Meet Billy.
Billy is the ultimate Playboy who has checked off all of the boxes of things we aspire to in life. Has the dream girl, drives the supercar, has a booming business and not one, but two dream systems in his home and office. All the while remaining a true gentleman. And yet, as an Audiophile he can’t help but pursue the “Ultimate Sound”.
Billy has been searching for the ultimate system for some time. Much like we all do, Billy has been exchanging equipment in and out of his systems aiming to get closer and closer to achieving his goal. Like all other aspects in his life, he has been very successful in every endeavor, but not in the category of Hifi as it relates to his experience with live music.
In the span of the last 20+ years he has been to hundreds of concerts and live music events to form an accurate representation of how good the music can be. Trying to duplicate his enjoyment of the live event in the comfort of a living space led him down many roads. More often than not these mixing and matching of components led to various results. Some areas improved while other areas degraded. Listening to the advice of many experts, he has tried more combos of gear in a month than most of us have in a decade. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t make the live music sound as good at home as it did in person.
He settled for the time being on a dual system approach to highlights the attributes of certain genres of music. For his home he has the Raidho D5.2s for loudspeakers, Aurender W-20 with a Vivaldi Full stack for Digital, Soulution Series 7 preamp, phono, and monoblocks all wired through Ansuz cabling. This system was optimized for full range sound with lots of dynamics and punch with a very wide and deep soundstage.
By large contrast his office system uses Voxativ Ampeggio Due speakers upgraded with massive external batteries to power the gigantic field coil drivers. For the source, a fantastic Transrotor Torbullion Turntable using a Graham Phantom Tonearm and Lyra Altas cartridge. To complement the table were the excellent Lamm Signature preamp and power amps all feeding through the flagship magnetic High Fidelity Cables. This system he built out for vocals where the Voxativs FR could shine, but for the added low end external Voxativ subs to round out the sound.
Alas, it was not meant to last. As great a sound as both systems could offer no sooner than he was returning from a live event it just never sounded as amazing as he knew it could be.
That’s when he called Believe High Fidelity to ask about Aries Cerat….
And to the norm he want to evaluate just a single piece of gear, the Concero 65’s in his office. To my insistence, I included the Incito preamplifier to aid in driving Conceros 65 low gain to max power. We talked for some time about the architecture and how the designs were very suggestive of being something of a home run so he saw all the favorable press and reviews and we setup a date to drop off the gear. Only when I arrived I happened to bring along the Kassandra DAC and the BHF music server to make it an all house sound. Reluctantly he agreed.
Considering that both systems cost more than most homes do and easily eclipsed the 1 million dollar mark and would satisfy the vast majority of audiophiles as a “best’ system, I had a lot of questions. The most obvious for me was if you like one system that took a long time to curate and ticks the majority of boxes for you why go with such a different system? Ie Why not use Ansuz for both systems or Lamm for both systems? His response was very peculiar. “I don’t why, but they both just do things I like very differently and I wish that I could combine both of these systems into a single one…” We dived pretty deep into the aforementioned virtues of each system and how this all came to be.
After a lengthy and valuable dialog I spent the next few hours of setup we were off to the races. Usually initial responses after hearing Aries Cerat are either very forthcoming about the sound or dead quiet and lots of deep thinking. Billy was definitely the latter. I knew that he was already in eval mode and the wheels were spinning to I left him to take a long needed nap.
3 weeks later we talked and I came by and pick up the system after one of his audio friends come over to “hear it”. Now for those of you who don’t know most of the well-established people in this business have long lasting and wonderful relationships with the clients. Some have even served the same clients for a decade or two and there is a mutual desire to keep that going in spite of a new and groundbreaking brand. I knew that this was the case as he left some of his workers to help me pack the gear without so much as a conversation about the experience. Disappointment is a nice word for what I was feeling that day.
1 month later of no communication and I get a text asking if he can hear the Symphonia and full Aries Cerat front end. Of course I am elated to hear back and we coordinate a time. He apologized for the lack of communication but he wanted to hear the electronics in a different setting to make sure he wasn’t missing anything.
We started off with a few reference tracks on digital. “Wow, I can’t believe it.” Then we listened some more and some more and some more. Well into to the night we went through a full selection of music from bad to good recordings and multiple genres to see if he could “break” the system. Nothing phased it. We agreed to discuss pricing the following week and what options would work best to replace a few components in his office system.
A few back and forths went on over the week and he kept not wanting to compromise on his purchase by cutting corners or the DAC or preamp. Then somehow we ended up at a full Limited Edition system. “Is there anything better than the Limited Edition” he asked? “Well I know Stavros has been wanting to release his ultimate amplifier in a new series if you don’t mind waiting for that? I replied”
So introducing the Legends Series from Aries Cerat!
Over the next 3-4 months a full Aries Cerat System will be delivered to Austin, TX. Billy is going to renovate his office listening space to accommodate this system and I will be taking you along for the ride. I was in story mode and longwinded to make what is essentially a system build to point out the important why and the contrast between what is known as the best in the industry today.
Billy’s Aries Cerat System:
Aries Cerat Kasssandra Mk II Limited Edition DAC - $95,000.00
Aries Cerat Impera Mk II Limited Edition Preamplifier- 125,000.00
Aries Cerat Talos Mk II Limited Edition Phonostage – 95,000.00
Aries Cerat Symphonia Limited Edition #3 of 5 Loudspeakers - $125,000.00
And it is my Pleasure to introduce you to the only one in the world the Aries Cerat Achilles Legend Edition SET 3 chassis Monoblocks - $250,000.00
Grand Total: 690,000.00
In true gentleman form he has allowed me to tell you all about it and has even given me permission to allow for a few private demos should anyone want to hear it when it’s completed.
Have a great weekend. Lots of pictures and details about the new Legend Series to come so stay tuned.
Billy is the ultimate Playboy who has checked off all of the boxes of things we aspire to in life. Has the dream girl, drives the supercar, has a booming business and not one, but two dream systems in his home and office. All the while remaining a true gentleman. And yet, as an Audiophile he can’t help but pursue the “Ultimate Sound”.
Billy has been searching for the ultimate system for some time. Much like we all do, Billy has been exchanging equipment in and out of his systems aiming to get closer and closer to achieving his goal. Like all other aspects in his life, he has been very successful in every endeavor, but not in the category of Hifi as it relates to his experience with live music.
In the span of the last 20+ years he has been to hundreds of concerts and live music events to form an accurate representation of how good the music can be. Trying to duplicate his enjoyment of the live event in the comfort of a living space led him down many roads. More often than not these mixing and matching of components led to various results. Some areas improved while other areas degraded. Listening to the advice of many experts, he has tried more combos of gear in a month than most of us have in a decade. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t make the live music sound as good at home as it did in person.
He settled for the time being on a dual system approach to highlights the attributes of certain genres of music. For his home he has the Raidho D5.2s for loudspeakers, Aurender W-20 with a Vivaldi Full stack for Digital, Soulution Series 7 preamp, phono, and monoblocks all wired through Ansuz cabling. This system was optimized for full range sound with lots of dynamics and punch with a very wide and deep soundstage.
By large contrast his office system uses Voxativ Ampeggio Due speakers upgraded with massive external batteries to power the gigantic field coil drivers. For the source, a fantastic Transrotor Torbullion Turntable using a Graham Phantom Tonearm and Lyra Altas cartridge. To complement the table were the excellent Lamm Signature preamp and power amps all feeding through the flagship magnetic High Fidelity Cables. This system he built out for vocals where the Voxativs FR could shine, but for the added low end external Voxativ subs to round out the sound.
Alas, it was not meant to last. As great a sound as both systems could offer no sooner than he was returning from a live event it just never sounded as amazing as he knew it could be.
That’s when he called Believe High Fidelity to ask about Aries Cerat….
And to the norm he want to evaluate just a single piece of gear, the Concero 65’s in his office. To my insistence, I included the Incito preamplifier to aid in driving Conceros 65 low gain to max power. We talked for some time about the architecture and how the designs were very suggestive of being something of a home run so he saw all the favorable press and reviews and we setup a date to drop off the gear. Only when I arrived I happened to bring along the Kassandra DAC and the BHF music server to make it an all house sound. Reluctantly he agreed.
Considering that both systems cost more than most homes do and easily eclipsed the 1 million dollar mark and would satisfy the vast majority of audiophiles as a “best’ system, I had a lot of questions. The most obvious for me was if you like one system that took a long time to curate and ticks the majority of boxes for you why go with such a different system? Ie Why not use Ansuz for both systems or Lamm for both systems? His response was very peculiar. “I don’t why, but they both just do things I like very differently and I wish that I could combine both of these systems into a single one…” We dived pretty deep into the aforementioned virtues of each system and how this all came to be.
After a lengthy and valuable dialog I spent the next few hours of setup we were off to the races. Usually initial responses after hearing Aries Cerat are either very forthcoming about the sound or dead quiet and lots of deep thinking. Billy was definitely the latter. I knew that he was already in eval mode and the wheels were spinning to I left him to take a long needed nap.
3 weeks later we talked and I came by and pick up the system after one of his audio friends come over to “hear it”. Now for those of you who don’t know most of the well-established people in this business have long lasting and wonderful relationships with the clients. Some have even served the same clients for a decade or two and there is a mutual desire to keep that going in spite of a new and groundbreaking brand. I knew that this was the case as he left some of his workers to help me pack the gear without so much as a conversation about the experience. Disappointment is a nice word for what I was feeling that day.
1 month later of no communication and I get a text asking if he can hear the Symphonia and full Aries Cerat front end. Of course I am elated to hear back and we coordinate a time. He apologized for the lack of communication but he wanted to hear the electronics in a different setting to make sure he wasn’t missing anything.
We started off with a few reference tracks on digital. “Wow, I can’t believe it.” Then we listened some more and some more and some more. Well into to the night we went through a full selection of music from bad to good recordings and multiple genres to see if he could “break” the system. Nothing phased it. We agreed to discuss pricing the following week and what options would work best to replace a few components in his office system.
A few back and forths went on over the week and he kept not wanting to compromise on his purchase by cutting corners or the DAC or preamp. Then somehow we ended up at a full Limited Edition system. “Is there anything better than the Limited Edition” he asked? “Well I know Stavros has been wanting to release his ultimate amplifier in a new series if you don’t mind waiting for that? I replied”
So introducing the Legends Series from Aries Cerat!
Over the next 3-4 months a full Aries Cerat System will be delivered to Austin, TX. Billy is going to renovate his office listening space to accommodate this system and I will be taking you along for the ride. I was in story mode and longwinded to make what is essentially a system build to point out the important why and the contrast between what is known as the best in the industry today.
Billy’s Aries Cerat System:
Aries Cerat Kasssandra Mk II Limited Edition DAC - $95,000.00
Aries Cerat Impera Mk II Limited Edition Preamplifier- 125,000.00
Aries Cerat Talos Mk II Limited Edition Phonostage – 95,000.00
Aries Cerat Symphonia Limited Edition #3 of 5 Loudspeakers - $125,000.00
And it is my Pleasure to introduce you to the only one in the world the Aries Cerat Achilles Legend Edition SET 3 chassis Monoblocks - $250,000.00
Grand Total: 690,000.00
In true gentleman form he has allowed me to tell you all about it and has even given me permission to allow for a few private demos should anyone want to hear it when it’s completed.
Have a great weekend. Lots of pictures and details about the new Legend Series to come so stay tuned.
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