AR LXT Cello Amati Infinity IRS III B and W Matrix 801

Click pics to enlarge. Top, Infinity IRS III. Icefox in center; our friend wosirsir, who has appeared in this blog many times, on the right. 

Letter from Hong Kong (22-9): Icefox sends Goodies

Addendum 9/30/22: One more pic of Cello brochure added

Our Honorary Consultant in HK, Icefox, graces my wechat with many photos and videos each day. I'd like to re-post everyone here, but it's not possible. Some systems (especially horns) are totally obscure and highly complicated that it'd be hard to report. So, a few periodically.

R, Humphrey's.

Cello Amati/AR LXT

Just a couple of posts ago, M Surdi mentioned, albeit in passing, his days with the AR-LXT. Well, you know what? This part of the post has been in the pipeline for a while, but it's a good time to bring it up! Our old friend Humphrey, whose complicated WE systems are legendary in HK, has been mentioned in this blog several times, but not formally written up by me (my fault). This article though contains a blip on him. Recently, apparently, he brought out the Amati/AR-LXT's and drove them with contemporaneous old Mark Levinson's to great effect, according to Icefox. I had actually listened to one Amati setup here in SZ many years ago, but it was not well executed, and I didn't report on it. Maybe time to seek out the fellow again. I also asked my NYC friend Andy, who went through all that in real time. He said he preferred the AR3 to LXT at the time. Well, it's not something I'm interested in, but I'd love to hear a well set up system of any of them. Also, if you are interested in the differences between the Amati and LXT please Google yourself.

Infinity IRS III

Long term readers would know my fondness for Infinity Line Source loudspeakers, and my many reports on the setups of my NYC friends (Andy's IRS Beta, Mark's IRS Beta, Kevin's RS-1B; there are quite a few more follow ups if you just search Infinity on this blog - top left). A significant thing to know is that all these friends are also horn users. If you think that's coincidence - it is not, because of all designs Horn and Line Source can best reproduce dynamics - read this article which cites Keith Howard's excellent work. This iteration sent by Icefox however is by far the most luxuriously partnered, what with Western Electric amp driving the treble and midrange, and Karan ss amp doing duties for the bass column. According to Icefox, the sound is Holy Moly!

B and W Matrix 801

One of my favorites (I still have the II in HK) and my NYC friend Kevin still has his III.  Most of the recordings for the boomer generation were likely monitored on these. Here's a nice setup with videos. You have no idea how much time it took me to load the 2 videos below! Enjoy!

Below, Cello Amati Brochure, Setup with Cello amps and amid collections that also feature Tannoys.

The Yumcha Diaries 飲茶後記: 14-08-10

The Yumcha Diaries 飲茶後記: 14-08-10

A good breakfast is a good start
Danz and his brother-in-law Sang picked me up early, to return some things to me and to loan me the little known Airtight MSM-1 Bonsai full-range speakers, of which I shall write a review later (it's magnificent! But does it give the Kiso a run for its money? Stay tuned) . Then we went to Sang's place nearby in Yuen Long for breakfast.

Perhaps we all should go audition or buy gears only when we had started our day with a good breakfast. This was what I got (and would not expect less) from Sang. Home (machine) -made bread! It's not the breakfast I'm sure, but Sang's setup has rather dramatically improved to a quite musical degree. The only significant difference from the last visit was the CD transport (visits 1, 2, and 3). He has abandoned his expensive Acuustic Arts CDP for the Sonic Frontier SFD-2 a long time ago, but now he is not even using it as a transport! Now, the old California Audio Lab Delta served very well, much more musical to my ears!

We sampled quite a few CDs over breakfast. I particularly enjoy early music in the morning, and Anne Sophie von Otter's "Lamenti" (DG111) and Musica Antiqua Koln's Bach Brandenburg's (DG) were refined and fluent.

After the great start, we took a ride out to Mongkok. It marked the first time I travelled on the newest bridge in HK, between Tsing Yi and Kwai Chung. The panoramic view of HK is spectacular, but hard to capture in a car, better in a helicopter!.

Old friends, incl Feikeung the Butterfly
The yumcha was full of surprises. As if the pleasant surprise of having Thomson and ilovesonata was not enough, feikeung, aka On9, appeared out of nowhere. As usual, we were totally upstaged by him. He and I talked about the Nagra PLP as headphone amp, but his monster Sennheiser would be a real challenge!

After yumcha only two of the nine people (aside from the inseparable twin Thomson + Frankie) made it to Thomson's place, and that's definitely their lost!

How could I have forgotten the coffee!
Thomson's setup I have visited I think twice before, and it has always been a good-sounding setup, aided by a wonderfully proportioned room. But this time, within the first few CDs played, I knew the sound has been upped a whole notch, and notable for its excellent balance. The setup is "simple" and more or less as before:

Digital: Studer 730
Vinyl: Linn LP12 (full updates I believe), Ekos-Archiva on Andante-Largo stands
Phonoamp: Linn Linto
Preamp +Amp: Cello Suite + Palette + Performance
Speakers; Dynaudio Evidence Master

First came a long CD session, and sound was immediately appealing, balanced across the full spectrum, equally adept at portrayal of intimate chamber music as well as symphonic scores. To name a couple: early Accardo playing small concert pieces was quite a treat, the sound full of rosin and lively; 鬼太鼓 full of special effects. But the CD I enjoyed the most was a track from "Star Wars: Return of the Jedi"; the low brass music was surely a challenge for any system, and this system rendered it with complete tonal accuracy and not a trace of excess.

The LP session that followed was even more delightful. Every strand in Saint Saens' Organ Symphony (EdW/Philips) could be heard, though perhaps the full organ was just a little lean. Michaelangili's Mozart concerto was delightful, the piano sound full and realistic. I asked for a Mercury, and got Dorati's Firebird (original pressing). Not a hair out of place.

We talked about the Cello Performance driving the big Dyna's so successfully. This pair cannot be easier to drive than Wilson speakers, say. I wonder why some people over-kill and use 2 pairs. It's all in the implementation. More is often less.

Thomson has always been a great host. The Italian red was wonderful, a little spicy and with good finish, complimenting the system to a T. We spent almost 3 hours there and I forgot completely about the coffee, and my umbrella left years ago!

As is sometimes the case, feikeung bestowed a gift for me, the Spanish film Alas de mariposa, which I watched in fascination later that evening. The complicated relationship in the family was really touching, and it is a beautiful and sensitive film indeed, from 1991. That's a long time ago! Thank you, feikeung!

Home Visit: JBL 4343

家访: JBL 4343 胆石皆宜？

经唐吉訶德的安排，周一待他下班后就直奔龙岗。 与他朋友亦同事余先生等在肥仔烧鹅吃了便饭。这家连锁店听说很有名，烧鹅还可以，但没能令我忘了锦田聚富轩的味道(可惜已成绝唱); 倒是油鸡和鹅肠都还不错。

这是我第二次到访。JBL 4343 是钢磁的，先前经唐吉訶德的调教由 Marantz 7+9 推得有板有眼，加上余先生令人羡慕的聆听环境，效果比很多香港的 JBL 都好。 留意由于地方大中置用上了一对 L100。当然这一切没能令余先生止痒， 最近又买了一套 Cello。 器材如下：

CD: Revox 126 （有时直出；有时做转盘）; Meridian 588, 562
前后级: Cello Suite + Performance, 还是有 phono 的

刚进去的时候， 声音有点薄，且左右不均， 有点飘忽。 唐吉訶德发力调教了一番； 我在旁喝啤酒，偶然添添乱；声音也就慢慢好起来。还是很好听的声音，平衡得来稍嫌淡抹了一点

我看余先生跟我一样，骨子里是个胆客。 个人认为, JBL 确是胆石皆宜， 但胆是走在前面的， 就是好那么一点。尤其以 JBL 来说，再贵的石机就算在一套中低价的胆机身上也讨不了便宜。其实胆前石后也会很好， 值得尝试 （我就是这样推 4312A 及 Century Gold 的)。