Antal Audio, Triangle, Electrocompaniet, Wireworld

"There's a party going on in Room 713, and only true freaks are invited!" That's the promise of a bawdy little book called Room 713, about four friends who travel to another city and indulge in outsized carnal pleasures.

No such titillation was to be had in room 713 of the Embassy Suites in Tampa, but other delights abounded. To wit: a pair of Triangle Magellan Quatuor 40th-anniversary speakers ($20,000/pair), plus three Electrocompaniet components: the new AW 800M NEMO 2 monoblock used as a stereo amplifier (800W in mono, 300Wpc in stereo, $22,500), the EC 4.8 MkII preamp ($4900), and an ECM 1 MkII streamer ($5700). Wireworld took care of the cabling.

The speakers stand at the top of Triangle's just-launched 40th-anniversary line, which includes another floorstander (the $15,000/pair Magellan Cello, slightly smaller and with one less bass driver than the three-woofered Quatuors), the $4700/pair Antal floorstander, and the $7000/pair Duetto standmount. But those weren't part of the offerings in this Antal Audio room.

Not that I regretted their absence for long. The French-made Quatuors, driven by the Norwegian Electrocompaniet gear, painted true-to-life musical colors in a sure-footed, vivid picture. I listened to Yello's bouncy "Limbo"; Chris Stapleton's raw and desperate "Death Row"; and finally, William Orbit's "Water from a Vine Leaf," a soft-house/ambient piece with spooky, far-away vocals by the great Beth Orton. On every recording, but especially the Yello track, the soundstage expanded in all directions, not just left-right-back but considerably forward as well, pushing into the room. Instruments, from kick drums to acoustic guitars, seemed to have gobs of body and presence. A most excellent system.

COMMENTS
Allen Fant's picture

Another great article and Photos- RvB.
Good to read that Electrocompaniet is alive and well in the U.S. I have always wanted to add one of their CD/SACD players to my collection.

Sidebar: Rick James waited in room 714.

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