Chassis grounding of all components was supplied by Nordost Q Kore units.
This extreme attention to detail resulted in a sound with considerable expressive range, an engaging musical integrity and the ability to play almost anything thrown at it. Deep bass was tuneful and beautifully textured if lacking weight – a function of the small space in which the system was playing. Upstairs in a much larger space, the El Diablos, bi-amped with Trilogy Audio 995 Reference mono-blocs, delivered a similarly convincing musical performance, with no shortage of weight or scale.
The three-way, twin bass driver formula has been a high-end staple since the advent of the Watt/Puppy five decades ago. It’s also marked the gate posts on the entry way to true high-end performance. Peak’s latest El Diablo is a worthy inheritor of that mantle, capable of delivering serious musical satisfaction in a whole host of different systems and situations. The company is clearly equally serious about presenting its products. If only the other exhibitors in Munich worked as hard, the show would be a far more effective and enjoyable event.
Difficult done right…
In sharp contrast to the WAMM extravaganza/embarrassment (see below), VTL built a smaller but somewhat similar system into a conventional first-floor room – to considerable effect. Similar how? Well, they used the Alexx V, another modular, adjustable speaker from Wilson. They used a complete set of Odin 2 from Nordost and a matching set of their own electronics (the flagship TP-6.5 phono-stage and TL-7.5 line-stage, paired with the extremely interesting new Lohengrin mono-blocs). Source was the Kuzma Stabi R ‘table with Safir 9 tonearm and Etna Lambda SL cartridge – an ‘upside-down’ record player if ever there was one! Yet despite the challenges presented by the posable speakers and unusual turntable combination, this system really worked. Why? Because the people running it knew exactly what they wanted and weren’t prepared to rest until they had it. It’s an object lesson in the show reality that, the more you put in, the more you get out.
This Kuzma/VTL/Wilson rig delivered musical and spatial coherence, solid, dimensional images and dynamics that scaled the range from the delicacy and shape of a plucked guitar phrase to the steadily mounting crescendo that closes out Sibelius 2. Piano was particularly immediate and convincing, note-weight, action and spacing were all both natural and authoritative. That same dynamic discrimination and harmonic density/identity applied to voices too and this room was an oasis of musical communication amongst the general bedlam of what was a poorly behaved show. This was the best sound we’ve heard from Wilsons since CH Precision used the same speakers with WatchDog subs two years ago. Like then, it was the only Wilson equipped room that actually delivered, the company (perhaps driven by the demands of their distributor) once again biting off considerably more than it could chew. This room – driven by the musical demands of VTL – saved the show for Wilson.
WAMM Bam, No thank You Man
