Another visit to Jacques (aka Jem666) and Liesbeth
 

Friday night, we drove recklessly through the terrible traffic to the other side of Belgium to meet these 2 lovely people again.
To enjoy music, to enjoy food and drinks, and to enjoy each other's company.

A couple of things changed since our last visit.
There is a second Analog Domain M75P amplifier.

https://www.audioaficionado.org/atta...1&d=1489852894

(Jacques' own pics).


And this lovely box sat in the space normally occupied by the MDA 1000:

https://www.audioaficionado.org/atta...1&d=1497699580


We started off with some of my albums that I brought along to understand better what these 3 lovely Analog Domain boxes were capable of.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....HL._SX522_.jpg


This Analogue Productions SACD is a terrific remaster of some of the most beautiful pieces of female voice accompanied by a piano you will encounter on this planet.
It was recorded in '60, so it has some tape hiss, but magnificent Ella and also pianist Paul Smith sound so real on a good system, so intimate, that this is a good test disc.
Jacques' system gloriously succeeded in conveying the emotion here.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....VL._SY679_.jpg


One of my favourite test discs.
Also here, I could hear that this DAC must be amongst the finest.
Detail, depth, presence, it was all there.

We continued with Mumford & Sons' Sigh No More (try track 10, and you'll see, no feel it!), Madredeus, Gustav Leonhardt on the harpsichord.
It was good!

Memory is a tricky thing, but compared with our visit in November, I thought the system sounded much clearer, there was more insight.
Was it the DAC?
Or the addition of a second M75P?
A not even so wild guess: the DAC was the most important factor.

After a nice meal (smoked fish - chocolate tart) - Liesbeth, you a fine hostess! - we continued with Jacques' music.
I didn't take notes, but he surprised with this disc, that I just purchased:

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....1Q8ul7z88L.jpg


Just like I like it: acoustic, simple, no tricks.
Fantastic!

And then it was time to experience what a couple of 100 Watts (or closer to 1000?!) can do.
Jacques will surely chime in with more details about the albums, but I could feel his eclectic choice of tracks!
Visceral impact and slam, literally.
Our system at home can do a lot but 48 Watts of class A tube power simply cannot move so much air as Jacques'.

We had a mighty fine evening.
Thank you for that Jacques and Liesbeth!

Jacques, I think that, once the necessary funds will be available, you don't have to look further, your system will be 'complete' with this DAC (with built in volume control and maybe also one or two analogue inputs, like you told me this was in the pipeline).
Then invest a couple of euros (the price of one premium interconnect!) in the mandatory room treatment and you'll be 'done'.
Yes, I put quotation marks, because we all know what 'complete' and 'done' means for an audiophile.
Like I told you, I could easily live with these 3 marvels from Analog Domain, and not look back. Very easily.
But you'd have to allow me to stay with my Vivid Audios... :D

Apology
 

To end my rant: I own you an apology.
In an earlier post, I wrote about your PMCs...
They are ProAc Response D100 speakers of course.

Bart and Meta, you are very brave people to face the Friday traffic in Belgium. It was a pleasure, once again, to welcome you both in our home.

A very big thank you for introducing us to Ella Fitzgerald's voice and music...a true revelation for Liesbeth and myself. The two baroque works performed by Bruno Cocset & Les Basses Réunies are exquisit too. I really enjoy discovering music and artists that were previously unknown to me.

It is very nice to hear a second opinion as emotions can sometimes cloud our judgement. I value your feedback very much. As I experience it, adding the second 75P enabled the speakers to unlock their full potential, but it is the DAC1 that unlocked the music to a level one just doesn't expect.

Besides the one's you already mentioned, tracks and snippets we played came from following artist and albums.

Michael Hedges - Aerial Boundaries
Michael Hedges - Live on the Double Planet
Steven Wilson - Hand. Cannot. Erase.
How To Destroy Angels - Oblivion
Toumani Diabate's Symmetric Orchestra ‎- Boulevard De L'Indépendance
Puscifer - Money $hot
Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
Claude Perraudin - Mutation 24
Richard Wagner - Der Ring - An Orchestral Adventure ( Edo De Waart )
Dead Can Dance - The Serpent's Egg
Goldfrapp - Tales Of Us
Goldfrapp - Supernature
Goldfrapp - Head First
Goldfrapp - Black Cherry
Goldfrapp - Felt Mountain
Goldfrapp - Silver Eyes
Moloko - Statues
Telefon Tel Aviv - Fahrenheit Fair Enough
Mariza - Transparante
Madredeus - Ainda
Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan - Ballad of the Broken Seas
Tinariwen - Aman Iman : Water is Life

Thank you for your kind words, and surely to be continued

Jacques.......Sure wish I could have been part of that wonderful evening. I expected Bart to be impressed with the Analog Domain amps and DAC1, and not surprised to hear he was.

Thank you for the playlist Jacques! :thumbsup: