[jimtranr]

I sat down yesterday afternoon to listen to the Empire Brass knock out their arrangements of a number of classical "lollipops" (Class Brass, Telarc, 1993, 16/44 rip) and swore I was parked in the Tanglewood Shed with them. Another layer or two of drywall had peeled away from what's supposed to be the bedroom's front wall after about 240 hours of Delta NR settling time, and a lot of fresh air rushed in to fill the void, adding plangent three-dimensional life and palpable sparkle to trumpet, tuba, French horn, and trombone in the shed's live acoustic so ably captured by engineer Jack Renner's well-placed Neumanns.

It wasn't a one-off. On went Bernstein's Berlioz (Symphonie Fantastique, Sony/Columbia, SBM'd 16/44 rip), and the New York Phil emerged from a larger, airier soundstage with growlier (don't mind me--I love making up words) string bass and a more ominously-decayed funereal march-to-the-scaffold bell. Ditto the Turtle Creek Chorale in "Make Our Garden Grow" (Testament, Reference, 16/44 rip), with even more precise vocalist image and separate-choir parsing and layering than just hours before. And Previn's piano in "Stormy Weather", (Uptown, Telarc, 16/44 rip)? Sharper attack and cleaner tone that reached with more palpable presence into the room.

While it had seen a fair amount of active playback during that 240-hour period, the Delta NR had actually "loafed" most of the time, supplying just enough current to the Hydra to keep the always-on c-j Sonographe amp idling. No matter. I'd made no other changes to the system in all that time, so I have to conclude that the Delta--perhaps its CopperCONN connectors?--likes to really stretch for a while before unleashing its full potential. In any event, yesterday's experience, and that which continues, is a real jaw-dropper.

Note to Ivan: Stand by while I hunt down some more pennies.