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might be partial At left: the dramatically styled speaker ent textures. “It
to the instru- from Herald. At right: the return of sounds so different
m e n t , s i n c e Pierre Gabriel’s Presence II speaker. from everything
she plays piano Below: the PMC OB1 speaker
we’ve heard so far,”
at home), and
said Carmen. “It’s
we all enjoyed synthesizers joining forces to unglue almost as if there
Schubert’s the wallpaper our collective nails were were too much
Stabat Mater, desperately attempting to scrape. What of it,” she added,
Marc noticing a sorry time it might be if all that music trying to express
how different it lovers know are piles of various tunes, her amazement.
sounded here. irreverently played by unknown groups “They never had
As we pro- with no reference to the original pieces, turntables such as
gressed we came their music reduced to tunes, lasting this one in those
upon the CD no longer than a song, fitting the short days,” said Marc,
version of Blue attention span of people raised on a fast- “to really appreci-
Mind played in food diet of random play.
ate the quality of
another room, There. I feel better now.
the recordings they
and something Back at Gemme Audio, a wonder- made.”
Get the complete version
very interestful jazz piece was playing and Carmen We e n t e r e d
ing happened. danced along as she walked in. It featured another spacious
No, this free version is not complete, though you could spend a couple
Carmen called me the Phénix Green Gem monitors coupled room to listen
of hours reading it. Want the full version?
aside. “Why does it sound kind of cut with a pair of large 38 cm subwoofers to the recently
You can, of course, order the print version, which we have published
up?” she asked in a hushed voice. “When built into a rare wood cabinet. The designed Parsifal
for a quarter of a century. You can get it from our back issues page.
we heard it before, it flowed, it was like CD player and amplifier were made in Ovation speakers by
But we also have a paid electronic version, which is just like this one,
a wave, we flowed along with it,” she France by Neodio. You should have been Verity Audio, coupled
except that it doesn’t have annoying banners like this one, and it doesn’t
added. (I’m not making this up, I wrote there to see Carmen and Marc jump off with the Rocco subwoof- ers. A track
have articles tailing off into faux Latin. Getting the electronic version is of
her exact words in my notebook right their seats when the next piece began. from The Tango Saloon was playing
course faster, and it is also cheaper. It costs just $4.30 (Canadian) anywhere
then.) I looked at her with a reassur-
It was Aaron Copland’s on the dCS Scarlatti player, an album
in the world. Taxes, if they are applicable, are included.
ing smile and said that, with a few
Fanfare for the Common described as a joyful blend of “…Piazzola
It’s available from MagZee.com.
words and an image, she had just
Man, and it opens with and Morricone…mixed with country,
expressed the difference between
a sudden, thunderous jazz, Cuban and electronic music…” It
digital and analog. I watched Marc
blast of bass drum and was indeed a joy to see the instruments
and he had the audiophile’s I-told-
large gong. “The trum- freely dancing in front of us around the
you-so kind of grin.
pets are beautiful,” said pyramid-shaped Nagra power amplifier.
Contrast that with the other
Carmen later, appre- “It is so clear,” said Carmen, “that we can
extreme. I’ve got to tell you this.
ciating the shiny brass easily distinguish the individual sounds
Later that day I went to the
sound quality we all of the various instruments.” I don’t know
room where Lafleur Audio speak-
heard, and Marc added why I added, “It’s as if the musicians left
ers were featured. I know how
that this system is well the room and their instruments started
good they sound and Steve had
matched to the power to play all by themselves.”
been impressed and suggested
of the sound.
In the Divergent Technologies room,
that I give them a listen. When
In the middle of the Marc’s CD was given a magic treatment,
I arrived, there was a big young
large Coup de Foudre and Carmen remarked that the sound
guy sitting in the front seat, in
room, stood a pair of was mellower than in other rooms.
a room slightly bigger than the
Wilson Audio Maxx I noted that it encouraged us to take
elevator that brought us. With a
Speakers linked to a more time and listen longer. “That’s it,”
booming voice, he was asking the
pair of superbly styled she confirmed. The true reasons may
very polite and courteous person
Pathos power amps and have been the emmLabs CDSA player,
in charge to play his CD, a track
a Clearaudio turntable. Antique Sound Lab amplifiers and the
called The Prayer. “This is a big
The music of Home Reference 3a Episode speakers.
piece, pump up the volume!” he
Cookin’, the 1958 soul “Aaah!!” sighed Marc as soon as he
ordered. “Can your speakers play
jazz recording by The heard Mozart’s Nachtmusik in the Blue-
loud? I listen very loud!” And, in
Incredible Jimmy Smith, bird room, “look at the space!”
this tiny room, the rest of us
filled the room, creating “Its beautiful,” added Carmen — not
were subjected to a catastrophic
a 3-D stage filled with too many words, too busy listening. They
imitation of Carl Orff’s Carmina
a wonderfully natural were standing in front of the new Spen-
Burana with choirs, percussion and
sound and transpardor A6 speakers, the music originating
22 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine