DigitalAudioReview.net.au

Alistair

• Source: Analogue- VPI TNT Junior with 9" memorial tone arm feeding a Tom Evans Audio Design Micro Groove plus X; digital - Audio Aero Prestige Reference CDP, signature edition.
• Amplification: Tom Evans Audio Design Vibe preamp with Pulse power supply and Tom Evans Audio Design Linear A power amp, which runs 8x EL84 tubes.
• Loudspeakers: Proac Response 3s, rewired internally with Audioquest Dragon pure silver cable.

The amps. They are incredibly quiet - the music just seems to come up at you out of a vacuum. Yet they also have stunningly good control - you wouldn't believe they were 25wpc.  One experienced audiophile who heard them said they were incredible for their control and then asked if I'd every thought of trying a valve amp with the Proacs! The amps are far in front of the speakers.  Overall, the system has been heavily designed around reproducing female vocals, woodwind, strings and percussion instruments up to as large as a drum kit. It does this incredibly well, and is very satisfying for just about all jazz and rock 'n roll. It doesn't quite do the "full orchestra" sound the way some previous systems I've run have. However, it's transparent and relaxed and I can listen to it for hours, and hours, and hours on end. It's also survived heavy attention from a couple of toddlers, which some valve amps I've previously owned wouldn't have.

Any plans to upgrade? 
Always. Next up is definitely either room treatments or a new room though. I've had the room acoustically tested and there are some nasties there, and having them corrected will make more difference to the sound than any equipment change I could afford to make.

Are you a cable believer or a cable skeptic?
Believer. I'm running pure silver the whole way through. I paid a 5 figure sum for my cables... second hand. Once your equipment hits a certain resolution cables become one of your most important components.

Do you have a first "hi-fi memory".  If so, what is it?
Not one memory as such. My Dad is a committed audiophile so I grew up with music. He had a pair of AR91 speakers and a NAD3040 amp and I grew up pounding them.  They were awesome! Indeed, Dad gave the amp to me for my 21st birthday, along with a pair of Wharfedale Diamond 6R speakers, which I loved (and still have).

What have you been listening to lately?
I've been so busy, not as much as I'd like on the main system. More listening gets done at work nowadays! When I do it's usually to music that just winds me down. Holly Cole, Jennifer Warnes etc. I've been giving Angus & Julia Stone's, Down the Way a pounding too - I love that album more and more as I keep listening to it.

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