Stereophile
New member
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2013
- Messages
- 442
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- #1
<p><img class="story_image" src="http://www.stereophile.com/images/081513-VonSchwRaven-600.jpg" /></p> Hey, we were in earthquake country, the land from which Carole King may have received inspiration to write, "I Feel the Earth Move Under my Feet." Then again, she could have received equal inspiration from the Von Schweikert VR-100 XS 4-piece loudspeaker system ($140,000/pair). Paired with the debut of Raven Audio's Silhouette monoblock amplifiers ($12,995/pair) and Reference Silhouette preamplifier ($12,995), it sure inspired me with its ability to move air with musicality.
<p>
I returned to this oversized exhibit on the last day, after a defective cable and music server had been replaced. Instead of the server, I found an Esoteric UX-1 CD/DVD/HDCD player ($15,000) with APL-HiFi tube mods. I also encountered, from left to right, Raven's Gabrielle and Dave Thomson standing Texas tall, Albert von Schweikert equally so, and his European rep, Cor Dekker of Musical Reality, no midget either. Cor, I might add, also happens to be a sound engineer who has frequently worked with Jared Sacks of Channel Classics, and knew intimately the Channel Classics recordings in my collection.
</p><p>
Freed from its sonic dungeon of a ballroom at AXPONA Chicago, the VR-100 XS handled bass extremely well, with the timpani thwacks in the 4th movement of Mahler's Symphony 1 (Channel Classics) totally in control. (They were not in control, either in Chicago or on day one of CAS.) Once Albert returned his adjustable tweeters to "flat"
[Source: http://www.stereophile.com/content/cas-2013-day-3-return-terra-infirma]
<p>
I returned to this oversized exhibit on the last day, after a defective cable and music server had been replaced. Instead of the server, I found an Esoteric UX-1 CD/DVD/HDCD player ($15,000) with APL-HiFi tube mods. I also encountered, from left to right, Raven's Gabrielle and Dave Thomson standing Texas tall, Albert von Schweikert equally so, and his European rep, Cor Dekker of Musical Reality, no midget either. Cor, I might add, also happens to be a sound engineer who has frequently worked with Jared Sacks of Channel Classics, and knew intimately the Channel Classics recordings in my collection.
</p><p>
Freed from its sonic dungeon of a ballroom at AXPONA Chicago, the VR-100 XS handled bass extremely well, with the timpani thwacks in the 4th movement of Mahler's Symphony 1 (Channel Classics) totally in control. (They were not in control, either in Chicago or on day one of CAS.) Once Albert returned his adjustable tweeters to "flat"
[Source: http://www.stereophile.com/content/cas-2013-day-3-return-terra-infirma]