System #3: Marten Coltrane, Lamm ML2.1, Jorma Prime, HRS MXR

The System: Marten Coltrane speakers, Lamm ML2.1 amplifiers, Jorma Prime speaker cable, HRS MXR equipment rack. Also Lamm L2 preamplifier, Audio Note CDT-Two and DAC 4.1x Balanced. Nordost and Shunyata cabling.

We mentioned how amazing this was sounding in our review of the Jorma ‘Prime’ interconnects.

What does does amazing mean?

Here is what amazing means:

The Coltrane speakers are so freakin revealing… The Jorma Prime cables are slightly more forward than their No. 1 and even the Valhalla, and this new effect was already taking hold. Now, with HRS’s MXR rack [we set it up yesterday, much more on this later :-)] in place of the Acoustic Dreams, the system sound is even more ‘present’.

We kind of take it for a given that the Coltrane speakers are a little laid back – given the highest quality, completely neutral components up front. But maybe not…

Witb these two new, admittedly over the top, additions to the system… the sound is much more of a engulfing, in the room type of experience.

Our good Canadian friend, Dave H., [you there Dave? Missed you in Monteal] used to talk about how he wanted the sound to come to him, to not have to focus on listening to what was being played, to have the sound ‘take control’ [my words] as it were.

The system was already subtley sinister in the way it would sneak up on a person and make one stop mid sentence, whether one wanted to or not, as the music Took Control.

But now, …

It is hard to move, much more hard to get up.

It is like ‘if I miss this next note, my life will have been worthless and empty’… ‘I must hear this next note!’

I think this house is going to be much more quiet now… because if we start playing any music, we aren’t going to get ANYTHING done.

[Though I am much more disclipined than Neli, and this system is on the same floor as her office. She, she is doomed. So if you can’t get her on the tele as easily as you could before today, you’ll know exactly why!]

And the new Audio Note CDT-Three transport just arrived. We are doomed! 🙂 🙂 🙂

Audio Federation and Harmonic Resolution Systems now offer the HRS Performance Guarantee Program

HRS M3 Isolation Base outside on a sunny day.

In order to better serve audiophiles who are interested in HRS products and who may not have a local dealer, Audio Federation, in partnership with and under the aegis of HRS, now offers a 20 day trial period for Harmonic Resolution Systems products.

Under this factory-authorized performance guarantee program, HRS products can be purchased from Audio Federation and auditioned in your system for 20 days. This allows you to experience the significant improvements these products will make in your system and provides you with a money back performance guarantee.

HRS is the only vibration control product that we have tried that not only consistantly improves the quality of the system it is in by a signifiacant amount, but also does not have the unpleasant side effects that, to our ears, the other vibration control products seem to have.

The offer is only available in the U.S. at this time.

If interested, here are the details about the joint Audio Federation – HRS Performance Guarantee Program.

AUDIO AERO PRESTIGE NOW UP ON HRS 'NIMBUS' FEET

Before we get to the comparisons…

We put the Prestige up on the HRS Nimbus ”feet’ which helped dial in the Prestige as it was sitting on the HRS M3 Isolation Base.

Audio Aero Prestige up on Nibuses
Here is the Prestige up with the 3 black diamond racing cones that come with the Prestige as their standard feet lying in front of the Prestige.

Audio Aero Prestige up on Nibuses
More pictures of the Prestige and the HRS Nimbuses, which in this picture were put under the place where the Black Diamond Racing cones usually go, abd you can see that the screws that stick out and screw into the cones are now sticking into the Nimbuses.

We changed this in the current configuration to put the Nimbuses in a configuration so that they would not get stuck… But we haven’t done a sonic comparison to determine any differences besides the aesthetic.

Audio Aero Prestige up on Nibuses

Audio Aero Prestige up on Nibuses

Audio Note Kegons also up on Nibuses
The Audio Note Kegons are also up on Nimbuses…

Audio Areo Prestige panel left side
Just an FYI, here are the controls on the left side control panel of the Prestige

Audio Areo Prestige panel right side
And on the right side…

Sonically, this improved the clarity, lowered the noise floor tremendously, and made the Prestige competitive with the Meitner, albeit with an entirely different sonic flavor. More on the comparison next, and as we moved the Prestige downstairs in preperation for the weekend’s (and Monday’s (today)) guests, replacing the Audio Aero Capitole with the Prestige in the SoundLab U1 / EDGE system, we can now also report at some length on the differences we hear between the Capitole and the Prestige.