Mono and Stereo High-End Audio Magazine

S.I.N. Audio PSD power distributor arrived

2013-05-21T11:10:00.001-07:00

Purity and clarity

S.I.N. Audio PSD power distributor just arrived from Bulgaria. This is an interesting approach of purity and attention to build in materials and technics. It feels like nothing was left to chance with PSD.

I love the the quality of finish and brushing of aluminum upper plate that reminds me on some high-end watches. Along with best materials used S.I.N. Audio PSD versions come with a lifetime warranty of electrical parts, certificate of authenticity and EC declaration. It's solder free design with handcrafted symmetrical internal wiring and common power starting point. They refined the chassis with optimal body design and materials that reduce electromagnetic noise

Some further highlights and High quality parts: Furutech FP – SWS D (R) sockets, High quality IEC Furutech connector, Furutech FP alpha 3 etc.

Make no mistake, this is the device in the range of Furutech Pure Power 6 and Walker Audio Velocitors S.

Stay tuned for first impressions and review in due time.

S.I.N. Audio

Matej Isak. Mono and Stereo ultra high end audio magazine. All rights reserved. 2006-2013. www.monoandstereo.com. ..:: None of the original text, pictures, that were taken by me, links or my original files can be re-printed or used in any way without prior permission! ::..

Absolare Audio at Munich High end audio show 2013

2013-05-21T07:00:00.001-07:00

Audio Exotics

Absolare audio monoblock Passion power amplifiers with 845 tubes, Absolare Passion preamplifier and Rockport speakers. Kerem enthusiastic presentation never fails to attract attention and Absolare products looks like no other.

http://www.absolare.com

Reference turntable

2013-05-20T04:50:00.004-07:00

Spin it all the way

New update to my reference Mono & Stereo turntable. Now whole sub chassis is 'floating' on three magnetic absorbers - elevators from Alto Extremo. I experimented before with Alto Extremo on motor and found the results outstanding in dealing with noise and resonaces.

There is also newly added black sub chassis, that it's filled with either mechanical balls or quartz sand. I'm still experimenting with the materials. Under everything sits CA Electronic CA BASE RFI and damping plate.

Last night first listening was very positive... With upcoming vinyl promos for testing this brings my enthusiasm to the max :).

Beethoven’s 9th Symphony on IOS

2013-05-19T00:05:00.002-07:00

Beethoven for 21st century

DG's first app, »Beethoven 9«, is now available on the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Try out the free versions now and discover Beethoven's iconic 9th Symphony in a new, interactive way.

The main features are:

Four legendary performances of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony from the DG catalogue:
includes DG star conductor of the 1950's Ferenc Fricsay's first stereo recording of this work from 1958 with the Berliner Philharmoniker; Herbert von Karajan's widely acclaimed 1962 recording with the same orchestra; the widely loved and charismatic maestro Leonard Bernstein's video recording from 1979 with the Wiener Philharmoniker; and the ground-breaking 1992 recording on period instruments conducted by John Eliot Gardiner with the new Jonathan del Mar edition of the score from Bärenreiter.
switch on-the-fly during playback between the four interpretations and compare different approaches to the music
watch synchronized score or read expert commentary while you listen to the music
immerse yourself in the hypnotic graphical »BeatMap« highlighting every note
watch interviews in the Insights section with eminent personalities including Gustavo Dudamel and John Eliot Gardiner
Read the story of the work written especially for this app by broadcaster David Owen Norris

The technology available to the user in this app shows how individual our greatest recordings of this iconic symphonic masterpiece are. Max Whitby, CEO of Touch Press, the company behind the critically acclaimed apps The Elements, Shakespeare's Sonnets and Leonardo, said: "It is a privilege working closely with Deutsche Grammophon to bring their legendary recordings of the Ninth Symphony to the iPad and iPhone. Together we are aiming to set a new standard for publishing classical music in interactive digital format."
The App is available for free from the App Store on iPad, iPhone or iPod touch including two minutes of the symphony with all features enabled. The full experience is then unlocked through In-App Purchase.
Prices:

iPad: $ 13.99/ £ 9.99/ € 12,99
(Users receive both versions of app for the price of the iPad version)
iPhone / iPod touch: $ 7.99/ £ 5.49/ € 6,99
(iPhone version includes almost all of the playback experience, but not the Insights or The Story sections)

http://www.deutschegrammophon.com/en/gpp/index/beethoven9-app

Matej Isak. Mono and Stereo ultra high end audio magazine. All rights reserved. 2006-2013. www.monoandstereo.com. ..:: None of the original text, pictures, that were taken by me, links or my original files can be re-printed or used in any way without prior permission! ::..

Constellation Audio at Munich High end audio show 2013

2013-05-18T23:47:00.000-07:00

The bigger, the better?

Constellation Audio with Tad speakers at Munich High end audio show 2013. It seems only Boulder makes bigger amps :). Finish on Constellation Audio products is top notch and one I would love to see across more products. Anyone knows the grey haired gentleman?

http://www.constellationaudio.com

Speakers Corner records vinyl package

2013-05-17T23:01:00.000-07:00

A perfect day

New package from Kai Seemann Speakers Corner Records just came in. Eight vinyls of pure analog pleasure with such a highlights as Decca Pjotr Tchaikovsky: "The Sleeping Beauty" - Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and "The Art Of The Primadonna" - Joan Sutherland sings arias from operas. Nothing came close to the vinyl done right. With Decca releases Kai Seemann went all the way. Check here what makes those Decca releases so special.

Below are the albums that came in for a review. Stay tuned for the updated review comments and an exclusive interview with Speakers Corner Records Kai Seemann. We're continuing our special collaboration with Speakers Corner in presenting and keeping the analog where it belongs. On front!

Limelight LS 86006
"In A New Setting" - Jimmy Heath (ts); Milt Jackson (vib); McCoy Tyner (p); Bob Cranshaw (b); Connie Kay (dr)

Format: 1LP 33rpm
Status: in stock
Release date: 17.05.2013
Configuration: gatefold sleeve, booklet

The vibraphonist presents himself in a new setting in this recording from 1964. Clearly Milt Jackson wanted to free himself occasionally from the straightjacket of the Modern Jazz Quartet. "Sonny's Blues" is proof of this: it is percussive and swinging, and without the eagle eyes of John Lewis in the background. This time the young McCoy Tyner, who had worked with John Coltrane ("A Love Supreme" was recorded in the same month), was at the piano. Jimmy Heath, responsible for the drive not only as a composer but also as instrumentalist, and Bob Cranshaw on the bass, contribute important impetus to the short blues, ballad-like and bop themes. None of the twelve numbers became a real jazz hit, but each has kept its own individual charm to this day.

If you set value on an excellent product being excellently packaged then you are well advised to purchase this LP. Unlike the CD version in its jewel case, this album is now being re-released with its original gatefold cover from the truly beautiful Limelight series, for which the designer alone should have received a Grammy.
Recording: December 1964
Production: Luchi De Jesus

Mercury SRM 1-631
"The Chuck Mangione Quartet" - Chuck Mangione (flh, el-p, perc); Gerry Niewood (fl, ss, tu, guiro); Joel Di Bartolo (b); Ron Davis (dr, cga, perc)
Format: 1LP 33rpm
Status: in stock
Release date: 21.01.2013
Configuration: standard sleeve

Now – in which pigeonhole that the innumerable self-proclaimed jazz critics like to create does this release from 1971 fit? Jazz-rock, jazz-fusion, soul-jazz-rock-fusion, electro-fusion-pop? Perhaps we can all agree that we should just enjoy these quartet recordings!

These recordings, all of them absolutely fantastic numbers, have been made by flugelhornist Chuck Mangione with his marvellous quartet without a piano in a sort of 'jam session'. The band members are absolutely top notch with Ron Davis on drums, Joel DiBartolo on the double bass, and Gerry Niewood (still underestimated and mostly known as a sideman) on the soprano saxophone and flute (which is his foremost instrument although the more hushed one). On this LP, which has long been out of print, Chuck Mangione comes into the limelight in wonderfully melodic and mellow solos such as "Land Of Make Believe" and "Little Sunflower" – and the latter certainly needs not fear a comparison with the original by Freddie Hubbard! And "Manha De Carnival", composed by guitarist Luis Bonfá is especially worth listening to for the amazing improvisations which have been set down for all times. Mercury’s recording technology was of the very best in the Seventies, and that makes itself heard when listening to this recording on a new high-end vinyl LP instead of the original pressing.
Recording: 1971 at Mercury Sound Studio, New York, by Chuck Irwin
Production: Chuck Mangione

Philips B 07373 L
"Legrand Jazz" - Michel Legrand (arr, cond); John Coltrane, Ben Webster (ts); Phil Woods (as); Miles Davis, Donald Byrd (tp); Jimmy Cleveland (tb); Herbie Mann (fl); Bill Evans, Nat Pierce (p); Paul Chambers (b); Osie Johnson (dr), a.o.
Format: 1LP 33rpm
Status: in stock
Release date: 09.05.2012
Configuration: standard sleeve

Michel Legrand, just 26 years old in 1958, already had a number of distinguished trophies on his shelves, among them the "Grand Prix du Disque", and could thus entice New York’s top musicians into the recording studio. Three large ensembles with stars ranging from Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Ben Webster, Phil Woods and Bill Evans performed his new arrangements of famous numbers from the annals of jazz history. Michel Legrand breathed a touch of film music into zany Fats Waller’s "The Jitterbug Waltz", the serious Modern Jazz Quartet’s "Django", Bix Beiderbecke’s legendary "In A Mist" and Earl Fatha Hines’s portrait of "Rosetta". The fresh arrangements cast a new light on the old evergreens, and the solos are absolutely top class - the new arrangements seem to have been tailor-made for Miles Davis and Ben Webster.

Even though these recordings have slumbered in the archives for many, many years, they are not the least lethargic!

Recording: June 1958 in New York City

Decca SXL 2160-62
Pjotr Tchaikovsky: "The Sleeping Beauty" - Orchestre de la Suisse Romande conducted by Ernest Ansermet

Format: 3LPs 33rpm
Status: in stock
Release date: 27.10.2011
Configuration: Box, booklet

»His symphonies are ballets, his ballets are symphonies«; such has often been said about Tchaikovsky’s lengthy dance compositions. This opinion is not entirely due to the fact that these works had to please the audience without being danced to after Diaghilev’s legendary ballet company was dissolved. Rather more, Tchaikovsky’s instrumental and incidental music is pervaded by movement and dance rhythms that act as a musical scaffolding.

Almost as legendary as the incomparable heritage of Russian music is the reputation of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, whose recordings are famed for their lush and saturated sound colouring. Ansermet transforms the score into a veritable firework of sound, without ever straining after cheap effects by means of a thunderous sound; the strings are clean and warm in all registers, the brass volleys blare out keenly, and the percussion is dauntlessly resolute. This performance and Decca’s customary excellent sound recording render great homage to this music. All the more reason to be glad that this particular "Sleeping Beauty" has been awakened at long last.

Recording: March and April 1959 at Victoria Hall, Geneva (Switzerland), by Roy Wallace
Production: James Walker

Decca SXL 2256/7
"The Art Of The Primadonna" - Joan Sutherland sings arias from operas by Thomas Arne, Vincenzo Bellini, Leo Delibes, Charles Gounod, Georg Friedrich Händel, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Gioachino Rossini, Giuseppe Verdi, a.o.

Format: 2LPs 33rpm
Status: in stock
Release date: 02.03.2013
Configuration: standard sleeve

The 'art of the prima donna' stands out like a shining star in the firmament of virtuoso song repertoire and the world of grand opera. And this double LP pays homage to this cult. It is of little importance that the majority of the divas who are praised in the cover text celebrated their success long before the days of the phonograph and that therefore no recordings of them exist. After all, Joan Sutherland with her wonderfully supple and artistically flexible soprano voice is more than compensation, and she gives us an idea of how these works would have sounded in the salons of the 18th and 19th century.

Joan Sutherland is wonderfully British in her poised rendering of the opening work, Thomas Arne’s coloratura aria "The Soldier Tir’d", and in Handel’s jubilatory "Let The Bright Seraphim". But she earned her honorary title 'La Stupenda' by singing Italian repertoire. With utmost ease, agility and remarkable clarity in the top register, her voice gets right to the heart of bel canto. One of the most exquisite and beautiful roles is demonstrated in the demanding aria "Casta Diva" from Bellini’s "Norma", here sung in the original key. How lucky we are not to have to imagine how this great singer might have sounded, but can listen to her amazing voice over and over again.

Recording: July and August 1960 in Kingsway Hall, London, by Kenneth Wilkinson
Production: Michael Bremner and Ray Minshull

www.speakerscornerrecords.com

Kef at Munich High end audio show 2013

2013-05-17T22:19:00.001-07:00

From David to Goliath

From Kef remarkable LS50 to landmark statement Moun company offers an impressive array of speakers. Moun is still one of most refined visual loudspeakers out there and in right set up they can perform in the real sense of upper echelon.

http://www.kef.com/

Devialet at Munich High end audio show 2013

2013-05-17T21:54:00.004-07:00

Devialet for everyone

We were all waiting what French Devialet will do after the 15 mil injection. It was worth waiting. What most people hope for is here. More affordable Devialet. I guess there is something for all now. With a starting promoting price of 4.999 EUR it becomes ready to enter many more homes.

I do think Audiophiles underestimate Devialet performance. It's true, that with certain speakers it will fall on it's knees, but combined with right speakers it can give a performance we all hankered for years from one compact and greatly packed machine. Like it or not Devialet took the role of high-tech high-end audio leader. It brings some of the pace that computer and mobile manufacturers are doing it for more then a decade.

With new software update and features it opens up even more adjusting. Two, yearly software updates ensure a future proof path. An interesting time update for both audiophiles and music lovers.

http://en.devialet.com/home-en-us/

Thrax Audio Dionysos and Heros test review is coming up

2013-05-16T23:41:00.002-07:00

Audio demigods

Rumen Artarski of Thrax Audio view and approach to high end is of different upper echelon nature. His philosophy and understanding correlate strongly with my views about high-end audio and sound in general. Package with pair of Thrax Audio Heros Class A Hybrid - tube/fet amplifiers and Dionysos preamplifier line-stage is coming for a review at Mono & Stereo. Another thrilling product and highlight.

http://www.thrax.bg

High end all the way

2013-05-16T23:25:00.001-07:00

Pedal to the metal

This is year I had a pleasure of traveling in a really great and friendly company of Igor Akrapovič from world famous Akrapovic Exhaust System, Igor Kante of Vklop-Ubiq and Hari Štrukelj of Highend Store. We were enjoying traveling in the luxury of Igor Akrapovič full featured Porsche Panamera across Austrian and German highways. Igor is an ardent audiophile, music lover and high-end audio connoisseur. It was a wonderful time to share thoughts, experiences and listening fun.

TechDAS Air Force One at Munich High end audio show 2013

2013-05-16T21:41:00.001-07:00

Analogue for 21st cenutry

TechDAS State-of-the-Art turntable Air Force One is for sure one of the reminders that ultra high-end analogue is nowhere near dead as some love to promote it. Really an impressive machine and a product I would't mind laying my hand on :).

http://www.techdas.jp/analog_01.html

Thrax Audio at Munich High end audio show 2013

2013-05-16T21:29:00.000-07:00

Son of Ares

Thrax Audio approach is completely different then most high-end audio manufacturers. Both their internal and external design goes beyond ordinary high-end approach. I very much love their philosopy and the quality of built. It was great to meet Rumen at show and we set for the Heros Class A Hybrid - tube/fet amplifier review. Much looking forward to hear them in my system. Stay tuned for first impression and full review in due time.

http://www.thrax.bg

MIT Cables StyleLine

2013-05-16T14:22:00.002-07:00

Style Line

MIT Cables is pleased to announce the “StyleLine” series of audio interfaces, a new series for the entry-level audiophile. The StyleLine series features a modern, sleek and ergonomic appearance, designed with the modern audiophile in mind.

The StyleLine series continues MIT Cables long-standing practice of “trickling down” performance from its high end products to entry-level price points. The StyleLine (“SL”) series includes three groups of interconnects and speaker interfaces, each featuring MIT Cables’ patented Multipole technology.

StyleLine SL 12 Speaker Interfaces

The StyleLine SL 12 with Multipole technology provides deeper bass, enhanced image and focus, along with an overall greater clarity – “like multiple cables in one!”™ . Also included are MIT Cables' patented iconn ™ connectors—4 spades and 4 bananas included.

12 Articulation Poles

StyleLine SL 9 Speaker Interfaces

The StyleLine SL 9 with Multipole technology provides controlled bass, and smoother, more extended highs along with a lower noise floor –“like multiple cables in one!”™ . Also included are MIT Cables' patented iconn ™ connectors—4 spades and 4 bananas included.

9 Articulation Poles

StyleLine SL 5 Speaker Interfaces

The StyleLine SL 5 with Multipole technology provides better bass, better midrange, and better highs –“like multiple cables in one!”™

5 Articulation Poles

StyleLine SL 8 RCA Interconnect

Bringing true performance and affordability together for the first time at this level, the SL 8 audio interconnect is an excellent value well suited to serious home theater and audio enthusiasts. The SL 8 with its 8 Poles of Articulation preserves additional timbre and more of the natural textures and density of the audio signal than any other interconnect in its class, bringing the listener closer to the music.

8 Articulation Poles

StyleLine SL 6 RCA Interconnect

Using miniaturized passive network circuitry, this design provides six Poles of Articulation inside a compact and "corner free" enclosure for easy installation. Inside this enclosure, MIT engineers put to work their understanding of the differences between harmonics, inharmonics and overtones, and how “just cable” can negatively impact the music’s timbre. It takes Multipole Technology to preserve the natural timbre of the music

6 Articulation Poles

StyleLine SL 3 RCA Interconnect

The SL 3 uses new smaller Multipole™ circuitry hidden within the RCA connector, making it the most advanced connector in the world! MIT engineering has successfully miniaturized Multipole Technology to the size of a button. It is then sandwiched inside a unique RCA connector. You'll hear better bass, cleaner midrange and enhanced image and focus from this svelte RCA enclosure design that is as easy to install as any non-networked cable design.

Gato Audio DIA-250 and DIA-400 Integrated Amplifier

2013-05-16T06:05:00.005-07:00

DIA-250 and DIA-400

The all-new Gato Audio DIA-250 and DIA-400 Class-D Integrated Amplifiers are designed and built to a vision of combining techno-logy, power, sonic performance, connectivity, versatility, stunning looks and compact design.

Both amplifiers feature built-in D/A converters with electrical, optical and USB inputs. High quality analogue input is via RCA connectors or via XLR connectors for true balanced signals. Both balanced and unbalanced line outputs are provided. Even the least powerful DIA-250 offers 250 watts per channel into 8 ohm loads, and the DIA-400 no less than 400 watts per channel. Both amplifiers double their power output into 4 ohm loads.

Modern Class-D technology enables extremely high efficiency, thereby providing both enormous power and huge voltage swing. Besides the obvious benefit of having this much power, the huge voltage swing from these powerhouses gives effortless dynamic headroom without clipping, all in the service of bringing you stunning musical performance.

More info about DIA-250 can be found here, and for DIA-400 click here.

The DIA-250 and DIA-400 are available from June 2013 and we offer three different design variants: High gloss black, white and walnut. Retail prices start from 3.250 EUR.

http://www.gato-audio.com/

Bang & Olufsen Beolab 14

2013-05-15T22:43:00.002-07:00

Norden simplicity

Bang & Olufsen take great pride in the care and attention we pour into every last acoustic detail. We calibrate audio against the purest waveforms to ensure that our speakers only produce the finest possible sound.

Sound quality is ofcourse influenced by many factors. The height of your ceiling, the amount of furniture in the room and the type of TV connected to your BeoLab 14 all play a part. To understand what it takes to tailor that perfect sound, meet two Bang & Olufsen sound purists who both live for acoustic perfection.
Bang & Olufsen Beolab 14.

http://www.bang-olufsen.com/

Transparent Acoustic at Munich high end audio show 2013

2013-05-15T22:09:00.003-07:00

Elegance all the way

Transparent Acoustic room at Munich high end audio show 2013. They had an active demonstration of Capriccio Continuo Admonitor, Transparent Acoustic room panels/absorbers, April Music Eximus DP-1 DAC-preamp, JE Audio Dyad amplifier and Musical Wire cables. It was great to meet Dmitry. Capriccio Continuo is really something special from the custom build parts to reproduction.

If you wondered who makes those beautiful wall mount and stand alone panel/absorbers its Transparent Acoustic. They offer really elegant way to treat your room acoustics.

http://www.transparent-acoustic.de

Clearaudio Audio at Munich high end audio show 2013

2013-05-15T21:54:00.002-07:00

German perfection

Clearaudio booth is always a feast for the eyes. Few new products and so many models on display. When it comes to the finish and execution few can come close to the engineering and finish part of Clearaudio.

www.clearaudio.de

Wilson Audio at Munich high end audio show 2013

2013-05-15T21:30:00.002-07:00

Lamborghini?

Wilson Audio Alexia with Pass flagship power amplifiers in a Munich high end show set up. Alexia feels special and just about right size.

http://www.wilsonaudio.com/index.shtml

Tidal Audio at Munich high end audio show 2013

2013-05-15T21:26:00.003-07:00

German emotions

Tidal Germany full blooded set up. Finish on Tidal speakers is just impressive and those speakers are winning the hearths of so many Eastern audiophiles. Exclusive interview with Tidal CEO is coming up soon. Stay tuned.

http://www.tidal-audio.de

McIntosh Audio at Munich high-end audio 2013

2013-05-15T12:49:00.000-07:00

Some of the McIntosh Audio love from Munich high-end audio 2013. Many loved new McIntosh MT turntable without vu-meters and I really love the looks of McIntosh C 2500 preamplifier.

http://www.mcintoshlabs.com

EMMESpeakers at Munich high end audio show 2013

2013-05-15T07:00:00.000-07:00

EMMEspeakers

It was great too meet with Lorenzo Martinelli from EMMESpeakers at Munich. I had a pleasure to see the new Da Vinci speakers, the largest floorstander Gamma and few new finishes. Small Da Vinci's are coming in for exclusive review soon.

http://www.emmespeakers.com

S.I.N. Audio PSD power distributor

2013-05-15T05:47:00.003-07:00

Power Split Device power distributor

Another interesting device coming from Bulgaria just started it's way towards Mono & Stereo. Here are few infos and pictures. Stay tuned for first impressions and review in due time:

Many people are willing to spend serious amounts of money on sophisticated audio racks in order to solve the problem with vibrations. How about power distributors? Isn’t part of the system as well? Yes, it is…

After more than 20 years in audio as HiFi enthusiasts, a group of friends have decided to develop our own product line of High End products. Any audiophile worldwide has an amplifier, a source and speakers. More and more people recognize cables as a very important part of their systems. We at S.I.N. Audio do believe electricity is the true basis for a high level audio system. Power cords, sockets, connectors, and power distributors... they play a very important part. After serous number of listening tests we have concluded that any type of active power treatment (filtering, regenerating) affects the sound by limiting dynamics, sound energy and natural resolution. The only way to eliminate vibration and electromagnetic noise is by using carefully selected natural materials, best possible components and proper assembly technology. Our design was tested against similar reference grade devices to ensure we are on the right track and is completely safe electrically and mechanically. We are proud to present our first product: S.I.N. Audio PSD (Power Split Device) power distributor.

PSD main features:

- Pure material based power treatment, zero filters

- Specially selected aluminum alloy that assures best sound characteristics of PSD

- Solder free design

- Optimal body design and materials reducing electromagnetic noise

- Common power starting point – carefully designed and handcrafted symmetrical internal wiring

- High quality sockets, Furutech FP – SWS D (R)

- High quality internal wiring, Furutech FP alpha 3

- High quality IEC connector, Furutech

- Designed and hand-made in Bulgaria

All PSD versions come with a lifetime warranty of electrical parts, certificate of authenticity and EC declaration.

S.I.N. Audio

Gold Note Italy at Munich high end audio show 2013

2013-05-15T05:08:00.002-07:00

Italian wizardry

Gold Note presented their updated and impressive Diamond line and Bellagio Conquest turntable. It was great to see Maurizio who's always full of energy and passion. I also received Gold Note Records Henry Mancini release of Hatari soundtrack. Will report soon about vinyl in separate article.

www.goldnote.it

Analog Domain Excalibur circuit

2013-05-14T00:36:00.000-07:00

Excalibur - this will change everything

During the show I was invited to 'secret' location by the Angel and accompanied by his son Plamen and Fabian from Zellaton.

Half-hour later across Munich I witnessed something so special and out of box, that will change the way we perceive high-end audio amplification. This is actually a matter of ultra high end and even as prototype an Uber amp candidate without a thought. For this actually I’ll have to figure out a new name. Transcending perhaps?

Analog Domain impact

Angel Despotov already made his impact with his out worldly statement amplifiers that won the hearths of quite few most demanding listeners across the globe. I'm talking about people who heard it all and have no restrains in writing a paycheck when performance goes beyond expectations.

You can read my exclusive interview with Angel here to get some glimpse into the mind of his wizardry. But you have to meet him in person. I’m working with people all my life and can spot a “player” in a heartbeat even without opening his mouth. Angel Despotov is a man of different league. Passionate, wit and always ready to elaborate or humor. When we later on picking up the disc to listen for a session my hearth rejoiced with the material. Almost like opening my desert island suitcase. You can feel and see when one immerses him into the universe of music and enjoy every note. It felt like grabbing a cabrio and drive of to the highway without any worries. Just being free and with the bellowed music in the bag. When something becomes reality on forget about reality. Exactly this happened today at listening session.

Beyond mind boggling

What Angel described me few days ago was on the edge of my understanding. Later I understood in the line of true philosophers, that I know how I don’t know anything :). I guess I felt a bit better about myself later on when Angel told me how he showed prototype schematics to few experienced electronic engineers and they all concluded the same. It cannot be done in a real time and operate as a working circuit. As this is so out of this world Angel is planning to release a white paper for Recording Society of America in due time as his finding brings completely new ways on approaching the amplifying.

In the matter of building materials everything else is the same. It’s an execution that goes into mind-boggling state. I asked Angel if he fear not that people will copy his work. He just smiled. As with Excalibur, only one can pull it of. There is not a better analogy then Merlin’s quest.

Energy of motion

It felt like the new circuit has nothing to do with the sound but with pure energy of motion. In my twenty-two + some years of high-end audio I never heard of experienced something like this. The impact was not only emotional, but also ethereal. Imagine something that holds nothing back and reveals everything in a pace that makes you just dive into the music and forget about everything around you.

I’ve heard best A class power amplifiers, I heard bespoke AB class, I’ve tremble in the elixir of tube refinement. Angel amplifier got nothing to do with it. Forget about tubes. Forget about solid state. We all always talk about straight wire. No imprints, no flavors just purity. Here is the purity redefined.

In the realms of ultra high end every little thing and nuances goes under the strict loop.

Earth moves by...

There are few amps on this earthly planet that moves me. One vision might be of late Kondo. His original amplifiers awoke so much emotions that it difficult to grasp. Yet, Kondo San imprint was of Monet, Rembrandt etc. Angel’s takes unaltered route. Now I heard most of what high-end audio neutrality has to offer. For sure comparing to what I witness at the session it wasn't a crystal clear waters.

Most of the time, even when money is not an issue, we deal within proximity of transparency. You can hear the music at it’s best, but you’ll still hear the electronics. For the first time stood still. Timing was not an issue; timbre was not an issue etc. The lightness and featherlike presentation of music was beyond anything.

Defeated and glorious

I can elaborate all day and night long. Still you might think I’m tripping. Getting back to the Munich High-end audio show after few hours was a reality check. Somehow everything stopped making sense. What I heard was a groundbreaking and earthshaking. A working finalized product is coming very soon to Mono & Stereo HQ’s for a world first review. Until then the large portion of my mind stayed in a unique place. Locked willingly at a residence of musical purity.

Stay tuned for exclusive world first review of upcoming Analog Domain new groundbreaking integrated amplifier based on this new circuit followed by in depth interview with the Angel Despotov.

I though things were wrapped up for the ultimate high end reproduction. Man I’m glad I was wrong. I’ll end with what I’ve started with. This will change everything!

www.analogdomain.eu

Matej Isak. Mono and Stereo ultra high end audio magazine. All rights reserved. 2006-2013. www.monoandstereo.com. ..:: None of the original text, pictures, that were taken by me, links or my original files can be re-printed or used in any way without prior permission! ::..

Vivid Audio at Munich high end show 2013

2013-05-13T22:15:00.001-07:00

From Nautilus to Giya

I just quickly said hi to Laurence Dickie from Vivid Audio. One of most interesting speakers and yes Laurence is the guy who originally designed Nautilus speakers. You can read my exclusive interview with him here.

www.vividaudio.com