Now that the WE Amp has been revamped by Ray and soon shall be back to the owner, I would definitely not let go of a chance to hear it with the JBL L300 and Philips LHH2000. Both classic gears (though not quite in the class of WE IMO).
Last time, I felt that I only got a glimpse of what the WE can achieve, not its full potential. This time, I was able to hear different types of music, from classical music with demanding and complicated passages to vocal oriented stuff.
At the same time, Ray brought his Pure Class A Mono Amps for comparison, and it was nice to have a benchmark to compare, to see if Ray's amps are really of high quality.
WE finally showed its true colours, handling complicated passages with ease. The sound extended beyond the walls and filled the space all the way up to the ceiling - tons of air! Dynamics were respectable and it fully recreated the huge soundstage without strain and grain. Just loved what I heard as the tubes added magic to the music. The whole system produced a complete sound which was a joy to hear. At ease, yet dynamic!
Substituting the Ray Amps, the sound took a different path: more impactful, upfront and extremely fast transients!
I brought the K16 cheapo BT device and tried it out. Since K16 has very low gain, sound from WE was lifeless. But with Ray's amp, sound came to life and was respectable, dynamic, musical and enjoyable. Though the owner said its SQ was poor, I would slightly disagree with him as I thought it to be very listenable. For this price, no complain at all~
My music selection:
Introducing a budding new star from China: Curley Gao, aka Curley, Xilin or Curley G. She has got a husky and smoky voice that is very charismatic and somehow addictive, if you dig this kind of voice. In this video, she's singing along with some classic legendary singers. Although Joey trumped her in just sheer presence and voice control (as well as Zhang's usual "killing you softly" love song) Curley did not shy away at all and sang her heart out! I believe in time, she can transform into a superstar!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0gmh_PYcwE
This one shocks and wows the judges with her own sweetest take on the song from Kit Chan
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ld8aaSWAnmc
Her take on Lucas' Someone you loved is of US recording artist's standard! Belt it out Xilin!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=F0sdSKEafao
Misha & Martha combo playing live, equals a great treat!!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oHKBE9-fypM&t=2740s
To wrap up, some food photos FYEO
Posts
Soundstage expanse is very important for some listeners, including me. Realism, or audio illusion, has a lot do with it. I'm curious about height, it seems very remarkable from your comment, possibly adding to the sense of openness and leading to more immersive experience. It's all very interesting.
ReplyDeleteGreat to see the Burgundy reds too. Sacred juice!
Holographic soundstage is important but must not sacrifice musicality which is no. 1 on my checklist! Experience is awesome but unfortunately the whole system was packed and set off to UK
ReplyDeleteI'm a Burg person liking their elegance fragrance, finesse, yet with passion and balance! Like listening to music!
Wine and music are two great pleasures of life. Appreciation of both requires a special interplay of memory and perception that maybe explains why many audiophiles also like fine wine. I'm really split in two having been an audiophile on and off (now totally on) for almost 34 years and being also a wine lover and amateur sommelier with a formal education in wine tasting. Burgundy is the triumph of elegance in wine and also the Eldorado of my generation of wine lovers, unfortunately prices have gone way up but it's still possible to find reasonably priced gems. Last year I especially liked Albert Bichot's Coteaux Bourguignons: it's a humble "passetoutgrain" but very very enjoyable and doesn't break the bank. And Domaine de Montille's Bourgogne rouge, much more expensive but still reasonably priced (for Burgundy!) and such a finesse... I also enjoyed a nice little movie, Back to Burgundy (Ce qui nous lie) by Cédric Klapisch. A simple story of a new generation of wine makers, but it quite captures the burgundian spirit of the vigneron and the local wine aesthetics.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you are Burg lover too. Though not as knowledgeable as you, my passion for Burgundy never cease. Yes, we always lament and brag about good ole days where we can fetch a Savigny Narbonton from Leroy for less than 130usd or a village Vosne from Grivot for 30usd as well as Gevrey from Rousseau. Btw Bichot wines are nice. I had bought some of their Malconsort for only 65usd and is really nice.
ReplyDeleteBut even as of now, there are some gems at cheap if u look closely! My budget is between 25 to 50 usd for normal drinking since I don't drink as often. However Bourgogne from AH Noellat at 13 to 20usd is a steal! Recently bought a case of Gevrey Chambertin, Aurelian Verdot at only 25usd and a Charmes from Camus for less than 50usd which both are crazily delicious. Agree that cru wines are getting very very expensive!
Btw, I just recd some Le Banc by PYCM bought from EP AT 35USD ea😁, in 2 years time, price almost doubled....
Anyhow, I will search for that movie, thanks!
Writing in this blog is a new thing for me and am glad Dr J has invited me to. But I hv been writing about wines on blog since 04, stopped a few years though since the closing of Yahoo blog
Currently music listening and photography are my main hobbies where you can visit my IG @ericlovesfuji for pure photo sharing!
Cheers!
I will check out the photos for sure! I'm not sure I know Burgundy better than you, reading your comment I think it is more likely the opposite, but! Hey! Who does really know Burgundy? Maybe if you live in Beaune... So many small producers... it's a crazy region, but when it's good, it's good. There is a natural wine festival in Italy, where I had the pleasure to taste Prieuré Roch for free... and I did purchase a bottle of Prieure-Roch 1C (from Nuits Saint George if I remember correctly) that was still *somehow* affordable. Now we have to look for unknown producers or for some minor bottling from big negociants. Democracy and free market have taken us this far, ha ha! In my homeland, Tuscany, we are at the beginning of a process that became so long ago in Bordeaux and Burgundy. Prices of Brunello di Montalcino have been almost doubling every year, and Chianti Classico Gran Selezione is following. But what can we do? We can't keep pleasure secret forever. Information is flowing. The best terroirs on earth have that much surface for vines, and that's all. The trick is to increase your income at the same pace of fine wine prices. Too bad I haven't been succeeding in this. LOL. But today it is still possible to afford "something". EG I am tasting Louis Jadot's Givry now, while writing. Definitely not bad, with raspberry and spice. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteBnM, Chianti, and Barolo, Barbersco are my fav wines, also Amarones, esp those from DalForno and Quintarelli's. I still think the price is still within reasonable though, unlike many sought after Burgs...
ReplyDeleteYou definitely have good taste in wine. Dal Forno and Quintarelli are the superstars of Veneto reds, but their Amarones are very expensive. Probably worth the money for the passionate, but we're talking 200-300 euros at least for a bottle, even here in Italy. I tried some Quintarelli "lesser" wine years ago, don't remember the name, but it was still amazing, so worth trying. If I can recommend you a couple of Tuscan wines, try Chianti Classico Caparsa and BdM Il Marroneto. Also Stella di Campalto in Montalcino.
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