Rocky Mountain Audio Fest: deHavilland, Mercury & Wilson-Benesch
October 22nd, 2006 — By Jonathan Valin
As was the case with the Gershman Black Swans, I’ve not been a fan of Wilson-Benesch loudspeakers, which, in the past, have sounded sumptuously detailed and extremely free of box coloration but overly cool and analytical. Maybe it was the addition of W-B’s own $9500 Torus Infrasonic Generator (soon to be reviewed by moi), maybe it was deHavilland’s $10k GM70 amps and $5k Mercury preamp (plus Cardas cable), but W-B’s newest entry, the $15k 2.5-way floorstanding A.C.T., had all of the virtues of W-B’s former entries (little to no box or driver coloration, an abundance of fine detail) without their flaws. Sweet and beautiful in balance, supremely open, with a front-to-back layering that was scarce on the ground at RMAF, it impressed the heck out of me. I did think the single Torus should have been a pair for best images (and turned down just the slightest bit in amplitude); nonetheless, this was one of the better sounds at RMAF.
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What stands are being used in this system? Very nice.
Comment by pkf2 October 22nd, 2006 @ 1:12 pmThe stands are the Ultrasonic by Custom Isolation Products http://www.customisolation.com
Comment by Tate Blanchard October 24th, 2006 @ 9:11 pmemail tate@trinicom.com
I didn’t hear the A.C.T but I did hear the Curves which are the version down. There are times when you can simply walk in to a room and know the system is great (Like with the mbls). The sound floated free of those speakers like most box speakers never do - and the sound was excellent across the whole range.
Comment by Mike October 25th, 2006 @ 11:32 pmFancy lights
Comment by Donald October 25th, 2006 @ 11:33 pmI am thrilled that so many people came in our room and had the opportunity to listen to what I believe is the way music should be reproduced. Many people came back for a second and third listen and many stayed for not just one song but many. There has been mention of the smaller Wilson benesch models, the Curves sounding supreme as well, proving you don’t need a huge budget. Jim Riddell @ Sounds Real Audio. Thanks to everyone.
Comment by Jim Riddell October 27th, 2006 @ 1:22 pm