CANADA - AUDIOKEYREVIEWS MAGAZINE - SEPTEMBER 2024 - NO. 10 - FINAL ISSUE
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SEPTEMBER 2024 10 -
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Front Inside Cover: Henri Matisse- Flowers, 1907
Back Inside Cover: Vincent Van Gogh- Blossoming Peor Tree, 1888
The Other Art. It is my belief that the artist and the musician are not only creatives, but they access heart and soul and experience, perhaps, in the selfsame ways. My own love for art and music are inseparable. And so art, music, and those things which facilitate the music, shall share theses pages.
COLUMNS
“ The Kubala-Sosna Emotion interconnects connected me to the music like no other interconnects I've heard, at anywhere near the price.
Robert H. Levi
Positive Feedback Online
The Expressions present music without noticeable boundaries to a stage; sound stages don't erupt from a black background, but from an invisible and expanding one…
Larry Cox
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Claude Monet - Poplars along the River Epte Autumn, 1891
EDITOR’s CHAIR FINAL ISSUE
Well, all good things must come to an end, and so now must the Canadian edition of AudioKeyREVIEWS Magazine. I do believe that I’ve given it my best, but it takes a village—distributors, manufacturers, retailers, etc.—to raise a right and proper magazine. One or any editorial board can only provide so much, and a lack of, well, Canadian products to review for Canadian audiences and a lack of Canadian marketing partners (can’t have US advertisers doing it all) is something that’s quite difficult to get around.
I lived in Montreal for a year and came to enjoy it in very many ways. I should say, however, that I did not enjoy the winter. And the winter the year of my stay was the first time I can remember when breathing in actually hurt. Yep, I’m not a man who’s taken to the snow, despite the fact that I now live in Saint Paul, Minnesota, but that will end when the current lease ends. And then it’s back to the climes of nearly year-round sun and no snow. Though, oddly enough, it snowed extremely little this winter in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area (for which I was very thankful).
In truth, I saw this magazine as a way to give back, and I have given back. The magazine was a valiant effort, but there is a season for everything and this, the tenth issue, marks its final season, its ending. This final issue will be a reprise of previous reviews of Canadian manufactured products only.
I would like to thank the folks who provided actual review products, the reviewers, editors, and those wonderful folks I met at the Toronto and Montreal shows.Thank you all!
Sincerely,
K.E. Heartsong Editor-in-Chief
THE CREW
Publisher/Editor-in-Chief
K. E. Heartsong
Managing Editor
Kathe Lieber
Senior Editor(s)
Andre Marc
Gérard Rejskind - RIP
Reviewer
Oliver Masciarotte
Andre Marc
Columnists
Kathe Lieber
Gérard Rejskind - RIP
HermanMiller
Paul Cezanne - Still Life with Peppermint Bottle
HermanMiller
As I have mentioned in several recent reviews, I am at the point where both my reference systems —two-channel stereo and headphone—are pretty much dialled in. This leaves me in a very good place to review all manner of equipment with regard to these reference systems to determine their relative “placement” or award status or their returnto-sender designation. That said, I am now at the stage of fine-tuning said systems toward, if possible, ever greater transparency, resolution, detail resurrection, quiet— vanishing low noise floor—and musicality. And this has led to an ongoing discovery of “tweaks.” Tweaks?
“Tweaks are things that can ostensibly improve the fidelity—the overall sound —of your audio system for relatively little money. Tweaks can be wires or cables or risers that keep cables above the floor.
Tweaks can be isolation platforms or stands or isolation feet or pucks or cones, etc…”
Indeed, I have found buried treasures during this phase of reviews in all manner of tweaks, some of which have been long forgotten, though they remain incredibly relevant; some, born of brand-spanking-new technology, that have been eye-opening; and some that took the proverbial mousetrap and brought things into the 21st century.
The “tweak” that I’m reviewing today is of the latter variety—a mousetrap or, better said, a long existing product whose inventors conducted intensive research and development based on the preservation of, well, life (see below).
The product currently under review is the SEISMION REACTIO 541
“electrified” isolation platform. And if you thought your big buck, non-electrified
Edgar Degas -Ballerina
SEISMION REACTIO 541
isolation platform or amp stand was, well, “all that,” a recalibration is definitely in order.
REFRAIN: Unlike most reviews, this review will be non-sequential, as it will start with how the equipment actually sounds and not the process of physically “undressing” it and/ or laying out its various accoutrements, specifications, etc. Think of this review, then, as a non-linear movie—Memento, Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Queen’s Gambit, In the Shadow of the Moon, etc.—that likewise starts at the end and winds its way to the beginning.
THE SETUP
The SEISMION REACTIO 541 isolation platform would be placed in the reference two-channel system (see below) and beneath the LYRIC AUDIO Ti 100 MkII SET integrated. As previously mentioned, the reference system is of exceptionally high transparency, resolution, startling dynamics, and with the Audionet combo power (200 Watts) and mesmerizing liquidity with the Lyric Audio Ti 100 SET Integrated (20 Watts). The Vivid Audio Kaya 45 held down speaker honours over the entire course of the review.
I had received the SEISMION REACTIO 541 from Jonathan Badov of Sonic Artistry, whom I’d met in Toronto. We would talk again at the Montreal Audiofest
and then again at AXPONA 2023. Jonathan is that vanishingly rare breed of gentleman who actually does what he says he’s going to do. We got along very well, and I was excited to review the SEISMION isolation platform. Given Jonathan’s explanation of how the SEISMION came about, my excitement grew.
“In touring the laboratories here in Ontario in the mid-1990s, I saw that the laboratory operators and technicians were using some sort of base under the electronics in the fertility clinic. I inquired what they were and the reasons for their use. The technicians told me that they were not able to get consistently meaningful or reliable results from the equipment without isolating them from the building. General vibrations, foot falls, and any other types of movement would upset the machines and results. If someone closed a door abruptly, they could lose a full day’s work. It was further explained at that time that isolating equipment below 3Hz, lower than the natural frequency of the earth, allowed for consistently meaningful results from their atomic force microscopes. Less than this and the images from the microscopes would consistently be unstable and thus unfocused. Another way of saying this is that the preservation of life hung in the balance.”
—Jonathan Badov, Sonic Artistry
THE SYSTEM
Two-Channel Reference System
• Grimm Audio MU1 Streamer
• Silent Angel Bonn NX Network Switch
• Silent Angel Genesis GX Clock
• Bricasti Design M1 Special Edition DAC
• Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC
• Audionet PRE G2 Preamplifier
• Audionet AMP Monoblock Amplifiers
• LYRIC Ti 100 Single-Ended Integrated
• SEISMION REACTIO 51 Isolation Platform
• Vivid Audio Kaya 45 Speakers
• Kubala Sosna (KS) Elation/Emotion Cable Loom*
• TORUS AUDIO AVR ELITE power conditioner
THE SOUND
I would again keep things simple in analyzing and reviewing the SEISMION REACTIO 541. This meant very familiar music that was well recorded and represented a mix of genres. I utilized:
• Andy Bey’s American Song (Savoy)
• Dave Brubeck’s Time Out (Columbia)
• Eiji Oue’s Stravinsky (Reference Recordings)
• Elina Duni’s Partir (ECM)
• Joan Shelly’s Joan Shelly (No Quarter)
• MORIMUR album (MORIMUR, ECM)
• Ólafur Arnalds’ Island Songs (ECM)
• Sophie Hunger’s Rules of Fire (Two Gentlemen)
• Vangelis’ Blade Runner Soundtrack (East West UK)
• Voces8’s LUX (Decca Music Group)
Once the music began, the REACTIO 541 ran roughshod over the various vibrations/reverberations, which had moments before run amok across my highly touted two-channel reference system, that I did not imagine were even there. How was this possible, you ask?
The first thing I witnessed across the bass section part of the review was that with the SEISMION REACTIO 541 in place, the bass was now easily the tightest, most effortless, and deepest that I had heard to date from my reference setup. There was greater transparency and resolution, and timbral shadings were much easier to discern. And given the Vivid Audio Kaya 45’s outstanding way with bass reproduction, especially given their size, this was very unexpected.
As I continued listening, it became apparent that the entire bass range was now more explicit and easily able to render every plucked, twanged, slapped bass string, with greater detail, differentiation of tone/timbre, and further, it was more natural, more real, more present. “So,” I thought to myself, “this is how the remaining vibration and resonance
SEISMION REACTIO 541
had been hindering my reference system.” I imagine that the replaced amp stand stood by in stark embarrassment at what it had been charged to do but failed to do. Its failure had been corrupting the music.
The pieces, however, quickly came together. The REACTIO 541 did in fact eliminate vibration and resonance to a far better degree than had the previous “unelectrified” isolation platform. And in doing so, the REACTIO 541 had replaced a “quiet” background or low noise floor with an immaculately black-quiet background or a vanishingly low noise floor. This resulted in the freeing of copious detail and insight previously below the noise floor, which allowed my reference system to excel to a level that I had not imagined or thought possible from an isolation stand. Amazing!
With the SEISMION REACTIO 541 in place, timbral shadings, subtle and otherwise, were fully fleshed out, as was bass weight and impact. The low bass rumble apparent on Eiji Oue’s Stravinsky (Reference Recordings), Magdalena Kožená’s French Arias (Deutsche Grammophon), and Eiji Oue’s Rachmaninoff (Reference Recordings) was not only more apparent, its dynamic punch was more immediate and visceral and potent via the Kaya 45’s bass drivers. Also apparent with the various tympani (Stravinsky, Rachmaninoff) was their internal and external reverberations: there
was greater distinction between the tympani, and the contact between mallet and drum was greatly pronounced via all the now relevant information. A wealth of detail that had been previously hidden beneath a reverberant noise floor was free.
When laying out comparative gains, due to the service of the REACTIO 541, the “midrange” section may well have been best served, as there was undeniable magic here. Perhaps the finest micro-details and the fine details responsible for articulative nuance, exacting timbre/tonality necessary to evoke in-room palpability had all been affected by the vibration. The SEISMION REACTIO 541 did away with the various detailsmothering vibrations, micro and otherwise, and the results were astonishing!
If you, like me, are a fan of vocals then, like me, you may well listen to 9, 10, 11 vocal albums in a row and shake your head at the natural, lifelike tone, timbre, and palpable immediacy of the voice. I do not believe there’s been a time when I’ve listened to more vocal recordings than I am now. And I have a witness.
Dick Diamond of GTT Audio was in for a listen, prior to helping a new retailer with a speaker install and a fellow reviewer and friend for an equipment setup. Suffice to say that he sat and listened for quite a while, as I had done, to voice after voice after voice recording. When Dick was ready to leave for
said appointments, reluctantly it seemed, he said, “Wow, the vocals are incredible.” And the majority of the equipment he was very familiar with. He was not familiar with the SEISMION REACTIO 541.
In a prior review, I used the analogy of a young man who takes a ride at the carnival on a machine that literally shakes you up and keeps you shaking, though mildly so, after the ride has ended. As the young man leaves the ride, the carny asks him to repeat a phrase that he was asked to say before he boarded the ride. The young man, still shaking imperceptibly from the ride, repeats the phrase. The carny smiles and hands the young man a recording of his voice before and after the ride. What becomes immediately clear to the young man is that his voice is quite different after the ride, as he is still apparently shaking, however minutely (see your current ‘isolation’ platforms).
The “treble” section via the placement of the SEISMION REACTIO 541 witnessed its own rise and benefits, with greatly diminished vibration that was likewise very uncanny. The treble highs were in fact heard to float, now unencumbered by artifice— noise, vibration, unwanted resonance, etc.
There was now a sweetness of high treble notes that carried a heady disdain for stridency, harnesses, breakup, etc. If you can imagine yourself in a relatively small space listening to a very accomplished string
quartet, perhaps one of the violinists has on loan a Stradivarius or a Guarneri, and the space is naturally treated for sound.
Now imagine that recording—Akiko Suwania, J.S. Bach Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin (Universal Music) and the tone/ timbre of the “Charles Reade” Guarneri del Gesú violin via Akiko’s exceptional skill. Yes, the detritus that would normally “inhibit” its natural rendering is now not there. Perhaps this provides an idea of what, via a well curated reference system, a SEISMION REACTIO 541 in place, and a superb recording, you are most likely to hear.
I have heard that exact recording before and after the SEISMION REACTIO 541 and, again, the sweetness, the profound clarity, the ethereal nature of the notes that rise from that violin and Akiko’s playing is truly sublime.
Perhaps it is the vastly lowered noise floor, the incredible diminishment of vibration to 1.5Hz(!), far below the natural frequency of the earth, that ushers in the intense quiet, the transparency and resolution, the detail, the expanded soundstage, once all buried comfortably beneath the preexisting noise floor.
The SEISMION’s distant cousins— other isolation platforms of any and all makes, not electrified—should be very worried. They should be worried because their like has never, in my experience, having owned some of the most renowned
SEISMION REACTIO 541
equipment, ever provided such a substantial lowering of the noise floor.
CONCLUSION
Game changer! If you are wedded or bonded to your “reference level” isolation platforms via long-standing ownership or relationship/ loyalty to a manufacturer, then do not try the SEISMION REACTIO isolation platform. It will, at the very least, hurt your feelings, as you’ve not had what you’d thought you had, but something less.
The SEISMION REACTIO 541 isolation platforms are NOT your unelectrified, passive isolation platforms, not even close. What they represent is the next “quantum shelf,” if you will, that will undeniably give you more of your music, regardless of how “reference” your current system is believed to be. It’s not. There is vibration and resonance even now coursing through and haunting your music to various degrees as I write (that is not coursing through mine).
What the cumulative result of using a SEISMION under several components in a given system is, I do not know. I can only guess at the resulting effects. And that, dare I say, is a daunting realization—If one SEISMION can so free the music from all bounds while virtually eliminating vibration/ resonance, then a series would be mindboggling!
Since when do tweaks receive DIAMOND AWARDS? When they absolutely deserve them, for lifting the aforementioned reference system to an entirely new “reference’’level. We happily award the SEISMION REACTIO 541 component our DIAMOND AWARD for excellence.
Pros: A supposed “tweak” that will lift your reference system, regardless of price, to the next “quantum shelf” or “reference level,” which will free your music no end.
Cons:… COMPANY
SEISMION
info@seismion.de
SEISMION REACTIO 541 $5,995
DISTRIBUTOR
Jonathan Badov Sonic Artistry, Toronto/Aurora By Appointment Only www.SonicArtistry.ca sales@sonicartistry.ca (416) 254-3887
AKRM/C
Brassai - Pont Neuf
VERITY OTELLO
By K. E. Heartsong
VERITY OTELLO
It is said that our aural memory or “aural perspective” is quite short, and when we attempt to recall it, quite inexact and perhaps even fanciful. And while this may well be true in general, the emotion tied to a given aural event, I believe, can certainly conjure the sound and the feeling, regardless of how long ago and far away the memory. My memories of Verity’s earlier speakers— Fidelio and the original Parsifal —conjure an experience wherein both speakers brought the music so close, so real-to-life, so textural and palpable as to be unforgettable. I owned the Fidelio speakers and for the time I spent listening to the Parsifals, perhaps I should have owned them as well. Cars, however, very nice cars, got in the way for a moment.
REFRAIN: Unlike most reviews, this review will be non-sequential, as it will start with how the equipment actually sounds, and not the process of physically “undressing” it and/or laying out its various accoutrement, specifications, etc. Think of this review, then, as a non-linear movie—Memento, Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Queen’s Gambit, In the Shadow of the Moon, etc.—that likewise starts at the end and winds its way to the beginning.
THE SETUP
My listening room’s dimensions are 15 feet (4.57 m) by 30 feet (9.14 m). My system is placed along the short wall. The left side of the room is open, while on the right side there are two very large, double-paned windows, with very effective (sound- defusing/absorbing) blinds. The floors are hardwood, the external walls are concrete, covered by large rugs with underpadding, and the internal walls are the robust ‘1960s-era build found in high-rise
This brief introduction brings me to the review of the Verity Audio Otello, a sibling to its brothers—the Parsifal and the Otello. The question of the moment, however, is how does the Otello measure up to its brethren and the speakers currently in-house?
Wayne Thiebaud - Hill Street, Day, 1981
VERITY OTELLO
buildings. All one has to do is walk in to understand the solidity and the quiet.
The Verity Otellos are easy to set up and will take but a little time to position and then to set them atop their “speaker plinths.” I reviewed the instruction manual for the Otello and then went on my own experience for their setup. In the end, the Otellos were nine feet apart, three feet from the back wall, and facing forward with no toe-in.
THE SOUND
“Perspective. Use it or lose it.” There were two other speakers inhouse for review while the Verity Otello was here. And each speaker—Tri-Art OPEN 5, Vivid Audio Kaya 45s—sported a vastly different voice. In comparison, a speaker’s prior strength would either be diminished or improved relative to one of the other speakers and there was little subtlety in those subjective aural “measurements.” The overall review process as a result of analyzing these three quite different speakers, would result in raising the bar for any subsequent product to qualify for any award.
The Verity Otellos are very energetic/ dynamic and the soundstage is wide, fairly deep, though in relation to the Tri-Art OPEN 5s and the Vivid Audio Kaya 45s, more shallow than both. And when it comes to choral or live music, it exhibits a constriction with regard to the depth of the performance, which tends to place performers along a relatively narrow band. This results in choral and live presentations via the Otello as not optimally reproduced or realized or convincing. The Otello possesses a weight and gravitas that provide for a well-structured foundation across the entire frequency range, and that pays dividends with regard to the midrange. The Otello facilitates a near in-room experience with vocalists and instrumentalists via a midrange centre-fill that can suspend disbelief in the reproduction of a performance in favour of its in-room manifestation.
Further, there is a transparency and resolution that together unearth details which bring to life one 40-year-old soundtrack— Bladerunner—which, in this case, transports me to the movie theatre where the epic sci-fi film noir—Bladerunner—was first seen. The Otellos, in this sense, have conjured a memory that plays out for me across the soundtrack. I
reach out and touch tactile palpability that attaches itself to the various representations of Joan Shelly’s eponymous album plays “We’d Be Home Now” (Joan Shelly, No Quarter Records) and finds Joan’s voice centered, textured, wonderfully palpable, almost in-room and real, and Nathan Salsburg on guitar stage left. There is a familiar reach out and touch palpability conjured beautifully, no doubt, by the interplay of the “soft neo ring dome tweeter, the doped polypropylene midrange, and the edge coated reed/paper pulp cone
Choral or the stage for its reproduction, as mentioned earlier, is noticeably constricted via the Verity Otello and lies across a very narrow front to back plane. Though in truth this is the effective or default capability for the vast majority of speakers, both closed and open, which are generally unable to accurately or convincingly reproduce choral or live music. If these are not genres/ styles of music on your list, then you will be well served by the Verity Otello.
Treble heights are scaled easily and beautifully by the Otellos and there is no diminishment,
VERITY OTELLO
no harshness, no shrill or truncated notes, just “The facts Ma’am,” of the performance. Tone and timbre at these elevated treble heights adhere naturally to their instrumental progenitors with a texture that again places them in-room. The overall treble presentation is delicate, refined, sweetly beautiful, and highly resolved.
As “Rachel’s Song” (Bladerunner, East West UK) plays, it is both grounded and ethereal and the Otellos capture the dichotomy beautifully. There is no doubt that the Otellos have recreated the intheatre experience of Bladerunner across the frequency spectrum in their relay of not only sound information but sight and feeling as well. Interesting.
THE DESIGN
The Verity Otello maintains the classic lines and volumes of a box speaker that gives the nod to traditional speaker design. In their Makore wood finish, they are eye-catching and quite beautiful. They are also of medium height and weight. The Otellos sit on two robust “speaker plinths” with adjustable feet for levelling the speakers. All in all, they are a beautifully designed speaker.
CONCLUSION
The Verity Otello is without doubt a very accomplished speaker, able to facilitate one’s “suspension of disbelief” when listening to a variety of music via its transparency and resolution, its ability to unearth detail, and its way with dynamics, space, and texture.
As Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue (Columbia) plays, there is an immediacy and clarity that is quite good. As “Freddie Freeloader, Blue in Green, All Blues,” follows musical pieces across the album, the horns, the piano, the various cymbals are all alive and dimensional, in their given spatial segment across the stage, at depth and well resolved for this studio recording.
Its failings are slight and, dare I say, universal, as they are shared by the vast majority of closed-box speakers and many open-baffle speakers as well, which do not excel at the reproduction of choral and live music and creating the most open, detailed, and ambient-rich space for their rendering.
That said, the Verity Otellos are nonetheless deserving of our HIGH NINES award for their remarkable way with vocals, which time and again brings performers into one’s listening space, a treble that extends nicely and sweetly, with no ill effects and a bass response that consistently provides a firm foundation for the music.
Pros: Exceptional midrange, very good highs, and good bass response. Cons: None.
Over the past several weeks, I’ve been to two jazz concerts. The first concert, at the Dakota in downtown Minneapolis, featured the Kavyesh Kaviraj Quintet, a jazz ensemble. The second concert was Pat Metheny’s Dream Box tour at the Ordway in St. Paul. Well, there’s nothing like live music…almost.
overpowered or “mugged” the pianist. Kavyesh’s piano had become an afterthought in the music, a bit player in his own ensemble. I strained to even get glimpses of the piano, despite being several feet from the stage, and this was exceedingly frustrating.
The first concert, with the Kavyesh Kaviraj Quintet, featured Kavyesh on piano with Omar Abdulkarim on trumpet, Kevin Washington on drums, Jeff Bailey on bass, and Pete Whitman on saxophone. While the music was promising, the mix of the instruments was at best troubling. The drummer was way too high in the mix and was literally overpowering everyone else. It was as if a rock drummer had sat in with a jazz ensemble and believed himself to be in a stadium. And though the trumpet and the saxophone were not nearly as high in the mix as the drums, collectively they completely
At one point, early in the concert, when Kavyesh rose from his piano to engage with the audience, I raised my hand. When Kavyesh acknowledged me, I said, “Excuse me, but your piano is way too low in the mix and the drums and horns are way too high. I cannot hear your piano.”
Kavyesh nodded his thanks and immediately motioned to the mixing board to bring his piano way up in the mix above the “supporting” cast. From that point on, the concert went exceedingly well, and I was thanked here and there by concert-goers who no doubt felt the same way.
The Pat Metheny concert at the Ordway promised a great show from an exceptionally
Gustav Klimt - The Kiss
17 talented guitarist, whom I’ve followed from his New Chataqua (1979) album to the present. I have many favourites among his discography, though one of my very favourites is his Beyond the Missouri Sky album, with the late bassist Charlie Haden. This album tells a beautiful story, from beginning to end, by two superb musicians.
The concert saw Metheny perform solo and on no fewer than half a dozen guitars and other, well, instrumental contraptions, as the performance approached its end. There were the well known long-time favourites, which were well played, but a solo guitar cannot and did not make up for the lack of bass accompaniment, or drums, or horns, etc. And in a darkly lit theatre, seated in a comfy chair listening to the mellifluous and comforting notes strummed on Pat’s guitar, the “drifting-off-to-sleep” cherub armed with bow and arrow was relentless. Suffice to say, there was a good deal of pre-somnolent head-bobbing and forearm slippage from the arms of my comfy chair. In other words, the concert did not maintain my rapt attention.
When, for instance, has the “featured” instrument ever been buried, unheard, beneath the mix in your recorded music? When has a concert lured you into the throes of dreamland? Imagine that! Hmmmm, all live concerts are not created equal and there are times, no doubt, when your stereo system
provides for a better, more engaging overall performance than a live concert. Note to Mr. Metheny: you’ll probably want an ensemble with you from here on out. Just saying…
This brings me to the review of a superb streamer in the form of the Baetis Audio Reference 4 Mingo, which apparently has the ability to actually provide exceptional performances, time after time (see Pat Metheny’s Dream Box).
REFRAIN: Unlike most reviews, this review will be non-sequential, as it will start with how the headphones actually sound and not the process of physically “undressing” them and/or laying out their various parts, specifications, etc. Think of this review, then, as a non-linear movie—Memento, Kill Bill, Arrival, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, etc.—that likewise starts at the end and winds its way to the beginning.
THE SYSTEM
Headphone Reference System
• Baetis Audio Reference 4 Mingo Streamer
• Silent Angel Rhein Z1 Plus Streamer
• Silent Angel Forester F2 Linear Power Supply
• Silent Angel Bonn N8 Network Switch
• Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC
• Mojo Audio Mystique X SE DAC
• Dan Clark CORINA Electrostatic Headphones
• STAX SR-009S Electrostatic Headphones
• Blue Hawaii SE Electrostatic HPA
• Kubala Sosna Cables/Wires/Power Cords
• Black Cat TRØN Signature Digital Cable
• TORUS RM20 Power Conditioner
Two-Channel Reference System
• Grimm Audio MU1 Streamer
• Bricasti Design M1SE DAC/Streamer
• eXaSound s82 MkII DAC/Streamer
• Silent Angel Bonn NX Network Switch
• Silent Angel Genesis GX Master Clock
• Lyric Audio Ti 100 MkII SET Integrated
• Vivid Audio Kiya 45 Loudspeaker
• Kubala Sosna Wires & Cables
• RSX Power Cords
• Seismion REACTIO 541 Electrified Amplifier Stand
• TORUS POWER AVR ELITE Power
Conditioner
THE SOUND
Alive! Alluring. Eminently musical. Whereas its sibling— Baetis Audio Revolution X4— unfolded a profound naturalness, “shoulder-
4 Mingo is nothing less than alive, with technical wherewithal—transparency, resolution, staging abilities—and a beautifully refined musicality that are outstanding.
There are a lot of “mores” when it comes to the Baetis Audio Reference 4 Mingo. For instance, there is more atmosphere, reminiscent of a live performance, more dimensionality, which speaks to the truth of a given soundstage. There is also a more natural perspective on any given performance, and “more” or better articulation of spoken word and lyrics. There is a poignancy, call it refinement, that allows for the most minute details, microdynamics, as allied to position and movement, to tone and timbre, that reveal note and lyric delivery as crystal clear and “alive.” The Reference 4 Mingo’s distributed signal is also imbued with a
dropping analog quality,” exceptional transparency and sweetness, the Reference 4 Mingo easily and quickly surpassed all that the Revolution X4 brought to bear. The Reference
weight and solidity that conjures a lifelike palpability.
The only other time the music became this real, this present, and in room was with
BAETIS AUDIO REFERENCE 4 MINGO
the Grimm Audio MU1 coupled to the Mola Mola Tambaqui. When a 40-year favourite—Miles Davis, Kind of Blue—is more real, more alive, and Paul Chambers’ upright bass is more transparent, detailed, and possessed of a new level of engagement, something rather profound has occurred. When one considers the various systems, some in the six figures, that have played back this album, CD, or its digital stream, that is saying something.
No, the $25K streamer that shall not be named never came close, was not even on the same continent in terms of overall performance, nor for that matter was the $18K streamer. They came a distant second and third respectively to the Reference Mingo’s much less expensive sibling—Baetis Audio Revolution X4 ($6,000). What the Baetis Audio Reference 4 Mingo did to them is therefore unmentionable in mixed company.
The “Blatt” of horns via the Reference 4 Mingo is more “Blatt” than it has ever been. And Jimmy Cobbs’s brushes across drum skins, the tap, tap, tap of drumsticks on rims or teasing out cymbals or bearing down on drum skins were exceptional. Bill Evans’ piano came with a weight and drive and tonal/timbral accuracy that easily summoned “alive,” as in a live performance. Palpability as such was not piecemeal, existing here or there, pertaining to this instrument or that— it was ubiquitous. And underneath it all, the
weight and gravitas and effervescent highs were together evocative of that same live performance and brimming with atmosphere, atmosphere, atmosphere!
In my review of the Baetis Audio Revolution X4, I alluded to analog and how well the Revolution X4 recreated the sense— the shoulder-dropping ease and its magnetic listenability. The Reference 4 Mingo goes further still and in every respect with the aforementioned transparency and detail that takes analog to a higher level of refinement, nuance, and naturalness, which together, again, say “alive.”
Ahhh, and herein lies the peril of reviewing audio equipment and especially in this age of rapid technological improvements. There is always the distinct possibility that you will encounter a more talented, more capable audio component that will surpass the benchmark set by the previous best, seemingly, moments ago. The Reference 4 Mingo dispatched its little brother, as its little brother had dispatched the much more expensive streamers that shall not be named. They—that shall not be named—were sent home to their respective manufacturers, never to be reviewed or ever again mentioned. We don’t throw poor performing products under the bus, nor do we mention them by name, thereafter.
The Baetis Audio Reference 4 Mingo’s volumetric cube—its soundstage—is truly encompassing. In a like configuration to the
Grimm MU1 and the Mola Mola Tambaqui via an AES/EBU digital link, the Reference 4 Mingo and the Mola Mola Tambaqui were transcendent. The soundstage was broad and deep, falling well beyond the placement of the speakers. The staging via the duo provided rock-solid positioning, with separation and layering giving distinct spatial representation that was nothing less than superb. Whereas its sibling was outstanding in respect to soundstaging, the Reference 4 Mingo was extraordinary and more textured, more dynamic, and more real. [Note: The best results were consistently achieved with the Mola Mola Tambaqui, though truly exceptional results were also achieved with the Bricasti Design M1.]
BASS
The bass of the Reference 4 Mingo was tighter, more resolute, the dynamic contrasts more beautifully differentiated, and the microdynamics/transient response via the Reference 4 Mingo were blistering. The talents that the Baetis Audio Revolution X4 had so acutely demonstrated with regard to the bass frequency region, the Reference 4 Mingo eclipsed. The Reference 4 Mingo laid bare not only the form or presence of an instrument but the interaction and dexterity of bassists, from Dave Holland to Ray Brown to Charles Mingus to Charlie Haden, was easily followed and beautifully captured. And the
Reference 4 Mingo’s tonal/timbral shadings (“colours”) were more from a box of 120 crayons as opposed to the Revolution X4’s 64 crayons or other streamers’ 24 crayons.
It also became apparent that while the Revolution X4 easily lifted away veils that had denied the other streamers greater transparency and resolution, its own veils remained. The Reference 4 Mingo highlighted its sibling’s veils and lifted them away with consummate ease, time and time again. The music, now free of any residual opacity, was astonishingly textured and natural.
There is a weight and impact never before realized by the Meze Empyreans, or the Abyss AB1266 Phi TC headphones, or the Vivid Audio Kaya 45s in the various Reference systems. This can be immediately attributed to the Baetis Audio Reference 4 Mingo streamer, as everything else remained exactly the same.
MIDRANGE
A beguiling musicality arose from the Mingo’s deep transparency, its superb resolution, and relentless detail retrieval, that together were more than reminiscent of exceptional analog. I would go further and say that the Reference 4 Mingo would sit easily beside an exceptional analog rig and lose very little, if anything at all via the comparison.
BAETIS AUDIO REFERENCE 4 MINGO
The Mingo’s midrange abilities with regard to vocals—the delivery of spoken word and lyric—with regard to phrasing, articulation, delivery, are easily more intelligible, more accessible, more poignant, natural, and immersive. Perhaps this is one of the ways it lines up so well and easily with analog.
Case in point: Rickie Lee Jones' eponymous album and Joan Shelly’s eponymous album are delivered like they have never been delivered before. Every word is more clear and more clearly understood, and the guessed-at words are laid bare. Tens, if not hundreds of listenings, and these albums have never sounded better. Suffice to say that there is even more there there with the Baetis Audio Reference 4 Mingo.
TREBLE
Alive! Energetic. Beautifully extended. As I had done with the Baetis Audio Revolution X4 Mingo, I once again bring out several wellknown treble pieces to understand the Revolution X4 Mingo’s abilities relative to its sibling and to the various other streamers that had made the cut and those that had not.
Hilary Hahn’s “Chaconne from Partita No. 2 for Violin in D minor, BWV 1004” (The Essential Hilary, Sony Classical) is immediately more transparent and energetic and bears greater weight via the Reference 4 Mingo. The Reference 4 Mingo reveals this,
once again, through greater transparency, the interplay of the violin’s strings, the bowing, the violin’s external body and the resonances in its internal cavity, unlike it has ever been portrayed before.
On Gidon Kremer’s “Preghiera” (Rachmaninoff: Piano Trios, Deutsche Grammophon), the background comes to life like it has not before, exposing a violin and a cello that had scarcely been there, if at all. The Reference 4 Mingo brought this combo from beyond the veil of an obscurant opacity to life via crystalline transparency. Only the Grimm Audio MU1 was equal to the task.
Dave Brubeck's “Take Five” (Time Out, Columbia-Legacy) rolls in and Joe Morello’s drum kit, its cymbals are energetic, beautifully resolved, and “air-infused.” Together these attributes project a palpable presence that is captivating and wonderfully threedimensional, with atmosphere to spare. Eugene Wright’s bass no longer hides in the background as an underrepresented “thump thump,”—it too is more three-dimensional, with more gravitas, weight, and presence. Bravo.
CONCLUSIONS
Alive. Natural. Musical. Transparent.
Astonishing. The Baetis Audio Reference 4 Mingo left streamers at nearly twice its price on fire, smoking, and begging for mercy, in its
tracks. Or, at least, as coupled to the Mola Mola Tambaqui, that is how it seemed. And that would be the kindest thing I could say, given the disparity of its performance relative to the others. It was perhaps the most decisive and stark performance gap that I had to date experienced between streamers. The Grimm Audio MU1 was the only streamer that was kindred in this respect.
Tracks that I have long since known and in some cases have played literally hundreds of times over the decades were played back via the Reference 4 Mingo the best that I had ever heard them. The Baetis Audio Reference 4 Mingo breathed life into every recording, which subsequently, lifted all boats—DAC, integrateds, speakers, headphones, etc.
In my opinion, the Baetis Audio Reference Streamer would appear to render obsolete my own personal affinity for analog — a very good turntable rig—via its superb analog naturalness and musicality, its exceptional transparency, and its “aliveness.” The fact of its umbilical connection to literally tens of millions of tracks on demand, from the comfort of your listening chair, is a feat that no turntable rig, regardless of price, can even dream of matching.
In conclusion, the Baetis Audio Reference 4 Mingo demonstrated the ability to be more “alive,” more real, and more natural than any digital component should have a right to be. Furthermore, it is the only streamer to have
relegated to obscurity the best of the best CD players, which a short time ago I did not believe possible. The Baetis Audio Reference 4 Mingo very easily wins our DIAMOND Award and moves ahead of every streamer that I have encountered, to date.
Pros: Beautifully musical in the best analog sense, while checking all technical/audiophile boxes brilliantly, connecting the listener to millions of musical tracks from around the world. Extraordinary preservation and playback of the musical signal.
Cons: None.
THE COMPANY
BAETIS AUDIO
Reference 4 Mingo ($13,000)
Joe Makkerh www.baetisaudio.com 1-888-357-0035
Wayne Thiebaud - Flatland River, 1997
By K. E.Heartsong
TRI-ART OPEN 5 A Musical and Artful Masterpiece!
Itravelled a short distance to a friend’s home mid last year to talk, listen to music, and compare notes. And as his system was quite fully fleshed out—the top DACs, amplification, wires/ cables, and speakers—all of which I was very familiar with, I held a growing sense of anticipation.
This, for me, was my first time back into the two-channel realm, where I have spent approximately 97.8% of my listening life. So it was decidedly good to be back. In the interim, headphones had become my raison d’être —my reason for being— and, I must say, they have been quite spectacular, while electrostatics, get outta here, they’re the bomb— extraordinary!
What I had learned from headphones was the intimacy that they not only invoked, but also cultivated. With an electrostatic headphone system there would be scarce few if any details hiding amongst the shadows, whether at some far flung corner of a performance stage or in the deep recesses of an orchestral soundstage – all would see the light of day.
As I have spoken about in my many reviews of electrostatic headphones and their required amplification, the experience with them was something new to me. The electrostatic brought forth profound resolution, transparency, detail, with an abiding musicality that was capable of jaw dropping, rapid-onsetmomentary catatonia, figuratively speaking. And its musical kin had not, at that time, been discovered.
I sat centerstage in my friend’s chair of honor, or the ‘sweet spot’, as we of this ‘calling’ refer to it. The music began with me at the dashboard—equipped with the remote control. It was a familiar moment for me, known across countless decades. But it was different, not quite how I had recently experienced it. I goosed the volume up. I repeated. And I repeated the volume increase again until the piece was once again familiar. The look on my friend’s face showed something resembling astonishment and stupefaction and concern.
That fact of the matter was, I was simply not used to stereo listening anymore as so much goes missing with the speakers several feet away. However, when the transducers— headphones—are literally sitting on your ears everything is right there.
Well, as I would soon discover, there exists sort of a twilight zone of transducers— loudspeakers and headphones—where the loudspeakers are several feet away and at the
Edgar Degas - Dancer (1878)
TRI-ART OPEN 5
same time, seemingly, on your ears. Or so it seems. And this was my introduction to the TriArt Audio OPEN 5 speakers.
REFRAIN: Unlike most reviews, this review will be non-sequential, as it will start, below, with how the equipment actually sounds and not the process of physically “undressing” it and/or laying out its various parts, specifications, etc. Think of this review then, as a non-linear movie—Memento, Kill Bill, Arrival, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Terminator, In the Shadow of the Moon, The Queen’s Gambit, etc—that, likewise, starts at the end and winds its way to the beginning.
THE SETUP
Speakers are, nonetheless, a different animal from headphones (when you’re not in the twilight zone of transducers). The only ‘setup’ that headphones require, in terms of one’s room, is to be properly affixed to one’s head and ears. This generally takes seconds. Done. Speakers, on the other hand, do not enjoy such simplicity or ease of placement. Theirs is a case by case determination based upon one’s listening environment—room fabrication and materials of said room, overall dimensions (WxDxH), amount of stuff within room, its reflectivity or absorption profile, spousal/ partner placement limitations, etc. Yes, there are a great many more determinants with regard to the proper setup of one’s loudspeakers.
Sometimes setup can be relatively simple, while at other times it’s nearly impossible and
one settles for ‘close’ optimization given the variables. I have had easy listening environments and nearly impossible ones, but, ultimately, the music always flowed at the end of the setup.
15 feet (457.2cm) by 30 feet (914.4cm). My system is placed along the long wall. The left side of that long wall is open, while on the right side there are two very large, doublepaned windows, with very effective (sound defusing/absorbing) blinds. The floors are hardwood, covered by large area rugs with thick under-padding. The internal walls are of
the robust variety, found in high-rise buildings of the ‘60s-era-build. All one has to do is to walk in to understand the solidity and the quiet.
The TRI-ART OPEN 5s are relatively easy to set up, though they may take a little time to spike and position. The instructions call for an ‘initial’ setup with the OPEN 5s positioned one third (1/3) into the room. I placed the OPEN 5s five feet from the front wall. After some experimentation, I separated them nine and a half feet apart from mid driver to mid driver and toed them in very slightly, an inch and a half. But there was, based upon initial soundings, something that still needed to be figured out.
Figured out? Well, it seems that all was not right and quite possibly terribly wrong in the land of ‘speaker specifications’. And it was this one thing that was throwing everything completely out of balance!
THE SYSTEM, THE SOUND
The OPEN 5’s newly established efficiency necessitated that the Audionet PRE G2 preamp and AMP monoblocks immediately join the review system quintet. Thus the final review system was composed of the following:
With everything right and proper, the TRIART OPEN 5s now gave voice time and again to incredible(!) recreations of past performances. Before me lay one of the most spacious stages experienced (far beyond the boundaries of the speakers), and when called for, one of the most intimate stages.
Positioning, layering, and spacing were solid, immutable, believable. At one point, as I took in what was a cavernously deep soundstage (Eiji Oue’s Stravinsky), I thought to myself, “That’s far too deep.” Now either this was the result of too long a stint in the headphone
It seems that the OPEN 5’s sensitivity specification was not quite accurate. On paper the OPEN 5 boasted a very efficient rating— 94dB— able to be driven easily and well with few watts, little power. The OPEN 5’s sensitivity specification, after trial and failure, with all amplification below a given wattage, provided a first clue as to its actual specification. That clue was that amplifiers below fifty watts provided bass that was more concept, hypothesis, fiction, and entirely missing in action. However, when power, 200 watts, finally arrived in the form of the Audionet PRE G2 and AMP duo (review coming), sufficient clues were amassed to solve the case. And it wasn’t the butler. The OPEN 5’s true rating was closer to 90dB.
TRI-ART OPEN 5
world or the drivers assembled for the TRIART OPEN 5 were ‘next-leveling’ it—knocking it out of the park. As time went on the latter seemed a more appropriate description of what the OPEN 5s were doing and this was something to behold, especially so for a $7,500 speaker! Incredible!
Within the various expanding and contracting performance stages, based upon the listening material, were oceans of details and micro-details, lightening fast transients and microdynamics, that gave truth to performance after performance. And one must mention the air and ambiance, the nuance and refinement that the OPEN 5 so deftly broadcast from its assembled, upstream bandmates.
[Note: These speakers, properly amped, are tremendous reviewing tools. They are so superbly transparent and resolving that they, the OPEN 5s, will tell on any upstream change! FYI. I’m keeping them.]
The transparency and resolution on offer by the OPEN 5s easily invaded the domains of electrostatic and planar loudspeakers but with a low frequency force and control that the speakers of these domains often fail to bring forth. And yet for so large a speaker to flat out disappear, as in it being impossible to track the point of sound/music from one’s listening chair with eyes closed was, well, magnificent!
I ran a phalanx of bass and deep bass infused tracks through the review system and out to the OPEN 5. It is quite the experience, from the perspective of the components’ scale—62” speaker sporting 18” and 15” drivers and 200 watt per channel monoblock amplifiers, which would never be mistaken for tiny tots. And assuredly what I write here can be reprised for the Audionet duo that made these revelations across the bass region entirely possible. Though my neighbors may now be a good deal more dubious of the soundings and the rumblings emanating from Casa Heartsong.
Eiji Oue’s “V. Infernal Dance of King Kashchey” (Stravinsky, Reference Recording) via the OPEN 5s is sublime. The timpani were differentiated and fleshed out via both their surfaces and interiors (insides) like I’d never heard before. These levels of transparency and resolution are new and this is a track I have heard across many years and many systems. As the balance of the bass pieces— Dave Holland’s “Emerald Tears" (Emerald Tears,
ECM), Paul Chambers’ Yesterdays (Bass on Top, Blue Note), Marcus Miller’s Power (M2, Concord), etc.— play through, it seems as thought the OPEN 5’s drivers take particular care in their rendering. Which is to say, that its drivers, again, bring a level of transparency, and attendant resolution, detail, and vigor to bass plucks and strums, and twangs that make them dimensional, textured, palpable, real, inroom!
MIDRANGE
“Is someone practicing the sax in your place?” said my friend who called during a reviewing session. I was, of course, sitting before the OPEN 5s but she, possessed of an exceptional ear, thought otherwise. And I can scarcely blame her as I sat in the ‘sweet spot’ listening to Branford Marsalis’s saxophone playing through “Gloomy Sunday”, (Eternal, Marsalis Music) my mouth agape, on a gloomy Sunday. The energy, the vigor, the breath, the life seemed real to me, as I sat, eyes closed, transported and then transfixed, as if in the venue. “Wow,” I thought, “this is scarily good. And I don’t really use ‘scarily’ as an adjective. Hmmmm… How much are these again? I’m definitely keeping them.”
TREBLE+
Joe Morello’s drum kit, stage far (far) left, is bopping, his cymbals air-infused, a metallic sheen, delicate, nuanced are in the room, and he is deep in the mix, as “Take Five” (Time Out, Columbia-Legacy) plays on. Dave Brubeck stage far (far) right on piano and Eugene Wright, tucked in right of center and deep set within the stage, cavort away, the spatial cues betraying their position. I can’t remember a time when this performance has been so transparent, so real. I shake my head again at the TRI-ART OPEN 5s well aware that their
Olafur Arnalds’ “Árbakkinn” (Island Songs, Mercury (Universal France)) cues up and plays through. It is one of my favorites for understanding transparency, resolution, and detail, ‘the Three’ and their nexus—a connection or series of connections—to measure the music’s in-room realism. As poet Einar Georg Einarsson recites there is a strong presence or palpability of him in-room. There is startling clarity, wherein ‘the Three’ place the birds, who are outside of the recording venue, inside and beside Einar, at the song’s earliest moment. Very, very few component mixes can make this happen and even some electrostatic headphone setups fail here. Suffice to say, that the realism in this setup is fourth dimensional—“inconceivable (Vizzini (Wally Shawn), Princess Bride)! ”
TRI-ART OPEN 5
price tag says, “Yeah, I know, we shouldn’t be able to do this. But, we’re doing it. Ha!” And I sit back and enjoy with one question, “Are you taunting me?”
Hilary Hahn’s “Sonata No. 1 in G minor: Adagio” (Hilary Hahn Plays Bach: Violin Sonatas Nos 1 & 2; Partita No. 1, Decca) is brilliant. Her violin scales treble heights as if borne by wings, all the while energetic, the tone and timbre rich, with air and ambiance and space in abundance. Whoa! No doubt, the OPEN 5’s tweeters and super tweeters are hard at work, making things seem ‘easy as pie’. Bravo!
CONCLUSION
The TRI-ART OPEN 5 at $7500 is a game changer in that it will challenge, easily, speakers at multiples upon multiples of its price. All one need do to achieve this, is to feed it sufficient, well enabled power to bring it to life (100 watts+)!
Yes, its complement of drivers—two-18” and two-15” woofers, 2-8” midranges, two-1” tweeters, and 2-super-tweeters—allow the OPEN 5 to easily mark all of the audiophile check boxes—transparency, resolution, Pacing, Rhythm, and Timing (PRaT), detail retrieval, soundstaging, microdynamics, weight, etc.— while pleasing music lovers to no end. And there is its finesse, its open air ambiance, its wealth of spatial cues, and the incredible spaciousness, as a result, which, in my opinion, make it other—not electrostatic, not boxed, not planar—but perhaps some mix of all in addition to being open baffle.
TRI-ART OPEN 5 is a music lover’s and an audiophile’s ‘for sure’ bargain and for us an award winner and easily so. We award the OPEN 5 our highest award—DIAMOND AWARD—for outstanding musical prowess and for its various assembled, technical abilities that make it a truly extraordinary speaker (and at such an outstandingly low cost!). Can you say bargain? Bravo! Bravo!
Pros: Incredibly musical and exceptionally proficient transducer, technically, that performs leagues above its retail price and that challenges speakers leagues above its retail price (when properly powered).
Cons: Needs amplification greater than 50 watts to excel.
THE COMPANY
TRI-ART AUDIO OPEN 5 Speakers $7,599 www.triartaudio.com
4 Harvey Street, Kingston ON K7K 5B9
Vincent Van Gogh — The Mulberry Tree
TORUS AUDIO ELITE
By K. E. Heartsong
TORUS AUDIO ELITE AVR
What can best be said about a power conditioner, other than it gave every component what it needed to perform at its best and took away nothing from them, period.
This is a bit of a different approach to a review for me in that its narrative is of a whole and not broken down across the frequency band; what it does for one it does for them all.
There was a bass hump in the reference system, as some of the diffusion, absorption components had not yet been received.
out, placed the AVR Elite in its place, replugged all the attached components, and powered the system up.
I let things cook for a day—I played music on repeat at low volume—while the AVR Elite drank its fill of juice, got “limber,” and went about powering the various components.
Most people might not have noticed it, but there it was. A friend and fellow reviewer was aware of it and said, “You might want to deal with that.” Well, bass traps had also been contemplated and I was well on my way to selecting the best for AKRMedia’s two-channel reference room. But as many know, this is not a straightforward process, it takes time.
And then a strange thing happened. A new power conditioner arrived from Canada—the TORUS POWER AVR Elite—for review, and given its review date, I needed to get things moving. I powered down all attached equipment, moved the prior power conditioner
The very next day, I sat down for a quick listen to see if there was anything that I’d be able to discern immediately from so short a warmup. “Yikes” was the next sound that came issuing forth. The bass hump that had been so prominent on this track prior to the AVR Elite’s placement was gone! In its place was a tight, well-defined upright bass that did not suffer any bass anomalies or the hump. Gone.
The massed tympani in Eiji Oue’s “Infernal Dance of King Kashchey” (Stravinsky, Reference Recordings) were as tight as the drums they were supposed to be and their internal vibrations were now audible and clean and clear, which they had not been before. Of course, I paraded through all manner of bassrich tracks and the same was true in every case —bass hump gone and bass tighter and more
TORUS AUDIO ELITE AVR
transparent than it had ever been. Wow, a power conditioner!
17
The dilemma of procuring a bass trap was postponed for the time being. There would need to be greater analysis and testing of the AVR Elite, which would require many, many bass-rich tracks being played. But then a thought arose: what if the prior power
conditioner had been the culprit all along? This would take a third avenue of research— the wall.
However, before going to the wall, I wanted to take note of the other areas of improvement where the TORUS AUDIO AVR Elite might provide noticeable benefits. As I prepared to review the TORUS AUDIO AVR Elite power conditioner, I began going through a very long list of music to gain further insight into the AVR Elite and what appeared to be its system changing abilities that lifted or “righted” the music in every respect.
THE SOUND
As per above, it is immediately becoming clear what the AVR Elite did for the reference
system components relative to the rendering of bass notes from upper to mid to lower bass. All such notes were now immediately tighter, better defined, and more what one imagines they were intended to be. The massed tympani in the “Infernal Dance of King Kashchey” (Stravinsky, Reference Recordings) where the previous power conditioner had apparently done harm, was now “cured.” The rounded bass notes, bass humps and boom, had disappeared. And bass instruments and their notes, often to the farthest corners of a given stage, were now realized and vital, taunt and well resolved. Was it the resulting black quiet background via the AVR Elite that orchestrated this none too subtle improvement across the bass region?
What was most notable across the midrange was again clarity and then a foundational weight that created a greater sense of the in-room presence and the textural palpability of performers—a reach out and touch event. There was a greater sense of space and separation, of depth and air, and threedimensionality that no doubt provided assistance and empowered components to beautifully recreate the music entrusted to them. There was also an ease, a lack of harsh edges, a commanding quiet and stillness, and a
continuity that one might associate with analog.
At the treble end of things, violins soared unencumbered and refined, nuanced, beautifully resolved and transparent, and freed of treble nasties, which also came as quite the shock. Was the previous power conditioner truly so poor in empowering the various reference components or was the TORUS POWER AVR Elite just a far better solution? There was even more to the AVR Elite. The soundstage across the board gained as I was now able to hear the depth and breadth of a given stage, a result of the background quiet, no doubt. And as mentioned above, soundstage cues or spatial information —positioning, layering, relative space, air, ambiance, and even movement —were all vastly improved. This led to a more clearly envisioned venue and a naturalness experienced, in toto, across the entire frequency domain when the AVR Elite was part of the system. Bravo!
The front face of the AVR Elite is clean and simple. There is an On/Off switch on the far left that shines blue when active and an LCD control screen on the far right. The TORUS AUDIO logo stands prominent front and centre on the components’ face.
The back face of the AVR Elite bears 10 receptacles for power cords, an IEC receptacle for the AVR Elite’s power cord, an ethernet port, a USB connector, and a 10A input fuse.
The function, of course, is to provide clean, continuous power to components that are
DESIGN-FUNCTION
If you’re simply going for the TORUS AUDIO AVR Elite, as a power conditioner, it is very easy to install and get going. However, if you are looking to take advantage of its advanced Torus Power Connect capabilities, you’ll need to consult the instruction manual.
did provide better bass definition than the Other Power Conditioner (it is our philosophy not to throw products under the bus, thus no name) but The Wall was edgy, harsh, strident when compared directly to the AVR Elite. There was also greater noise introduced into the signal with The Wall, which diminished clarity, background quiet, and the identification of spatial characteristics, now buried, needed to
TORUS AUDIO ELITE AVR
connect with a given performance and its venue.
The Other Power Conditioner (OPC): The well-known, expensive, highly awarded OPC provided for beautiful treble extension and clarity and wonderful tone, timbre, and texture. It was, interestingly, a very musical conditioner. However, it collapsed across the bass region—upper, mid, lower. And in direct comparison to the AVR Elite, there was more noise in the signal, an overall lack of comparative clarity, and there were the bass anomalies, which distracted from the music and listening to the music.
CONCLUSIONS
Hands down, the TORUS POWER AVR Elite is an exceptional power conditioner that provides what every component—streamer, DAC, network switch, word clock, preamplifier, amplifier, etc.—needs:clean, continuously flowing power, while doing no harm. And to date there has certainly been no harm. Your experience will of course depend on where you currently stand. If you stand with no power conditioner (just the wall), then the results will be mind-boggling at the very least. If you have a poor to decent to relatively good power conditioner, the results will be no less than eye-opening and at best, revelatory. The power conditioner before the AVR Elite was again well-known, highly awarded, and decidedly more expensive than the TORUS POWER AVR Elite. Suffice to say, that this power conditioner will no longer be employed.
When a component brilliantly does what it was designed to do and gets out of the way to let all the other performers—components— shine, well, it deserves an award. We happily award the TORUS POWER AVR Elite power conditioner our DIAMOND AWARD, well deserved for its exceptional work.
Pros: Enables components to their full potential and takes away nothing.
Cons:
THE COMPANY
Torus Power
601 Magnetic Drive Toronto, Ontario, Canada
M3J-3J2
Toll Free: 1 (877) 337-9480
sales@toruspower.com
kmain@toruspower.com
AKRM-C
Claude Monet - Red Water Lilies
Vincent Van Gogh - The Large Plane Trees
COMPONENTS
Welcome to AudioKeyREVIEWS Magazine Canada’s Recommended Components, which will become part and parcel of each of our various issues. The purpose of this section is to acquaint the reader with products—speakers, DACs, amplifiers, preamplifiers, turntables, headphones, IEMs, streamers, portable audio, etc.—that we feel are quite exceptional and rise above their like brethren. There will be three categories—Budget, Mid-Tier, and Top-Of-The-Line. In our Budget Recommendations there will be products that compete far above their respective price point and are, generally, also built to reflect this.Our Mid-Tier Recommendations will encompass those products within arms reach, in terms of relative affordability, that present value and a challenge to the vanguard of their respective product niches. Finally, our TOTL Recommendations will be composed of those products that are at the cutting edge of technological advancement now happening across the world. The three categories of recommendations will rotate across the various issues of our magazine and there will also be a fluidity to the products within the various lists. Things change and especially now given our current technological epoch. The various lists, however, will be fixed on the AudioKeyReviews.com website.
Paul Cezanne - Still life, fruits, jug, fruit dish
RECOMMENDED COMPONENTS
AURORASOUND HEADA
$2999: If you’re looking for an endgame headphone amplifier and even if your headphone amplifier is more expensive, try this one, you may be quite surprised. That said, the Aurorasound HEADA headphone amplifier is a top echelon component and an easy DIAMOND AWARD winner.
SILENT ANGEL RHEIN Z1
$2299: The Rhein Z1 and Forester F2 combo played far above the league that their combined price would indicate. For many, this $3,900 combo may well represent an endgame streamer/ power supply capable of exceptional fidelity with DACs from entry level to those on the cutting edge.
ABYSS AB1266 PHI TC $5999: I think that I’ve said it all. The Abyss AB1266 Phi TC is a phenomenal headphone. It brings an undying passion for musicality and a ferocity for transparency and clarity and detail retrieval, formerly the domain of the best electrostatic headphones. But this planar headphone speaks that language—electrostatic—fluently and well.
RECOMMENDED COMPONENTS
TORUS RM20 $3999: Can you say pristine, natural, open, and unhindered frequency response? Wide dynamic range? And there were oceans of detail, air, microdynamics, and ambience rendered by the Torus RM 20. It was not subtle. On the contrary, it was stunning.
RSX POWER8 $399: The RSX Power8 clearly holds to the dictum, “Do no Harm,” to the system in which it is being utilized. What it, in fact, offers is pure, clean power, a testament to the meticulous parts selection, research, and conscious minimalism all employed in its design. suffice to say, that it has no competitors at 3 to 4 times is cost.
GESHELLI LABS ERISH2 [E2] $219.99, JNOG2 [J2] $249.99: Disinterested in ostentation, Geshelli Labs believes in real world pricing with high fidelity performance. Their JNOG2 plus ERISH2 are a petite and potent bargain. With just enough character to put flesh on bone, the classy little twosome sets your music free without excessive color or dispensable features.
MOLA MOLA KALUGA
LYRIC AUDIO Ti 100 MK II
HEADA HEADPHONE AMP
GRIMM AUDIO MU1 STREAMER
Music is art, art is music.
Imogen Cunningham - Three Dancers, Mills College (1929)
Thank You
E LECTRIFIED S TABILIZATION P LATFORM The Last Platform You’ll Ever Need
