METAMORPHOSIS...My much awaited entry into the deep chamber of music has finally happened. Never before was I so excited to walk down into a specially built bunker that houses incredible things, and I'm NOT talking about going down the Ming Tombs in Beijing.
Immediate sightings after going down the steps of the new lair, we find a 'LAO' painting neatly pasted on the front wall. For those like me who are not into art,
it's the white thing in the middle with 3 lines at the bottom.
(Pardon the picture quality from my P&S as I chose to shoot under low light conditions at higher ISO so much grain is present)
With the black amps and the black speakers aka the IX's:
Right Channel:
Left Channel:
The 'front end' and 'middle end':
Another angle from the right corner pocket:
From the eye-point of the VR9 looking at the listening chair area. (There are actually a lot of chairs):
Final view from the 'left corner pocket':
The descent to the subterranean lair is truly as visually stunning as it is sonically revealing. Where I once subscribed to the theory of 'ugly sights but beautiful sonics' in a listening room, I now completely throw away that thought and reverse myself.
Upon ocular inspection, the buck stopped here. The impact of seeing a listening room cut straight out of the pages on Architectural Digest magazine is awesome indeed. The room treatments are so well incorporated into the interior design of the room that makes me think of the proverbial saying of 'having the cake and eating it too'. It is possible. I have heard our man had the blueprint in his mind long time ago, and with patience and ardent preparation, was able to carve out a room that can be considered a dream room by any audio loving specie.
The work of Mike P. on the room treatment is impressive. I have only seen his works before and heard him talk about room treatment on one occasion and this is the first time for me to hear a professionally designed and calibrated listening room. And I should say it's worth every penny spent. The quietness of the room is a hallmark, and every little thing can be heard. (We were afraid of playing the "Dusk' cut of Amanda McBroom, fearing we might more 17 bells instead of the normal 13).
The music was very lively, which means there was no over-damping nor over-treatment. The Koetsu Jade, which I erstwhile thought was the least bright of the stone family, surprised me with its clarity, definition and separation of instruments which I did not hear in previous installations. Before I thought it was sounding overly romantic. What a difference a room makes. My favorite LPs were played, and Brothers Four's Beatles Songbook came out with beautiful and well fleshed out and warm vocals while Decca's WB La Fille was stupendous in its soundstage, tight in focus and image localization was pinpoint in the sound field. Instruments easily go beyond the boundaries of the speakers with tremendous dynamics to boot. This time, the music can breathe, in a 70 or so square meter space. The entire system which I heard before at the old lair has now metamorphosized into another animal, and it resembles a cheetah - fast, furious, and sleek, yet full of finesse as it goes full throttle.
The digital source is no slouch either. The EERA (how close is that to EERIE?)
sounded fabulous, almost 'analog-ish' to these ears, and the midband has body, and images has good dimensionality. There is absolutely no fatigue listening to CDs after CDs and like most things French, it is 'lovely'.
Time flew so fast before I knew it, I suddenly remember it's time to get out of the North lair and pick up the wifey and the daughter at nearby Virra Mall lest they shop and eat too much.
Thanks for the wonderful session, Jack. First impressions makes the most lasting ones to me, and this certainly will rank high above those I have heard in my audio life. I can only imagine the sound will only improve with more burn in time and rugs installed. Looking forward for the next visit, for sure I will bring then my 'O.W.N.' records which I forgot this time. It would be like walking in the 'Nimbus' clouds. Congrats for a super job on the new lair. I know you're happy and I am happy for you that you achieved what you set to achieve.
P.S.: I am now filled with anxiety at the thought of a future visit to
The Emperor's Palace. I heard mas malaki pa ang kuwarto and even more 'imperial toys'.(Can I count?)
This early, allow to me say 'Hail to the Emperor'.