Hi everyone. So, 2 nights ago the Vienna Philharmonic was in Toronto playing a wonderful concert of Schubert, Mozart and Richard Strauss. Ricardo Muti was on the podium and the full orchestra was, as expected, in fine form.
Our concert hall here, Roy Thompson Hall, was built in the 1980s but recently renovated extensively to deal with bad acoustics. The renovations took some time and a lot of money but left the hall looking quite fresh on the inside and noticeably better in terms of sound.
So what did the VPO concert prove to me? Well, 2 things really:
a) Roy Thompson Hall still has acoustics that are not very good. They are much better than they used to be, but they’re still far from world-class.
b) My Nautilus 802 with the Mark Levinson 432 amp sound incredible!
I was really truly surprised at how good the N802 sound relative to the real thing. It really is as close to the real thing as you can reasonably get. Sure I could get 800D and a couple of really nice monoblocks, but the overall detail and warmth of the sound is there with the N802. My soundstage is top notch – I can hear the brass behind the woodwinds who in turn are behind the cellos. I can hear the lightest tap on the timpani along with the plucking of the double basses.
During the concert in fact, there were several moments when I closed my eyes so I could truly listen. You know how it is – Listen and you’ll see. It’s true – I listened and I still saw the members of the Vienna Philharmonic up there on stage. And it didn’t sound massively different than my N802.
Having said all this, I still eagerly look forward to the next time I can see the VPO live. There is something very special about seeing 100 or so musicians on stage play as one with such focus, determination and sheer passion. There are things you feel when you see them play live that recordings just can’t bring forth.
But from a pure, sonic reproduction perspective, I have to say that B&W has it right.
Our concert hall here, Roy Thompson Hall, was built in the 1980s but recently renovated extensively to deal with bad acoustics. The renovations took some time and a lot of money but left the hall looking quite fresh on the inside and noticeably better in terms of sound.
So what did the VPO concert prove to me? Well, 2 things really:
a) Roy Thompson Hall still has acoustics that are not very good. They are much better than they used to be, but they’re still far from world-class.
b) My Nautilus 802 with the Mark Levinson 432 amp sound incredible!
I was really truly surprised at how good the N802 sound relative to the real thing. It really is as close to the real thing as you can reasonably get. Sure I could get 800D and a couple of really nice monoblocks, but the overall detail and warmth of the sound is there with the N802. My soundstage is top notch – I can hear the brass behind the woodwinds who in turn are behind the cellos. I can hear the lightest tap on the timpani along with the plucking of the double basses.
During the concert in fact, there were several moments when I closed my eyes so I could truly listen. You know how it is – Listen and you’ll see. It’s true – I listened and I still saw the members of the Vienna Philharmonic up there on stage. And it didn’t sound massively different than my N802.
Having said all this, I still eagerly look forward to the next time I can see the VPO live. There is something very special about seeing 100 or so musicians on stage play as one with such focus, determination and sheer passion. There are things you feel when you see them play live that recordings just can’t bring forth.
But from a pure, sonic reproduction perspective, I have to say that B&W has it right.
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