The sound in this room blew me away. When I walked in, Dr. John's "In a Sentimental Mood" was sounding as lovely and mellow as can be. Switching gears 180°, Reference Recordings' LP issue of Stravinsky's
Firebird had absolutely amazing bass. "Amazing," I wrote twice in my notes.
Then I learned that the system—Lowther America Field-Coil EXR open-baffle loudspeaker (estimated cost $15,000/pair), First Watt J2 amplifiers ($3595/each), First Watt B5 electronic crossover ($1600), Pass Labs XP20 preamp ($8600), a computer-based digital front end using Foobar and other software, and the Falibier Design Gavia-I turntable ($8750) with Schröder Reference tonearm ($5700) and Myabi phono cartridge—has bass that descends down to at least 16Hz. No wonder it was able to fill a 25'
x 40' room at a recent demo for the Chicago Audio Society..
True, the sound in the small hotel room was a little harsh on just a few passages. (Harsh highs were a commonly encountered problem in these standard-size rooms). Regardless, Satchmo sounded so incredible that I was smitten. Smitten, I tell you, smitten.
