As we cruised the halls of the audio show we discovered a number of interesting rooms and systems: some great, some not so great. One great system surprised me because it's about as far away from what I would have ever considered having in my home as I can imagine. Yet, this system honored the music in a surprising way. It romanticized it.
The 99dB efficient loudspeakers were from 1954 and were powered by a similar vintage 2-watt tube amplifier. The source was a magnificent turntable and as we listened, smiles came onto our faces.
Nothing in the system's presentation sounded like an attempt at real; the frequency response and dynamics limited (as you might expect). No layering, few inner details, not much to write home about from a high-performance standpoint. Yet we were thoroughly entranced by the music. Everything was lovely sounding, even poor recordings.
One of the things I truly love about this industry is the number of people who, in their own ways, bring the joy of music to so many people. It simply reminds me there are systems that would never qualify as "high end" in any technical sense, yet provide the listener with musical ecstasy all of us can appreciate.
