The conclusion after testing the Olympic 2012 with the Tidal Prescenio is: elegant, calm, expressive, and kaleiscopic in tonal resolution.
Description of speed is a bit more difficult. I try based on and audition of Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony. When the OR 2012 is feed the preamp, I feel as though the conductor keeps the pulse steady however the indication of pace; and a finale as spacious, and usually as unhurried. The calmness is akin to the grandeur of nature, the serenity of a quiet conscience, and the simple joy of a countryman at play. The overall symphonic theme is delivered with immense nobility.
Has your gang compared the new Olympic Reference with other cables? Can you share more....A friend of mine has briefly tried on his tube system and he likes his Kondo power more...it is potentially a taste and preference issue...I want to know more from your gang who are having more diversified exposure on cables....
Anyone here already got the new FMR power cord? It is a whole new breed. Resolution is tremendous. One is burning in now on Takumi K70 G2. I shall report more as it ages further.
I put the Olympic reference on the PC borrowed from a friend who uses it as his CAS server....the PC runs on a Linux platform with a very reasonable performance....with the Olympic, the noise platform drops down noticeably and more importantly the energy is more resourceful and speed.
when is it due? I have been waiting for a top phono cable from the phono stage to the preamp for a long time. As a big fan of Argento, it is curious to learn thier never-seen-before shielding technique. PT said to be about something like CARBON shielding which Ulrik has tried to maintain wide open sound without adding the "close-in" nature of shielding. I do prefer shielding solution on the analog path.
Personally, I like XLR for phono connection. The new RCA connector is Ulrik's new design. The shielding is carbon type. This is the first cable that Argento has adopted shielding. HIgh frequency is smoother, quieter, and the mid range has more body.
Hey guys, the FMR phono is more than great. It has the attack and slam factor that the previous FMR tends to be too soft. The mid range is very naturally rendered. The whitish light attached on the upper mid range of the previous generation is completely gone in exchange for natural warmth. Retrieval of lower level details is phenomenal. The improvement probably comes from carbon shielding or new advancement in conductor?
Ulrik, thanks for a very good job done. In retrospect, some may say the FMR is too light relative to the SMR EE. And some may say SMR EE has less transparency than FMR. But I always feel the SMR EE has a warmer tonal balance to my subjective taste. Your new generation of FMR has the best of both world.
The FMR phono has a lot of punch and attack in the lower mid bass. That's rare in the history of Argento, but that's good for a lot of music! The contour of the basslines remains resolue. Frankly, I was using the Opus DAC to "workout" the cable. Even in the application of digital with high voltage source (6V XLR), the FMR phono betters the original version of FMR in this session. The natural renditon of mid range is similar to what we experienced lately with Olympic Reference 2012 and the absence of glare in the upper high probably due to the application of carbon shielding make the whole listening experience a lot smoother.
My reference recording nowadays is JASON MRAZ's live recording in Chicago. There is a DVD that comes with the CD. On track 11, where Jason was singing "I'm Yours", there is a session where Jason was moving his head left and right continuously for a few seconds as shown on the DVD. The French cable depicts him as standing there singing in front of you with very sharp imaging, but it couldn't reveal the movement of his head as vividly as the FMR. I watched the video a million times. I just know based on this very recording, what is correct and what is not.
The articulation of horn sound in a live band via the new FMR phono used in digital application is awesome. The metallic tone is conveyed without the ocassional piercing glaring of the original.
Damn it, yes, I do know I am using a phono cable in the digital domain. Now, after the continuous workout of the FMR phono (the cable needs aging to get there), I switched them back to my beloved Zanden 1200mk3 phono. Before I dropped the needle, I took all ipad, iphone, and other electronic gadgets out of sight. Dim the damn light in the dining room with a glass of wine. Last night, I was listening to Jimmy Hendrix. Wow! WoW! WoW! Was it because of the wine or was it because of the new FMR, I don't fucking care anymore. I am totally submerged in the beauty of "contradiction" conveyed by the guitar of Jimmy.
Hey guys, I concur all the comments especially the statement VR made that "attack/punch is rare in the history of Argento" until the new FMR phono. With Da Vinci/Zanden electronics, it was impossible to wire the old generation of FMR all thru as the ocassionally glare in the upper high upset the tonal balance. I can only apply one pair of old FMR for merit of trebel extension and contour resolution.
The new FMR does not sound like Argento at all but I like the new tonal balance a lot more. The naturalness of the mid range to my ear is the biggest breakthru. It is much smoother and yet with tremendous details. The punch and impact are sexy. Some other cables can do punch and impact very well but often at the expense of the deep bass extension. The bass rendition of my system after using the new FMR from Zanden phono to the DV Nifty has become much more organic without undermining impact.
It is a good cable. I haven't changed interconnects for 3 years. PT allowed me to test try the FMR phono RCA (very beautifully made with proprietary connectors) two days ago. Obviously, I am not going to return them to him.
I failed to resist the temptation of buying a pair after PT performed an ABAB comparion test between the old FMR and the new FMR phono. Obviously, this is not a fair comparison because the latest FMR is designated for phono application. Indeed, it was a great cable. Music coming out from the Wadax phono via the FMR phono to the Da Vinci Preamp/Trinity (we tried both)is calm. The attack and punch are markedly more impactful than all previous generations of Argento cable in my humble opinion. Though I am a prime classical music lover, the repeated mentioning of MUSE in this forum triggered me to buy a disc. The symphonic rendering of electronic instruments is quite a thrill. And the hi rez file of the 2nd Law album portrayed by the Wadax via the FMR phono unveils layers and layers of synthesis electronic sounds stimulating my mind. It is definitely not noisy. It is just complicated. I have a clear view into the whole staging. For classical music, particularly on vinyl, I believe the FMR phono has done a tremendous job in all instruments. The mid-range is relaxed and tonally resolue enough to bring out the richness. The elegance of the trebel remains with a smoother character. There is no more glistening highs.
People in this ground have been waiting for new Argento products for quite a long while. And I am delighted Ulrik has once again broken new grounds with a tool enchaning our musical experiences.
I am eagerly waiting for the Flow center too, and hopefully a new power cord that is easier and more flexible to use than the old FMR power.
Do not betray by the simplicity of the flow center. The whole design concept is cutting edge. And the complicated manufacturing process has caused Argento to delay the launch of it for more than 1 year. And the result is in the calmness and easiness of the music. It is the most serious AC power distributor ever created surpassing the ORB Kyoto by a huge margin in terms of overall quality in EVERY aspect.
The entire product is made from 6 parts and 18 springs.
- aluminmum foot
- Two very big exterior Bakelite parts
- 3 very complex pure copper parts that each form a conductive part including all of the sockets and the input. No off-the-shelf sockets are used.
- Each live and neutral leg in the sockets incorporates one bronzespring to increase contact pressure
The result is:
- extremely low resistance conductive path because of th ecomplete continuity of power carrying parts
- completely identicial outputs (equal distance to input)
- star grounding - equal resistance to ground if used with FMR SE/Olympic Reference
- very tight connection between the socket and the plug due to the use of bronze springs to increase the contact pressure
- conductive parts are completely encased in rock like material (except where flexibility is needed) to avoid mechanical vibrations. This is not an empty box with parts dangling around inside like everything else out there
- zero limitation on dynamics.
- Pure copper all the way. No brass or bronze or any other alloy
Comments
Description of speed is a bit more difficult. I try based on and audition of Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony. When the OR 2012 is feed the preamp, I feel as though the conductor keeps the pulse steady however the indication of pace; and a finale as spacious, and usually as unhurried. The calmness is akin to the grandeur of nature, the serenity of a quiet conscience, and the simple joy of a countryman at play. The overall symphonic theme is delivered with immense nobility.
Has your gang compared the new Olympic Reference with other cables? Can you share more....A friend of mine has briefly tried on his tube system and he likes his Kondo power more...it is potentially a taste and preference issue...I want to know more from your gang who are having more diversified exposure on cables....
Thanks.
Marvel
Ulrik, thanks for a very good job done. In retrospect, some may say the FMR is too light relative to the SMR EE. And some may say SMR EE has less transparency than FMR. But I always feel the SMR EE has a warmer tonal balance to my subjective taste. Your new generation of FMR has the best of both world.
The FMR phono has a lot of punch and attack in the lower mid bass. That's rare in the history of Argento, but that's good for a lot of music! The contour of the basslines remains resolue. Frankly, I was using the Opus DAC to "workout" the cable. Even in the application of digital with high voltage source (6V XLR), the FMR phono betters the original version of FMR in this session. The natural renditon of mid range is similar to what we experienced lately with Olympic Reference 2012 and the absence of glare in the upper high probably due to the application of carbon shielding make the whole listening experience a lot smoother.
My reference recording nowadays is JASON MRAZ's live recording in Chicago. There is a DVD that comes with the CD. On track 11, where Jason was singing "I'm Yours", there is a session where Jason was moving his head left and right continuously for a few seconds as shown on the DVD. The French cable depicts him as standing there singing in front of you with very sharp imaging, but it couldn't reveal the movement of his head as vividly as the FMR. I watched the video a million times. I just know based on this very recording, what is correct and what is not.
The articulation of horn sound in a live band via the new FMR phono used in digital application is awesome. The metallic tone is conveyed without the ocassional piercing glaring of the original.
Damn it, yes, I do know I am using a phono cable in the digital domain. Now, after the continuous workout of the FMR phono (the cable needs aging to get there), I switched them back to my beloved Zanden 1200mk3 phono. Before I dropped the needle, I took all ipad, iphone, and other electronic gadgets out of sight. Dim the damn light in the dining room with a glass of wine. Last night, I was listening to Jimmy Hendrix. Wow! WoW! WoW! Was it because of the wine or was it because of the new FMR, I don't fucking care anymore. I am totally submerged in the beauty of "contradiction" conveyed by the guitar of Jimmy.
The new FMR does not sound like Argento at all but I like the new tonal balance a lot more. The naturalness of the mid range to my ear is the biggest breakthru. It is much smoother and yet with tremendous details. The punch and impact are sexy. Some other cables can do punch and impact very well but often at the expense of the deep bass extension. The bass rendition of my system after using the new FMR from Zanden phono to the DV Nifty has become much more organic without undermining impact.
It is a good cable. I haven't changed interconnects for 3 years. PT allowed me to test try the FMR phono RCA (very beautifully made with proprietary connectors) two days ago. Obviously, I am not going to return them to him.
People in this ground have been waiting for new Argento products for quite a long while. And I am delighted Ulrik has once again broken new grounds with a tool enchaning our musical experiences.
I am eagerly waiting for the Flow center too, and hopefully a new power cord that is easier and more flexible to use than the old FMR power.
The entire product is made from 6 parts and 18 springs.
- aluminmum foot
- Two very big exterior Bakelite parts
- 3 very complex pure copper parts that each form a conductive part including all of the sockets and the input. No off-the-shelf sockets are used.
- Each live and neutral leg in the sockets incorporates one bronzespring to increase contact pressure
The result is:
- extremely low resistance conductive path because of th ecomplete continuity of power carrying parts
- completely identicial outputs (equal distance to input)
- star grounding - equal resistance to ground if used with FMR SE/Olympic Reference
- very tight connection between the socket and the plug due to the use of bronze springs to increase the contact pressure
- conductive parts are completely encased in rock like material (except where flexibility is needed) to avoid mechanical vibrations. This is not an empty box with parts dangling around inside like everything else out there
- zero limitation on dynamics.
- Pure copper all the way. No brass or bronze or any other alloy
A simple demo will shock you.