As you can sort of see, we have the Emm Labs CDSA player going into the Lamm L2 (Lamm L2 power supply is on left, L2 linestage in center), and from there into the Marten active corssover and into the Edge Signature One amps.

This is a pretty good sound. We haven’t heard it enough to really understand it yet (busy here on the phones, etc.). One thing is obvious, these speakers will love as much as you can give them: resolution, micro-dynamics, harmonics, …

We Are Unworthy! [anybody else like Wayne’s World? Anybody? Bueller?]

OK, downstairs we have the Audio Note CDT3 transport into the Audio Note DAC 4.1x Balanced DAC into the Audio Note Ongaku integrated amplifier into the Kharma Mini Exquisites.

The cables here are interesting: we have regular Valhalla RCA interconnect for the digital cable, Audio Note SOTTO interconnect and Jorma Design No. 1 speaker cable. The SOTTO only has about 12 hours on it [but our Nordost Vidar cable burner should be back soon from the factory – it was happily burning cables in when the lightning struck].

The midrange makes me want to cry. It is so involving. [Now THAT is something I am too much of a boy to say out loud, but I feel I can say it in writing. Alan Alda may have made it OKAY for men to cry – remember that anyone? Bueller? – but just about important things. Not about how beautiful music can be. That, that, if someone comes into the room, I have to kind of look away and think about the economy or something. Tears dry right up. Though the economy is getting to the point where I might start crying harder… $1.46 per Euro]

[… previously on Audio Federation…]

[… as we return to our story…]

🙂

The Kharma Mini Exquisite speakers [the Lamm ML2.1 amps are out on audition]. At reasonable volumes, this combo is SO seductive.

Sometime we should all have a sit down and talk about what is a reasonable volume. This is probably the area of most divergence among audiophiles, by which I mean some people like it always around 80 – 85 dB and some like it always around 110 dB, and lots like it in between these SPLs. This is a WIDE range, and a system optimized for one level may not necessarily do so great at the other extreme.

The equipment driving the Lamm ML2.1s [The Walker has been moved so that work can be done on the light switches that melted during the lightning strike]

The room from the Kharma’s eye view. Those are the soundlabs in the back there and the red leather command chair in the front.

The equipment driving the Ultimate Soundlabs. Neli set up three digital on this systems: Audio Note, Emm Labs, and Audio Aero for people who want to do a digital player taste test. It is somewhat compromised, everything running through the Audio Aero Capitole CD Player’s built-in preamp, but it does help people understand the CHARACTER of the different player’s sounds.

And the main system upstairs. Still not positioned 100%, as Neli annoyingly reminds me. We just need to play a few dozen records and start the speaker positioning rumba: play, listen, move, listen, move, play something else, repeat.

The 3rd listening room is still a mess: Adagios, our RMAF Audio Note system and rack, trade-in Nolas, DeHavilans, cables galore,…. it is a very expensive Mess.