Yesterday I spent some quality time at Alma Music & Audio with Alex (asiufy).
Alex is a MOST gracious host and I was treated like a big ticket customer even though
I am not shopping for gear. Alex is absolutely one of the most passionate, knowledgeable,
and open minded audiophiles and music lovers I have had the pleasure to meet. Alex was
even nice enough to let me bring my dog Sandy.
The store is gorgeous. Lots of light, beautiful high ceilings, tastefully decorated, with a warm
welcoming feeling. This is NOT your typical stuffy audio salon. And the gear...dear Lord..Alex
& Fabio have amazing taste. And they do not discriminate on customer wallet size. You only have
a couple of grand to spend? S,ure, the iFI Retro system..$500? No problem, the iFI phono stage or DAC..
have a lot more to spend? Sure DartZeel, MSB, YG...got you covered.
And for you Vinyl lovers, the LP selection is truly amazing.
I found a kindred spirit in Alex. We seem to have very similar taste in music and the sound.
Now to the listening!
In the first system, went to a room with the YG Carmel speakers, a AudioPax 100 wpc tube amps (wow!), and a Linn streamer.
I also had my first experience with Tidal. I was very, very impressed..with selection and interface. We were using the Linn Kazoo control
app, which I use at home.
The first track we streamed was the remastered version of Zep's "No Quarter"..wholly smokes..I have never heard the track sound this
good. Ever. From there we streamed a lot of Seal (my choice, big fan), Genesis, etc. The soundstage was so rock solid, precise, and the
top to bottom tonal quality was spot on.
We then streamed the same tracks and more in the front room with a Dart integrated, the famous MSB Select DAC, and the BIG Evolution Acoustics speakers, one
model down from the flagship.
What I heard was pretty shocking. I did NOT expect such delicacy and finesse from such a large scale system And when scale was required, it was there big time.
If you want to hear a system that is pretty much to my ears as life like as you are going to get, contact Alex for a listening session. You won't regret it.
Here are some pics. Alex, btw, feel free to correct me if I mixed up any of the gear. I was lost in the music!
Alex is a MOST gracious host and I was treated like a big ticket customer even though
I am not shopping for gear. Alex is absolutely one of the most passionate, knowledgeable,
and open minded audiophiles and music lovers I have had the pleasure to meet. Alex was
even nice enough to let me bring my dog Sandy.
The store is gorgeous. Lots of light, beautiful high ceilings, tastefully decorated, with a warm
welcoming feeling. This is NOT your typical stuffy audio salon. And the gear...dear Lord..Alex
& Fabio have amazing taste. And they do not discriminate on customer wallet size. You only have
a couple of grand to spend? S,ure, the iFI Retro system..$500? No problem, the iFI phono stage or DAC..
have a lot more to spend? Sure DartZeel, MSB, YG...got you covered.
And for you Vinyl lovers, the LP selection is truly amazing.
I found a kindred spirit in Alex. We seem to have very similar taste in music and the sound.
Now to the listening!
In the first system, went to a room with the YG Carmel speakers, a AudioPax 100 wpc tube amps (wow!), and a Linn streamer.
I also had my first experience with Tidal. I was very, very impressed..with selection and interface. We were using the Linn Kazoo control
app, which I use at home.
The first track we streamed was the remastered version of Zep's "No Quarter"..wholly smokes..I have never heard the track sound this
good. Ever. From there we streamed a lot of Seal (my choice, big fan), Genesis, etc. The soundstage was so rock solid, precise, and the
top to bottom tonal quality was spot on.
We then streamed the same tracks and more in the front room with a Dart integrated, the famous MSB Select DAC, and the BIG Evolution Acoustics speakers, one
model down from the flagship.
What I heard was pretty shocking. I did NOT expect such delicacy and finesse from such a large scale system And when scale was required, it was there big time.
If you want to hear a system that is pretty much to my ears as life like as you are going to get, contact Alex for a listening session. You won't regret it.
Here are some pics. Alex, btw, feel free to correct me if I mixed up any of the gear. I was lost in the music!