Yo Yo Miles... the Hipness in Music or how to feel cool while listening to your music system

... sometimes it happens: while listening to this or that music, you feel over the top, you hand-clap, alone, like a perfect idiot, move your hands in the air, silently screaming  yo, yo or the like or sing-a-long with the lead singer, or...

A sense of perfection and being into the recording or the musical event happens... suddenly... and you simply cannot stand still, politely seated in your couch:-)

Yesterday, after some life heaviness, too common these days, I had a couple hours at my buen-retiro... I recently tried a new system rig - i.e. using my EMT 930st with, after a loooooong time hiatus from last time I used it, its EMT 155st RIAA built-in box, usually unused due to... crappiness:-)

Well, folks... never say never, in audio!

The once crappy 155st proved its merits, BUT to my experience, ONLY in the following form:  connected it to Luxman AT 3000 transformer/passive preamp using its "direct" input - i.e. the straightest connection to the superb Permalloy-core transformers inside the unit, by-passing also the selector... the purest of pure!

Then going to Western Electric 421A little power-amp and straight to the La Scala's.

Minimalist and transparent and pretty right... I played with several cables - Be Yamamura's ugly, yet superb sounding cables proved to be the winners... tried Actinote, Munford's silver and cryo-treated silver by Audio Consulting... all sounded lesser vs. Yamamura's, which sounds natural, smooth and detailed while the other competitors were lacking smoothness, adding some unnatural edge to - mo'later - Miles' trumpet.

Enters Miles... YES!

Doug Sax' mastered "Amandla" and "Tutu" are spinning on the EMT 930st - without shame - since a couple of days, now... Miles in "Amandla"'s back cover is the late, beloved Miles who played giving his back to audience, wearing alien-like bespoke ancient Egypt-hinting leather jackets... long hairs, weird sunglasses... the hip's hip!

His music, with Marcus Miller's arranging and playing, and the above mentioned discs - also including "Siesta", the great soundtrack from the oniric '87 movie with Ellen Barking, as an imaginary tryptych - sounds to me like the ultimate Miles... no more jazz or rhythm and blues... it's pure hipness... black proudness and elevation.

The sound coming from the La Scala's is THE sound I like, these days... no frills, not hyper-detailed, yet - timbre-wise - so correct and ultra-dynamic a go-go!


Garrardzilla would have be too politely signorina for what I like... unforgiving and easy, hip sound, like partying and having no fears about hosts furniture damaging and neighborhoods protesting... only enjoying.

The Gotorama is OK, but as I told you, it's being re-considered, to obtatin, again, this sense of zestness so here with the smaller system...

It happens, actually, I someway can vary my system(s) depending on my mood and music I'm diggin'... Mayer's CX 310 and Mayer's WE 437A and WE 421A and Garrardzilla for ultimate introspection on small scale music... smooth, a little forgiving, yet natural and transparent Luxman AT 3000 and EMT 930st for dynamic and no frills, foot tapping music, jazz and rock... WOW! and Gotorama for orchestral, organ, opera and everything needing a BIG sound where room would affect too much performance with unwanted resonances and boominess.

Fondly remembering Miles Davis and always enjoying his music, always so other.

Yo Yo Miles!