Soundstage width is exceptional, extending way out beyond the speakers. Depth is layered but not as explicit (some would say exaggerated) as you find in some cases. Interestingly, using the CH Precision P1 (with its Decca curve) in place of The Groove, the characteristic deep, tapered soundstage of early Decca recordings is clearly apparent, so The Vibe does ‘do’ depth – but it certainly doesn’t highlight it. Likewise, a quick listen might leave you thinking that The Vibe is lean in terms of balance, but actually, it’s just super quick and clean, with none of the rounded or padded paw prints that so many of the competition leave all over the signal. Listen to acoustic recordings in particular and you’ll appreciate that the Vibe delivers the volume and body of instruments, be they string, woodwind or brass. Acoustic guitars are particularly impressive, with their combination of attack and hollow resonance, whether it’s Narcisco Yepes or Sean Colvin doing the playing.
The solidity and natural sense of organization, that is so effective with small groups, provides the perfect foundation for larger scale pieces. Orchestral scale is convincing and dynamics emphatic. The Vibe doesn’t plumb the lowest reaches of the low frequencies with the same air and texture as the CH Precision L1/X1, but it still floats a convincing and stable acoustic space. More importantly, it captures shifts in density and mood. Play Haitink’s Mahler Six (Concertgebouw, Philips SAL 3777-8) and the contrast between the characteristic beauty of the third movement Andante and the (rather uncharacteristic) rumbustious clashes of the first movement Allegro Energico are writ boldly, but linked by the common sense of space and presentation. This is the same orchestra in the same venue: it’s the musical mood that has changed, something that The Vibe makes clear. The differences between disparate recordings are just as stark, making mining the historical development of performance style a particularly rewarding exercise. For a work as familiar as Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, the contrast between Felix Ayo and I Musici, Christopher Hogwood and the AAM or Trevor Pinnock and the English Concert is fascinating, mapping the evolution of musical styles: and that’s before you even get to the small group recordings of Amandine Beyer and Gli Incogniti or Rachel Podger and Brecon Baroque. But what is perhaps most impressive is the way that The Vibe preserves the original voice and logic in each performance, allowing each its own character and appeal. The I Musici recording might be deeply unfashionable these days, but with the Vibe holding everything together, the artistry and the natural warmth and expansive qualities of the recording are still easy to appreciate. What can sound dated, overly warm and sluggish on some systems is lively and vital here. It’s of its time, rather than out of time…
Getting the fundamentals right…
Music is about pattern: the pitch of notes and the spaces between them. The Vibe’s incredibly low noise floor (all that attention paid to voltage regulation paying dividends) and leading edge precision gets notes in the right place with a clarity and confidence that’s almost unheard of at its modest price. Pitch relationships are effortlessly clear, as the bass melodies on those Cure tracks demonstrate. The spacing of notes and the relationship between them is equally clear, as witnessed on the Caroline Shaw discs. And the picture is solidly grounded and stable, with the planted, unambiguous solidity to its timing that well-executed, single-ended connection so often provides. The Vibe isn’t perfect. If you want to reach for the stars (and deeper, much deeper into your wallet) the L1/X1 adds even greater body, clarity, colour and flow. At a similar price, the SJS Model 7 offers a greater sense of phrasing, sentences as opposed to words, if you will. That’s partly down to the way the tube-stage handles the tail of notes. But don’t go thinking that this a tube as opposed to solid-state thing. The SJS is no ordinary tube line-stage – and it’s the other serious sub-10K contender. The Vibe might lean on and build on the leading edge of notes, but in doing so it nails their spacing and their amplitude. It doesn’t develop the harmonic envelope in the same way that the SJS does, which ultimately robs it of the fullest vestiges of dimensionality, but at this price, there will always be compromises and The Vibe chooses its path with care, deciding that additive colouration and misplaced energy are more destructive than the subtractive alternative. Listening to the different systems I’ve been using with the TEAD line-stage, I can’t disagree.
