[80B]

We took delivery yesterday on a beautiful pair of AFs, replacing our B&W 802Ds. Over the past few weeks we replaced the MX136 with an MX151, and put in a C2500 preamp for stereo listening, to drive the front MC501s. A McIntosh MVP901 arrived yesterday too, so a lot of upgrades around the core amplifiers.

Each step has resulted in improvements, but the combination of the Amati Futuras having the C2500 preamp upstream with its tube magic really made the hair on the back of my neck stand up when we were dialing in the speakers.

The soundstage of jazz and ensemble classical we've played so far is wider, and the separation of individual instruments has us amazed. Our Sumiko-trained dealer placed them in the listening room, and it amazed me how the small differences in placement affected the sound, especially the first "fix" of the bass on the left speaker. There is an "air" around the sound, with greater detail, that lends a heightened presence to the music that brings it closer to live than we've had here. The bass coming from these beauties is amazing when one considers the woofers are just nine inches (granted, my frame of reference is the Cerwin-Vegas I used to sell with 15- and 18-inch woofers a LONG time ago), and while deep, it's very fast as well.

I don't know if it's the placement, which is different from what we had with the B&Ws, but they sound much better from the next room than the 802Ds did. All the upgrades have really enabled us to enjoy the music on another level, and we're really looking forward to exploring the music again, and having more "I never heard that before" moments when playing old favorites - had a couple already.

Truly a piece of art.