One of the highlights of RMAF 2007 was encountering Lou Hinkley's Daedalus Audio Ulysses loudspeakers ($8800/pair) in the ART Audio room. Here, paired with Gill Audio Designs Alana preamp ($5000) and Elise DAC ($6000), an Ensemble transport, Clayton M-200 power amps ($9500/pair), and relatively inexpensive Empirical Design cabling, the system was arresting in its transparency and three-dimensionality.
Equal credit, I feel, should go to Ben Piazza's amazing Shakti Hallographic Soundfield Optimizers and Shakti Stones, which respectively tamed the room and conquered EMI. (John Atkinson may be skeptical, but I use the Hallographs at home, and they work wonders, especially how they help clarify the midrange in very large, minimally treated listening area). On the first track of Marta Gomez's superbly recorded Chesky CD,
Entre Cada Palabra, the clarity of percussion and woodwinds, and the soft beauty of the singing, were exemplary.
As I was leaving Jack Bybee had brought in a pair of his latest Quantum Noise Purifiers, which further highlighted detail and did wonders on the highs—Ben Piazza (left) Lou Hinkley of Daedalus (right), and Jack Bybee feel their products work extremely well together!
