“The Best Stereo System I’ve Ever Heard”

Robert Harley rates Gryphon as the premium amplifiers

When these words are written by one of the most trusted and experienced Hi-Fi reviewers (rather than an opinionated hobbyist with a computer and dialup) you have to get curious for two reasons: (1) Robert Harley has been invited and treated to everything this side of audio Heaven, and (2) by such words he is sacrificing to sincerity the substantial fruits of croneyism (fraternal and financial). In short, he’s behaving like a sonic saint, not an investment banker.

The venue was the Rockport listening room and between their no-holes-barred turntable and loudspeakers sate Gryphon electronics: Legato phono stage, Sonata-Allegro pre-amp, and em a couple of little amps …. Oh, well, I suppose a pair of Colosseum Solos and Antileon Signatures is proportional with $165,000 Arrakis speakers each side featuring two 15” drivers (for the low bass; they would hardly be used for high frequencies!), two 8” woofers for some more bass; etc.

“The result was the closest I’ve ever come to the playback system seemingly vanishing, leaving only the musical expression.”

Coming from a man who knows the challenge and has owned, reviewed, and experienced everything from the usual suspects to the latest fad products it shows that when politics are put aside, Gryphon is the choice of the discerning.

What Mr Harley may not fully realise is that a more affordable solution in Gryphon’s latest products genuinely has a lot of their elder siblings’ qualities; scaled down, but not much.

Read in full Harley’s online AV Guide Forum posted 10 June 2009:

www.avguide.com/blog/the-best-stereo-system-ive-ever-heard

TEAC PROGRESSES FROM DIGITAL TO ANALOGUE

I always said that if vinyl was invented after CD it would be recognised as the greatest leap forward in audio. Now, the world leaders in digital disc reproduction have launched valve and solid state amplifiers, then a C-03 pre-amplifier to die for, and now there ships the Esoteric E-03, a phono preamplifier (US $5500/ UK £4,495 including VAT at 15%).

NOTHING will prepare you for the pleasure and sensation which transcends Hi-Fi, electronics, or even vinyl. Sounds (especially random noises from discs) emerge suspended anywhere in the room. The music is similarly holographic. Perhaps the biggest surprise is to confirm what appears to be Esoteric’s marketing hype: brings your recorded heritage on vinyl to life. Well, I tried many vintage records long abandoned as painful; old Supraphons, crackling Deccas, scratched Mercuries, they all came to life .... even a 10” LP pioneering Carl Nielsen, “Philips Electrical” pressed in Denmark probably in the 1950s.

This is not a full review or critique of the product but the opportunity to congratulate the Master Sounds team headed by Mr Ohmachi. This year 2009 has been rich in outstanding audio products but the E-03 is a revelation to the supreme competence and artistic skills of this company. Superbe phono stages are amongst the most costly products because the precision is demanding. Also, the products are inconsistent and unreliable. You know with Esoteric this will not be the case. The price is absolutely a bargain and there is more good news: it is plug’n’play. Many phono stages require calibration and patience to match to the cartridge. This one has simple front panel matching. Oh, and hurrah for two inputs, one MM/MC.

And, yes, two Esoteric LPs will join the software catalogue of the finest SACDs you have never heard. These are the DECCA Dvorak and Mozart recordings, in Limited Editions, so don’t hesitate.

Do you drown or do you jump to the shores as so many pursue downloads and streaming into the digital deluge? I admit that I enjoy CD and SACD, and it is a great liberating platform, but hearing vinyl achieve its new level .... This way you may drown in your tears of joy, elation, passion, and finally, Hi-Fi was worth it after all.

As Toyota might say, the amp in front is an Esoteric! And remember, the word means “for the few” ... the lucky ones.

JPS Labs upgrade

There has never been a better time to upgrade your cabling. We will offer you 60% of your original purchase price as a trade in when you upgrade your existing JPS Labs cables to new JPS Labs Cables. Taking the sting out of an upgrade.

ProAc Beats the Recession

Sales of this great company are well up on last year for three very good reasons. New models at lower prices. They offer performance that makes a little knowledge misleading if not dangerous. The past does not prepare you to expect the present. The Music Room Newsletter is not spin nor marketing; we mean what we say. Immediately you can see finer veneers than ever before, but of course the classic British look remains clean lines. Sonically, the mid range is electrostatic, the bass seamlessly integrated deeper but cleaner .... The Response Range new products D-1, D-2, D-18 are compact speakers that fulfil very high aspirations. Look at the attention to detail on the new D-18 and remember, all this for under £2,000. As the Estate Agents would put it, “we recommend an early viewing.”

Stereo re-invented: Speakers on a Pedestal

Just when the floorstander seemed to have superseded the “bookshelf” or stand-mount “mini-monitor” the genre is back with a vengeance. It seemed that the same footprint was better used and better bass was generated by the tower format, yet paradigms change and rules are broken by three new loudspeakers.

Pro-Ac’s Response D-Two (£1,712) has been joined by the Response D-1 (£1,395) the long-awaited successor to ProAc’s 1SC (was £1,200) a speaker many believed displaced the legendary LS3/5A. Tannoy have a high-end pedestal mount in their newly launched Definition range: the DC8 (dual concentric 8-inch driver). UK price per pair: £2,495.

“The breakthrough is much more than deeper bass from a smaller cabinet”

Aesthetically there can be no doubting the space and open elegance of “bookshelves” but you need to factor in the cost of an elegant and solid pair of stands. The breakthrough is much more than deeper bass from a smaller cabinet. Mini monitors’ biggest advantage in sound presentation is the 3D imaging of although the entire Definition range does seem to have mastered the trick. Using well-recorded sources of music (where the phase is coherent) I promise that sound outside the speakers is redefined (pun intended). In theory stereo -- Greek for solid, meaning 2C3D, two channels yielding three dimensions  -- should achieve this as set out in the patents of Alan Blumlein, but how often do you hear this amazing phenomenon? MP3 people need not apply.

Silver Discs, Scotstream, Blue Teeth and Back in the Black

The people who brought you the trailbazing Sondek LP12 turntable in 1972 remain at technology’s cutting edge. Combining Scottish engineering and progressive outlook, LINN bring to the party its impressive record label, meaning a wealth of music, jazz, rock and classics. (Some of our older readers may remember that music was the killer app for sound reproduction) …. More

ARTORA

No controls, no cables, no compromise seems impossible
Copenhagen Design Laboratories, well-known for the highly collectible Primare 900 and 200 series, then Bow Technologies (including some amazing forthcoming products)  have been working on a truly revolutionary future range to be sold under the ARTORA brand.

TEAC ESOTERIC

All technologies converge with the aristocratic Esoteric Division of TEAC which has ventured with huge success into releasing classical hybrid CD/SACD discs, each of which rapidly become collectible as they are licensed single runs. Of course they are remastered with Esoteric’s technology.

From around May 2009 Esoteric DACs will reveal the purpose of their expansion slot: the provisions of USB and Bluetooth connectivity. Meanwhile those of us who have grown from hate to love of CDs (because they evolved into true Hi-Fi sound with an astonishing and economic legacy of recorded music) may prefer the single-chassis CD/SACD players. The newish X-05 at £3500, the second generation X-03se and X-01-DS (£5995 and £10,995 respectively) buy a life membership of the audiophile club in Heaven.

Of all the media, I confess that now I love CD the best. I would never have believed it. Sure, I have a vinyl collection to die for, and it sounds better than CD, but the balance of convenience, economy, collectability, and recorded heritage impresses me. Sound quality? Both the discs and the players have evolved into very serious music carriers: remastering from a Bob Ludwig issue to an Abbey Road have transformed the silver disc while SACD enhances it further.

Within days of its launch in Britain I was able to confirm the beauty and innovation which has won acclaim in Japan because it has redefined a slightly tired genre. There are many power amplifiers, but this is a £17,500 model which is sells for £7,500. In other words, don’t overlook it if you are upgrading from something much more expensive. More…

With typical honesty Esoteric advised me to put my hands back in my pocket when I wanted to order two A-03 to secure the authority and soundstage you get from monoblocks in general and bridged Class-A amps in general. They were right, although I still wonder… Fifty watts from the A-03 generates the most open, effortless soundstage combining fast transients and bass slam with natural, mellow, fully-fleshed sound as only Class-A can do.

Right from the carton, Esoteric has applied the insightful intelligence of a critical audiophile. Maybe they employed the lady from the Toyota advert? The inner carton actually dismantles around the amplifier so you don’t break your back. And then the looks, the fit’n’finish are way beyond the impression of photographs. Have you ever seen heat sinks machined to be organic ribbed dissipators of heat? And then we have the eco-friendly alternative to standby in a warm up button.

LEDs are not crude bulbs but halos surrounding buttons; and they do not toggle colours, they fade to indicate status; nothing so crude, either, as a click or a pop upon switching.

But all these refinements pale into insignificance as you begin after 30 minutes to appreciate the intelligence and effort which has resulted in a blending of art and emotion with electronics and engineering.

The A-03 is a masterpiece which reviewers should compare to amplifiers at any price point. I don’t think you will find an amplifier better made. Sound, as always, depends on system synergy and personal taste. I suspect that Mr Ohmachi has played a major role here therefore we get a product of profound experience and craftsmanship.

High-End Audio has become an obscene and materialist pursuit. Esoteric pursue great music as a cultural asset and a heritage. If you can tell the difference, the A-03 is the amplifier to aspire to owning. Ideal lead to discuss the Esoteric series of sacd discs then move on to Esoteric’s partners, Tannoy, if you understand the value of system synergy.

Esoteric 03 series

The -03 series began with P-03 transport and D-03 DAC. Now the purpose of the open architecture becomes clear. From May 2009 you can add USB and Bluetooth (wireless) connectivity.

The C-03 pre-amp continued the high expectations but at a price (UK £5,995) considerably lower than anticipated. Around May 2009 we expect the phono pre-amp E-03 around £3,995.

Esoteric Triumphs with Decca Masters

It might be described as self-indulgence or as trying to reconnect audiophiles with the purpose of the Hi-Fi industry. However, Esoteric’s President began the Esoteric label in Japan with an issue of the complete Bruckner symphonies in Gunther Wand’s best recordings, made for RCA. I am very fortunate to own one of these sets, no longer in print. Next came Beethoven symphonies and then the first single disc, Beethoven Overtures.

By then, word was getting out although the hybrid CD/SACD’s are sold by Esoteric Dealers only and only in Japan for the first month of issue. Next the came three recordings from the golden age of Decca’s stunning recordings.

Retaining the Dual concentric principle, new drivers and crossovers were customised to the cabinets organically as form followed, er, fashion! And I’m sure a new sound presentation was also defined from the outset because the Definition are characteristically Tannoys, for sure, there is plenty of the fully-fleshed, fast detail of monitors in contrast to the rather sterile but practical studio tools in the BBC tradition.

Although the Definition series is arguably lifestyle, my perception is that they are like an F1 car. Not fit for the road! OK, what I mean is that they don’t fit beginners nor reward lazy people. Plug’n’play may lead to disappointment because the Definition is a wholly new plateau of transparency. A little care with components and cables plus a good programme source and I really almost fell off my chair. They are that good. Some recordings are so remarkable as to produce a 3D sound, rather than just depth and sound outside the boxes.

Coming Next:

Ayre Acoustics will upgrade UK CD players to PM filters commencing May 2009 for around £200. The C5 universal player becomes more of a bargain with no dollar price increase.

JPS Labs: some of our customers’ kind comments. More than any other audio cable this one does what it says on the tin, but don’t believe us!

“In reality the passive cables are more important to the sound than the active components in a music system.”