I debated for a long time whether or not to write this review for two reasons: 1. This speaker has "good buzz" and I wondered if mine would be the lone voice in the forest of opinions. This dichotomy would be ongoing proof that YMMV.
Point. Counterpoint. This was a difficult review to kick off, not because these interconnect cables are hard to describe, but because any component review needs to place the item in some sort of context.
It was a sad day when we heard that Dennis Had, founder and guiding light of Cary Audio, was retiring. Under his leadership, business acumen and engineering genius, Cary Audio became one of the most successful producers of audio equipment. Several Cary Audio products, both tube and solid state, have been reviewed here on 10 Audio, and this writer purchased many of the review samples.
Let’s ignore the bass for a few minutes and talk about the midrange. The midrange is the most critical band of sound because this is where most of our music lives and breathes. Middle C is 262 Hertz, which is not very high above the bass. Voices, bass harmonics, and the fundamental notes of almost every instrument are found in the midrange. We can usually live with sound that is missing most of the bass, and often do.
The new Jones Audio PA-M300 monophonic amplifiers finally and definitively make obsolete the idea that solid-state sound cannot be as pleasing and involving as tube sound. The aural distinctions between the two technologies have been fading over the years as parts quality and design experience has advanced, but each type of amplifying device has been easy to identify with a short audition. No longer.
The Koetsu Jade Platinum moving coil phono cartridge has always been a dream component for me. For many years, I would look at ads that offered the cartridge and pay particular attention to newsgroup threads that mentioned it. I have owned all of the non-platinum Koetsu cartridges, from the Black to Urushi Tsugaru (see Reviews here on 10 Audio).
The name Koetsu has long been held in high regard by audiophiles. Almost mystical attributes have been associated with the name. The buzz surrounding the release of the original Red signaled a new paradigm was available to the audio world.
The first thing one hears from the Teatro is nothing. This cartridge, possibly due to the complex shape of the titanium body, has the quietest backgrounds that this listener has ever not heard.
The VPI Prime is a turntable that looks great, has some very effective technology, and is a well-executed design that simply sounds very good. Very good, indeed.
At this level of performance, it is almost a waste of time to discuss the sound in standard audiophile terms, dissecting the bass, midrange, treble, and soundstage.
I thought about turning the system off and going to bed, but just wanted to hear one more song, and then another. The level of musical satisfaction with the Cary SA-200.2 amplifier is very high.
"Laboratory-grade" means that the component is true to the source. This is a step above "reference-grade", which is simply the current state-of-the-art.
"Possibly the most valuable aspect of live, acoustic music for the evaluating the truthfulness of an audio system is the feeling one often gets of the music's purity, sweetness, dynamics, and transparency. "
