By Dr. Panagiotis Karavitis
A futuristic speaker company, a Swiss precision electronics manufacturer and what is probably the best “made in Japan” turntable joining forces to get the perfect sound. This piece could end here, but I’ll throw in a few details.
The Air Force One from Tech Das was designed by Hideaki Nishikawa, former technical manager at Micro Seiki, the brand that shaped turntable history. When commissioned by Stella Inc. Nishikawa San was given a blank canvas and asked only to deliver the best possible in analog reproduction, period.
CH-Precision comes from Switzerland, known for absolute engineering quality and craftsmanship. Their complete line of electronics for the show included the D1 SACD/CD transport, C1 DAC/Pre, X1 external power supplies, L1 pre amp and M1 power amps (bridged in mono>1x700Watts/8Ohms).
The omni-present Laurence Dickie brought his second bigger model, the Vivid Audio Giya G2, a four way, 5 driver speaker with passive crossover. The cabinet (a work of art on its own) is made as a sandwich of various materials including synthetic composites and glass while all driver cones are metallic for higher rigidity.
In past I have heard rumors of the Giya’s being very demanding in amplification but this was not the case here. Sound was precise, clear and bass extension was more than adequate. No signs of underdamping whatsoever. Connected with Einstein “The Turntable’s Choice” phono pre amp the Tech DAS TDC01 Ti low output moving coil cartridge gave a sensual demonstration of Diana Krall’s voice.
An excellent system indeed.
Best sound of the show without argument. Techdas truntable is the best. Vivid and chp are very good components. Techdas Air Force One is an exceptional.
I am a big fan of Vivid speakers, among many excellent traits, their imaging and soundstage are hard to beat, looking cool is the icing on the cake.