Mark Sossa of Well Pleased AV always puts together solid, good-sounding rooms, often featuring Merason DACs and Qln loudspeakers. At this show Sossa's system, fortified by Alma Music & Audio, reached new levels of transparency, quiet, and soundstaging, wowing and entrancing me.
Sossa presented the US debuts of the Merason DAC2 ($12,500) and Qln Prestige 3 G2 loudspeakers ($12,500/pair). Also in the system was an XACT S1 EVO Music Server ($18,600), an Audio Hungary Qualiton 300B Integrated Amplifier ($11,000), and a GigaWatt PC-4 power conditioner ($16,000). Cables from Kubala-Sosna and AB-Tech REN. A Finite Elemente Pagode Signature rack ($4750) and Nemesis acoustic panels ($799/ea.) rounded out the system.
Gregory Porter's "Take Me to the Alley" played with plenty of graphic detail, yet it was comfy, cozy, and warm. Fleshy physicality and a low noise floor were the system's most apparent virtues. Frank Sinatra's "Fly Me to the Moon" was airy, vibrant, and uplifting. Kenny Burrell's "Chitlins con Carne" featured his guitar in a giant, sweetly textured scrim; "Midnight Blue" was lightning fast and burnished. I wanted further engagement with this silky system, but duty—and more rooms—called.
Gregory Porter's "Take Me to the Alley" played with plenty of graphic detail, yet it was comfy, cozy, and warm. Fleshy physicality and a low noise floor were the system's most apparent virtues. Frank Sinatra's "Fly Me to the Moon" was airy, vibrant, and uplifting. Kenny Burrell's "Chitlins con Carne" featured his guitar in a giant, sweetly textured scrim; "Midnight Blue" was lightning fast and burnished. I wanted further engagement with this silky system, but duty—and more rooms—called.
