RMAF 2009

Accustomed as I am to the beauteous sound of mbl gear, nothing prepared me for the combination of mbl speakers and electronics, hghi-resolution files played back on a Macintosh G5 tower equipped with the latest Amarra music server software, and Wireworld cabling. Fleetwood Mac's "Gold Dust Woman" was gripping when downloaded from a 24/96 Rumours DVD-A. The depth was "this" short of unbelievable, the bass and clarity astounding, and the tonal envelope very well represented. Even FIM's 16/44 version of Bizet's "Habanera" from Carmen sounded hi-res due to the amazing depth of this system's images.

For many of us, the bite this all-mbl system would take out of our life savings is equally too much to contemplate. You add up the cost of the mbl 1621A transport ($24,000), 1611F DAC ($24,750), 6010D preamp ($23,180), 9008A ($25,190), and 111F speakers ($32,000/pair), and send it to me in the morning. Meanwhile, I'm pretending I never learned arithmetic and focusing on the glorious sound I heard in this room. From prior experience with both the superior Amarra music server from Jonathan Reichbach's Sonic Studio, which leaves iTunes in the dust, and David Salz's Wireworld cabling, I know they contributed mightily to the wonders I heard.

P.S. I wasn't the only one reeling from this experience. As another visitor to the room muttered once he got outside: "It didn't sound right, it was so real!"