Welcome to my 50th article of High-End Sound! I hope you have enjoyed the adventures I’ve shared and been able to apply some of the tricks that I’ve learned to make your systems look and sound more real.
With over 51 years in the audio-video business, I can attest that my industry is constantly changing and evolving. The most important knowledge in this field is learned through direct experience. What you discover often flies in the face of your earlier theories, so what starts as a simple desire for music in the home evolves into a quest for ever deeper understanding about music. Many of my articles have been inspired by very recent discoveries and insights, often triggered by your questions.
Technology in itself can be fascinating, but for me it needs a reason to be. Connecting it with a lifetime of music has given me a Holy Grail to pursue and has become my way to geek out while sharing my love of music. In fact, today it is easier —and cheaper!—than ever to appreciate the practical value of a more refined audio video system.
This month I will show you two systems that I’ve assembled as an example of how to build a stereo package that maximizes your musical experience.
Starting with Bluetooth allows you to immediately access the music files that you already enjoy in your phone or laptop. For now I’ll be focusing on stereo, so you don’t have to split your speaker budget five or more ways. Even if you wish to start with a surround receiver, it’s always best to splurge for the best front pair that you can afford. Never compromise your front pair just to buy sound all around.
The first package is dirt cheap, and the other is a serious hobbyist’s investment. Both can transport you to a very musical place and entertain you all day without listening fatigue. And both sonically compete with systems that cost much more.
The “Tree Frog” Music System
Here in Iowa, the American green tree frog makes a high, cheerful sound. It’s amazing that it can be so small and still be so loud and clear. The “Tree Frog” system does this as well. Thanks to Paradigm’s famous Atom speakers, it can fill a large room with refined musical sound and full, deep bass. The little Yamaha R-N303 receiver is clean and powerful, and has a built-in tuner and Bluetooth. At only $130 more than Paradigm’s basic Bluetooth receiver, it adds a competent digital connection for your TV output, a network connection so you can have access to all the music on your smartphone or computer, and Yamaha’s versatile MusicCast server for a lifetime of musical choices.
The “Prodigy” Music System
If you dare to ask Santa for a truly state-of-the-art music system this year, my second example will stand up to some of the most expensive and exotic audio systems in the world. This level of performance is finally a reachable goal without having to refinance your home. Thanks to the inspired efforts of two companies that don’t believe in compromise, their best technologies are used in their more affordable models.
I’ve decided to call this package the “Prodigy” music system.
I first discovered Jeff Rowland’s work in the early 1980s, shortly after he started producing his Model 5 and 7 amplifiers, which soon became legends in the world of high-end audio. I remember that his amps sounded rich and relaxed, yet showed me far more detail, space, and dynamic content in the music. Until these were developed, almost all of the highly detailed amps were too bright, and the rich amps lacked the finest details. I’ve never been disappointed by Jeff’s ear for music.
Today, Jeff Rowland Design Group makes a modestly priced power amp that’s a giant killer at a price that’s a tenth of his top models, with sound that comes amazingly close. I chose to mate it with the Aeris, his best digital-to-analog converter. I’ve combined these with Paradigm’s smallest Persona tower speakers, with their huge beryllium midrange and beryllium tweeter, both behind beautiful “grills” that are actually time lenses for better imaging. Beryllium is the lightest metal, and it doesn’t add a bit of ring to the music it reproduces.
And don’t let the small woofers fool you. These speakers have thunderous, deep bass that is as clean as can be. They sport special rubber surrounds that allow the woofers to pump far more air than their size would suggest, for superfast, powerful lows! In the home, the top consideration may well be that they are strikingly beautiful tower speakers, with many custom-finish options and well-braced cabinets that have no parallel surfaces to mess up their sound.
If you’re curious to have a listen, stop by my shop and let these systems do the talking. Have the happiest and most musical of holidays!
Paul owns Golden Ears Inc. in Fairfield.