INTRODUCTION
On December 6, 2015, my wife and I visited the home of WBF member Audiocrack to listen to his Genesis 1.1 system. Mike Kay of Lyric Hi-Fi played for me Reference Recording’s Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique on the Infinity Reference Standard V driven by Jadis electronics and spun by a Goldmund Reference turntable many years ago, and it was that amazing experience which got me "hooked" on high-end audio. I approached the opportunity to listen to an example of the progeny of the IRS V with great excitement.
Audiocrack was a wonderful, gracious, patient and accommodating host. He generously invited my wife and me to join him and his wife and children for dinner in between listening sessions.
Audiocrack’s large house, built in 1902, has a connected living room/dining room area. This living room/dining area, which doubles as a listening room for two independent stereo systems, is long (maybe 45’) but only 15’ wide. The Genesis system resides at the far end of the living room, and the Tidal La Assoluta resides at the far end of the dining room. There is no acoustic treatment of any kind in the room.
GENESIS 1.1
The Genesis 1.1, being a planar system, however large and complex, is nonetheless a type of sound reproducer I believe I understand. I have owned and enjoyed dipole speakers since 1988. I feel like I know how to set up dipole speakers. I am comfortable with them and with how they sound in general.
In the Genesis 1.1 Operating Manual Gary Koh writes about the usual room size for the big Genesis system: “A typical room size is 29 ft x 48 ft with 12 ft ceilings.” Informally, I believe Gary suggests the minimum room width to be about 21’. Gary also insists that one must listen at least 15’ away from the speakers for the numerous and varied drivers to integrate properly. Yet, in Audiocrack’s configuration, at a distance of only about 11’ from the panels, I heard great coherence and no lack of driver integration. How is this possible?
When Audiocrack first purchased the speakers and installed them he found that the big Genesis system worked surprisingly well in his narrow (for such a large system) room. But he was not impressed with the quality of the Genesis crossover components. Audiocrack has a friend and consultant who is an experienced audio electronics engineer. Audiocrack set this consultant to work to redesign the crossovers and, according to the consultant, some of the woofer control electronics. By reworking the crossovers, by making phase adjustments, and by replacing discrete components with components of the highest quality, including large and expensive silver Dueland capacitors (to match the silver Dueland capacitors in the Kondo amplifiers), the consultant was able to reconfigure the electrical characteristics of the system to optimize the loudspeaker for a room whose width arguably is too narrow for this system. Audiocrack thoughtfully arranged for this consultant to join us for my visit.
The Genesis panels are driven by Kondo push-pull amplifiers. Audiocrack plays vinyl by switching between a Walker Proscenium turntable and tonearm with a Lyra Olympos cartridge and Lyra Connoisseur 4-2 SE phono preamplifier, and a Blue Pearl JEM turntable with a Kozma Airlaine tonearm with a Lyra Atlas cartridge and Kondo M1000 Mk I/Kondo KSL SFz step-up transformer phono combination. (My wife found the gleaming gold and silver JEM turntable to be “stunning-looking,” and she has never before commented on the design of any piece of audio equipment.)
The adoption of the Tripoint Emperor grounding unit and Tripoint Thor SE Master Reference Ground cables are the most recent changes to Audiocrack’s system. As we did not compare the sound with the Tripoint removed from the system I cannot comment on its effect. However, Audiocrack is certain that the Tripoint equipment has “greatly enhanced” the sound of his Genesis system. Audiocrack uses TARA Labs Grandmaster Evolution interconnects and speaker cables.
At the level of state-of-the-art speakers I truly believe there is no such thing as a wrong choice. I could live happily with any of the SOTA speakers, regardless of design technology. I could be just as happy with a SOTA horn system as I could be with a SOTA dynamic driver or a SOTA planar system. They are just different flavors of wonderful.
In this review I conceive in the abstract of a synthesized composite of the best sound reproduction I personally have ever heard from any audio system, and then I describe the ways in which I think, or I suspect others might think, the Genesis deviates from such composite of the best I have ever heard.
On the Genesis system I played:
The Genesis presents the largest scale I have ever heard from a loudspeaker, including the Rockport Arrakis. If you listen primarily to classical music I do not think you can do better than the big Genesis system. Notice I wrote “better than.” I also think you cannot do better than the Arrakis. But there is no such thing, especially at this level, as objectively "best." At this level compromises are few, and one's selection of "best" will be based on subjective preferences and sonic priorities and music preferences. It might not be possible for even a single individual to decide for himself which loudspeaker is “best.” One might find one SOTA speaker best for classical music, and a different SOTA speaker best for vocals.
The detail on the Genesis system was exactly how I like it: all the information is there, but it is not projected towards you. Bill Henderson’s lip smacks on the closely-miked Send in the Clowns were there in all the detail I am used to from MartinLogan electrostatic panels.
I think that ribbon drivers in general, including the ribbon drivers in the Genesis 1.1 in particular, are just one shade less transparent than the electrostatic panel on a MartinLogan speaker.
Possibly due to the dispersion of the round ribbon tweeters I did not hear the Genesis to project solo vocalists with as clearly defined an image as I hear from MartinLogan, Rockport, Wilson or Analysis Audio speakers. The solo vocalist image on the Genesis is a little bit diffuse. (The reward for this issue, if it even is an issue at all, is that the off-axis listening range is a lot wider than other planar speakers I have auditioned. Exactly as Gary Koh promises the Genesis can be enjoyed by more than one person in the “sweet spot.”)
One of the criticisms of some hybrid planar speakers is their lack of convincing upper bass/lower midrange energy. The low frequency end of a planar driver -- whether electrostatic or ribbon -- does not provide enough acoustic output in the 200 Hz to 400 Hz range before the dynamic woofer driver (in single tower systems) or the woofer tower (in four tower systems) takes over the burden, typically at 100 Hz or below, of reproducing the lowest frequencies. Even a four tower SOTA system such as the Genesis 1.1 may have a weakness in the upper bass/lower midrange region: No matter how Herculean are the bass towers, if the crossover to a planar system occurs no higher than at about 100 Hz, then there can be a richness and weight and “body” and cone excursion impact deficit in the critical 200 Hz to 400 Hz range. Even the amazing Genesis woofer towers may roll off too quickly at the high end of their working range to provide impact at 200 Hz to 400 Hz, and no midrange ribbon (let alone an electrostatic panel) is going to provide the “body” and richness to satisfy me in the 200 to 400 Hz region of the dual 9" drivers of the Rockport Arrakis or the 13" woofer of a Big Wilson or, I suspect, the four 11" woofers of the Evolution Acoustics MM7. I do believe that a ribbon driver provides slightly, but noticeably, more “body” and richness in this frequency range than does a MartinLogan electrostatic panel. If a high sonic priority for you is oomph and impact in the upper base/lower midrange area then you might prefer full-range dynamic driver systems to any type of planar hybrid.
I think I heard heard slightly greater resolution and texture from the magnetic planar woofer panel (which covers 650 Hz and below) of the Analysis Audio Omega than I heard in that frequency range from either the Genesis or the Arrakis. Of course having heard each of these speakers in different rooms and with different associated components makes such fine distinctions difficult to make and of dubious value.
In summary, the only even possible deviations of the Genesis 1.1 from my composite of the best I have ever heard are: one shade less transparent than MartinLogan electrostatic panels; slightly more diffuse center imaging of solo vocalists than what I am used to; less oomph and impact in the 200 Hz to 400 Hz region versus comparable all-dynamic driver systems; and, possibly, a slightly lower resolution and texture in the 650 Hz and below range compared to a well-designed magnetic planar woofer.
I have read that some people criticize the Genesis woofer towers for being a bit slow or bloated. I certainly am no expert on woofer towers, but I did not hear any slowness or bloat. I do think I heard on my usual audition tracks the most powerful bass performance I have ever heard in my life. Drums on two selections from Amanda McBroom, Growing Up in Hollywood Town (Sheffield Lab 13) sounded the most tonally realistic, and realistically impactful, I have ever heard from a stereo system.
We did not compare the Kondo amplifiers to any other amplifiers so the following is just a suspicion. As I have mentioned I loved the tonal balance, detail and transparency of the Genesis system. The Kondo amplifiers surely contribute to those characteristics. But I couldn't help but wonder if the Kondo amplifiers are not terribly dynamic, or if perhaps they are a little bit on the low-powered side for the Genesis panels? Audiocrack did mention that I listened at a significantly higher volume than the volume at which he typically plays the Genesis system.
On the Genesis system Audiocrack played a live recording of Jimi Hendrix’s "I Don't Live Today" from the The Jimi Hendrix Experience box set. When that track came on my wife and I looked at each other like we had just been tele-transported to the front row of a live concert! (Hyperbole for poetic effect.) The realism was stunning and totally fun! There is something about the sheer scale of the Genesis system which makes it easier to suspend disbelief.
TIDAL LA ASSOLUTA
Audiocrack’s La Assoluta is the very first La Assoluta delivered by Tidal to a purchaser. The Tidal La Assoluta, being a large dynamic driver system, is one with which I am not as naturally comfortable as I am with dipole speakers. We listened to the La Assoluta only briefly.
From inspecting the LA you would never guess it is the first “production” copy Tidal has made. All seams and fittings look perfect, and all hardware and screw-heads look perfect (and I am very picky about cosmetic stuff like that). The woodworking and the finish on the wood cabinetry of the LA was the highest quality wood finish I have ever seen on a speaker. Imagine the most beautifully polished wood stock you have ever seen on an expensive, custom hunting rifle. The LA’s finish was at least as good as that.
Audiocrack drives the LA with Kondo SET amplifiers. We listened to various digital downloads.
My primary sonic impression of the LA is amazing transparency for dynamic drivers. Was the LA slightly more transparent than the Arrakis? I heard them in different rooms and with different associated components so I have no idea. I sort of want to say “yes,” but it would be unfair to do so. The Arrakis has the more laid back sound that I prefer, and a more forward presentation can give one the sense (or the illusion) of greater transparency and more detail without it actually being so.
I felt that I heard from the LA more treble energy than I am used to. I felt like the LA projects detail towards the listener in that “better than live” way that I find a little uncomfortable.
The LA “sounds” very quiet and very clear. This may be due entirely to the fact we were listening to digital, to which I am not accustomed. Audiocrack believes the “silence” of the LA is a result of the extraordinary build quality of the speakers and the cabinets. The inertness of the cabinets, Audiocrack believes, allows you to hear only the music as reproduced by the electronics. Heroic cabinet inertness is the reason the Arrakis, also, sounds very quiet and very transparent.
The Genesis is laid back compared to the LA which is more “in your face” (totally relative and completely unhelpful descriptions, I know, but that is the only way I can think of to express the point). I found the tonal balance of the Genesis to be ideal, and equal to the best I have ever heard. I found the tonal balance of the LA to be a little forward. I assume audiophiles who like a more detailed sound than I do would find the LA to be sonic heaven.
COMPARISONS
Audiocrack’s Genesis system is one of the two best stereo systems I have ever heard in my life. The other one of the two best systems is the Rockport Arrakis, driven by two pairs of VTL Siegfrieds with a Lyra Atlas cartridge on a Triplanar tonearm on a Brinkmann Balance turntable sitting on a Herzan table with an ARC phono preamp, a VTL line stage and all Transparent Audio cables.
The third best system I have ever heard is Steve’s Wilson Audio X-2 with JL subwoofers with all Lamm electronics and a TechDAS Air Force One turntable with a Graham Phantom Elite tonearm and an Ortofon Anna cartridge, in a dedicated and heavily treated listening room. The main difference between the Genesis system and the Arrakis system, and the Wilson system, is scale and effortlessness (effortlessness is difficult for me to explain). On most other audiophile-type sonic attributes the Wilson system comes very close to, or equals, the larger systems. (Rightly or wrongly I attribute a lot of that competitiveness to the all Lamm electronics.) But that difference in scale and effortlessness does create a more realistic, involving and exciting presentation.
Would I buy the Genesis Dragon or would I buy the Rockport Arrakis? At this point I do not know.
I prefer the dipole presentation, the midrange transparency and the four tower scale of the Genesis. I prefer the upper bass/lower midrange realism and impact, and the greater vocal and instrumental “body” above 100 Hz of the Arrakis. (To my ears dynamic drivers beat any electrostatic panel or magnetic planar driver or ribbon driver for corporeal “body” and weight.)
How amazing is it that one of our WBF members has not one but two of the greatest loudspeaker systems ever made? Audiocrack is a true music lover, more than he is equipment-focused. He simply loves having two different interpretations of sound, two different sonic prisms, though which to experience and enjoy his music.
Thank you, again, Audiocrack, for the rare opportunity to hear two amazing audio systems!
On December 6, 2015, my wife and I visited the home of WBF member Audiocrack to listen to his Genesis 1.1 system. Mike Kay of Lyric Hi-Fi played for me Reference Recording’s Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique on the Infinity Reference Standard V driven by Jadis electronics and spun by a Goldmund Reference turntable many years ago, and it was that amazing experience which got me "hooked" on high-end audio. I approached the opportunity to listen to an example of the progeny of the IRS V with great excitement.
Audiocrack was a wonderful, gracious, patient and accommodating host. He generously invited my wife and me to join him and his wife and children for dinner in between listening sessions.
Audiocrack’s large house, built in 1902, has a connected living room/dining room area. This living room/dining area, which doubles as a listening room for two independent stereo systems, is long (maybe 45’) but only 15’ wide. The Genesis system resides at the far end of the living room, and the Tidal La Assoluta resides at the far end of the dining room. There is no acoustic treatment of any kind in the room.
GENESIS 1.1
The Genesis 1.1, being a planar system, however large and complex, is nonetheless a type of sound reproducer I believe I understand. I have owned and enjoyed dipole speakers since 1988. I feel like I know how to set up dipole speakers. I am comfortable with them and with how they sound in general.
In the Genesis 1.1 Operating Manual Gary Koh writes about the usual room size for the big Genesis system: “A typical room size is 29 ft x 48 ft with 12 ft ceilings.” Informally, I believe Gary suggests the minimum room width to be about 21’. Gary also insists that one must listen at least 15’ away from the speakers for the numerous and varied drivers to integrate properly. Yet, in Audiocrack’s configuration, at a distance of only about 11’ from the panels, I heard great coherence and no lack of driver integration. How is this possible?
When Audiocrack first purchased the speakers and installed them he found that the big Genesis system worked surprisingly well in his narrow (for such a large system) room. But he was not impressed with the quality of the Genesis crossover components. Audiocrack has a friend and consultant who is an experienced audio electronics engineer. Audiocrack set this consultant to work to redesign the crossovers and, according to the consultant, some of the woofer control electronics. By reworking the crossovers, by making phase adjustments, and by replacing discrete components with components of the highest quality, including large and expensive silver Dueland capacitors (to match the silver Dueland capacitors in the Kondo amplifiers), the consultant was able to reconfigure the electrical characteristics of the system to optimize the loudspeaker for a room whose width arguably is too narrow for this system. Audiocrack thoughtfully arranged for this consultant to join us for my visit.
The Genesis panels are driven by Kondo push-pull amplifiers. Audiocrack plays vinyl by switching between a Walker Proscenium turntable and tonearm with a Lyra Olympos cartridge and Lyra Connoisseur 4-2 SE phono preamplifier, and a Blue Pearl JEM turntable with a Kozma Airlaine tonearm with a Lyra Atlas cartridge and Kondo M1000 Mk I/Kondo KSL SFz step-up transformer phono combination. (My wife found the gleaming gold and silver JEM turntable to be “stunning-looking,” and she has never before commented on the design of any piece of audio equipment.)
The adoption of the Tripoint Emperor grounding unit and Tripoint Thor SE Master Reference Ground cables are the most recent changes to Audiocrack’s system. As we did not compare the sound with the Tripoint removed from the system I cannot comment on its effect. However, Audiocrack is certain that the Tripoint equipment has “greatly enhanced” the sound of his Genesis system. Audiocrack uses TARA Labs Grandmaster Evolution interconnects and speaker cables.
At the level of state-of-the-art speakers I truly believe there is no such thing as a wrong choice. I could live happily with any of the SOTA speakers, regardless of design technology. I could be just as happy with a SOTA horn system as I could be with a SOTA dynamic driver or a SOTA planar system. They are just different flavors of wonderful.
In this review I conceive in the abstract of a synthesized composite of the best sound reproduction I personally have ever heard from any audio system, and then I describe the ways in which I think, or I suspect others might think, the Genesis deviates from such composite of the best I have ever heard.
On the Genesis system I played:
"The Rose" by Amanda McBroom, Growing Up in Hollywood Town (Sheffield Lab 13)
"Send in the Clowns" by Bill Henderson, Live at the Times (Jazz Planet Records/Classic Records)
“Landslide” and “Rhiannon,” by Fleetwood Mac, Fleetwood Mac (MFSL)
"First We Take Manhattan" and "Bird on a Wire" by Jennifer Warnes, Famous Blue Raincoat (Rock the House Records/Classic Records) (I know this is a digital recording.)
”I've Got the Music in Me" by Thelma Houston, I've Got the Music in Me (Sheffield Lab 2)
"Send in the Clowns" by Bill Henderson, Live at the Times (Jazz Planet Records/Classic Records)
“Landslide” and “Rhiannon,” by Fleetwood Mac, Fleetwood Mac (MFSL)
"First We Take Manhattan" and "Bird on a Wire" by Jennifer Warnes, Famous Blue Raincoat (Rock the House Records/Classic Records) (I know this is a digital recording.)
”I've Got the Music in Me" by Thelma Houston, I've Got the Music in Me (Sheffield Lab 2)
The Genesis presents the largest scale I have ever heard from a loudspeaker, including the Rockport Arrakis. If you listen primarily to classical music I do not think you can do better than the big Genesis system. Notice I wrote “better than.” I also think you cannot do better than the Arrakis. But there is no such thing, especially at this level, as objectively "best." At this level compromises are few, and one's selection of "best" will be based on subjective preferences and sonic priorities and music preferences. It might not be possible for even a single individual to decide for himself which loudspeaker is “best.” One might find one SOTA speaker best for classical music, and a different SOTA speaker best for vocals.
The detail on the Genesis system was exactly how I like it: all the information is there, but it is not projected towards you. Bill Henderson’s lip smacks on the closely-miked Send in the Clowns were there in all the detail I am used to from MartinLogan electrostatic panels.
I think that ribbon drivers in general, including the ribbon drivers in the Genesis 1.1 in particular, are just one shade less transparent than the electrostatic panel on a MartinLogan speaker.
Possibly due to the dispersion of the round ribbon tweeters I did not hear the Genesis to project solo vocalists with as clearly defined an image as I hear from MartinLogan, Rockport, Wilson or Analysis Audio speakers. The solo vocalist image on the Genesis is a little bit diffuse. (The reward for this issue, if it even is an issue at all, is that the off-axis listening range is a lot wider than other planar speakers I have auditioned. Exactly as Gary Koh promises the Genesis can be enjoyed by more than one person in the “sweet spot.”)
One of the criticisms of some hybrid planar speakers is their lack of convincing upper bass/lower midrange energy. The low frequency end of a planar driver -- whether electrostatic or ribbon -- does not provide enough acoustic output in the 200 Hz to 400 Hz range before the dynamic woofer driver (in single tower systems) or the woofer tower (in four tower systems) takes over the burden, typically at 100 Hz or below, of reproducing the lowest frequencies. Even a four tower SOTA system such as the Genesis 1.1 may have a weakness in the upper bass/lower midrange region: No matter how Herculean are the bass towers, if the crossover to a planar system occurs no higher than at about 100 Hz, then there can be a richness and weight and “body” and cone excursion impact deficit in the critical 200 Hz to 400 Hz range. Even the amazing Genesis woofer towers may roll off too quickly at the high end of their working range to provide impact at 200 Hz to 400 Hz, and no midrange ribbon (let alone an electrostatic panel) is going to provide the “body” and richness to satisfy me in the 200 to 400 Hz region of the dual 9" drivers of the Rockport Arrakis or the 13" woofer of a Big Wilson or, I suspect, the four 11" woofers of the Evolution Acoustics MM7. I do believe that a ribbon driver provides slightly, but noticeably, more “body” and richness in this frequency range than does a MartinLogan electrostatic panel. If a high sonic priority for you is oomph and impact in the upper base/lower midrange area then you might prefer full-range dynamic driver systems to any type of planar hybrid.
I think I heard heard slightly greater resolution and texture from the magnetic planar woofer panel (which covers 650 Hz and below) of the Analysis Audio Omega than I heard in that frequency range from either the Genesis or the Arrakis. Of course having heard each of these speakers in different rooms and with different associated components makes such fine distinctions difficult to make and of dubious value.
In summary, the only even possible deviations of the Genesis 1.1 from my composite of the best I have ever heard are: one shade less transparent than MartinLogan electrostatic panels; slightly more diffuse center imaging of solo vocalists than what I am used to; less oomph and impact in the 200 Hz to 400 Hz region versus comparable all-dynamic driver systems; and, possibly, a slightly lower resolution and texture in the 650 Hz and below range compared to a well-designed magnetic planar woofer.
I have read that some people criticize the Genesis woofer towers for being a bit slow or bloated. I certainly am no expert on woofer towers, but I did not hear any slowness or bloat. I do think I heard on my usual audition tracks the most powerful bass performance I have ever heard in my life. Drums on two selections from Amanda McBroom, Growing Up in Hollywood Town (Sheffield Lab 13) sounded the most tonally realistic, and realistically impactful, I have ever heard from a stereo system.
We did not compare the Kondo amplifiers to any other amplifiers so the following is just a suspicion. As I have mentioned I loved the tonal balance, detail and transparency of the Genesis system. The Kondo amplifiers surely contribute to those characteristics. But I couldn't help but wonder if the Kondo amplifiers are not terribly dynamic, or if perhaps they are a little bit on the low-powered side for the Genesis panels? Audiocrack did mention that I listened at a significantly higher volume than the volume at which he typically plays the Genesis system.
On the Genesis system Audiocrack played a live recording of Jimi Hendrix’s "I Don't Live Today" from the The Jimi Hendrix Experience box set. When that track came on my wife and I looked at each other like we had just been tele-transported to the front row of a live concert! (Hyperbole for poetic effect.) The realism was stunning and totally fun! There is something about the sheer scale of the Genesis system which makes it easier to suspend disbelief.
TIDAL LA ASSOLUTA
Audiocrack’s La Assoluta is the very first La Assoluta delivered by Tidal to a purchaser. The Tidal La Assoluta, being a large dynamic driver system, is one with which I am not as naturally comfortable as I am with dipole speakers. We listened to the La Assoluta only briefly.
From inspecting the LA you would never guess it is the first “production” copy Tidal has made. All seams and fittings look perfect, and all hardware and screw-heads look perfect (and I am very picky about cosmetic stuff like that). The woodworking and the finish on the wood cabinetry of the LA was the highest quality wood finish I have ever seen on a speaker. Imagine the most beautifully polished wood stock you have ever seen on an expensive, custom hunting rifle. The LA’s finish was at least as good as that.
Audiocrack drives the LA with Kondo SET amplifiers. We listened to various digital downloads.
My primary sonic impression of the LA is amazing transparency for dynamic drivers. Was the LA slightly more transparent than the Arrakis? I heard them in different rooms and with different associated components so I have no idea. I sort of want to say “yes,” but it would be unfair to do so. The Arrakis has the more laid back sound that I prefer, and a more forward presentation can give one the sense (or the illusion) of greater transparency and more detail without it actually being so.
I felt that I heard from the LA more treble energy than I am used to. I felt like the LA projects detail towards the listener in that “better than live” way that I find a little uncomfortable.
The LA “sounds” very quiet and very clear. This may be due entirely to the fact we were listening to digital, to which I am not accustomed. Audiocrack believes the “silence” of the LA is a result of the extraordinary build quality of the speakers and the cabinets. The inertness of the cabinets, Audiocrack believes, allows you to hear only the music as reproduced by the electronics. Heroic cabinet inertness is the reason the Arrakis, also, sounds very quiet and very transparent.
The Genesis is laid back compared to the LA which is more “in your face” (totally relative and completely unhelpful descriptions, I know, but that is the only way I can think of to express the point). I found the tonal balance of the Genesis to be ideal, and equal to the best I have ever heard. I found the tonal balance of the LA to be a little forward. I assume audiophiles who like a more detailed sound than I do would find the LA to be sonic heaven.
COMPARISONS
Audiocrack’s Genesis system is one of the two best stereo systems I have ever heard in my life. The other one of the two best systems is the Rockport Arrakis, driven by two pairs of VTL Siegfrieds with a Lyra Atlas cartridge on a Triplanar tonearm on a Brinkmann Balance turntable sitting on a Herzan table with an ARC phono preamp, a VTL line stage and all Transparent Audio cables.
The third best system I have ever heard is Steve’s Wilson Audio X-2 with JL subwoofers with all Lamm electronics and a TechDAS Air Force One turntable with a Graham Phantom Elite tonearm and an Ortofon Anna cartridge, in a dedicated and heavily treated listening room. The main difference between the Genesis system and the Arrakis system, and the Wilson system, is scale and effortlessness (effortlessness is difficult for me to explain). On most other audiophile-type sonic attributes the Wilson system comes very close to, or equals, the larger systems. (Rightly or wrongly I attribute a lot of that competitiveness to the all Lamm electronics.) But that difference in scale and effortlessness does create a more realistic, involving and exciting presentation.
Would I buy the Genesis Dragon or would I buy the Rockport Arrakis? At this point I do not know.
I prefer the dipole presentation, the midrange transparency and the four tower scale of the Genesis. I prefer the upper bass/lower midrange realism and impact, and the greater vocal and instrumental “body” above 100 Hz of the Arrakis. (To my ears dynamic drivers beat any electrostatic panel or magnetic planar driver or ribbon driver for corporeal “body” and weight.)
How amazing is it that one of our WBF members has not one but two of the greatest loudspeaker systems ever made? Audiocrack is a true music lover, more than he is equipment-focused. He simply loves having two different interpretations of sound, two different sonic prisms, though which to experience and enjoy his music.
Thank you, again, Audiocrack, for the rare opportunity to hear two amazing audio systems!
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