The fifth and sixth AGS copy, oh my God...... they are at service now. This will one of the hardest thoughts to pen. Initial listening reveals nothing really stand out but there is a nuanced quality I can't quite pin down. No change of tonal colour and yet it's how AGS copy puts the music together, an ineffable harmoniousnesses. I need to maintain a cool head what has been given rise to and not to get carried away to later regret for my words. Hard to retreat what has been said, people will remember one silly remark than your thousand sensible remarks. The right thing to do now is allow the music sing for a day or two or three, regulating a gush of blood before penning.
How I long for sound that devoid of quirkiness. I work with the room for a lesser deviation of peak and valley than to curtail the energy. My empirical evidence finds that AGS copy really smoothen out the presentation. In-room acoustics accords a calmer presentation. At their rightful spots, the walls vanished, the room element is minimized.
I perceived a remarkable sonorousness with a gain in loudness and definition. Sound moves freely without restriction to arrive at a monasterial level tranquility. Sound cuts through the air with ease and notably a darker backdrop. The beaming effect illustrates better tweeters to lead me to believe digging deep into the recordings. Graceful details and nuances greet, less agitated sound naturally prompts me to crank the volume up. To turn up the volume and not feeling uneasy is the sign of a quiet room.
Longer sustain back-to-back with delicacy and subtlety replicates liveness. Vocal phrasing, vibrato and diaphragmic activities bring about emotions I doubt measurements can tell. The finest hour in your private room has to be most audio enthusiasts strive for a late-night listening. This is magical, shut up and listen.
In reference to Fletcher and Munson curves, given our insensitivity to low bass, at 85dB SPL listening, there is dire compensation of a +3 to +5 dB at 100Hz, +8 to +10 dB at 50Hz and a whopping +12 to +15 dB at 30Hz. Make use of your room gain, it's free. I allow my bass energy to run by its course in the name of equal loudness. To my amazement, AGS copy introduces bigger, brawnier and more ball-ish bass that sounded to me natural. A fuller bass comes with a greater soundstage, with the greater musical immersion. This is a birthright of a big system. Ok, I come clean. I have a dirty secret to tidy up the edgy bass.
To assess low bass, look no further than the pipe organ playback of Cantate Domino under Proprius label. The pipe organ witting majesty and modulations are unblemished, I worked very hard to arrive to this. AGS copy does its part too. Mezzo soprano stays free of smearing and the choir members are easily depictable at their designated row and height. Kid you not, I picturized more separated heads, palpably. Besides the resounding of the vault ceiling, this recording encapsulates a complex mix of sound in a wide bandwidth, with the exception of mid bass punch, no wonder it remains a demo track for many.
On to the Chinese favourite test track, Tsai Qin's 渡口 Du Kou. It opens with a pronounced low bass, resolute and defined. AGS copy exemplifies bass wholeness. I can't complain much but bigger systems will produce even bigger bass given their ability to move more acoustic energy.
On to On Friday Night in San Francisco featuring three great guitarists, Al DiMeola, John McLaughlin and Paco DiLucia. Well ahead of me, this album was introduced to me by an Italian engineer back in the late 90s. Blame my infancy. Moving forward, the flamboyance of Flamenco guitar, the fury inter exchanges are furious and the harmony, intuitively, I let my guard down and allow the music takes its course. Wonderfully recorded, the clarity is there, the ambiance is there, the crowd is there, you couldn't ask for more. AGS copy brings the stage closer, nothing suggests over blown close miking like sound, to me, unnatural.
I'd like to reiterate that audio is mostly about your acoustic management. Meticulosity always never goes unheard. Rather than jumping down the rabbit hole of upgrading, not only exhausting financial resources and time, but you will also come back to full circle. I had been through all that and paid my dues. I confess that AGS copy is my last piece of puzzle and I will close with Frank Sinatra's My Way.
And now, the end is near
And so I face the final curtain
My friend, I'll make it clear
I'll state my case, of which I am certain
I've lived a life that's full
I traveled each and every highway
And more, much more than this
I did it, I did it my way
Regrets, I've had a few
But then again, too few to mention
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption
I planned each charted course
Each careful step along the byway
And more, much, much more
I did it, I did it my way
Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew
And through it all, whenever there was doubt
I ate it up and spit it out
I faced it all and stood tall
And did it, did it my way
I've loved, laughed and cried
I had my fill, my share of losing
And now, as the tears subside
I find that it's all so amusing
And to think I did all that
And may I say, not in a shy way
No, no, not me
I did it my way
For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught
Naught to say the things that he truly feels
And not the words of someone who kneels
That record shows I took all the blows
And did it my way.
