Yes... it happened again... gathering at Klaus' place is like being back to an harbour after a storm... meeting old and new friends: Klaus and Moni, Reinhard, Bernd, Thomas, Jean, James, Doede and Shinichi.
We arrived from Japan, Germany, The Netherlands, Australia (via Bonn) and Italy to meet each other, swap ideas, impressions and enjoy Klaus' one-of-a-kind awesome music system... definitely having good time and living "audio" as "pleasure machine"...
... you already know: five ways, all Goto Unit drivers, no turntable and no tubes... only digital, disks and Flac/downloads... so ALL wrong?
NO!
Music is passing in all its glory...
Thomas Schick, Jean Hiraga and myself spent long hours talking and speculating on the matter... virtually all the Hi-end dogmas aren't followed... yet, the dynamics, clarity and overall beauty is so "here"...
Klaus, the owner of this incredible system was also very satisfied as, for the very first time, Shinichi Tanaka-san - i.e. the man who cares about commercial aspects of Goto Unit in Japan and a long time user and lover of these high efficiency drivers and horns - was visiting him in Germany.
I chatted with him and saw his face during listening sessions which lasted about 12 hours... yes...
I saw surprise and satisfaction... a mixed feeling like: "Hey, I sell these stuffs, so I shouldn't be surprised listening to ALL... "this"!" or the like...
Yet, all people, Thomas Schick, myself, Doede Douma, ALL the people at the gathering were deeply involved in the uniqueness of the event, sound and emotions.
Doede's "tiramisu" cake...
... and "sweet" DDDAC!
Shinichi, Klaus and Jean
Thomas Schick and "Klauscope"
Jan (Klaus' grandson) inside bass horn... when I first visited Klaus in 2010, he was able to REALLY go deeper inside the horn... now he's taller.
Is it Klaus' "the" best audio system in the world?
I don't know... yet, of the several audio system which I listened to in forty years of passion... well, sure it's the one which gives more emotion on orchestral and rock... yes, my own Gotorama's better resolution and detailing is also "something", Serge Schmidlin's Rubanoides and full-battery operated system is also in same vein... special on low level details and complex harmonics... yet, "Klauscope"(tm) is incredibly able, without using digital crossovering and time-delay, to perform true-to-life and 1:1 vs. - say - The Who Live at Leeds, my own Malcolm Arnold's Polka on Lyrita SRCS 109 or Cream's Spoonful alive... or subterranean "Taiko" drums on Jean's Ondekoza's disk or the Mauricio Kagel's or Les Percussion de Strasbourg's super disks (I'm chasing hard for them all, dear Jean:-)))
... some of Jean's disks...
Again, as I wrote some time ago and I shared with Thomas, it's when you're able to listen to "Undistorted Distorsion" following fuzz electric guitars, granite-like bass, airy voices and no blurring... and all this makes... Music!
I wish to thank Klaus, Reinhard, Thomas and his mighty "Lencomobile" (a true pleasure and honour introducing you to the Kolner bunch and spending some time together, Thomas...), Jean (I really enjoyed the train journey in the snowy landscape to Koln, Jean... and all the chatting - with Thomas Schick, quietly drinking beer or having breakfast - and the load of informations given and the books you showed and recommended to me... you're REALLY my sensei-san and a living treasure, an example for everyone: you're among the greats and after decades of audio and music you still enjoy this passion, sharing your knowledge and first-hand experiences with everyone you recognize sincerely passionate as yourself... thanks, sincerely!) and Moni for great hosting and hospitality and Shinichi for... being there.
The almost complete bunch (1)...
and
and
(2)
and "The Canvas" by Moni
A new dawn... more music and less gears, folks...
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