LATEST ADDITIONS

Eye candy, eh? Tune Audio’s Anima 3-way fully horn-loaded loudspeakers ($58,000/pair) claim 109dB sensitive. THEY certainly were drawing in listeners, to the extent that I had to visit twice before I could get into the room then slowly inch my way closer to the sweet spot.

By the time I reached the smallest of the three large rooms I dared visit on the 2nd floor, I was hip to the havoc their porous air walls were wreaking on the sound. So, when the combined output of four familiar components—YG Hailey 2.2 Speakers ($47,900/pair), Audio Research Ref 10 Line Stage ($33,000), MSB Select II DAC ($105,000 as shown), and Kubala-Sosna Realization / Sensation cabling—was over-saturating the space and spreading like crazy, I decided emergency intervention was called for. I asked, “Could you please turn it down?”

Dragon, Commander, Innamorata . . . did you ever get the feeling that Jeff Wells wants you to know that Wells Audio means business?

Not that you needed to heed the names: The sound was sufficient to let show attendees know that, as with the Esoteric/Von Schweikert system I had just heard, this system excelled in healthy, alive sound that included a fine midrange and a lively shine to the sound. I really enjoyed the sound on a track from JT Coldfire, and sat amazed that an exhibitor not only loved but also chose to play, of his own volition, Luciano Pavarotti's "Una furtiva lagrima."