Captivating Clarity from Audio Physic

Sometimes a system touches your heart when you least expect it. There I was in Reinhard Goerner's Goerner Communication room (Montréal) when, all of a sudden, the warmth and beauty of Joni Mitchell's voice on a vinyl pressing of "I Could Drink a Case of You" had me half qvelling. (Hey, it's Yiddish. I don't know how to spell it; I only know how it feels).

Yes, the combination of Acoustic Signature Storm turntable ($7500) with Funk F•X R-II arm ($1995) and Dynavector DV 20XL cartridge; Trigon Advance phono stage ($1995), Chronolog CD-DVD player and music server ($9495), and Energy integrated amplifier ($4950); Audio Physic Avantera 25th anniversary loudspeakers ($24,000–$26,000/pair, depending upon finish); Creaktiv Audio-Line 1-4 Aktiv Plus audio rack ($2200); and Nordost cabling was definitely euphonic, but it was also remarkably transparent, crystal clear, and utterly captivating.

On a different recording, violins sounded marvelously silky, and the soundstage impressively large. A cut from an album previously unknown to me, Myriam Alter's "Where is There?", sounded wonderful. Only the bottom line of bass in my recording of Mahler Symphony No.2 was less than totally present. Be sure to ask Reinhard about the Glass Lenses he sells that cancel out electronic smog and make everything sound better.

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