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Old 05-17-2019, 02:35 PM
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Puma Cat Puma Cat is offline
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: East Bay, CA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jimtranr View Post
Spent the early part of the morning listening to Bela Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra (Bernstein, NY Philharmonic, Columbia/Sony SBM'd 16/44 rip), Dmitri Shostakovich's Symphony #5 (Honeck, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Soundmirror/Reference Recordings, 24/192), and Zoltan Kodaly's Hary Janos suite (Szell, Cleveland Orchestra, Columbia/Sony, 24/192 remaster). All three works feature densely-scored passages and occasionally explosive tuttis that can wreak congestive havoc on a listener's ears.

There was none of that here this morning, and what I heard is easily the best presentation of each work on the bedroom system to date. I was struck in particular by image focus, solidity, and ensemble coherence in the passages where things could get messy (but never did). The instruments seem to have more space in which to "work the room"--more precisely, the air around them in their respective performance venues. Their sonorities are spot-on, with the highs at once filigree-detailed and airy, the mids corporeally present (and "breathy" as hell where appropriate), and the bass full-throated and tautly defined to a degree I'd not experienced before with this system. The "reach in and touch someone" factor has bumped up several degrees.

As Yoda might say, clam-happy I am.
Jim,
I have to say your taste and knowledge in classical music is both examplary and extraordinary...really a superb range of content you've been evaluating. You have impeccable taste in classical music as well.

While I've focused most of my listening on jazz with the Shunyata Alpha (as I have much more jazz digital content than I do really good classical content), I have to say that all the attributes that you've described so eloquently and accurately above are EXACTLY what I've experienced with the Shunyata Alpha USB.

In particular, your comment:
"The instruments seem to have more space in which to "work the room"--more precisely, the air around them in their respective performance venues. Their sonorities are spot-on, with the highs at once filigree-detailed and airy, the mids corporeally present (and "breathy" as hell where appropriate), and the bass full-throated and tautly defined to a degree I'd not experienced before with this system." really sums up very nicely the remarkable quality and the extremely natural verisimilitude this cable provides.

Most of all, this cable provides and really delivers an incredibly engaging and beguiling listening experience. You forget about gear, and most importantly, that you're evaluating a cable, and just get lost in the experience of the music.

Another wonderful set of impressions and analysis. I'm SO glad you decided to go this route with this wonderful USB cable.
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