Real Music from On a Higher Note

I'm familiar with how opening or closing a side entrance to a music room can affect bass loading, But when Philip O'Hanlon of A Higher Note demonstrated how opening the sliding doors behind the new Vivid B1 Decade loudspeakers ($28,000/pair) increased air and spaciousness, I was duly impressed.

The sound, of course, was the most impressive. Thanks as well to Luxman's M-900U stereo amp ($20,000), EQ-500 tubed phono stage ($7500), C-900U line stage ($20,000), PD-171 AL turntable I custom finish ($7000), D-08U SACD player ($18,000), and due-in-March L-590 AX Mk.II, class-A integrated amplifier ($10,000), Aaron Neville's rendition of "Stardust" sounded just wonderful. Rickie Lee Jones with Rob Wasserman sounded equally good. In both cases, midrange beauty predominated, to satisfying effect. Note that Philip augmented bass reproduction with a Sonorous sub because the Vivid B1 Decades were not designed for a room as big as the one they were in.

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