How do You Measure Delight?In glowing reviews of other products, I’ve sometimes used the help from the movie “The Prestige”, which explains the three acts of magic.
“Every great magic trick consists of three parts or acts. The first part is called “The Pledge”. The magician shows you something ordinary: a deck of cards, a bird or a man. He shows you this object. Perhaps he asks you to inspect it to see if it is indeed real, unaltered, normal. But of course… it probably isn’t. The second act is called “The Turn”. The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary. Now you’re looking for the secret… but you won’t find it, because of course you’re not really looking. You don’t really want to know. You want to be fooled. But you wouldn’t clap yet. Because making something disappear isn’t enough; you have to bring it back. That’s why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call “The Prestige”.”
Let’s apply these acts to Sarah:
The magician (Steve) shows us a bunch of components, including wires, chassis, a wood base, a transformer, capacitors, sockets, binding posts, tubes etc.
The magician then meticulously assembles all of these in a beautiful amp. You oooh and aaah, but you’re not clapping yet…
Finally, the magician starts to amplify music through said amp, and instantly transports you to another dimension, which in our case, is a live performance. Not a facsimile of a performance, mind you—-an actual honest to God, appropriately scaled, live performance.
Now you CLAP like there’s no tomorrow, because that ladies and gents—was the magician’s third and final act—the ‘Prestige’.
To say that Sarah has exceeded my wildest expectations, is to put it mildly. She has been (and is) a revelation. Forget about music for a second. I find myself just staring and marveling at her beauty and gravitas. She has instantly become the center point, the queen of my rig, and every other component just bows down in reverence.
Everything, and I MEAN EVERYTHING has improved and I’m still early in the break-in period. Where do I even start? Perhaps with listing the setup:
DAC: Holo Audio Spring 3 KTE
ZBIT: Full Throttle. That’s the setting I use, when the ZR2 is bypassed.
ZR2: Bypassed
Pre: icOn 4 Passive Pre
Cabling to Sarah: TWL 10 Plus PC, Decware ZWIRE Speaker cables, and TWL Spirit II Single Ended Interconnects
Speakers: Li Audio Fast 15 drivers housed in Caintuck Audio’s beautiful two-tone Walnut and African Sapele baffles
Tubes: Stock complement from Decware
Impedance Switch: Hi
Voicing Switch: Back—for deeper soundstage
Mid-Range:
I used to comment with the Had amp on how the singer/band was in the room.
I was wrong. I have been humbled.
That was merely the projection of the singer in the room. The actual singer has finally decided to drop by—come up close, and be a lot more personal. I can’t get over this. I can’t. Listening to Tracy Chapman’s “Stand by Me” (Live), I was in tears. The intensity of emotions that the artist intended is coming through in such a truthful manner, that I’ve been just taken aback and have wondered on many a track, “so that’s what they were trying to share”. It has been a profound realization.
Soundstage:
I’m a sucker for deep soundstages and one of the reasons I switched to OB last year was the additional depth it provides. But it was just that—an additional, may 2-3 ft back at best, perhaps pushing 5 ft on it’s best day. But this? Holy shit! Sarah does 5 ft back while walking and chewing gum, and goes back double that distance with an equal amount of grace. One of the tracks that really blew me away with the depth of the soundstage was Jazz Variants by o-zone percussion group. I’ve heard this track multiple times, but not like this—-this was epic, with the percussion hits coming from like 10 ft back but without losing an iota of intensity!
Similarly, the width of the soundstage has gotten wider and the height taller, to delightful levels. But all of this still doesn’t really describe what makes this setting so devilishly compelling. It’s as if Steve has figured out how to faithfully recreate the scale of a live band/concert. I’m in awe and tired of picking up my jaw from the floor. Seriously Steve, would it be too much to ask Decware to pack a jaw holder in the shipping box as a must needed accessory?
Imaging, Blacker Blacks, Resolution, and Detail:
Instruments are more prominently etched within their respective spaces, where each instrument is awarded equal opportunity to shine under the spotlight vs. sacrificing one over the other. With the Had amp, instruments at the outer edges of the soundstage always felt a bit weak or frayed. Not so with Sarah. She doesn’t care. She is faithful. She is benevolent. She listens to all her subjects with the same amount of respect.
The background is so god damn black that while listening to Jacintha’s “Moon River”, I thought the track had ended and was waiting for the next track to start, when she stated singing again for a couple of seconds to finish the track and I was just left stunned. I’ve listened to this track multiple times and should not have been fooled. “What the hell just happened?”
I recall the feeling of excitement and awe when I switched from VHS to DVD, or from SD to HD to 4K on TV. Well, that feeling is back and I haven’t been able to shake it off for the past week. Yes, there is more meat on the bones. But, there is more-a harmonic richness I was getting with the ZR2 engaged, without impacting the speed.
And because all of the above, I am hearing more details—something I thought I had already achieved or addressed. Nope. It’s a deeper listening with details emerging that I didn’t pay attention to before. On “Dreams (Piano Version)” by Lissie, ironically, I never really heard the Piano until last night—always and only focusing on her vocals. There was nothing else to pay attention to. Last night, when I heard the Piano clearly for the first time high up within the soundstage—well, that was another holy shit moment.
But detail is a double-edged sword. The downside (to some) is that you’re going to hear every imperfection too. I’m now hearing all these imperfections in recordings that I didn’t know existed. But, that’s what makes it more human to me and I would accept that trade-off every day of the week.
As a result of all of the above, the presentation is without a doubt, more resolutely holographic compared to my Had amp.
My son had the best analogy that sums up this section so aptly. He was like:
“Dad, it feels like we’re watching a movie in an IMAX theatre!”
Bass and Higher Frequencies:
I think my ZR2’s days are numbered.
Yup, you heard that right. While in the signal chain, I’ve continued to bypass it. The way Sarah is pressurizing the room is insane given my KT77’s on the Had amp are rated for 10 watts per channel. Sarah (with the three OC2 equivalents) is 7 watts, at best. Bass hits are deeper, more pronounced, more textured. The level of slam I’m experiencing with drum hits is mind-boggling. While this trait was impressive from the get go, it’s got even better after 100 hours. I can’t get enough of it.
And yes, there is more sparkle and satisfying zing at the top end. It can occasionally come off as a bit bright, but that will season over time with more hours on the amp and tubes, not to mention, eventually a different compliment of tubes, and Steve’s network for the Fast 15s. Not concerned.
Decay:
All I have to say here is that the notes have come out to play (no pun intended).
And they are in no hurry to leave…
Dynamics:
I didn’t have to test this much. I just had to play ‘Tin Pan Alley’ and was blown away. Later I played “Private Investigations” and almost jumped out of my listening char. Other tracks have further cemented this discovery—Sarah (by far) produces the best dynamic range I’ve heard in my audio journey so far.
Volume:
This is where my experience differs from Ghostship—I haven’t experienced any decrease in volume (yet). In fact, it’s the opposite—I had to lower the volume by 4 steps on my Autoformer based passive pre.
Control:
I’ve not previously thought about or talked about this aspect before, but I think it’s worth noting here. I cannot fathom how a 6 watt SET has such an iron grip compared to a 10 watt Single-Ended Pentode amp. I’ve played a few bass heavy tracks where the Had amp struggled to keep up. Sarah, is blowing through the same tracks without breaking a sweat. She always seems to be teasing me with:
“Is that all you’ve got?”
Conclusion:
I prefer not to overstay my welcome and will just end with this:
Every single second of the almost two year wait has been worth its weight in gold. I’m truly, madly, deeply, in love.
Steve, what a “Prestige”!
CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP
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