Date: 2015-08-26
"Do you two have a bodyguard?" I asked Elac speaker designer Andrew Jones (right) and equally legendary Audio Alchemy electronics designer Peter Madnick (left) upon hearing the tremendous sound pouring forth from their bargain system ($5500 including custom-made music server and cabling). "If you don't, you'd be wise to consider hiring one. Given the virtually illegal amount of warmth, bass, and full-range sound you're getting from those tiny little speakers and that sub, I wouldn't be surprised if at least one high-priced manufacturer is tempted to do you in, lest you give the lie to the assertion that higher prices equate with better sound."
Yes, you can add me to the many who stumbled dumbfounded through the halls at Munich High End proclaiming that Jones' not-yet-released Elac B5 loudspeakers and Elac S10EQ 200Watt subwoofer with 10" driver, 10" passive radiator, and DSP are not only the best thing since Swiss cheese, but so good that you could stuff many a rival brand through the holes and not miss a thing. I intentionally skipped hearing the Elacs in Munich, because my assignment was to cover the high-priced spread. I don't regret doing so - the Elac pairing cannot equal the sound exhibited by systems that included speakers from Wilson Audio, Magico, YG Acoustics, Vivid, and the like. But the Elac combo sounds so damn excellent that many manufacturers of four-figure floorstanders and five-figure electronics must be quaking in their boots.
As for Audio Alchemy's DDP-1 DAC/preamp, PS-5 power supply, and DPA-1 125Wpc power amp, in Munich they were paired with Jones' much larger TAD monitors in a huge room that called for more power than the DPA-1 could offer. It was only at CAS in Millbrae that I could truly assess how good they are. I'm dying to hear how the Audio Alchemy DDP-1 sounds next to my trusty Benchmark DAC-1 USB, as well as any number of other DAC/preamps in the below $5000 range.
Now, let's talk about the music. First off, from a CD quality track from 88 Basie Street, I heard such warm and wonderful full-range sound as to leave me dumbfounded. The horns and coronets sounded especially convincing, and the smoothness of the presentation, undoubtedly helped by the Shunyata Research Triton and Typhon power conditioning that Peter Madnick brought from his home to address potential hotel power issues, was uncanny.
Next up, the great Shirley Horn's recording of "Beautiful Love" sounded gorgeous. Beauty was also the operative term for Boz Scaggs' "My Funny Valentine."
Even before I heard a hi-res excerpt from David Chesky's Zephyrtine Ballet, I had written, "This system should be outlawed in my notes." Even though the Kevlar cones in Elac's Chinese-made speakers couldn't convey all the realistic transients and decay of huge drums, the recording sounded almost too good to be true.
Jones did a very convincing demo of how he could use the downloadable Elac app and microphone in his portable phone to adjust the subwoofer. Then he explained that Elac is a 90-year old North Germany company that just like the much younger Audio Alchemy, which is based in America, was being re-launched in the US. Ending with Anders Widmark playing jazz piano convinced many in attendance that the exceptionally smooth and clean sound, allied to supremely tight bass, all but guaranteed this in this case, second time around was sure to charm.
Also in the system: Zellman/Marutani PC Windows-based server 2012 with Audiophile Optimizer on JRiver, and homemade Marutani interconnects and speaker wire that consist of Furutech plugs, store-bought wire, and Teflon tape shielding. In the groove: Everyone listening.
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