Western Electric 124 Langevin 102 LS3/5A

 

Click pics to enlarge. WE124B on the floor. Micromega Stage 2 CDP and Yamamoto CA-04 Preamp on the upper shelf. On top, from L, Aurora Vida with Cinemag 3440A on top, Fosgate Signature, Sparkler CDP (unused) and Elekit TU-8300 (unused).

Letter from NYC (23-12): Labor Day Weekend+, Part III (Monday), Chez Andy et Moi

Written in Shenzhen

(continued from Part II (Sunday)) I'm not sure how this came about. Western Electric must have been mentioned at some point in Andy's now much expanded (and very busy) Wechat group. In any case, I was the only one with some WE stuff, and the crowd wanted to hear them.

In Preparation and My Perspective You can imagine I had a busy morning. As it was going to be quite a few people, it had to be in the LR, where I had my LS3/5A system. The WE124 monoblocks had lied dormant for several years. It was not too much trouble getting them into the LR. I hooked them up to the Yamamoto CA-04 Preamp and they gradually came to life. Familiar and intimate sound that is very different from the 300B I had been listening to (and which Sam heard in Part II). In a small way, as the Yamamoto now has a pair of tiny WE 403A inside, it is a "full" WE system, LOL! Well, the 124s have all Sylvania tubes (6J7s and 6L6GAs) though, very importantly, the rectifiers are now WE274B! My WE friends may snicker, but I think it still delivers a reasonable fascimile of the WE sound. You may ask, what's the difference between the 300B amp and the WE124? The WE obviously has a fuller sound and is more powerful. Its air is smoother than 300B but some may like the more overt sound of the 300B. Most importantly, the WE has more of a subtle rhythmic savvy that befits all music. Also, I had actually taken out the WE106 but somehow I could find only one 274A and so had to drop it this time.

My HK taskmaster icefox (@E) again enslaved me, this time via remote! He all of a sudden mentioned the Langevin 102 in the Wechat group. He had heard it to great effect in HK apparently. So it took me quite a while to extricate this heavy beast from my dedicated horn room. It had not been used for a long time too. My unit uses no WE tubes. I swapped out the Yamamoto and the sound was a little congested at first. It opened up a bit gradually but was not as transparent as I had remembered and wrote about. I just let it run.

Chez Andy Just before noon, I walked all the way to Andy's place in Auburndale. This had actually been planned the previous week, before all the recent madness descended upon us. As usual, we casually listened to some records on Andy's mellow Altec A5 (if you search the blog [upper left corner] for "Andy + A5" you shall find lots of piecemeal bits I wrote. To sample, perhaps this and this to start? Andy prepared Beef Noodle Soup, his specialty, and we drank and ate. One funny thing is Andy opined that no wine ever can pair with the noodle soup. I'm rather less picky. I particularly enjoyed a Nono/Berio record; somehow the European Avant-garde (old guard by now), whom I favor, deliver a narrative (unlike much modern music) that sounds particularly good on horns.

 

About 2 hours later, the crowd descended upon Andy's. Philip, who had dim sum before, came with Johnny. MJ arrived around the same time, separately. They much enjoyed the A5 for a while. Somehow, we found out Johnny had not eaten lunch yet and Andy's Beef Noodle Soup saved the day for him. One recurrent theme during our meets is Bossa Nova. The laid back style is particularly suitable for horns. So a bit of Gilberto was played wherever we went.  Then we all squeezed into into MJ's car and headed for my place.

Chez Moi I had bagged up all Andy's wines, which we continued to enjoy at my place. Kevin joined us later. I used my Micromega Stage 2 almost exclusively. We played a lot of CDs. The system sounded good but something was missing. I swapped out the Langevin and back went the Yamamoto. All the air and soundstage came back. I reckon I need to re-run in the Langevin for quite a while. Next time maybe. I also demo'ed the el-cheapo but excellent 16 bit TDA1543 Magnavox, which is so different from the 1-bit Micromega. As Phil's CDP had gone south, I lent it to him to play CDs. Meanwhile, the horn room was active. A couple of people went in and I played a couple of tracks. I could not man 2 rooms and it was under-utilized. I also took out and played my Sonus faber Electa Amator II, which is more powerful and quite different from the LS3/5A.

The big question is: did they get what is the fuss about WE? I'm not sure at all. The small system was certainly not at the rarified level of my 133 in HK (also a different pair of 124 here), all utilizing big Tannoys (like our friends' GRF's). Even in HK, I had friends who failed to grasp what it's all about. The LS3/5A is a small loudspeaker that should be appreciated within its own envelope. But, I maintain, if you listen hard, it can still reflect what the equipment is largely about, in a subtle manner that big loudspeaker users may not be used to (or unable to mentally switch over in an instant). To me, the real distinction of WE is very subtle, an extra tug here or there, an accent that one never notices before, and a breathing whole. I'd think on the day I ended up likely demonstrating what an LS3/5A system can achieve more than what WE sounds like. It's like the effect of the WE274 rectifier (the real one, like what I used, not replica), which does not shout at you but instead persuades. I'd say the air and refinement of the system was excellent. It was also a demonstration of what near-field placement can achieve. I note that few of our friends employ near-field placement, and that is an important divide. For myself, I try my best not to have the loudspeakers against the front wall, as in-room confers a much wider soundstage and ambience (or venue and hall sound). Music is not just about texture and impact, though these are important. Next time, whenever that is, I shall try to have a larger pair of loudspeakers in my LR (maybe my Martin Logan Source). Or maybe I shall take my WE to their large systems!

Nice Coasters from Taiwan! Chez Andy