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By Max Goodman First meeting of the year and what a way to kick things off! One of the better recent meetings with a large crowd, great food (Loukia did us all proud again!!!), the pita cutting, did I mention the food, great music (finally a fellow classical / opera fan) and a seriously improved system performance from the last visit. The sessionAs it happens that CD player produces as analogue a sound as any I have experienced so maybe the gains wouldn't be that much after all. Of course the choice of recordings would be larger and Barbara Hendricks is good but no Callas!!! Audiophile's destinationWhen we later listened to the Radetsky March (Strauss) these problems were not apparent (although this CD had the least analogue sound of the bunch and suffered as a result). Herein, of course, is a problem for the group. Our test recordings that tend to be used to fully assess a system's performance are on vinyl (Scheherezade / Rimsky-Korsakoffetc.). With only a CD player to hand such tests are not possible and we end up dealing with unknown quality recordings on which to base assessments. Overall this is a musical system (source CD permitting). It was never harsh nor strained and coped with relatively arduous classical music with aplomb. There is some question over the performance with Rock as the DOORS appeared to lack energy. Again, we face the problem of the recording – especially with the DOORS where the recording quality was never great. As this was really the only rock recording any conclusion would have to be taken with a pinch of salt. One major change to the system since the last visit has been the introduction of a large Velodyne Sub-woofer. When it did come in integration was not seamless. There are a combination of factors at play here which were discussed during the meeting but the positioning is most definitely wrong for music (probably great for HT though). I think there is a fair amount of play to look forward to in order to get more out of this unit. The possible results are hard to predict – I am working on a "might work" basis right now. ResultsIn terms of the sonic aspects of the system the following struck me: I have to say that these Rehdeko speakers are growing on me and that has to be a good indication of the improvement. Certainly with their high sensitivity and 150 watts from the VTL they don't lack for punch. What was interesting was the split in opinions over triode mode. I preferred it (75 watts is hardly 300B territory) but others didn't. As ever it is swings and roundabouts with changes. Clarity improved – image size diminished. Me... I'd go for the clarity, even with the reduction of image the system was credible. George, I promise to come round sometime soon and nail the sub thing. Lots of play ahead... If we get it right, then we will be able to raise the X-over point a bit and you might be able to hear it in more recordings (or sense it rather than hear it – ideally...) Music Program Highlights
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