Drawn by the lyre emblem on the faceplate and the promise of Swiss engineering, I took note in early April when longtime distributor Jay Rein of Bluebird Music was named exclusive North American distributor for Orpheus Lab. My interest deepened when I learned about Orpheus Lab’s five Absolute components ($12,900–$22,900/each) and the brand’s newer Heritage Opus II lineup. According to Rein’s press release, "The SACD player with separate power supply is priced at $54,900; the stereo preamplifier with separate power supply is $52,900; and 800W (into 4 ohms) monoblock power amplifiers are priced at $73,900/pair."
High End Munich presented a double opportunity: Listen to a top-level Orpheus array and meet designer Alexandre Mermod. My short visit began with a blast from the past. I hadn't heard Terry Evans and Ry Cooder’s "Blues No More" for close to a decade, and encountering it took me back to an earlier era, when I was writing from and dodging bullets in the barrio of East Oakland.
With the aid of a Wadax Studio Player ($39,800) and a pair of Kroma loudspeakers, I felt I was hearing everything that Evans’s engineers wanted me to hear—and not, thank God, the far too prevalent hip-hop soundtrack of East Oakland. The full-range sound was powerful and accurate from top to bottom. Brent Lewis’s "Mumbo Jumbo" stood out for its musicality and spot-on tonalities. Ditto for a more recent track, Hedegaard's bass monster "Ratchets." I was having so much fun that I hated to leave.
High End Munich presented a double opportunity: Listen to a top-level Orpheus array and meet designer Alexandre Mermod. My short visit began with a blast from the past. I hadn't heard Terry Evans and Ry Cooder’s "Blues No More" for close to a decade, and encountering it took me back to an earlier era, when I was writing from and dodging bullets in the barrio of East Oakland.
With the aid of a Wadax Studio Player ($39,800) and a pair of Kroma loudspeakers, I felt I was hearing everything that Evans’s engineers wanted me to hear—and not, thank God, the far too prevalent hip-hop soundtrack of East Oakland. The full-range sound was powerful and accurate from top to bottom. Brent Lewis’s "Mumbo Jumbo" stood out for its musicality and spot-on tonalities. Ditto for a more recent track, Hedegaard's bass monster "Ratchets." I was having so much fun that I hated to leave.
