Overture Audio Home Theater brought a surprisingly sophisticated system to the 2019 Capital Audiofest–surprising since all this amazing gear was featured in one of the smaller rooms upstairs and not in a downstairs conference room. That didn’t take away from the impressive sound from a system that retailed for more than $400K–Magico M2 loudspeakers ($63,600/pair), Esoteric Grandioso M1 monoblocks ($44,000/pair) and Grandioso C1 preamplifier ($38,000), a gorgeous Technics SL-1000R turntable ($18,000) with van den Hul Master Signature cartridge ($11,995) and van den Hul Grail SB phono stage ($18,250). Cabling was Shunyata, and the racks were from HRS.
The Overture Audio Video room was one of the busier rooms at the show–so many attendees were poking around the system that it was difficult to sit down and really dive into the sound, but I did get a strong impression of generous bass and a gigantic soundstage. Quite frankly, I can’t get enough of that Technics turntable–after living happily with the Technics SL-1200G for the last year or so, I wouldn’t mind hearing what the SL-1000R can do in my system.
Overture Audio Video actually had two rooms at the show, one for audio and one for video–hence their name. The home theater system, built with components with Sonus Faber and McIntosh, kept me in the room for quite some time. They were playing the climactic concert scene from Bohemian Rhapsody on a loop, so I watched it about one-and-a-half times total. I’ll tell ya, I didn’t care for the film much the first time. But watching it again in the Overture Audio Video room, I had the sense that I was seeing an entirely new film, one that was more dynamic, one with a technical brilliance I didn’t quite catch the first time.
I’m not the biggest home theater fan, but this McIntosh and Sonus Faber video rig was quite impressive and made me reconsider my biases. After recently reviewing the Sonus Faber Olympica Nova I loudspeakers and the McIntosh MC2152 power amplifier (coming soon in The Occasional), I’m more impressed with these two manufacturers than ever. Thanks to Overture Audio Video, I’m now considering a return to home theater–although I’ll probably just watch Mad Max: Fury Road on a loop instead.
