By this stage of the Munich show, I was frazzled but still hungry for more. The Thrax/Ramar room delivered, with Thrax's Rumen Artarski and Ramar's Rangel Vasev presenting a compact, well-executed system and a set of ingenious vinyl accessories.
This compact rig included a Thrax Yatrus turntable ($17,000) with Frank Schröder CB tonearm ($6000) and MySonicLab Signature Diamond cartridge ($15,000), feeding the new Thrax Cotys phono stage ($9,300). An XACT S1 Evo server ($16,000), via an XACT N1 Network Switch ($6,000), fed a Thrax Maximinus Mk2S DAC ($34,000).
Amplification included the Thrax Libra preamplifier with 300B tubes ($62,000) and Thrax Teres MkII monoblocks ($71,400/pair), driving Thrax Lyra SE loudspeakers ($23,800/pair) mounted atop Hades bass modules ($16,200), which replace the Lyra's stands and extend their low-end response with sealed 10" woofers. Hemingway Audio supplied the cabling.
Vasev showed his popular record cleaning brushes ($390), in which he combines carbon fiber and goat hair, arranged in alternating rows, to maximize dust absorption through their differing material properties. He also introduced his new record weight, Jewel ($870), which is milled from solid stainless steel. It balances its mass across a record label's surface using eight self-adjusting internal brass rods and a Sorbothane ring. This "reduces the contact points with the record while allowing the energy of unwanted mechanical noise and vibrations from the record player and the record itself to be absorbed and neutralized," Vasev claimed.
The Thrax system truly shone. It rendered "Ain't No Sunshine" by Adrian Stern, Philippe Chrétien, and Massimo Buonanno with excellent separation, definition, and speed, adding up to a sweet and utterly pleasing experience.
Vasev showed his popular record cleaning brushes ($390), in which he combines carbon fiber and goat hair, arranged in alternating rows, to maximize dust absorption through their differing material properties. He also introduced his new record weight, Jewel ($870), which is milled from solid stainless steel. It balances its mass across a record label's surface using eight self-adjusting internal brass rods and a Sorbothane ring. This "reduces the contact points with the record while allowing the energy of unwanted mechanical noise and vibrations from the record player and the record itself to be absorbed and neutralized," Vasev claimed.
The Thrax system truly shone. It rendered "Ain't No Sunshine" by Adrian Stern, Philippe Chrétien, and Massimo Buonanno with excellent separation, definition, and speed, adding up to a sweet and utterly pleasing experience.
