SSI 2009

Fidelio in Hi-Rez

John Atkinson  |  Apr 6, 2009

René Laflamme's recordings on the Fidelio label have always been favorites of mine, though his choice of repertoire—like the new "It's a Small World" project—sometimes cause my eyebrows to raise. SSI was my first chance to hear high-resolution versions of some Fidelio recordings, played back from René's laptop feeding data via asynchronous USB to the dCS Scarlatti upsampler set to do nothing other than translate the USB datastream to AES/EBU at 96kHz to drive the dCS Elgar Plus D/A. As this has a volume control it was connected direcrtly to a pair of Nagra VPA tube monoblocks which in turn drove the Verity Sarastro 2 speakers that Fred Kaplan reviewed for Stereophile in April. Cabling was all-Shunyata. René uses all-tube microphones and records directly to a Pyramix digital audio workstation. The sound of a transcription for brass and organ of "Mars" from Holst's The Planets was to die for on this system, one of my "best of shows."

COMMENTS
Shawn's picture
Submitted by Shawn (not verified) on April 7, 2009 - 7:13am

Very much enjoyed the sound from this room, in my opinion one of the best in the show. The nagra VPA's and the Verity work so well together. Would have liked to have heard some tracks with a little more complex bass passages and perhaps some organ before giving it my absolute endorsement, but the room was only showcasing their own new age-ish and night time jazz sort of music. If they're going to insist on their own music, ever consider recording something like 10,000 days guys??? Solo flute in bamboo forest there's only so much of I can take. Hats off though the Anne Bison CD was recorded astoundingly. I've honestly not heard anything with that sound when I got it home to my place. Too bad the actual content was a tad self indulgent, exagrantly melancholic and somewhat sleep inducing.

John's picture
Submitted by John (not verified) on April 7, 2009 - 9:44am

In my opinion and that of many of my friends who attended SON this year, this room had one of the best sounds, certainly far better than the room with the Wilson Maxx. The Verity Sarastro/Nagra combo got our vote for best setup at the show. I understand Rene likes showcasing his latest productions but it made for a very sleepy presentation. Perhaps mixing the slower current recordings with some of his earlier dynamic works would have made for a more comprehensive experience.

John's picture
Submitted by John (not verified) on April 7, 2009 - 9:46am

In my opinion and that of many of my friends who attended SON this year, this room had one of the best sounds, certainly far better than the room with the Wilson Maxx. The Verity Sarastro/Nagra combo got our vote for best setup at the show. I understand Rene likes showcasing his latest productions but it made for a very sleepy presentation. Perhaps mixing the slower current recordings with some of his earlier dynamic works would have made for a more comprehensive experience.

Ray's picture
Submitted by Ray (not verified) on April 7, 2009 - 11:25am

Totally agree with John, Sarastro and Nagra combo got my vote for best setup at the show.Very much enjoyed the sound in this room.

Michael's picture
Submitted by Michael (not verified) on May 12, 2009 - 5:12am

I also own the Sarastro and I believe the VPAs are not a very good match. Very colourful but not as tonally acurate. Wavac & Lamm are a much better match.

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