But the question of system context bugged me enough that I removed the entire network from the ultra-wide bandwidth system running the Peak Consult Dragon Legacies and re-installed it into a basic CH set-up (C1.2, L1, X1, A1.5) driving the Living Voice OBX-RW4s, a system with plenty of life but nothing like the bottom-end extension of the big rig. Repeating the comparison was interesting. Shorn of the low-bass foundation delivered by the peak speakers, the body and presence offered by the RakuStream+ trumped the additional detail and dynamic discrimination of the V2. Playing a 24/192 file of Bill Evans’ Waltz For Debby, Evans’ piano was a more solid and substantial presence, with greater complexity to its sound and authority to Evans’ phrasing and lines. Scott LaFaro’s bass is more dimensional, his fingering more purposeful and articulate, the conversational element in his playing far more apparent. Meanwhile Paul Motian’s drum figures are beautifully balanced and subtle. It’s enough to edge the RakuStream+ firmly in front of the V2 in this smaller system context, irrespective of relative price. Score another success for Reiki Audio, although given the complete Reiki network eco-system in play, perhaps that shouldn’t come as such a surprise. The real surprise came next…
RakuStream+ – beyond its comfort zone…
Using the same Roon Nucleus/CH/Living Voice system components, I reassembled the ‘cooking’ network locating the final Netgear switch as close to the streaming input as possible – as per both Reiki Audio’s preference and generally accepted ‘good practice’. Executing the same swap – RakuStream+ for V2 in the final link – I was floored by the difference between what had previously been broadly equivalent cables, at least in performance terms. Not surprisingly, sticking with the Bill Evans album, stepping down from the full Reiki rig to the ‘cooking’ network with the V2 produced a pale, thin and two-dimensional version of musical events. What I wasn’t ready for was the way that simply inserting the RakuStream+ cable as that final link restored so much of the full Reiki sound: back came body, substance and dimensionality, improved timing and articulation, greater presence and increased musical involvement. In other words, most of the things that make the Reiki SuperSwitches so musically impressive – if not quite to the same degree.
Running the comparison with different music just reinforced the benefits. The sparse instrumentation and arrangements of the Evans album certainly reveal the RakuStream’s virtues, but they still only hint at what it brings to larger scale or more dynamic music. Playing the familiar Oistrakh, Beethoven Violin Concerto in 24/96, the increased breadth and depth of the soundstage, the almost physical presence of the orchestra and the air that surrounds it brings the performance to life, underpinning the newly purposeful direction and playing, increased dynamic range and musical impact. There’s texture and volume to the opening drum-beats and the solo instrument is more stable and focussed, with a more natural tone and attack and far more developed harmonics. This is impressive enough sonically, but it’s genuinely transformative on a musical level.
