My visit to Jérôme aka Jerome W
 

Last Thursday, I had a professional commitment in Paris.
A unique opportunity to finally meet Jérôme!
We had already missed 2 opportunities, things had each time come in the way.

When we mailed each other earlier this week, he wrote me: "I'll have a surprise for you!".
It made me a little bit afraid, because last time he shared something similar, it led me to selling almost all my Burmester gear. :D

After work, I had to drive through the city to meet him.
A foolish thing to do, I know, driving through Paris at rush hour, but it would prove to be absolutely worth it!
Jérôme is a very amiable person, so is his wife, and there was yet another person, Gilles. More about him later.

After a lovely dinner, it was time for music!

We immediately started with his new speakers...

http://www.metazahren.com/photograph...IMG_2881_1.jpg

Sorry for the iPhone pics, you will notice my habitual photographer, aka Meta, my wife, wasn't there!

We listened to these speakers, hand made by Gilles, through various amplifiers.
Jérôme has more stuff at home than some dealers I know. :D

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Gilles seems like too good to be true.
He makes fantastic things at incredible prices.

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This speaker has an 8" woofer, and a horn for mids and highs.
Inspiration: Shindo.

http://www.metazahren.com/photograph...4_IMG_2886.jpg


It really seemed like there was only one driver.
Very well made.
Huge soundstage: width and depth, it was all there.
Very realistic sound, not coloured at all.
Detail in spades, and you could clearly hear the upstream components.
We listened to LPs, and to digital.

For me, his Nagra, although very nice, gave the least musical experience.
Bass was very powerful, but something was lacking compared to the other 2 amps.

The McIntosh 225 was remarkably good.

The best for me was his Shindo system.

http://www.metazahren.com/photograph...4_IMG_2892.jpg


That was also the opinion of Gilles, le créateur.

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With the Shindo pre and power amps, Miles Davis' trumpet in 'So What' (Kind Of Blue) was more real, detailed and IN the room than with the other amps.
So were John Coltrane's sax, and all other jazzmen.
Although I have to admit I was surprised: the old McIntosh did a hell of a job: the musicality of that little wonder is fantastic.



We then moved from this beautiful listening room to the living room.
Jérôme has a magnificent apartment, in a gorgeous building, located in an excellent area.

http://www.metazahren.com/photograph...4_IMG_2893.jpg

I very much enjoyed the pictures and captions. Thanks for the post.

It was time to listen to the Harbeths!
They were driven by an integrated from a brand I know very well!

http://www.metazahren.com/photograph...0116_halgo.jpg

I have 7 boxes of that make in my living room! :music:
(8th coming).



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This speaker goes deeper than Gilles' creation.
But you could clearly hear the soundstage was a lot flatter - especially this aspect struck me the most - and less wide.
Also: the instruments of Miles Davis and his crew (we listened to the same tracks) didn't come loose from the speakers as they did in the other room.
And there was more interference of the enclosure of the Harbeth.
I had not expected that the difference would be so obvious.
The 40.1 is a nice speaker, and the mids are glorious.
I'm sure you can build a system with them and be happy for the rest of your life.
But you'd better not listen to those other speakers then!

Conclusion: Gilles' transducers were better on almost all accounts, except for the lowest octave.

If I have understood correctly, Jérôme feels the same: he asked Gilles to build speakers for his living room also.

Epilogue
 

Boy oh boy, we do have a nice hobby.
Even in this century, full of high tech, we can come across a very agreeable surprise (aural, but also for the wallet!!), that allows us to come yet a bit closer to our passion, the music.
And through this hobby, we get the opportunity to meet such nice people, like Jérôme, his wife, and Gilles.
And the others, I have met through AA.

AudioAficionado really is the FRIEND-ly forum... :thumbsup::thumbsup:

Merci Jérôme!!

Bart.......Thank you so much for the photos and descriptions. I enjoyed seeing Jerome in the one. Such a beautiful home.

Quelle soiree! Congratulations guys, everything great and really good taste.

Thanks for the write up Bart. Wow, Jerome, what a beautiful home you have!!! I absolutely love seeing hi-end systems co-existing with main rooms in the home. It is obvious your entire family is invited to partake in the wonderful world of music you have provided. I also enjoy seeing systems that are so different from my own. Those speakers that Gilles made are gorgeous. Looks like life is good in Paris, very good. Enjoy my friend.