Crystal Cable Diamond 2 Ultra Cables
Solidsteel Hyperspike Racks
Aqua/Antipodes/VAC/Burmester/Diptyque
Antipodes Server
Aqua La Diva M2 CD Transport and Formula xHD DAC
VAC Statement Preamp
Burmester 218 Power Amp
Diptyche Reference Loudspeakers
Esprit Audio L’Esprit and Gaia cables
Solidsteel Hyperspike Racks
There’s a number of ways that you can look at that list: total price; total weight; box count; technological variety or even nationality. Any way you count it, that’s a mountain of equipment: a mountain that includes horn, panel and box speakers; tube and solid-state amplification; LP, optical disc and file replay. To have this sheer range of equipment combined into five adjacent systems and available for three days was as ambitious as it was logistically challenging as it was risky. Not surprisingly, the results varied – although there were few surprises.
How did it sound? (And what did we learn?)
Some of these systems worked better than others and most of them worked better on Sunday that they did on Friday – so no surprises there. What did surprise me was the range of quality on show, with the gap between the best sound and the worst a yawning chasm. Clearly, hotel rooms and temporary installation present their own challenges, but it was equally clear that some products coped MUCH better with the challenge than others. Those most comfortable in the environment simply got better as time went by. Those with a bad case of situational neurosis simply sounded different each day (rather than better) or never got close to settling in. What was possible was to draw (or confirm) certain conclusions.
Disc replay still trumps files – unless you have the Wadax Reference Server!
Every system here offered a streaming option, with the Taiko and Burmester sourced set-ups being file replay only. With streamers drawn from big name brands like Taiko, Innuos, Antipodes and Burmester, the superiority of the vinyl or optical disc replay on offer was clearly apparent. Only the Wadax Reference Server held its own – and that at a (significant) price!
Room acoustics count.
Although the event took place in what were typical hotel conference rooms, they were at least a decent size, a decent shape and had nice high ceilings. They certainly rewarded careful speaker positioning, although both the Diptyque panels and the AvantGarde horns drove the space extremely effectively. A minimal application of Artnovion acoustic panels was also remarkably effective, demonstrating once again that when it comes to acoustic treatment, some is essential but less is so often more.
High-resolution sound can be a double-edged sword.
Ultra high-resolution systems resolve more than just recorded information. They can also turn a ferocious spotlight inward on their own inner workings, highlighting any shortcomings in system coherence or performance. when this happens the real culprit often remains unclear. Is it a case of unhappy campers or camping in the wrong place? More often than not, it’s a bit of both, making running issues to ground a long and often frustrating process – and one that can easily escape a solution within the limited time-span available at an event like this. Putting five serious systems together in such a tight timescale was always going to be a big ask, so some variability in performance was inevitable.
The AvantGarde Trio G3 isn’t just a one-trick pony.
Having waxed lyrical about the qualities of the active Trios, it was fascinating to hear just how musically coherent, engaging and entertaining they could be, driven passively with the Kondo electronics. Sure, the system didn’t have the ‘you are there’ presence, immediacy and unfettered dynamics of the active rig, but it was wonderfully relaxed, responsive and fluid. Playing records or files, phrasing and musical shape were first class. Tonality, integration and spatial coherence were all excellent and if the slightly rounded dynamics and roseate shadings of the Kondo were apparent, they certainly didn’t intrude.
