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.

 

How it all comes together to present a convincing listening experience that reminds me of listening to live music. For me it is not about specific individual attributes or qualities but the whole presentation and balance. Nothing should stick out or call attention to itself. When leaving a live performance, I rarely reflect on a sonic attribute of the sound. I reflect on the music, the performance, and the overall experience. It should be the same with a sound system. And sometimes it is. This is when I know it is right. Otherwise, it is just spectacle.



How natural it sounds.

Or instead of natural, one could say how 'analog' it sounds. Particularly relevant in this case as the digital playback doesn't sound 'analog' in comparison to the vinyl playback.

 

Or instead of natural, one could say how 'analog' it sounds. Particularly relevant in this case as the digital playback doesn't sound 'analog' in comparison to the vinyl playback.

I don’t know what “analog“ sound means. Real life sound is analog with no digital conversion.

 

God please don't go down a digital vs analog hole.

 

Nice comparison videos Thomask .
Sounds to me the EA s are very good speakers nothing sticks out.

WADAX is top notch and a great option for high rollers who wanna keep it simple.
No tape videos ??

 

Nice comparison videos Thomask .
Sounds to me the EA s are very good speakers nothing sticks out.

WADAX is top notch and a great option for high rollers who wanna keep it simple.
No tape videos ??

Thanks for your compliment.

No time for tape playing since I had to leave for lunch engagement.

Wadax is for high roller and one DC cabel cost 20K$ up.

 

Does the nasty empty coffee can coloration disappear if one clamps his electronics under a thousand pounds of pressure?

Yes in my experience it does ,.... all the nastiness' is squeezed out using one of these leaving you with a nice natural sound ( silence ) lol

 

Thanks for your compliment.

No time for tape playing since I had to leave for lunch engagement.

Wadax is for high roller and one DC cabel cost 20K$ up.

Unfortunate , may be something for a next visit
Beacuse mike has great machines and i assume a great tape collection

 

I favor the overall balanced sound.

Too much details could sound exciting but give fatigue in the long term.

Tonality is very important for overall musicality,.

Personal preference is realistic soundstage.

Line arrays of Scaena is very good at it.

Although Lansche give cleaner tonaility over Scaena due to plasma tweeter, I tend to play Scaena more often because of realistic soundstage.

But Lansche also give pretty good wide and deep soundstage.

How would you rate the Lansche speakers as stand alone?

 

How would you rate the Lansche speakers as stand alone?

Tonality A or A+

Bass and dynamics A-

Soundstage width and depth A-

 

Tonality A or A+

Bass and dynamics A-

Soundstage width and depth A-

That is quite impressive, just like the average report card at the local high school with today's grade inflation. Half of the local graduating class achieved top honor roll status with the required 3.2 out of 4.0 grade point average, but they only score average on national standardized achievement tests.

I consider C to be an average rating for a decent high end system. B is truly excellent with very few systems ever achieving it. A- I have heard once in my life from the very best system and only on small scale acoustic music. A would be indistinguishable from live small scale acoustic music. A+ would be indistinguishable from live orchestra, organ/choir music. This level I have never heard.

I would be a tough grader, and my students' parents would not be happy.

 

That is quite impressive, just like the average report card at the local high school with today's grade inflation. Half of the local graduating class achieved top honor roll status with the required 3.2 out of 4.0 grade point average, but they only score average on national standardized achievement tests.

I consider C to be an average rating for a decent high end system. B is truly excellent with very few systems ever achieving it. A- I have heard once in my life from the very best system and only on small scale acoustic music. A would be indistinguishable from live small scale acoustic music. A+ would be indistinguishable from live orchestra, organ/choir music. This level I have never heard.

I would be a tough grader, and my students' parents would not be happy.

That is the reason I had used Lansche 4.1 from 2006.

Lansche Audio No.4.1 Loudspeaker

Ultimate reward or audiophile road apple? November 2010 Of all the components that make up my system, the loudspeaker has presented the most treacherous terrain on which to navigate. Like a young Frodo Baggins traversing the foreboding landscape of Fangorn Forest, finding the perfect speaker has...

www.stereotimes.com

It is very efficient at 95db/w(99db spec but real no is 95) with clean treble due to plasma tweeter.


I bought it new at 50k$ on 2006.

But I tend to play Scaena 3.2 more often over Lansche because of realsitic soundstage due to line array.

Nevertheless, I like silky violin tone out of Lansche over Sceana.

 

My answer to above question is as follows.



Nice question!

Good audio system shall have all the thngs you mentioned.

But in reality, it is not posseible.

About 3 weeks ago, I visited Mike's Lavigne's listing room.



His well respected system has almost all of the qualities but not perfect.

But fortunately after listening to his nice system, I still could enjoy my system with tube pre and amp which give more of soundstage depth and holographic imaging.


If I grade his system and my system from my point of view.


Tonality -

Mike's A* all clean no sibilants due to top grade source of turntable and Wadax the best digital available now

It gave the best tonal purity that I had ever listened.

I do not play vinyl and only digital.

Aurender N30sa, Chord Dave modified with three Farad LPS and Mscaler.

My system A- some sibiliant but smoothed by tube pre and power amp.

Dynamic Range -


Mike's A

Mine A-

Speed / Transient Response -

Mike's A

Mine A


Pace, Rhythm and Timing -

Mike's A

Mine A-

Minimal distortion

Mike's A+

Mine A

Due to lot of drivers in Scaena 3.2, my system is also excellent, but Mike's is kind of supreme.

Detail

Mike's A-

Mine A-

Both Mike's and mine does not emphasize super details but musical.

Soundstage


Mike's Soundstage width A- and depth B+

Mine width A-, depth A

Line array of Sceana 3.2 give excellent soundstage and nice placement of each instrument.

Mike's big speaker need more breathing room than his modest large size room of 19 by 30.

Thus depth is rather average although not flat.


Many people prefer Wilson speakers on soundstage width and depth,

I feel that Wilson speakers over exagerrate them

Power / Scale / Volume

Mike's A+

Mine A

I do active tri amping.

Pair of Rel 31 and Scaena 18 inch subwoofers tandem below 90 hz

Altec 15inch basshorn from 90 hz to 290hz

Scaena line arrays from 290 hz up.

In the video, Lansche 4.1 and Altec A7 treble horns are idle.

Which phone are you using to record this? The drumming lacks some attack.

 

I consider C to be an average rating for a decent high end system. B is truly excellent with very few systems ever achieving it. A- I have heard once in my life from the very best system and only on small scale acoustic music.

LOL! You're so mean. No getting into audiophile Harvard with thou.

 

LOL! You're so mean. No getting into audiophile Harvard with thou.

When I taught Intellectual Property Law during evening course of graduate school 20 years ago.

I gave A, A-, B+ to three students who attended course.

They worked daytime and took the course in the evening.

I was a generous professor.

 

Audiophilia is like school you need to do your own homework.

 

That is quite impressive, just like the average report card at the local high school with today's grade inflation. Half of the local graduating class achieved top honor roll status with the required 3.2 out of 4.0 grade point average, but they only score average on national standardized achievement tests.

I consider C to be an average rating for a decent high end system. B is truly excellent with very few systems ever achieving it. A- I have heard once in my life from the very best system and only on small scale acoustic music. A would be indistinguishable from live small scale acoustic music. A+ would be indistinguishable from live orchestra, organ/choir music. This level I have never heard.

I would be a tough grader, and my students' parents would not be happy.

some of the business schools in the US have a policy known as grade non disclosure (GND). You not allowed to disclose your grades on your CV and the recruiters on campus are not allowed to ask you. The reason for this is it encourages students to do more team related projects and help each other out rather than competing all the time for that minor edge.

i think audio visit reports should follow GND

 

In audiophilia we have the same thing . USO
Undisclosed System Ownership.

USO students

 

some of the business schools in the US have a policy known as grade non disclosure (GND). You not allowed to disclose your grades on your CV and the recruiters on campus are not allowed to ask you. The reason for this is it encourages students to do more team related projects and help each other out rather than competing all the time for that minor edge.

i think audio visit reports should follow GND

Academia is filled with strange polices. Along with fragile little creatures. I prefer competition in advancing knowledge/skill set. With Audio visit reports everyone would get an A as to not hurt anyone's feelings!

 

How would you rate the Lansche speakers as stand alone?

I have heard Thomas's system. At the time he had DSP to the speakers. It was only the second system that made me tear up during an Elvis P track. It was a long time ago. Since then I have heard an additional 10 or so very nicely set up systems. Plus a host of others that need work.

That is quite impressive, just like the average report card at the local high school with today's grade inflation. Half of the local graduating class achieved top honor roll status with the required 3.2 out of 4.0 grade point average, but they only score average on national standardized achievement tests.

I consider C to be an average rating for a decent high end system. B is truly excellent with very few systems ever achieving it. A- I have heard once in my life from the very best system and only on small scale acoustic music. A would be indistinguishable from live small scale acoustic music. A+ would be indistinguishable from live orchestra, organ/choir music. This level I have never heard.

I would be a tough grader, and my students' parents would not be happy.

I agree. Thomas is over inflating his grading. I have heard systems that get an A in certain areas. Not everything. The big divide is still the horn and dynamic driver system. Both have plus and a couple minus. Non are A all the way through.

I am pretty confident Mikes systems has a more flat frequency response with excellent imaging. I don't have a Mic to measure. Mikes system is in a very good room and has a scale like no other. That does not mean a smaller scale might not be totally acceptable. Mikes setup was far better tuned with the main drivers and subs integrated much better. Thomas has a pleasing sound. But it needs a lot of work to get it set up properly. Its was not there 18 months of so ago. I like you Thomas, but your system does not grade like Mikes. I lilked both the Lanche and Scansca speakers. But the integration of subs was far from correct. Very easy to hear the divide. And a lot of noise. As well as a messy power supply to the system. More noise.

 

I agree. Thomas is over inflating his grading. I have heard systems that get an A in certain areas. Not everything. The big divide is still the horn and dynamic driver system. Both have plus and a couple minus. Non are A all the way through.

What do you think of the difference between Thomas' Altecs, Howard Swayne's big ones, and I think there was another one you heard, in your area.