It was an epic legend. For forty days, Goliath beckoned the Israelites to send a champion of their own for single combat. Then came David who took up the challenge and slain Goliath with a sling shot thereby securing the seat of the kingdom. In similar fashion, the Vitus SM-101 monoblocks and the SL-100 true balanced preamp has rein for 4 long years without a sweat. While its supremacy is not absolute, its overall performance is sufficient to dispel contenders without really try until 3 months ago when Tidal’s Piano Diacera entered the stage as my spokesperson. The music was flowing and free of any compression but then the system caught a cold. The breathing was a bit stuffy and the traffic somehow was slowing down.
The toll road to nirvana is a path of treacherous questions and challenges. One pays the toll hopefully to find a better landscape for the next stretch. Sometimes we found the scene rewarding but more often than not (I assume that is the experience for most comrades here), the tolls are paid for lessons learnt. People join the toll road in different stage of their life, with varying degree of backgrounds, misconceptions and dreams. Friends were made and lost. Lots more departed for various reasons – I hope the departers all found their nirvana. It’s a beautiful system and this forum has been like a user guide that provides comforts as well as comradeship. I want to particularly thank Raymond for generously lending the superb Tidal Impact stereo amp to mate with my spokesperson (in the literary sense). It has helped me to earn more mileages without exacting a toll and in the process learned a major and perhaps defining lesson in my audio nirvana.
If live music can be boiled down to the essence, it should be spontaneous and coherent. In a reproduction setting, it therefore goes without saying that it must deliver speed while keeping track with the rhythmic flow of the original music. We may use various tools to enhance this audio experience but ultimately our objective should be one that brings us closer to the realism. Anything apart from this truthfulness I called it coloration. In this regards, the Piano Diacera has been of immeasurable value in this realization process. Its transparency and distortion-free bandwidth dutifully reports back the health of your system – that is assuming you care to listen to what it tells you – and that’s when I realized my system has a cold. For those who have formal scientific training, this is the litmus test that leaves no doubt the verdict of your search. The pairing of the Impact with the Empress’ New Clothes is as much a curiosity as a litmus test assuming the same design philosophy will run through to Tidal’s amplification products. The curiosity part is whether the overwhelming power may dictate the outcome of war.
The first impression of the Impact on my system is that of speed but without a hastily character. Initially, it feels almost like my LPs are spinning 1-2 rpm faster than what I used to. But after comparing between sources and across a wide spectrum of music, the correctness in tempos leaves no doubt something is very right – the harmonic rhythm creates the right amount of tension that matches precisely with the content of music. Spinning Duke Ellington & Johnny Hodges’ Back to Back LP, the music comes alive showing the true color of the great masters whereas with the Vitus the Goliath, the liveliness got sucked out – what a pity! Over numerous violin recitals on Amati and Strads – I admit I have never listened to one played by great master up close and personal, but under the baton of Impact + Diacera, they all sounded so sweet to my ears that I can only surrender my innocence. There is no sterility at all in a truly transparent system. Dance becomes a dance. Emotions have more gradations that I have words for them. It is not that Goliath is not worthy of the fight. It is still one great amplification product and its power still shines through in difficult passages and climax. But I remembered vividly a comment from one of my learned audiophile comrades – you can always turn a cup of plain Earl Grey into milk tea but never the reverse. The mirror-like Tidal makes it crystal clear to me (my apology for the cheap pun) the roadmap to my nirvana. By now, I am also convinced that the Impact is particularly designed to showcase the beauty of Tidal speakers. I ended my brief encounter of the Impact wondering what could beckon if the Empress is to match with the Impact monoblocks. If I could ever afford that will be my end game. My salute to Tidal! This is one awesome weekend and once again, thanks Raymond for the toll free pass.
You can use mine until yours arrive or I need it back. For the time being, I am driving the Tidal by Wavac now, just want to get a different taste. The wavac is beautiful on opera.
Very nice that you understood what we are doing. You did a great job to help people coming off of the whole "sound" issue.
Oh, by the way: the TIDAL amps are not particularly designed for the TIDAL speakers or the other way around, it is way more simple: we both do design them with the same goal - no sound. A TIDAL speaker is just the perfect tool to judge different amps cause if its missing of particular sound, this means no adding of own device sound or adding of coloration, and also it does not lose any detail of the incoming signal. That means one can hear what the front end is doing. With the amps on the other hand one has finally a
tool to listen to the speakers with no coloration and loss of detail.
Next step is the preamp (the Preos will open another new gate of formerly sound and limitation). It goes then finally up to the needle. The better it is the closer the truth. Or one is just choosing the cartridge which one likes and spend the rest of
the life with it - both ways make happy and let one sit on front of the
system relaxed like never before, cause what one hears is what is on
the record. No sound, no coloration - just music. And one can finally spend money only on software and new records, this driven desire of something better finally stopped. This is what we do and why all the usual standards of the last decades of hifi are not our reference. Our reference is live music only.
I must admit listening to the Tidal suite is a unique experience. Its utmost transparency leaves no room for the audience to hide but to accept the reality of live music the way it should be.
Alecy, your fine English pieces are now used by Tidal in their marketing material. Read below:
A critical and very nice comment about our reference amps "Preos" and "Impact", incl. bringing up the whole issue about sound, and where one can see exactly how clients going thru this process of revalation and experience between "truth" and "sound" and its complex arguing in front of clients and show them that this is the key back to fun of listening music.
".....There is no sterility at all in a truly transparent system. Dance becomes a dance. Emotions have more gradations that I have words for them. It is not that Goliath is not worthy of the fight.
It is still one great amplification product and its power still shines through in difficult passages and climax. But I remembered vividly a comment from one of my learned audiophile comrades – you can always turn a cup of plain Earl Grey into milk tea but never the reverse.
The mirror-like Tidal makes it crystal clear to me (my apology for the cheap pun) the roadmap to my nirvana. By now, I am also convinced that the Impact is particularly designed to showcase the beauty of Tidal speakers. I ended my brief encounter of the Impact wondering what could beckon if the Empress is to match with the Impact monoblocks. If I could ever afford that will be my end game. My salute to Tidal!"
Alecy, I like your pic. It's cruel but clearcut. I have heard thousand times the fanatical Preos, never had I imagine the amp creates so much "impact" to you. Are you aiming for a suite? The Goliath is dead. The corpse of Goliah stinks. Chance of resurrection is zero. If I were God, I will let him rest in peace, let Dave does the job. Then, there is hope in front of you.
Alecy, there is no room for course reversal after a true Tidal experience. Voy's description is startling. I wonder who have the willingness to find a pair of nice coffin for your Goliath. For sure I won't, don't even want to see the corpses lying around. Poor Goliath..... This is a cruel world.
Alecy, I am on training this week and I hope I could hook up with you next week to let Preos meets Impact in your system asap. By the way, my son is very excited about your exotic 'rubber spining on the road'.
Comments
It was an epic legend. For forty days, Goliath beckoned the Israelites to send a champion of their own for single combat. Then came David who took up the challenge and slain Goliath with a sling shot thereby securing the seat of the kingdom. In similar fashion, the Vitus SM-101 monoblocks and the SL-100 true balanced preamp has rein for 4 long years without a sweat. While its supremacy is not absolute, its overall performance is sufficient to dispel contenders without really try until 3 months ago when Tidal’s Piano Diacera entered the stage as my spokesperson. The music was flowing and free of any compression but then the system caught a cold. The breathing was a bit stuffy and the traffic somehow was slowing down.
The toll road to nirvana is a path of treacherous questions and challenges. One pays the toll hopefully to find a better landscape for the next stretch. Sometimes we found the scene rewarding but more often than not (I assume that is the experience for most comrades here), the tolls are paid for lessons learnt. People join the toll road in different stage of their life, with varying degree of backgrounds, misconceptions and dreams. Friends were made and lost. Lots more departed for various reasons – I hope the departers all found their nirvana. It’s a beautiful system and this forum has been like a user guide that provides comforts as well as comradeship. I want to particularly thank Raymond for generously lending the superb Tidal Impact stereo amp to mate with my spokesperson (in the literary sense). It has helped me to earn more mileages without exacting a toll and in the process learned a major and perhaps defining lesson in my audio nirvana.
If live music can be boiled down to the essence, it should be spontaneous and coherent. In a reproduction setting, it therefore goes without saying that it must deliver speed while keeping track with the rhythmic flow of the original music. We may use various tools to enhance this audio experience but ultimately our objective should be one that brings us closer to the realism. Anything apart from this truthfulness I called it coloration. In this regards, the Piano Diacera has been of immeasurable value in this realization process. Its transparency and distortion-free bandwidth dutifully reports back the health of your system – that is assuming you care to listen to what it tells you – and that’s when I realized my system has a cold. For those who have formal scientific training, this is the litmus test that leaves no doubt the verdict of your search. The pairing of the Impact with the Empress’ New Clothes is as much a curiosity as a litmus test assuming the same design philosophy will run through to Tidal’s amplification products. The curiosity part is whether the overwhelming power may dictate the outcome of war.
The first impression of the Impact on my system is that of speed but without a hastily character. Initially, it feels almost like my LPs are spinning 1-2 rpm faster than what I used to. But after comparing between sources and across a wide spectrum of music, the correctness in tempos leaves no doubt something is very right – the harmonic rhythm creates the right amount of tension that matches precisely with the content of music. Spinning Duke Ellington & Johnny Hodges’ Back to Back LP, the music comes alive showing the true color of the great masters whereas with the Vitus the Goliath, the liveliness got sucked out – what a pity! Over numerous violin recitals on Amati and Strads – I admit I have never listened to one played by great master up close and personal, but under the baton of Impact + Diacera, they all sounded so sweet to my ears that I can only surrender my innocence. There is no sterility at all in a truly transparent system. Dance becomes a dance. Emotions have more gradations that I have words for them. It is not that Goliath is not worthy of the fight. It is still one great amplification product and its power still shines through in difficult passages and climax. But I remembered vividly a comment from one of my learned audiophile comrades – you can always turn a cup of plain Earl Grey into milk tea but never the reverse. The mirror-like Tidal makes it crystal clear to me (my apology for the cheap pun) the roadmap to my nirvana. By now, I am also convinced that the Impact is particularly designed to showcase the beauty of Tidal speakers. I ended my brief encounter of the Impact wondering what could beckon if the Empress is to match with the Impact monoblocks. If I could ever afford that will be my end game. My salute to Tidal! This is one awesome weekend and once again, thanks Raymond for the toll free pass.
Tidal really rocks your emotion with its raw power without coloration. I will study it more for a week longer and perhaps together with the Preos.
Thanks.
Oh, by the way: the TIDAL amps are not particularly designed for the TIDAL speakers or the other way around, it is way more simple: we both do design them with the same goal - no sound. A TIDAL speaker is just the perfect tool to judge different amps cause if its missing of particular sound, this means no adding of own device sound or adding of coloration, and also it does not lose any detail of the incoming signal. That means one can hear what the front end is doing. With the amps on the other hand one has finally a
tool to listen to the speakers with no coloration and loss of detail.
Next step is the preamp (the Preos will open another new gate of formerly sound and limitation). It goes then finally up to the needle. The better it is the closer the truth. Or one is just choosing the cartridge which one likes and spend the rest of
the life with it - both ways make happy and let one sit on front of the
system relaxed like never before, cause what one hears is what is on
the record. No sound, no coloration - just music. And one can finally spend money only on software and new records, this driven desire of something better finally stopped. This is what we do and why all the usual standards of the last decades of hifi are not our reference. Our reference is live music only.
Best
Jorn
Thanks for the clarification.
I must admit listening to the Tidal suite is a unique experience. Its utmost transparency leaves no room for the audience to hide but to accept the reality of live music the way it should be.
Am sure the addition of Preos will be as magical!
A critical and very nice comment about our reference amps "Preos" and "Impact", incl. bringing up the whole issue about sound, and where one can see exactly how clients going thru this process of revalation and experience between "truth" and "sound" and its complex arguing in front of clients and show them that this is the key back to fun of listening music.
".....There is no sterility at all in a truly transparent system. Dance becomes a dance. Emotions have more gradations that I have words for them. It is not that Goliath is not worthy of the fight.
It is still one great amplification product and its power still shines through in difficult passages and climax. But I remembered vividly a comment from one of my learned audiophile comrades – you can always turn a cup of plain Earl Grey into milk tea but never the reverse.
The mirror-like Tidal makes it crystal clear to me (my apology for the cheap pun) the roadmap to my nirvana. By now, I am also convinced that the Impact is particularly designed to showcase the beauty of Tidal speakers. I ended my brief encounter of the Impact wondering what could beckon if the Empress is to match with the Impact monoblocks. If I could ever afford that will be my end game. My salute to Tidal!"
For the full text please click here:
Impact:
http://www.audioexotics.hk/forum.php?cat=4&show=0&id=4746&fshow=0&search=&order=lastpostdate&seq=desc&rseq=asc
and Preos:
http://www.audioexotics.hk/forum.php?cat=4&show=0&id=2862&fshow=0&search=&order=lastpostdate&seq=desc&rseq=asc
Sounding good is a subjective argument but sounding right is absolute. Will only make sense to have a whole suite to unleash its true power.