Today was another good day with a visit from member Doug Schneider a retired pathologist from the SF Bay Area along with a class mate, a retired pulmonologist from Long Beach and we spent the day listening to songs played through Aphrodite as well as spinning some vinyl. We all agreed that streaming via Aphrodite was something very special but vinyl still reigned supreme. Nice to see Doug again as he bought my Horizon last year and is deeply invested in some serious tube rolling. Thank you both for a wonderful day.
This is my long overdue first post to WBF, although I’ve been eagerly mining the collective wisdom here for some time, ever since I relapsed into my audio derangement syndrome. So fun!
Last Friday, I had the high privilege of spending unhurried time with Steve Williams listening to the latest iteration of his magnificent sound system. The new - to me - elements in his system are the Lampizator Aphrodite, the Zelleton speakers, and the Schnertzinger voodoo. When I try to describe subjective aspects of the sound, I can’t make reference to the wide range of high-end audiophile gear that many of you have experienced. Instead I can only refer to my semi-professional experience with live music, especially with piano, organ, and voice.
It was immediately apparent to me that the Zelletons are a big step up from Steve’s former Wilsons. I am somewhat sensitive to crossover irregularities, some of which I heard in the Wilsons, especially from bass to midrange. This was gone with the Zelletons. The sound was beautifully coherent throughout the frequency range. The speakers were fast, transparent, and highly resolving without being overly analytical. The sound of drumsticks hitting the snare drums, even softly, and the soft sound of brushes on cymbals was clear, detailed, and realistic. Male and female voices projected themselves from the sound stage into the room convincingly and, when present, with great beauty. The sound stage was convincing, which is a completely different experience than with my open baffle speakers. Instruments were well located on the stage. Bass was prodigious, as has been commented on before. It was easy to “listen into” the music, something I’ve begun to call “active listening”, to pick out the various elements comprising the sound but without having to dissect the elements or take the sound apart mentally. The speakers are very wholistic. I’m becoming a convert to wide-band midrange drivers.
It was also clear to me that the Aphrodite, in combination with the Taiko Olympus/IO, produced the most musically convincing digital sound I have ever heard. I’m afraid I succumbed to my obsession for musical realism, whatever that is, by relieving Steve of much of his carefully curated tube collection. Please! Does anyone know any treatment for this out-of-control audiophilia?
There was yet another revealing moment in this session with the good doctor. One track of Dean Martin on 160 gm vinyl stole the show, at least for this guy who grew up on live music. Gone was the slight “fizziness” (for lack of a better word) that I still hear with digital reproduction of complex upper frequency harmonics. Dean was just more there, more embodied, more emotionally present.
I brought an old high school, college, and med school buddy of mine along to listen to Steve’s system. I’m not sure I did him a favor. In the beginning he kept saying that this is all just a “black box” to him, just a “black box.” But when we left he was talking about raiding is retirement funds to get something other than his in-ceiling speakers.
Steve, thank you, thank you for a very special day of learning, sonic pleasure, and audio friendship, which is the best part of this passion. And special thanks to Kathy for so graciously opening your home to me and to all of us audio pilgrims on this path to I don’t know where.
Doug
