Killer Two Channel
We’re asked every day, “How’s
biz?” While the business of automobiles and mortgages is struggling, a niche of our
business is especially strong these days. That
category is good old stereo music!
One of the reasons that the STEREO market is vibrant
is that it’s pretty simple. You don’t
have to worry about 6-8 speakers in your room with a myriad of cables. You don’t have
to be a computer programmer navigating menus to operate the system. I’ve saved the
best part for last. If you don’t dilute your money to multiple channels, you get
BETTER SOUND with stereo music (or movies)!
Stop in to hear this system for yourself. You
don’t need an appointment. Visit whenever we’re open. Bring a CD or two that you
love. Give a listen to your music at its best!
System
Price $28,497
Speakers:
B&W 802D $15,000PR
The
B&W 802D has been on the short list of the finest speakers available for several
years. B&W has a number of patented technological advancements. An updated N802D is
due in January 2010!
The 802D tweeter uses a DIAMOND diaphragm. The diamond
moves as a more perfect piston and doesn’t break up. The result is a high frequency
response that many folks feel is the best in the world. Abbey Road Studios in
802D has a surroundless, FST midrange driver. It is made
of a unique Kevlar that features a non directional weave. It is mounted in a spherical
chamber made of Marlan. The resulting sound is very clear and UNboxy! The image is huge
and floats between the speakers, giving you virtually no sense of cabinet interaction.
802D’s woofers, are two eight inch Rohacell
drivers. They have enormous cast frame baskets and heavy magnets. The Rohacell material
was never used for speakers before B&W implemented it in 2005. The sound is deep and
taut- not the least bit boomy.
802D features B&W’s patented Matrix enclosure
design. Instead of just stuffing insulation in its cabinets, B&W 800 models use a
honeycomb reinforcing structure that is fit with acoustically absorbing foam inserts. The
cabinet stays quiet!
B&W calls its tapered tube design for the tweeter
and midrange elements the Nautilus Technology. Literally everyone else screws speakers
into cabinets whose walls force the sound to ricochet around. With B&W the chamber
deflects resonance to the rear where it is dissipated. You hear what B&W desires, not
extraneous echo.
B&W 802D isn’t the only good speaker on the
market. But more people in the top echelons of the recording world think it is the most
accurate tool to master with. Why not use the same speaker in your system? Five Year
Warranty.
CD
Player: Bryston BCD-1 $2900
A top flight system needs a top flight source. If you
believe in the bar graph performance to a system like I do, if your source is less than a
ten of ten, the rest of your system isn’t going any further. Now we know
“everyone” is excited about various forms of music retrieval. That’s fun
and convenient. But if you want to hear how good your music can sound, get off the couch
for a minute and put a CD in the Bryston BCD-1. It’s not that tough!
The Bryston CD player has been recognized as among the
finest at any price. That includes competition running up to $69,000! The Bryston’s
clarity and musical foundation, including bass impact, is second to none. When you combine
state of the art sound with build quality of Bryston, you should run BCD-1 as your source.
Three year warranty.
Preamp: Bryston BP-26 $4575
Next in line in the bar graph approach to performance is
the preamp. The Bryson BP-26 is a two chassis preamp for logical reasons. Having the power
supply outboard the preamp unit accomplishes two things. You can make your power supply
much bigger than if you stuffed it all in one box. And the power supply won’t
interact with the components in the preamp to a negative degree. The BP-26 has a number of
options (phono $550 MM, phono $1300MC, or DAC $1300).
Sonically the BP-26 is the quietest preamp you’ll
ever NOT hear. The intrinsic noise floor measures to the limits of the best test equipment
available. The bass solidity is remarkable. Toss in detail galore and a smooth sound that
will make you think you’re listening to expensive tubes and you’ve got as good a
preamp as money can buy! Twenty year warranty!
Power Amp: Bryston 4B-SST Squared $4550, 300x2
The power amp is the straw that stirs the drink. You can
talk about all kinds of cute circuits and silly gadgets, but there is no substitute for
muscle that will control your speakers like a vice grip. The new Squared version of the
4B-SST is so clean and quiet that the THD & noise floor measure at the limits of
today’s test equipment. The power is a good 10-20% higher than the rated power. The
amp is so powerful that as many are sold for use in the PA world as they are for home
audio. The list of Bryston owners is a veritable who’s who of popular music. The
sound is gorgeous, the power flows effortlessly. Twenty Year Warranty!
Interconnect Cables: 2 Kimber Hero 1m XLR cables, 200ea=
$400
There are many fine interconnects on the market. We
recommend the Kimber Hero, a four cable weave that rejects RFI. Run in a truly balanced
XLR configuration, the Hero is as good as it gets- smooth, quiet and extended.
Speaker
Cables: Kimber 8 TC, $20 per foot, with WBT Banana plugs for the amp and speaker ends.
If you run two 8’ runs in bi-wired config, the cables/connectors total $1072. The 8TC
has crystal clear sound and brass kahunas. It features a multi-stranded braided
construction with a Teflon jacket. We think it sounds as good as anything out there!