I haven’t updated on my progress of Cessaro Chopin for a long while. It is because my original setup tapped on an unmatched preamp (Masseto) with my other gears. My rock music became kids’ music as all instruments are highly segregated and compressed. According to the comments of John (PT’s friend who is an expert of musical performance), my Chopin sounded nice but the dynamics of most instruments including electric guitar, drums and bass (except vocal) was virtually lost after listening to my favorite bands like Queen, Mr. Children, Coldplay, etc. PT and other big brothers in this community have already pointed out the shortcomings of my preamp since my Day1. To take an example, Mr. Fire4 mentioned that he was virtually melted by Ah Lam’s vocal in his new album under AE’s Tidal suite. I tried to play Track#1 (分分鐘需要你) with the Masseto a few weeks ago, while Ah Lam’s vocal is good thru the Chopin, the violin (I guess so as my classical music knowledge is absolutely zero) sounded very plain and dead (like no tension on the string), also sometimes blended with other instruments like bass, etc. When I listened to Track#11 (愛到分離仍是愛), a duet between Ah Lam and Sally, the two vocals were blended together and there is no imaging on the two vocals. I was very disappointed as Mr. Fire4 said that this album is very touching (also shown from the top position on HMV sales chart in HK). However, I know that the shortcomings should be originated from my preamp.
Finally, Syren Black Label arrived yesterday with the kind help of PT. I just gave my preliminary impression herein. When I played 分分鐘需要你 again, Ah Lam’s voice becomes very coherent and powerful compared to Masseto. At the same time, the string comes back to life with dynamics and speed behind Ah Lam’s great vocal. To be frank, I haven’t heard of such a wonderful Can-pop song for the last 5 years or so (who else can sing like that with unique character, balanced sentiment and power in the new generation?). Of course, Jacky’s jazz album released last year is also wonderful. When I played 愛到分離仍是愛 (a new version of an old song when I was a kid), the imaging of the whole duet vocals is elevated by several orders of magnitude. Ah Lam and Sally voices are highly coordinated while they are clearly distinct from each other. Now Chopin is showing me its true character, with speed, power and good imaging. I am extremely satisfied at this stage. At last, I played my favorite song of Queen, “We Are the Champion” (Masseto cannot even amplify the vocal of my beloved Freddie with the necessary energy, no need to mention the other instruments!), Syren reproduces not just Freddie’s voice extremely well, it gives back the full dynamics, speed and tonality to the bass of John Deacon, guitar of Brian May, drum of Roger Taylor. Syren really saves my day as well as the rest of my investment in my audio journey! I have to say that my audio description is far from satisfactory but I hope that AE Big Brothers won’t mind. In conclusion, with the right preamp, Chopin can really rock!
You ain't the milk delivery boy anymore with the Tron syren black label holding the gate for you.
The top three preamps in this group in my subjective opinion are (1) Tidal Prescenio (2) Tron Syren Black Label (3)XXXX. I can't determine which one holds the 3rd position. I never got a chance to listen to the DV preamp. Rob's K10 is not here yet. While the wavac pr-t1 is good, it is clearly not good enough now and not at the standard that this group is looking for. I am yet to listen to the new Zanden 3000 line but the old version isn't delivering the dynamics and transients that I want though the tonality is correct and finesee is definitely there.
Milky boy, what is your next step? Have you installed the Tripoint Troy yet?
I am most delighted to get your kind compliment! I can’t imagine that a tube preamp like Syren Black Label can deliver the transient and dynamics like a solid state device while maintaining the natural feeling of vocals. Now I notice the importance of active pre-amp as a heart and soul of any audio system. Otherwise, Chopin is always under the shadow of the green preamp (muddy, slow and diffused) which I used previously.
Since I have spent all my available cash on getting Syren, I need to wait for a while before going into the next step. Yes, Troy is a MUST for highend music reproduction (particularly after my ear-opening experiences in the Tidal suite) but now it is not cheap. PT said that the Stuff is also crazy! I will try to get both when I will get bullets.
A new happy owner of Cessaro Chopin. I brought him over to Mr. Chik's LP shop on Tuesday. After an hour of auditioning to his favorite music (Pink Floyd, Beatles, etc..), he decided to take it home. This morning, we delivered the very sexy Chopin.
This is a pair of Chopin Signature speaker with capacitors in the crossover all replaced by SILVER MICA to extract extreme refinement and details. Much more high frequency details and spatial resolution as a result of the application of extreme fine components.
A new Crossover?! After running in the great Syren Black Label with Chopin for more than 7 months, my current Chopin is really doing me great with high speed and transparency. So it is very truthful to the quality of the CD which I play. I can't imagmine how it will rock with the new crossover.
Does the new Crossover require on-site installation from the Cessaro big boss?
Comments
Vocal from Chopin more realistic than Eufro?
Chopin looks great together with your setup!
Milky Boyz
蕭公子係另外一個級數的喇叭, Eufro完全冇還手能力. 再且佢低音號角係Front Loading設計, 較為比中佬Affascinate更直接和自然, 兩路單元設計的連貫性亦較為容易. 當然低元級數不可和中佬揪, 但在較少的空間, 簫公子是較為容易掌握, 個低真係超靚!
What's your view on Chopin after 2 weeks burning in of the speaker? How does it match with your amps?
本人認為蕭公子的完成度極高, 我班朋友極度麻煩尖酸刻薄到大讚有音色, 又有彈跳力, 低音速度又快, 場面又大, 連貫性强,個音箱又靚仔. Ralph真係有料到.
現在最希望"威其仁"轉盤盡快到港
Finally, Syren Black Label arrived yesterday with the kind help of PT. I just gave my preliminary impression herein. When I played 分分鐘需要你 again, Ah Lam’s voice becomes very coherent and powerful compared to Masseto. At the same time, the string comes back to life with dynamics and speed behind Ah Lam’s great vocal. To be frank, I haven’t heard of such a wonderful Can-pop song for the last 5 years or so (who else can sing like that with unique character, balanced sentiment and power in the new generation?). Of course, Jacky’s jazz album released last year is also wonderful. When I played 愛到分離仍是愛 (a new version of an old song when I was a kid), the imaging of the whole duet vocals is elevated by several orders of magnitude. Ah Lam and Sally voices are highly coordinated while they are clearly distinct from each other. Now Chopin is showing me its true character, with speed, power and good imaging. I am extremely satisfied at this stage. At last, I played my favorite song of Queen, “We Are the Champion” (Masseto cannot even amplify the vocal of my beloved Freddie with the necessary energy, no need to mention the other instruments!), Syren reproduces not just Freddie’s voice extremely well, it gives back the full dynamics, speed and tonality to the bass of John Deacon, guitar of Brian May, drum of Roger Taylor. Syren really saves my day as well as the rest of my investment in my audio journey! I have to say that my audio description is far from satisfactory but I hope that AE Big Brothers won’t mind. In conclusion, with the right preamp, Chopin can really rock!
The top three preamps in this group in my subjective opinion are (1) Tidal Prescenio (2) Tron Syren Black Label (3)XXXX. I can't determine which one holds the 3rd position. I never got a chance to listen to the DV preamp. Rob's K10 is not here yet. While the wavac pr-t1 is good, it is clearly not good enough now and not at the standard that this group is looking for. I am yet to listen to the new Zanden 3000 line but the old version isn't delivering the dynamics and transients that I want though the tonality is correct and finesee is definitely there.
Milky boy, what is your next step? Have you installed the Tripoint Troy yet?
I am most delighted to get your kind compliment! I can’t imagine that a tube preamp like Syren Black Label can deliver the transient and dynamics like a solid state device while maintaining the natural feeling of vocals. Now I notice the importance of active pre-amp as a heart and soul of any audio system. Otherwise, Chopin is always under the shadow of the green preamp (muddy, slow and diffused) which I used previously.
Since I have spent all my available cash on getting Syren, I need to wait for a while before going into the next step. Yes, Troy is a MUST for highend music reproduction (particularly after my ear-opening experiences in the Tidal suite) but now it is not cheap. PT said that the Stuff is also crazy! I will try to get both when I will get bullets.
Thanks!!
Milky Boyz
A new Crossover?! After running in the great Syren Black Label with Chopin for more than 7 months, my current Chopin is really doing me great with high speed and transparency. So it is very truthful to the quality of the CD which I play. I can't imagmine how it will rock with the new crossover.
Does the new Crossover require on-site installation from the Cessaro big boss?
Milky Boyz