22 Sep 2012: Konstantinos Daras

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The meeting at the home of this old member of aca was the first after the summer holidays, and I would say that it fitted perfectly with the country character of his home!

The system...

The audio room is on the ground floor; a simple space of about 60.00 sq.m, it includes a small collection of vintage audio equipment, basic furniture and the main audio system, which consists of the following :

Speakers: Magneplanar 2,7
Power Amp: Gamut: D200 MK III
Preamplifier: Magnum
Digital front: Rotel 965 BX
Analogue: Voyd Valdi-cartridge: Benz mc 20
Cables: Made by the owner who used silver conductors regarding all the interconects and power cables, while the basic speaker conductor is ofc copper.

The listening...

The system 'opened' with Cassandra Wilson Live and immediately I was blown away by the picture, the flow and the relative immediacy of the concert. My first contact with magnepan, under controlled conditions, was 4 years ago. The system consisted of top Gryphon and 3.6 magnepans. The result was outstanding with the only restriction being the 'absolute' center required for the listening position, and its limitation at very high volumes which put a strain on the ribbon fuses.

We now come to the 2.7; I must make it clear that I didn’t expect to hear the same things from the 2.7 as they are smaller speakers.

Indeed, as was evident subsequently when listening to the bass bow together with the pipe organ by Garry Karr + Ηarmon Lewis, the lack of very low frequencies was clear.

Nevertheless, the overall presentation of the music was realistic. Airy highs frequencies clearly highlighting the virtues of the silver conductors, live mids, and fast drum sets piqued my interest.
The famous Carmina Burana sounded pleasant, covering the large choral ensemble.

After this, the turntable kept us company with rock music.

Generally, one could say that the system could be enhanced with upgraded sources, while perfecting the room’s acoustics is in the immediate plans of Kostas.