This year, I wanted to do something wild, wacky, fun, and completely off the wall. Break all the "rules" of audiophilia and deliver some spectacular music with something unusual. Luckily, Bob Clarke of Profundo wanted to play too!
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Those of you who don't know Dr Bob Clark, Professor of German History should try to get to know him. He distributes a couple of really great brands: Transfiguration cartridges (the Proteus is my new reference cartridge) and Viva Audio (Italian tube amps I've lusted after for many, many years but previously unavailable in the USA).
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This is a system that I can imagine myself building were I living in a city apartment. In a small room, and only space enough for a pair of tiny monitors. Then, as I progress in my hobby, upgrade the electronics and components to wring the most performance out of the speakers (swapping out electronics is easy - speakers, not so much. These are possibly the smallest pair of audiophile loudspeakers imaginable - the Trenner and Friedl Sun Co-axial 2-way micro-monitor ($2,995). I kept telling Bob that they make me jealous because I certainly couldn't design a pair of speakers so small, affordable and great.
So, as time goes by and my income goes up, I keep on upgrading until we have the Viva Audio Aurora monoblock amplifiers ($45,000), SMc Audio VRE-1C preamplifier ($19,995), and Genesis Muse music server (priceless). Over $20,000 of Genesis Absolute Fidelity interconnects, speaker cables and power cords joined the stuff together.
Many who came in and had a chance to listen left slack-jawed and awed by the musicality and big sound coming from these tiny-tots. With the Viva Aurora, the bass is incredible and musicality off the wall.
Another Genesis system and just as off-beat but in exactly the opposite direction.
A high-end headphones owner setting up a system with an exquisite pair of headphones, driven with a Viva Audio Numerico DAC/Transport ($12,000), a Basis Audio 2200/SA9 with Superarm turntable system, Transfiguration Proteus cartridge ($6,000), Viva Audio Fono phonostage ($18,500) and the Viva Egoista 2A3 Headphone Amplifier ($7,500). A perfect system to enjoy music over headphones.
I can imagine her waking up one morning, and wanting to listen untethered to the headphones and wondering if a pair of loudspeakers could be added to the headphones system.
Voila! Stick a pair of Genesis 7.2f loudspeakers ($15,000) into one of the headphone jacks. Come for an audition and be surprised what a 3-watt 2A3 headphone amplifier can sound like through a pair of good speakers. Hugely dynamic, exquisite detail and resolution, and all the truth of headphones - to be shared.
**** commercial break ****
Those of you who don't know Dr Bob Clark, Professor of German History should try to get to know him. He distributes a couple of really great brands: Transfiguration cartridges (the Proteus is my new reference cartridge) and Viva Audio (Italian tube amps I've lusted after for many, many years but previously unavailable in the USA).
**** end commercial break ****
This is a system that I can imagine myself building were I living in a city apartment. In a small room, and only space enough for a pair of tiny monitors. Then, as I progress in my hobby, upgrade the electronics and components to wring the most performance out of the speakers (swapping out electronics is easy - speakers, not so much. These are possibly the smallest pair of audiophile loudspeakers imaginable - the Trenner and Friedl Sun Co-axial 2-way micro-monitor ($2,995). I kept telling Bob that they make me jealous because I certainly couldn't design a pair of speakers so small, affordable and great.
So, as time goes by and my income goes up, I keep on upgrading until we have the Viva Audio Aurora monoblock amplifiers ($45,000), SMc Audio VRE-1C preamplifier ($19,995), and Genesis Muse music server (priceless). Over $20,000 of Genesis Absolute Fidelity interconnects, speaker cables and power cords joined the stuff together.
Many who came in and had a chance to listen left slack-jawed and awed by the musicality and big sound coming from these tiny-tots. With the Viva Aurora, the bass is incredible and musicality off the wall.
Another Genesis system and just as off-beat but in exactly the opposite direction.
A high-end headphones owner setting up a system with an exquisite pair of headphones, driven with a Viva Audio Numerico DAC/Transport ($12,000), a Basis Audio 2200/SA9 with Superarm turntable system, Transfiguration Proteus cartridge ($6,000), Viva Audio Fono phonostage ($18,500) and the Viva Egoista 2A3 Headphone Amplifier ($7,500). A perfect system to enjoy music over headphones.
I can imagine her waking up one morning, and wanting to listen untethered to the headphones and wondering if a pair of loudspeakers could be added to the headphones system.
Voila! Stick a pair of Genesis 7.2f loudspeakers ($15,000) into one of the headphone jacks. Come for an audition and be surprised what a 3-watt 2A3 headphone amplifier can sound like through a pair of good speakers. Hugely dynamic, exquisite detail and resolution, and all the truth of headphones - to be shared.
