WestminsterLab Re-imagining Amplification

[steve williams]

Fabulous post Russ
Like you I expected nothing when I saw these amps notwithstanding the claim they were class A

I only had them in my system for about 4 hours but like you I was left speechless. My preamp and amp also has a $200K MSRP too. I dearly love my TOTL LAMM which I have always said will be buried with me.However truth be told the Rei snuffed my sound


THE Westminster Labs gear is clearly the new kid in the block but I can tell you they drive my huge Wilson X -2 with ease and far more headroom afforded the LAMM

Russ …. At 4 hours these were putting out the light in my gear. These must be heard to believe

Angus IMO has hit a walk off home run with all of his products and kudos to Gary who found and brought Westminster to the USA These are something people should hear if given a chance. To demo then in your own system can be a very humbling experience

 

[Audire]

I‘m sorry that you have had to go thru so much. That was one set of serious trails that you have been going thru. Music does help sooth the soul. Congrats on building such a great system.

 

[Mobiusman]

I‘m sorry that you have had to go thru so much. That was one set of serious trails that you have been going thru. Music does help sooth the soul. Congrats on building such a great system.

Joe,

Thank you for your kind words. I must say that your review of the Westminster Labs had a major impact on me. You said much more eloquently than me what listening to Westminster does to your state of being. It is nothing short of amazing on a number of fronts. and has been invaluable to my healing.

russ

 

[Mobiusman]

I'm beyond excited for you, Russ. Really happy to hear the Westminster gear has really restored and an enhanced your emotional connection to music and love that you true reference has arrived.

For those on the East Coast, I will be updating this thread shortly with an event we are planning on hosting in Princeton,, NJ with a target date of October 1, 2022.

Our event will feature the Westminster Reis and Quest along with some of the other brands in my portfolio (Tobian and LampizatOr). We are definitely looking forward to this one and think those who are able to make it to the presentation will be mightily impressed.

Best,

Fred A.

Fred,

Once again thank you so much for your kind words. If it is okay, I would like to attend your Princeton get together so I can hear the Westminster Labs with the Horizon, since hopefully my selling my VAC gear will net me some significant cash likely making the Horizon feasible again.

russ

 

[shadowlight]

Fred,

Once again thank you so much for your kind words. If it is okay, I would like to attend your Princeton get together so I can hear the Westminster Labs with the Horizon, since hopefully my selling my VAC gear will net me some significant cash likely making the Horizon feasible again.

russ

Come on over. If you are flying in the closest airport is Newark (EWR) about 45/50 minutes north of my place, the next closest is Philadelphia (PHL) about 1 to 1:15 hr south. If you are flying Frontier airline, you can try Trenton (TTN), which is about 25 to 30 minutes away. If you need hotel search in 08540 zipcode.

 

[Mobiusman]

Come on over. If you are flying in the closest airport is Newark (EWR) about 45/50 minutes north of my place, the next closest is Philadelphia (PHL) about 1 to 1:15 hr south. If you are flying Frontier airline, you can try Trenton (TTN), which is about 25 to 30 minutes away. If you need hotel search in 08540 zipcode.

I actually live in Brick and will be driving. I am looking forward to the event. Russ

 

[JYACO]

Congratulations to both of you, Gary and Fred. Pleased to say I am enjoying my new Horizon powered by my new REI amps this evening thanks to both of you.

You mentioned some type alteration to the Horizon for it to drive the REI amps. Can you advise what was needed to be done to accomplish this? Thanks!

 

[lscangus]

Great post Russ! And we are glad that you are enjoying the Rei and Quest as much as we do!

"low noise" is very important in our mind if we want the most transparent window towards music reproduction, that is something what we try to achieve with all our development and products, allowing you to forget about the audio gears and just be excited and moved by music again. A silent background noise ( as in no hiss coming from the speaker ) when no music is playing doesn't warrant a pitch black darkness when music is playing though, a friend of mine always say "you wont feel darkness when you are locked in a room with no sound but you do feel darkness when you are out in the woods" . Somehow the human minds perceive silence and darkness differently than machines. Our take is that we found out that noises generated by active components within the machine when music is playing and the load is dynamic, are far more distracting for our minds, and reducing these noises allows our brain to interpret and engage the music and instrument much more easily without fatigue.

 

[gleeds]

You mentioned some type alteration to the Horizon for it to drive the REI amps. Can you advise what was needed to be done to accomplish this? Thanks!

Jyaco. I just noticed your post was unanswered. I am running a Lampizator Pacific in balanced mode into our Westminster Lab Quest pre-amp and then to the Reis'. At least when using the 300B power tubes, the gain was considerably high. Fred Ainsley of Lampizator North America had me remove the top plate and flip the two toggle switches toward the back of the main board to reduce the gain. Viola, I am enjoying some of the finest sounds, analog or digital I have heard in some time. Of course, the Horizon uses a different tube set with different gain and internal volume control. Fred can fill you in more; however, so far nothing but great results have been reported using the Horizon to drive the Reis directly.

 

[CDC77]

You mentioned some type alteration to the Horizon for it to drive the REI amps. Can you advise what was needed to be done to accomplish this? Thanks!

Sorry for not replying sooner. The Horizon, with its volume control, outputs directly to the REIs with no preamp needed. I am very pleased with the resulting sound and have “declared victory“ without testing the REI’s preamplifier component which seems to be getting rave reviews too. So, no special alterations were needed to achieve these sonic results — however, I would be remiss if I failed to mention that Lampi and Westminster rigged up a special connection to allow the Lampi on/off switch to control the REI’s to make it all that much more user friendly — but rather than create technical confusion, I will let Gary or Fred explain how it works,

 

[JYACO]

Sorry for not replying sooner. The Horizon, with its volume control, outputs directly to the REIs with no preamp needed. I am very pleased with the resulting sound and have “declared victory“ without testing the REI’s preamplifier component which seems to be getting rave reviews too. So, no special alterations were needed to achieve these sonic results — however, I would be remiss if I failed to mention that Lampi and Westminster rigged up a special connection to allow the Lampi on/off switch to control the REI’s to make it all that much more user friendly — but rather than create technical confusion, I will let Gary or Fred explain how it works,

Thanks for the insight. Much appreciated!

 

[gleeds]

Thanks, Carmen. Jyaco, for Carmen's, set up we made a custom 12-volt trigger cable so the Horizon could turn the Reis' on and off. OK, to leave them on, of course, but a nice convenience nonetheless.

Fred Ainsley of Lamizator, NA also has lots of experience with the Horizon and Westminster Rei pairing should you want additional insight.

 

[Mobiusman]

Great post Russ! And we are glad that you are enjoying the Rei and Quest as much as we do!

"low noise" is very important in our mind if we want the most transparent window towards music reproduction, that is something what we try to achieve with all our development and products, allowing you to forget about the audio gears and just be excited and moved by music again. A silent background noise ( as in no hiss coming from the speaker ) when no music is playing doesn't warrant a pitch black darkness when music is playing though, a friend of mine always say "you wont feel darkness when you are locked in a room with no sound but you do feel darkness when you are out in the woods" . Somehow the human minds perceive silence and darkness differently than machines. Our take is that we found out that noises generated by active components within the machine when music is playing and the load is dynamic is for more distracting for our minds, and reducing these noises allows our brain to interpret and engage the music and instrument much more easily without fatigue.

What you are saying very much synch's with my take on the emotional impact of these products. They are all so razor sharp in all aspects of the soundstage and the detail and texture of the music are totally spot on, once again promoting that the music is believable as live.

 

[CDC77]

Also pay attention to how listening to the REI's makes you feel. I find it very energizing and mood up lifting because it so effectively removes obsessive thoughts from my brain. I do not know if you have Westminster Labs Quest preamp, but it is cut from the same fabric and advanced my sound considerably compared to driving the amps with my excellent former tube preamp. Congratulations on your newest additions to your system.

As an update, we are now running our REIs, Horizon and Innuos Statement with Westminster Ultra Power Cords, and their Ultra Speaker cables, and balanced interconnect. The Final Touch Audio USB and Ethernet cable round it out. I did not appreciate until now how big a difference these items can make. Thank you Westminster, Lampizator, FTA, and Innous.

 

[LampiNA]

I am very disappointed to report this event will need to be rescheduled. Unfortunately COVID has made it's way into our host's home and we will not be able to have the event October 1.

I'm very sorry guys, but we will announce a new date soon.

Private event announcement!

We are very excited to invite our friends at WBF to a private event we will be hosting in Princeton, NJ on October 1, 2022. The Westminster REI amplifiers and Quest preamp will be in attendance with the exquisite LampizatOr Horizon as will several other pieces from our portfolio (LampizatOr, Tobian, Westminster, Final Touch Audio). The event will take place in a private residence (shadowlight's home) and will be setup to host several systems and is always a fantastic time.

Please message us for further details and RSVP, but the particulars are as follows:

Start Time: 1pm (As usual, I will have snacks ready with lunch around 2pm or so)
End Time: 6/7pm (will confirm as we get closer)

Family Room Setup: Tobian12FH, Westminster REI Amplifier and Quest Preamplifier, Lampizator Horizon DAC,
Basement Setup: Pure Audio Project Trio15 Horn (working on getting hold of Voxativ drive, baffle and crossover), Lampizator GG2, Vinnie Rossie LIO Integrated
Spare Bedroom Setup: Pure Audio Project Trio10, Onix Integrated amp, Amber4 DAC (this maybe interchanged with LampizatOr's AmberAmp integrated).

We can swap equipment around as we used to during the RAVE hay days after 5pm in basement and spare room setup. So if you are attending and would like to bring equipment around to swap in and out feel free to bring it with you. Basement and spare room setup is mostly my setup with Amber 4 in the spare room provided by Lampizator America team who will be using the family room to show case their offering.

Covid Protocol: I will have mask available for folks who would like to wear one but anyone attending the event is attending at their own risk. I am not responsible for anyone catching Covid or any thing else.

The usual rules about taking shoes off (house slippers are ok), no alcohol or meat applies.

Gary, myself and my partner Robert will be in attendance and we look forward to meeting many of you!

- Fred A.

Hello all! Just a friendly 'last call' for our event this weekend in Princeton, NJ, So far we have about 44 people who will bein attendance and we're looking forward to a great event. There is no cost to attend and it's always an enjoyable time with good people.

Feel free to PM me for info if you're interested in joining us!

Fred A.

 

[shadowlight]

I am very disappointed to report this event will need to be rescheduled. Unfortunately COVID has made it's way into our host's home and we will not be able to have the event October 1.

I'm very sorry guys, but we will announce a new date soon.


Hello all! Just a friendly 'last call' for our event this weekend in Princeton, NJ, So far we have about 44 people who will bein attendance and we're looking forward to a great event. There is no cost to attend and it's always an enjoyable time with good people.

Feel free to PM me for info if you're interested in joining us!

Fred A.

Apology to everyone who were planning to attend. We had 44 confirmed attendees. Hopefully, we will reschedule for a future date that works for everyone.

 

[LampiNA]

I just wanted to briefly share my excitement over the listening session I had last night. The guys from GT Audio were goodly enough to have six of us local audiophiles over to hear their new statement setup with their new source, the LampizatOr Horizon. Speaking to our host ahead of the event, I told him about a new amplifier (Westminster Labs) I was very excited about and he was gracious enough to allow me to bring the REIs along with me.

I've must say this system was absolutely killer! I always liked the GT Audio speakers, but this setup just demanded a whole new level of respect from me. Transparency, tonality, scale and AUTHORITY were absolutely world class.

Check out the attached video--much of the goodness came through!

 

[Verdier]

What kind of speakers & subs are these?

 

[LampiNA]

What kind of speakers & subs are these?

GT Audio Works, speakers, Westminster Labs REI amplification, LampizatOr Horizon source and Pass Lab's big 3 box pre.... it was a lovely setup.

 

[audio.bill]

What kind of speakers & subs are these?

GT Audio Works: https://gtaudioworks.com/