Back to Hyperion’s recent vinyl re-release of their Ibragimova/Arcangelo recording of Bach’s Violin Concertos (Hyperion LPA68068 https://gy8.eu/review/j-s-bach-violin-concertos/) and The Magnifier captures the evolving shape and intricate geometry of these works perfectly. The fluid interplay between soloist and orchestra, the relationship between their interlocking parts and exchanges, is beautifully balanced, creating exactly the sort of complete yet intricate musical structure and pattern that is so typical of Bach’s genius. It’s a quality that is, in its own way, just as apparent on Doly Varden’s ‘The Thing You Love (Is Killing You)’ (The Dumbest Magnets, Diverse Vinyl 007LP). The Dawson/Christiansen close harmonies are beautifully melded yet distinct, the laid-back tempo creates time and space yet never drags, the guitar draws a brilliant but delicately defined arc across the middle eight. The whole is as beautiful as it is measured and poignant. It’s a musically impressive, engaging and emotionally charged performance.
So, what happens when you add the L1 (and an extra run of cable) to the equation? The answer, in short, is that things take a big step forward – in every sense. The CH Precision line-stage bring back the added immediacy, transparency, separation and sense of space and clarity to proceedings that was present before we removed it. The soundstage is more clearly illuminated, there’s a greater sense of depth and air, you move half a dozen rows closer to the stage. As well as greater definition and both micro and macro-dynamics, the L1 also adds even greater purpose and articulation to the playing. Ibragimova’s lines are more clearly defined, her bowing more elegant and contiguous. There are more ‘corners’ now and their role in the music is more apparent, yet the note-to-note continuity is even greater and more fluent. Just as the individual instruments in the Bach are separated more clearly by the L1, so the Dolly Varden vocals are even more distinct, the bass deeper and more powerful, the brushwork on the cymbals more natural, with greater shape and texture.
All of which suggests that this is pretty much a slam dunk, consigning The Magnifier’s variable output capability to the same audio performance graveyard populated by all those DACs that try to dispense with separate line-stages. Not so fast! For starters, a lot of the differences I’ve just described are just that: differences. They reflect amongst other things, the very different perspectives offered by these two products. Like the P1, the L1 sits you much closer, in a livelier acoustic: The Magnifier places you further away in a warmer and more traditional space. Each is true to its nature and musically speaking, both have the inherent rhythmic and organisational integrity to deliver long-term musical satisfaction. The L1 is certainly more explicit, on a note-to-note level, but The Magnifier matches it for temporal authority and the sense of musical pattern and intelligibility that goes with it.
