DISTINCTIVE STEREO
The little HEED Elixir was the amplification at the center of this rather compact system and given its very moderate price tag, it was providing truly wonderful music through the VPI Forever Turntable.
ROBYATT AUDIO
As I stepped into the room and even before I sat down, it was easy to understand that this was a very transparent system with quite good detail, that was also dynamically astute.
THE AUDIO COMPANY: ACORA & VAC
My notes reflect the sound via the little MRB’s as “alive and energetic, transparent, detailed, though smooth, as only tubes can truly do”. Joe Morello’s drum kit on “Take Five”(Time Out, Columbia) was alive, in a sea of air, as any musician would be in real life, and resplendent.
MACO & GESHELLI labs
Given the ‘newness’ of the various components of the MACO-GESHELLI system, having just made it to the market, the sound that this system ‘sung’ into the room was outstanding! I sat mesmerized by this system…
GESHELLI LABS
That thought was immediately answered, when I sat to listen to the GESHELLI preamp and its Z Monoblocks. I was greeted by a beautifully tactile, rich, transparent, deep, and wide soundstage. Together, they provided for a truly immersive listening experience…
AIR-TIGHT BERGMAN
Nonetheless, the music from the combo, as spun from the Bergmann turntable, the Air-Tight components, and the YG Speakers was exceptional and rather beguiling. I sat for a long while just taking in the music as the various albums spun round.
BORDER PATROL
I should let it be known, that I own the BorderPatrol SE-i DAC with the USB and SPDIF inputs and it is one of my most favorite DACs. It absolutely has that ‘old school’ analog-like voice that makes listening to music, well, rather beautiful and it is also very transparent and detailed.
MYTEK AUDIO
If this room were a fairytale it would be The Giant and the Dwarf. The giant, of course, being the SOUNDLAB speakers and the dwarf the various Mytek components. Interestingly, the SOUNDLABS Majestic speakers were capable of incredible subtlety and grace. And there was an ease with the Mytek components that was very reminiscent of analog with wonderful texture and nuance and it was all quite musical.
TRUITT PHYSICS
This was another big room that had tamed all of the gremlins of big rooms for truly exceptional sound in, yes, another aesthetically well put together room. The various pieces of equipment went a very long way to making this so.
AUDIENCE & ATMA-SPHERE
Well, two thirds of this system—Atma-Sphere MP-3 Preamplifier and the Atma-Sphere Class D Monoblocks—are current up in Casa Heartsong undergoing a review, though they are attached to a decidedly different source and speakers.
SYNERGISTIC RESEARCH
It was a rather incredible demonstration showing how the music went from good to great to outstanding! One of the pieces of music—Eiji Oue’s Copeland: Fanfare for the Common Man—I am very familiar with or so I thought.
GESTALT: CINNAMON, WOLF VON LANGA, TRAFORMATIC
Well, looking good is one thing, sounding good is the other. And this Cinnamon (love the name), Traformatic, Wolf von Langa system was making incredibly beautiful music. Image specificity was outstanding and despite the size of the Wolf von Langa SERENDIPITY speakers
ALMA BOENICKE
To simply walk in and see the system one would believe that there was nothing here to be heard or seen. And then when the music begins you quickly realize how much there actually is here to be both seen and heard and it is Impressive.
VINYL SOUND USA
Let me not beat around the bush—waste time on worthless banter—this was, clearly, one of the Best Rooms of the show. There were a lot of very good rooms at the Capitol Audio Fest (CAF) but this room stayed with you. And there was only one other room that would rise as high as this Vinyl Sounds room.
