The new Bending Wave Gobel Divin Noblesse Reference System

[Elliot G.]

I have been working for months to get everything I wanted assembled in the same place and at the same time. I have experienced some products that I wanted to try and I reordered some that I did not have on hand in order to see how far I can push the envelope in my room and to satisfy me. I know that I am in the business and so everything that comes must leave in order to pay the overhead and make a living. I am at my core a music lover and cannot live without it for more than a few days at most. I have had many of the pieces that I have assembled but not all of them in the same room at the same time with the latest items from both new ( to me) and older item partners.
I do now!
I've wanted to get a pair of Noblesse back in my room since I sold the last few fairly quickly as clients don't want to wait for them to be manufactured and delivered.
I received my pair a few weeks back and recently had the time to start this new chapter and journey. I was intrigued by the result we got at Capfest and wanted to take that result and maximize it in a real room with no rush or time limits to get it RIGHT. I did that with the Marquis after the show and I did my due diligience on some items to make sure that I wanted to keep and purchase them for me and to represent and sell in my business.
I then began mixing the cocktail. I had first to set up the Noblesse and find its place in the room. I have been in this room for 5 years and I know it very well and this process did not take a long time and after a few days burn in the task was accomplished. I then started to reintroduce the Divin Sovereign subwoofers and check thats done. I then moved to the new electronics that I had available and got that situated. I tried to do this in a systematic way so that I understood the trip and what each stop provided. I had tried all the combinations of CH 10 series amp and preamp along with the Riviera Labs mono amplifiers and the Se preamp.
Now everything started to make sense and to really allow me to listen in this room like never before. The Noblesse has size and scale that the Marquis can't reach. I love those speakers and in my heart think they are impossible to beat at the price and size they are however there s always more and Oliver makes them !

Last happened this week. I recieved the DC Akasa Cables to take my Wadax to level 4 status. I installed them on Tuesday and let them simmer as I was doing a Marquis CH install and set up in Tampa. I got a chance to listen fully today and then for the cherry on the top I received the two Gobel 15 amp Reference power cables I needed for the mono blocks to complete the complete picture that I was painting.
This is as close as I have ever come to an audio system with no compromise. I am sure there might be other things I can do and I am not 100 percent sure I wont do some more fiddling but for right now this is as far up the mountain as I have ever climbed.

Im not trying to put anything in anyones face or sell them anything. You don't really sell this experience you expose it to people who have the desire and they either buy it or they don't . If you don't like it or don't get it thats cool but if you do smell what the Rock is cooking I am happy to be your tour guide and take you to the top of the mountain.
Audio is more than a bunch of boxes , reviews, opinions, forum warriors and everyone telling you that THEY are the experts and they know what you should do .
I did what I wanted to do for me and the group of friends and clients that support my vision and my goals.
Im sure this is NOT the only path but it is a good one and a lot of fun and great music.

 

[Elliot G.]

"These are the days of miracle and wonder"

FYI for those who are coming to Axpona we will be featuring one of my favorites and IMO the greatest American songwriter Paul Simon.
I was pereparing some possible cuts for the event and just listened to the two masterpieces of Graceland and The Rhythm of the Saints. Rpy Halle and Phil Ramone.Damn that is so good!

 

[marty]

Bob Dylan gave birth to a generation. Paul Simon, Billy Joel and James Taylor carried one. Impossible to choose a favorite although only one of these giants won a Nobel.

 

[Elliot G.]

Bob Dylan gave birth to a generation. Paul Simon, Billy Joel and James Taylor carried one. Impossible to choose a favorite although only one of these giants won a Nobel.

like I said IMO. I love Billy, James is not in the same league as far as I am concerned but very good and Dylan is well Dylan however he is not MY favorite. I love Paul Simons words and music and he has some of the greatest players on his albums as well as Phil Ramone and Roy Hallee making them sound amazing.
Play Graceland and The Rhythm of the Saints and listen to how amazing they are.

 

[Elliot G.]

So today in the afternoon I was working on the playlist that I will use at Axpona for our event. I am listening to so much of the music I listened to as a young man in High School and College and beyond. The truly interesting thing about what is assembled in my room is that for me , someone that has listened to this music for a long long time, some of it sounds like I have never listened to it before. Yes I know the song but the recordings and what is being produced sounds brand new .
Points of interest:
Again some of these old recordings were far better than we thought and remembered
The system today can really show and reveal what the old stuff just didnt bring to light.
Paul Simon had some amazing players on these collections a few really great producers and engineers.
FUN

 

[jbrrp1]

I agree with you 100%, Elliot - - there's so much more on these recordings than we have heard historically. With some peripheral hardware additions and some software updates, my digital is playing long familiar albums that sound like remixes, almost. There is so much more layering and nuance, making the performances a fair bit more musically informative. I loved the music before, and it has just gotten better and better. What a blast this hobby is!

 

[Elliot G.]

The addition of the Akasa DC cables and the Gobel power cord upgrade to my amps have taken my room and my system to a place that I have never experienced before. It happens to be digital but IMO that is not really important to me its the end result that is creating the acoustic space that the music lives in along with the music. Debussy and Mozart talked about the music is in the spaces between the notes well that's here in spades. I don't have the words and I don't want to talk audiophile since those words carry little true meaning.
The proof is in the listening period. There is this envelope of sound , its not looking through a window or any partial look in. Its environmental in nature and you are now within it. The music lives and breathes , its soft , its loud, or subtle its dynamic ...its just fun.

 

[ashandger]

The addition of the Akasa DC cables and the Gobel power cord upgrade to my amps have taken my room and my system to a place that I have never experienced before. It happens to be digital but IMO that is not really important to me its the end result that is creating the acoustic space that the music lives in along with the music. Debussy and Mozart talked about the music is in the spaces between the notes well that's here in spades. I don't have the words and I don't want to talk audiophile since those words carry little true meaning.
The proof is in the listening period. There is this envelope of sound , its not looking through a window or any partial look in. Its environmental in nature and you are now within it. The music lives and breathes , its soft , its loud, or subtle its dynamic ...its just fun.

Thanks for sharing your impressions. May I ask which amps are your comments based on...CHP or Riviera Labs? Enjoy your wonderful system. Many thanks

 

[Elliot G.]

There are some clips and a video to come in the next few weeks. I was visited by Jay's Audio Lab yesterday and he filmed the room and the system on his YouTube Chanel if you would like to watch.

 

[gleeds]

As I posted this past November I enjoyed listening to Elliot's, Jonathan Halpern's, and Brandon Lauer's Gobel/Riviera/Wadax system at Capfest. It was my Best of Show by a considerable margin against the many top-level systems exhibited. There was great music and a level of musicality and emotional connection in that room, which I find exceedingly rare in modern high-end systems. It left me intrigued to know more soI told Elliot that when time and opportunity permitted, I would visit his listening room and learn more.

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of spending several hours at Bending Wave in Florida and found the Noblesse set up in the room with the Divin Sovereign subwoofers. The smaller Divin Marquis from Capfest were off to the side. The first thing that surprised me was how approachable the Noblesse were in Elliot's ample, yet by no means large room.These are large and deep speakers, but I found them surprisingly appealing and exuding a level of craftsmanship second to none.

Elliot sat me down and said for the next forty-five minutes played a variety of great tracks. He proceeded with a selection from Hilary Hahn to Paul Simon to Andrea Bocelli to the wonderfully scored soundtrack from The Last Samurai to Louis Armstrong. I finished with one of my selections from the soundtrack of No Country For Old Men, John Scofield covering Your the One.

Immersed in music and sound reproduction for nearly five decades, I can count on one hand when I have experienced recorded music sound as natural and emotionally engaging. I have never encountered a more realistic sense of dynamics and more convincing expression of instrumental dynamics.

What I find unique about the Noblesse is that they check all the audiophile end-game boxes:
Sense of space
-precise imaging
-detail in spades
-extended bandwidth from the lowest lows to the highest highs
-thunderous bass and,
-unlimited dynamics

Cymbals shimmered, the piano had the fullness and body of the real thing, the voices were shockingly accurate, and on it went. Of course, no system is perfect, and the system could have had slightly better attack and decay and a touch more transparency. Then again I heard those things dependant on the recording so my conclusion was the limitation was likely in the recording and not the system. FYI, Elliot played zero audiophile music or hi-rez files. In fact he streamed every single song I referenced above!

Credit must also be given to meticulous set-up, Wadax front-end (also experienced and thoroughly enjoyed at Robert Harley's a few months back), not to mention the subtlety, nuance and control of the Riviera electronics.

Thank you, Elliot, for being a great host. Anybody who is serious about knowing what all the fuss is about (especially considering the spiraling price of today's best systems) should make the pilgrimage to Bending Wave and experience the Gobels. Congratulations, Oliver, for creating a masterpiece, and Elliot, for assembling a system that allows the Noblesse to soar to such lofty heights!

 

[Elliot G.]

Hey Gary,
Thank you for the kind words and I really enjoyed the visit and spending some time getting to know you. I am really happy you rnjoyed the system and the music. Its always fun hanging out with another music lover. I hope the rest of your Florida trip is enjoyable and you have a safe trip back to the left coast (haha) private joke

 

[Elliot G.]

Listening To A $800,000 Sound System #highendaudio #audiophile #hifiaudio #stereoamplifier #speaker

www.youtube.com

 

[ashandger]

Hello Elliot, may I ask what are the dimensions of your room including height? Are you using any bass traps? Many thanks

 

[Elliot G.]

My room is 16 by 23.3 by 10
Yes i have Bass traps in my room and you can see them in the many pictures of my room posted
I have ASC traps and absorbers and diffuser by Art Novion

 

[Elliot G.]

My room is 16 by 23.3 by 10
Yes i have Bass traps in my room and you can see them in the many pictures of my room posted
I have ASC traps and absorbers and diffuser by Art Novion

 

[ashandger]

Hello Elliot, many thanks for the feedback.

 

[ashandger]

Hello Elliot, may I ask what frequency range are the subs covering in your setup? Many thanks

 

[Elliot G.]

Hello Elliot, may I ask what frequency range are the subs covering in your setup? Many thanks

subs are crossed over at 35hz. The speakers are running full range.
Today was seriously fun as an old friend of mine was here ( he had moved away so we don't see each other nearly as often) listened with me and his comments were You need to take this to Axopona so everyone can hear it.
thats a wonderful compliment and I will not identify him but it made me smile and proud.
I think it would make HP proud as well.RIP my friend and mentor

 

[ashandger]

Hello Elliot, many thanks for the very helpful feedback....much appreciated. Great to know that the Noblesse and subs are working so well in your moderately sized room. Our room is close in size being 16x21x9ft. Happy listening.

 

[Elliot G.]

Hello Elliot, many thanks for the very helpful feedback....much appreciated. Great to know that the Noblesse and subs are working so well in your moderately sized room. Our room is close in size being 16x21x9ft. Happy listening.

well they will work in that size room