Visit to Mike Lavigne's house

I visited Mike Lavigne's house on Feb 17, 2024.

The main purpose is to compare the sound through top digital and vinyl sound.

Mike has Esoteric T1 turntable which sounds very nice with magnetic gravitaion and option of external clock to control servo motor.

I had listened to Goebel Marquis speaker driven by Esoteric Amps and T1 turntabl during Seoul Audio Show 2023 which was very musical.

On the other hand, Goebel Divin speaker driven by Ch Dac and amps sounded rather cold and dry.

I quit vinyl on 1988.

But during three audio shows that I attended recently ( Pacific Audiofest 2022, 2023, Seoul Audio show 2023), I found rooms playsing vinyl tend to give more natural and musical sounds.

Mike also has Wadax Dac and servers whose retail price is more than 300k$.

I had listened to Wadax Dac and server twice before.

First encounter was at dealer's show room (Ed Devitto).

After doing home audition of Ideon Absolute Dac, we did side by side comparison of Ideon and Wadax over there using Magico M2 speaker drivn by Constellation amps.

I got very favorable opinion on Ideon Absolute Dac after home auditon for one week, but Wadax is clearly in another league with natural but somewhat mystical tonality.

I had another chance to listen to Wadax during Pacific Audiofest 2022.

Goebel Divin speaker driven by Wadax Dac and CH amps sounded very musical and dynamic.

About five years ago, I had done comparison between MSB Select II and Kronus turntable at dealer's showroom.

YG Sonja speaker was driven by Viola amps.

The results showed that MSB Select II could match the musicality of vinyl playback.

As good as MSB Select II is, I got the impression that Wadax is another league above MSB Select II .

MIke also upgraded from MSB Select II to Wadax around 2 years ago.

We played vinyl Beethoven Symphony No 9 directed by Solti through Esoteric T1 first.

It sounds very musical and dynamic through his Evolution MM 7 speakers driven by Dartzell pre and main amps.

No limitation of dynamics and bass with pure tonality.

As well known among audiophile community around Seattle, Mike's system is top notch.

Then we searched same recording through Roon and played through Wadax.

Wadax could match vinyl in every respect. without suface noise.


We also played Misty sung by Ella Fitzerald thorugh vinyl and Wadex.

The result is more or less same.

It seems that vinyl gave slightly more depth but the difference is rather minor.


We also played Chopin piano concerto played by Marth Argerich thorugh vinyl and Wadex..

This time suface noise bothered me slighty but not enough to enjoy music.

We also played Liberty by Anette Askvik thorugh vinyl and Wadex.

To conclude, Wadax match themusicality of th vinyls played throudh Esoteric T1 without surface noise.

Liberty Wadax

youtu.be

On the other hand, it did not overwhelm the sound of vinyl.

Vinyl played throudh Esoteric T1 sounds almost equal to Wadax and sometimes with little bit more of soundstage depth.

Overall I enloyed 2 hours at Mike's dedicated listening room.

His system gave unlimited and natural bass and dynamics with pure tonality.

The only nitpick is that the soundstage depth coud be more if speaker could breath in larger space.

I had got similar impression when I auditioned Magico M9 at Seoul Korea last November.

The dealer's showroom happened to be almost same size as Mikes( 20ft w 29ft d 11ft h)

But I would not down size speakers if I were Mike.

He will miss unlimited bass and dynamics.

The bass was very clean with no overhang.

Thanks Mike for his hospitality as friendly guest.

 

Hello Mike, many thanks for the feedback. I suspect you meant Etsuro Gold rather than Esoteric gold? Happy listening.

yes, operator error. I did an edit.

I'm in Homer, Alaska learning photography shooting eagles. my body is a bit run down. slow internet here on literally the edge of the world. I'm staying in a hotel called 'Land's End'.....and it is.

 

I'm in Homer, Alaska learning photography shooting eagles. my body is a bit run down. slow internet here on literally the edge of the world. I'm staying in a hotel called 'Land's End'.....and it is.

Have fun, Mike!

 

I'm in Homer, Alaska learning photography shooting eagles. my body is a bit run down. slow internet here on literally the edge of the world. I'm staying in a hotel called 'Land's End'.....and it is.

Don’t fall off the edge

 

yes, operator error. I did an edit.

I'm in Homer, Alaska learning photography shooting eagles. my body is a bit run down. slow internet here on literally the edge of the world. I'm staying in a hotel called 'Land's End'.....and it is.

Mike, lots (lots!) of eagles in the San Juans… you won’t have to travel too far once you learn how to focus

 

Don’t fall off the edge

8-10 foot seas yesterday so we stayed inside......today calmer seas but 25 degrees F with wind and a 30 degree wind chill. I'm traveling home tomorrow. been here a week.

 

Mike, lots (lots!) of eagles in the San Juans… you won’t have to travel too far once you learn how to focus

nothing like Alaska. and a guide to find them. Eagles go where the food is. and every state has laws for what can be done.

 

I heard the Solti Beethoven 9th on my first trip to Mike in 2016 with the NVS and the GFS, and here is what I wrote:

“
Then we went on to Beethoven’s 9th, Solti, Chicago Symphony. I have never heard it like this before. The more complex it got, the better the system sounded. We played the first movement, the kicks on the tympani and integration of the orchestra were fantastic. Then we played the second. Moved to the fourth. Now, we heard tremendous authority at the start of this movement. So I said stop – let’s move to the Anna. The Anna, unfortunately did not have that slam and authority. The magic was much less. So moved back to the GFS. With only the soloists, the imaging and their mixing was magical. Then the chorals came in, and as they soared, the system and the room expanded and got even more focused. With the choir the panorama went further back, further wide.

I asked him to put on the Scheherazade 45 again, and we tried the first movement, but the sheer intensity of the Beethoven (and it’s a very mediocre recording) had rendered other things boring.

So we went for lunch. This was the second time in a few hours that the intensity of musical pleasure had forced us to take a break.”

 

Mike, lots (lots!) of eagles in the San Juans… you won’t have to travel too far once you learn how to focus

I caught them in 15 minutes drive from my home in Skagit county.

 

Many thanks for the clarification Mike. Can you recall which cart/arm were used for the Beethoven track? Hope you enjoyed Alaska. My wife and I were on a 3 week holiday there when 9/11 happened. All flights were cancelled and we ended up staying longer. What an incredible place. Try and visit Denali NP in first week in September for peak Fall colour. Photograpy heaven!! Thanks again for the feedback.

 

Many thanks for the clarification Mike. Can you recall which cart/arm were used for the Beethoven track? Hope you enjoyed Alaska. My wife and I were on a 3 week holiday there when 9/11 happened. All flights were cancelled and we ended up staying longer. What an incredible place. Try and visit Denali NP in first week in September for peak Fall colour. Photograpy heaven!! Thanks again for the feedback.

March is the best month to observe Northern lights in Alaska while bear still sleeping with less chance to hurt you.

 

I captured this photo at the same time as the above video.

 

nothing like Alaska. and a guide to find them. Eagles go where the food is. and every state has laws for what can be done.

You may try to take some photo of Northern lights during night.

If you do not have suitable lens, then you may try your I phone.

 

@Mike Lavigne what’s the tonearm on the front left mount of the Esoteric? Glanz?

 

You may try to take some photo of Northern lights during night.

...man I have chased those lights all over northern Norway multiple times and never catch them! Great pics! Did catch them once at 35K feet crossing the circle by plane. OK back OT.

 

View attachment 125912

I visited Mike Lavigne's house on Feb 17, 2024.

The main purpose is to compare the sound through top digital and vinyl sound.

Mike has Esoteric T1 turntable which sounds very nice with magnetic gravitaion and option of external clock to control servo motor.

I had listened to Goebel Marquis speaker driven by Esoteric Amps and T1 turntabl during Seoul Audio Show 2023 which was very musical.

On the other hand, Goebel Divin speaker driven by Ch Dac and amps sounded rather cold and dry.

I quit vinyl on 1988.

But during three audio shows that I attended recently ( Pacific Audiofest 2022, 2023, Seoul Audio show 2023), I found rooms playsing vinyl tend to give more natural and musical sounds.

Mike also has Wadax Dac and servers whose retail price is more than 300k$.

I had listened to Wadax Dac and server twice before.

First encounter was at dealer's show room (Ed Devitto).

After doing home audition of Ideon Absolute Dac, we did side by side comparison of Ideon and Wadax over there using Magico M2 speaker drivn by Constellation amps.

I got very favorable opinion on Ideon Absolute Dac after home auditon for one week, but Wadax is clearly in another league with natural but somewhat mystical tonality.

I had another chance to listen to Wadax during Pacific Audiofest 2022.

Goebel Divin speaker driven by Wadax Dac and CH amps sounded very musical and dynamic.

About five years ago, I had done comparison between MSB Select II and Kronus turntable at dealer's showroom.

YG Sonja speaker was driven by Viola amps.

The results showed that MSB Select II could match the musicality of vinyl playback.

As good as MSB Select II is, I got the impression that Wadax is another league above MSB Select II .

MIke also upgraded from MSB Select II to Wadax around 2 years ago.

We played vinyl Beethoven Symphony No 9 directed by Solti through Esoteric T1 first.

It sounds very musical and dynamic through his Evolution MM 7 speakers driven by Dartzell pre and main amps.

No limitation of dynamics and bass with pure tonality.

As well known among audiophile community around Seattle, Mike's system is top notch.

Then we searched same recording through Roon and played through Wadax.

Wadax could match vinyl in every respect. without suface noise.


We also played Misty sung by Ella Fitzerald thorugh vinyl and Wadex.

The result is more or less same.

It seems that vinyl gave slightly more depth but the difference is rather minor.


We also played Chopin piano concerto played by Marth Argerich thorugh vinyl and Wadex..

This time suface noise bothered me slighty but not enough to enjoy music.

We also played Liberty by Anette Askvik thorugh vinyl and Wadex.

To conclude, Wadax match themusicality of th vinyls played throudh Esoteric T1 without surface noise.

Liberty Wadax

youtu.be

On the other hand, it did not overwhelm the sound of vinyl.

Vinyl played throudh Esoteric T1 sounds almost equal to Wadax and sometimes with little bit more of soundstage depth.

Overall I enloyed 2 hours at Mike's dedicated listening room.

His system gave unlimited and natural bass and dynamics with pure tonality.

The only nitpick is that the soundstage depth coud be more if speaker could breath in larger space.

I had got similar impression when I auditioned Magico M9 at Seoul Korea last November.

The dealer's showroom happened to be almost same size as Mikes( 20ft w 29ft d 11ft h)

But I would not down size speakers if I were Mike.

He will miss unlimited bass and dynamics.

The bass was very clean with no overhang.

Thanks Mike for his hospitality as friendly guest.

Very much appreciate this post MikeL is a wonderland treat and amust if one can get in ..

Question , Is the Esoteric Mike’s top TT setup currently ?


Regards

 

The only nice thing is I could enjoy misic with my humble system despite having gone through his phenomenal system

Which one , i see two systems ,,One humble the other not so much

 

Which one , i see two systems ,,One humble the other not so much

Retail prices of both Lanshce 4.1 and Scaena 3.2 was more than 55k$.

But humble compared with Mike's system.

The sound of video is from Scaena 3.2 augmented with pair of Rel 31 subwoofers.

 

We played vinyl Beethoven Symphony No 9 directed by Solti through Esoteric T1 first.

As well known among audiophile community around Seattle, Mike's system is top notch.

Then we searched same recording through Roon and played through Wadax.

both Solti

With Leif I was on 5 glasses of red by this time

 

yes, operator error. I did an edit.

I'm in Homer, Alaska learning photography shooting eagles. my body is a bit run down. slow internet here on literally the edge of the world. I'm staying in a hotel called 'Land's End'.....and it is.

We were up there a couple years ago- Kenai Peninsula- a friend has a camp there where we stayed. I'll ask him to remind me what port we used when we went halibut fishing- gorgeous during fair weather, but you could tell that it was daunting- truly the last frontier-even the view coming into Anchorage was mind blowing.

IMG_0057 by William Hart, on Flickr

Back to topic.

 

both Solti

With Leif I was on 5 glasses of red by this time

Very impressive, indeed!
Best wishes,
Don