
that I had raved about at the TAVES show in October? While it's
understandable that the sale of a single pair of Raidho D2 would put food on
the table for an entire year, this affordable Questyle gear needs to be played
with affordable speakers. The middle class will starve to death trying to save
up for the higher end of the Raidho line.
In a second Audio Pathways
room next door (1308) was another, more modest rig (by a small margin)
featuring the Raidho D-1 stand
mounted monitors driven by the always gorgeous Jeff
Rowland Design electronics that was perhaps better suited to the
size of the room. It looks like a bel canto
CD2 CD transport/player on top of the HRS
stand, but this unit has been discontinued since Philips dropped production of
the transport used in it. A laptop probably contained hi-res files. My comment
on tape, here too, was "This obliterates the distinction between tube and
solid state". There was an abundance of beautiful music here, and it is
another Best Room at the show. On
a side table, paying homage to analog was a Triangle
Art Symphony turntable with an equally gorgeous wood tonearm.
Beside that was an enormous Triangle Art Signature turntable with an outboard
motor and tonearm tower. Both tables featured separate chrome plated separate
power supplies. You can pretty much forget about wall mounting the large one.
Dynaudio
Excite X-34 floorstanders ($4000) combined with the new JL
Audio Dominion D8 subwoofers ($1280 each) with 500 watt built-in
amplifier to be released in late April. They were powered by the new 165 wpc AVM
Inspiration CS 2.2 receiver ($5200) from Germany that also
incorporates a DAC and CD drive. A JL Audio CR-1 external crossover was about
$4500. This was very decent sound coming from gear that is relatively
affordable, although the crossover does take the total price up a notch.
With this, I'll call it a wrap for Part 1 and
you can look forward to Part 2 shortly... that is if watching the Final
Four basketball tournament doesn't wipe me out this weekend. Stay tuned!
---> Click here to see Rick
Becker's Salon Son & Image report part 2.
High-Performance Audio Reviews
