Chrissakes! Couldn't I just enjoy la dolce vita? Savor the belly-busting meals in Treviso and Civitavecchia, surrender to Tuscany's soul-soothing landscapes, thrill to Rome's old-world…
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How do you know you're beyond help as a card-carrying audiophile? For me, it happened during a recent trip to Italy. Several times a day, my thoughts drifted to the Focal Maestro Utopia Evo speakers that had been delivered two days before I left for Europe. At one point, I considered FaceTiming the housesitter to request a live view of the listening room, where the Maestros were playing music, breaking in.
Maestro, musique!
Through the Maestro Evos, the bass on Metropolis's "Planners and Thinkers" (16/44.1 FLAC, Soundtrack Classics/Tidal) slammed so deep and turned so seismic, it was almost scary. My room is built on a concrete slab with rubber subflooring, but damned if my chair didn't shake. I'd accidentally clicked the "loop track" button in Roon and was powerless against the repeats. The sound was so satisfying that I let the recording play four, five times in a row.
I also got bruising bass on "Prism" by British trip-hop outfit Submotion Orchestra (16/44.1 FLAC, SMO/Qobuz…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Three-way bass-reflex loudspeaker with two 11" woofers, one 6.5" Power Flower midrange driver with NIC motor, and one inverted-beryllium-dome tweeter. Frequency response: 25–40kHz, ±3dB; 21Hz, –3dB. Crossover frequencies: 280Hz and 2.2kHz. Sensitivity: 93dB/2.83V/m. Impedance: 8 ohms nominal, 3.1 ohms minimum. Recommended power: 50–600W.
Dimensions: 58" (1473mm) × 18" (457mm) × 30" (762mm). Weight: 256lb (116kg).
Finishes: Carrara white, black lacquer, ash gray, British racing green, metallic blue. Cream and light walnut, brown and dark…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital sources: 15" MacBook Air M2 running Roon 2.0. Lenovo ThinkCentre laptop running Roon ROCK. Auralic Vega. Naim Uniti Atom controlled with iPad Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. HiFi Rose RS520.
Preamplifiers: Benchmark HPA4, Margules SF-220.
Power amplifiers: Krell FPB 200c (recapped). Margules U280 SC 30th Anniversary monoblocks, Balanced Audio Technology REX 500.
Integrated amplifiers: Anthem STR, HiFi Rose RS520.
Loudspeakers: Tekton Moab. Focal Scala Utopia Evo.
Cables: Full loom of Clarus Crimson. AudioQuest and Kimber Kable for…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
When I learned that Rogier van Bakel was reviewing Focal's Maestro Utopia Evo, I flashed back to the logistical difficulties I experienced when I reviewed an earlier version of this loudspeaker, the Maestro Utopia III, in July 2010. The Evo is the same size—almost 5' high—and weight—256lb—as the earlier speaker. It made sense, therefore, to drive my test gear the 500 miles to RvB's place in Maine rather than struggle with the loudspeaker's bulk at my Brooklyn home.
For the measurements, I drove one of the Focal Maestro Utopia Evos, serial number A1BPEF00543…
Why is John Coltrane's A Love Supreme still so resonant nearly 60 years after it was recorded? Much to its credit, it's short (just over 30 minutes) and to the point. If you're going to raise a prayer of gratitude to a higher power and layer spiritual meaning onto music, best not belabor the point. In the case of A Love Supreme, that kind of brevity also extended to the recording process. The album was tracked in one day—December 9, 1964—by Rudy Van Gelder in his studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey; Van Gelder also mixed the album. A composed (rather than purely improvised) four-part suite…
On Monday, 23 October from 9–5, representatives of Lenbrook will be presenting the new DALI KORE loudspeakers at Safe and Sound, 675 Fuller Rd. in Chicopee, Massachusetts. Lenbrook's Brian Farley and David Dunn will be in attendance. For more information, call (413) 594-6460. No RSVP required—just stop by!
If you've read any of my previous Dreams, you no doubt realize that I am an empiricist by trade—that I believe in the value of relaxed, mindful observation, especially if my solitary observances are independently corroborated by others. Whenever possible, I test my observations by getting either the Spin Doctor, the Audiophiliac, or my Russian neighbor to listen and tell me what they notice. If they notice the same things I noticed, independently, I relax. Corroboration is important because when I submit a review, I have an obligation to get it right. I need to be confident that readers, when…
EMT JSD 6 Moving Coil Cartridge
My goal for this column was not to compare the not-free EMT tonearm to the not-very-expensive Jelco or Schick arms. Those comparisons would be interesting but difficult to make. As of this writing, I have only listened to the 912-HI tonearm with EMT's own JSD 6 cartridge, and I have only listened to that cartridge with this tonearm. So I cannot separate the sonic impact of the tonearm from that of the cartridge. If the creek don't rise, in Dreams to come, I will report how a few of my favorite cartridges responded to the 912-HI. In this column, I'll…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Bluetooth sources: iPhone 14 Pro Max, LG V30, Samsung Galaxy S10e, iPad Pro (2016), 16" MacBook Pro M1.
Digital sources: Musical Fidelity V90 DAC, Auralic Vega DAC, Bluesound Node 2i streamer.
Headphones: Apple AirPods Pro 2, Even H2, HiFiMAN HE1000se, Audeze LCD-4.
Headphone amplifiers: McIntosh MHA-100, Benchmark HPA4, Primaluna EVO400i.—Rogier van Bakel