Munich 2019

Estelon Forza Loudspeakers, Kronos Pro Turntable, Bassocontinuo Racks, Kubala Sosna Cabling

Jason Victor Serinus  |  May 11, 2019

The "Ocean Mystery" colored Estelon Forza loudspeaker (€110,000/pair) made quite a statement all by itself. Paired with a Kronos Pro turntable (€37,600) with SCPS1 power supply (€13,500), Black Beauty tonearm (€8400), and ZYX Universe 3 cartridge (€8100); Bassocontinuo racks; Kubala-Sosna Realization cabling; Audes ST-3000 power conditioner (€3900); and Furutech NCF Booster-Signal (€2780), it conveyed electric guitar with natural bite, relayed all instruments except Eugene Istomin's somewhat tinkly piano on the Reference Recordings' LP of Mozart Piano Concerto No.21 with natural timbres and a strong midrange, and, on my Channel Classics SACD of the Mahler Symphony No.2, nailed the great expanse and natural timbres of the Budapest Symphony Orchestra.

The Forza is a four-way sealed box, nearly 1.7 meters high, with four Accuton drivers—aluminum sandwich custom woofer and midwoofer, ceramic midrange, and Diamond tweeter—and Kubala-Sosna internal wiring. It also has a frequency response of 25-60,000Hz, nominal impedance of 3 ohms (dipping to 2 ohms at 42 and 110Hz), and 90dB sensitivity. For some with the dough, it has their name written all over it.

COMMENTS
Anton's picture
Submitted by Anton on May 12, 2019 - 12:22pm

There was kindness in your report.

Did you take Estalon training? :-D

I’d be very curious to see your reaction to this speaker over time. Your report reminds me of gear that I often end up finding fatiguing.

I wonder how “broken in” they were.

On the plus side, I like the Nambe enclosures!

Bogolu Haranath's picture
Submitted by Bogolu Haranath on May 12, 2019 - 5:17pm

Looks like those amps are CH Precision mono-blocks ......... Stereophile review may be coming soon :-) .......

CH Precision offers user adjustable feedback controls :-) .........

Jason P Jackson's picture
Submitted by Jason P Jackson on May 14, 2019 - 4:29pm

Haha. I see what you did there.

RH's picture
Submitted by RH on May 12, 2019 - 8:21pm

Did the Estelon's park their spaceship outside, or did they just beam down? I presume no one made any quick moves in their presence? Gotta make nice with our new overlords.

Ortofan's picture
Submitted by Ortofan on May 14, 2019 - 4:11pm

... robots that patrol the aisles of the local supermarkets looking for spills.
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2019/01/14/1691009/0/en/Nearly-500-Robots-Powered-by-Retail-Business-Services-and-Badger-Technologies-Hit-the-Floor-at-Ahold-Delhaize-USA-s-GIANT-MARTIN-S-and-Stop-Shop-Brands.html

Jacques Hardy's picture
Submitted by Jacques Hardy on May 13, 2019 - 7:44am

Hello there. There is no mention of a digital source in your report. Did you play your SACD on the Kronos turntable ?!? :-D

Jason Victor Serinus's picture
Submitted by Jason Victor Serinus on May 16, 2019 - 8:59am

Thanks for bringing the omission to my attention. Not sure how that happened.

The player was CH Precision's D1 SACD & CD Transport/Player (33,200 EUR). It was part of a complete CH Precision suite that also included the C1 DAC (28,000 EUR), L1 2-channel line preamplifier (30,400 EUR), P1 2-channel phono preamplifier (27,400 EUR), two M1.1 2-channel power amplifiers (97,000 EUR), two X1 external power supplies (30,600 EUR), and a T1 clock generator (22,300 EUR).

The total cost of the system - the room sponsors make a point of mentioning it on the equipment sheet - was 607,970 EUR.

Bogolu Haranath's picture
Submitted by Bogolu Haranath on May 13, 2019 - 9:00am

Did they play John Williams theme song for 'Close encounters of the third kind'? :-) .........

Bogolu Haranath's picture
Submitted by Bogolu Haranath on May 16, 2019 - 9:28am

For 607,970 Euros it should definitely be able to 'nail' the whole Budapest Symphony Orchestra :-) .......

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