Opinion 1
So it happened. The announced visit of the complete, High-End system from the T+A HV series driving the loudspeakers Solitaire CWT 2000, became reality. I do not know, how many people did not believe our announcements, but if there were any, I warmly invite them to read about our point of view at the extremely expensive and heavy audio system, that fits the description of a “Dream System”. First, quite rough information was included in the text announcing the tour of T+A in Poland, but it often happens, that initial “wow” can evolve in any direction. This is the reason, that this text was the result of many night listening sessions, when the family was asleep and background noise was minimal. Somebody may think that this is not so important, as a good system will sound good even on a central station during rush hours, and maybe this is even true, but on this price level I am not searching for good sound, but for magic, with a big “M”, which is reserved for only a select amount of systems. Did I find it? No, not so fast. I did not help carrying the loudspeakers weighing over one hundred kilograms and six forty kilo heavy units to reveal the conclusion of my review in the first paragraph. So I am inviting you to read my thoughts and afterthoughts about this German brand distributed in Poland by the Warsaw Hi Ton.
Writing previous paragraph I mentioned, that the logistics of bringing the system to the listening room located on ground level was a real burden. Three big men had a lot to carry, when they tried to tackle the loudspeakers. But there were no casualties and no losses, despite the high gloss finish of the speakers. The rest of the devices were a breeze compared to the boxes, so in about half an hour the system was placed in the listening room and we could continue with unpacking and connecting it – what took two more hours. Finally, having read the manuals, the set was connected and music sounded. Please be not surprised, that we needed to consult the manuals, because the system is so designed, that even the smallest errors – like wrong polarization of the power cables – were indicated by pictograms, and this requires to connect the control bus in the correct order. This is technology at work, but is there still enough left to show off in the most important aspect – reproducing the sound?
T+A electronics consists of six quite large, but visually unified boxes. Due to that amount of devices, I will shorten the description to the bare minimum, because otherwise it would be tiring for me and for the readers. So let us keep things short. The electronics was in sateen-grey-silver color with some black accents. Each cabinet has a smaller or bigger black window mounted in the front panel, behind which VU meters are hidden – for power amplifiers and power supplies, displays with status information and sensor buttons for other devices and a centrally placed logo. All units are supported by low feet with felt washers, mounted in profiles running through the bottom. I must confess that they look like Formula 1 cars, low above the shelf, and simply stunning. Each device has a special, round window mounted in the top cover, with the company logo etched on it. This window allows to have a peek inside the given component. This is a very nice and interesting move. Clients are usually curious, so for them this may be very satisfying and in addition a very nicely looking solution. In the first paragraph I mentioned also the intelligent control of this set, which was possible by appropriately connecting a set of proprietary cable connectors. This looks complicated at first sight, but it is done by the dealer and only once, so it should not be a problem. And when we want to satisfy our audiophile desires by changing cables, every error will be pointed out by a spectacular shutdown of the system, what will force us to analyze the connections. Stereophonic – and in our case bridged – power amplifiers received black heat sinks on the sides and their back panels were equipped with two symmetric sets of loudspeaker terminals, placed symmetrically on both sides. In addition there are proprietary connectors for the PSUs, inputs in XLR and RCA standards, 20A power sockets, a LAN socket and the system bus sockets. The line preamplifier, being a control center, has a wealth of inputs and outputs in RCA and XLR standards. There is also a LAN socket and only one system bus control socket. Unfortunately for potential buyers the preamplifier (and the sound source too) require two power cables – this is due to the fact, that the analog and digital sections are completely separated. However those cables use standard 15A IEC sockets. The front panel is equipped with two large knobs on the sides: one for volume control and source selection. For headphone lovers there is a socket in the right lower corner. The unit is cooled by means of holes cut in the sides of the top cover, protected by a mesh. The source also uses two power cables (2 x 15A) and also has two knobs on the front. Also cooling is designed in the same way as with the preamplifier. And it is not just a CD player – it handles internet radio, CD, USB reader and streams. This “combo” is in front of the pack with its functionality, however there is one small problem, the user has to be on top of things happening now in the branch, and not mentally stay in the vinyl realm. But rest assured, people like me are slowly dying out, and even if they do not leave prematurely, they will still be happy even when not using half of its functions. So there is no problem. Returning to the compatibility, of this “CD player” as we will call it for the purpose of the test, the back panel allows us to use the following ports: LAN, BNC, two USB, AES EBU and one optical. There is also a pass-through for the control bus.
The loudspeakers herald big emotions during listening with their sheer size. 160 centimeters and over hundred kilograms of sound generating columns, finished in beautiful veneer Zebrano and covered with high gloss varnish. On the sides there are two woofers, working with passive membranes, while the fronts are covered with six midrange speakers, each with 15cm diameter, and 92cm long highway of ribbon tweeters. There is no place for half-baked means. Like they say – “Let’s rock”. The whole is bolted to a 40kg heavy plinth, what adds a bit of lightness to the big boxes – at least if you have some imagination. Anyway, with the plinths the loudspeakers look much better, than if they would be placed directly on the floor. So in short this is how the system, coming from our western neighbors, looks like. Simple, yet tasteful shapes, combined with modern colors, give an impression of luxury, which, I hope, will not be lost with the most important function the T+A “Dream System”, transferring the listener into the beautiful world of music.
When I sat down in my listening chair, I had already some experience with the tested system, however in random and unknown environment, so despite initially setting up the whole system correctly, I spent a few hours fine-tuning the position of the loudspeakers and choosing cables. On a side note, the happy audiophile, who purchased the system, should prepare a second bag of money for a sufficient amount of cabling of adequate quality. The distributor supplied a set of Cardas cabling, but in search for the maximum of sound quality I had to try out my cables. After this procedure I must say, that the system is sensitive to any change, but all my attempts turned out to be futile. So kudos to the distributor for providing the best possible configuration. In the end, the only change that stayed in the system after my struggle was the XLR interconnect Argento Audio Flow Master Reference.
That more heavy things sound good with this system I knew for a month – Marcin in the shop and the representative of the Warsaw Hi Ton at my home gave me a taste of the capabilities of the system in that aspect, so I started testing with material less heavy. But before I come to the point, a slight nastiness from my side – the digital part of the system was so expansive, that it took full possession of my 170 cm double shelf rack, not allowing to use the analog system. A pity. So I must rely on digitally recorded music only. Why do I usually start with quiet music? Here comes the answer. When passing a certain price level in audio gear, there must be more than just very good sound. I will say it with even more emphasis – good sound is just the absolute minimum – another thing is, that I see more and more often, that some manufacturers try to explain bad sound with a vision of the “creator” of such a disaster, but this we can verify easily even with not so much listening experience. Good reproduction of heavy music is also important, but it will not show us the refinement level of the system. For this you need silence, concentration and appropriately well recorded, good musical material. The musical phrases reaching our ears should put the listener in “zero gravity”, then we can try to evaluate if the system is able to create a stage realistic enough, to make the listening close to a 3D spectacle. If someone thinks now, that I am mistaken, because not trying to reach this state, he is probably a happy music lover, but all others wanting to taste this kind of presentation will search for it until they have it. But this search is not easy, as even the same system, in two different listening rooms, will present music in a completely different way. So tests like the one you are reading, are only a kind of guidepost, but only your own experience can be the final decision point.
I started with a bit heavy material – for unaware listeners and despite the low tempo – free jazz. In the Warsaw Audiophile and Music Lover Club (KAIM) this was described as a set of sounds (I am trying to civilize the club in this matter, but to no avail…), but for me and many lovers of this genre, this is a wealth of notes and phrases that come together into a logical whole, and which do not allow to change repertoire until the laser comes to rest, at least when they are served right. And I must say, that after a few days of finding the right spot for the monstrously big loudspeakers I got the expected beautifully sparkling cymbals, placed brilliantly between the speakers. All my concerns of the sound of the set being too offensive disappeared after just a few notes. The disc “Shifting Grace” performed by Michael Rabbia, Marilyn Crispell and Vincent Courtois sounded very spectacular. The percussive instruments detached from the speakers, together with the brilliantly defined and positioned piano and viola seemed to become real. This material forced me to listen to three similar positions, where in one of them, a bass clarinet was very nicely reproduced. The vibrations of the reed by the air slowly blown by the artist – David Rothenberg (in duet with the mentioned Miss Crispell), preceded by the noise of the pressure being built-up, are a true icing on the cake for people who love such nuances, usually difficult to present. Yet the German system had absolutely no problems with that. Density, contour, saturation and resolution were ideally fitting in my expectations. Everything on ideal level, without any of the acoustic bands standing out. And looking at the speakers the last thing that comes to mind should be minute or delicate – still it is there when needed. This T+A set is so well balanced, that the mentioned experiments with cabling going in the direction of increasing the temperature of the sound resulted in losing control of the bass. Yes, usage of more refined interconnects or power cables resulted in the upper registers becoming nobler, but they were good enough without this doings, and the losses elsewhere forced to go back to the initial setup.
When I finished with the “marathon of sadness”, the CD player was fed with much more heavy musical material. You may not believe it, but it was Folk Metal, from the disc that we reviewed recently with Marcin, performed by Percival Schuttenbach. Despite my avoidance of overloading my ears, I sometimes use this disc due to one reason – it is very well recorded and differentiated in terms of music that can be found on it. A bit of vocals, quiet pieces and also some hard parts when needed. A kind of all-in-one, what is maybe not always desirable, but here it hit the bulls-eye. Of course I could not go around listening to the second track, my “beloved” piece, that I pointed out during my review for its controversy. The rhythmic and energetic music flowing from the speakers never lost readability regardless of the speed and volume of the note passages, which were sometimes more than I could absorb, and for sure more than I could call enchanting music – I do not care for high decibel levels. This was a good test for resolution and macro dynamics. The power reserve of the German electronics kept the big amount of speaker drivers in an iron fist throughout the whole disc, and when needed allowed for a massage of my internal organs. You could feel the power.
Approaching the end of the verification of its sonic capabilities, I used electronic and ambient music. Why? It is heavy sound similar to metal. But there were natural instruments, and here music is artificially generated by computers. And the latter must be so unusual and overwhelming to almost cause pain. I understand such approach by the creators – oops, artists, but, to our misfortune, the stereo system often cannot handle that music properly. Pressing play on the remote I worried only about one thing – the treble. I was confident that the bass and midrange will be fine – we have unlimited power at our disposal, while, following a common belief among audiophiles, offensive ribbon speakers combined with music that dominates in that area – could deprive me from the joy of listening to birds in the morning for a long time. And I was surprised, as the sound that reached my ears was very digestible. Maybe the set cut away all artifacts, usually present in such compressed recordings, I do not know, but I must confess, that despite positive results I kept this part of the test as short as possible, because the potential for playing my kind of music – silence cut with ethereal sounds – made me wanting to spend the rest of the time that the system will stay at my home, listening to something that makes me happy.
Those few days spent with the subsequent “Dream System” were a big pleasure for me. The system seemed not to have any flows. And it was true in absolute terms. Full control of low frequencies at volume levels I never use normally, midrange saturation that satisfied me completely and surprisingly noble (sometimes even too noble) treble, micro and macro dynamics at very high levels will be a difficult benchmark for systems to come. Time spent on positioning the loudspeakers to produce an ideally well defined sound stage is nothing. The only thing you have to be careful with is cabling. It has to be neutral, without any attempts to correct the timbre of the whole, or we lose contour. Of course in the digital world there is a possibility of correcting the acoustic frequency ranges, but this is a bit against the idea of orthodox audiophilism. I am not as orthodox and I used the quick ability to cut or add 1.5dB of each sound band, something that can be found on the back of the speakers. However I used it rarely, and mostly just to check how it works. But if this would help someone in eliminating parasite frequencies from the listening room, then why not use it. Nobody will know. Now, can things be done better? Of course, and I await it with a beating heart. And how this was compared to my master? I would have a few points to tell about, but I want to concentrate on one, the most important one for me. After a few days with the T+A and based on my previous experience, I know, that such big loudspeakers will not disappear from the room and will not create such depth of the sound planes as monitors. This time it was good, probably the result was best from all my experience to date, but I heard better presentation of the virtual stage – what am I writing – I have my nirvana two floors above me. Yes, I have bass modules as supplement for my bookshelf speakers, but usage of concentric speakers in a small cabinet creates such a quality level of suspending sounds in the air, that is unreachable for big speakers. I am not sure, but I think, that for such kind of presentation you would need to have a Japanese put big speakers into a small room and tune them long enough, that we can virtually see the sources on a deep stage, following each and every sound with full impression of their visualization. Marcin will probably just shake his head with disbelief, but I am waiting for the moment, when he will reach an appropriate quality level for his everyday music listening – not just when testing, because those impressions are volatile – and he will finally agree with me. Then his evaluation of the sound will not be just by searching for some aspects of the sound, but pointing out their absence. At the same time I must point out, that my system is not so universal as the tested one, and the chosen repertoire was a conscious choice with many flaws for potential buyers of the T+A system. However in my subjective opinion, that what is offered by our western neighbors is absolutely worth the money asked, and if I would be searching for my final system, competition would have a hard time to beat such threshold.
Jacek Pazio
The system used in the test, a complete set of Combak Corporation.
Electronics Reimyo:
– Separate DAC + CD player: CDT – 777 + DAP – 999 EX
– Tube preamp: CAT – 777 MK II
– Solid state power amp: KAP – 777
Speakers: Bravo Consequence +
Power cables: Harmonix X-DC-350M2R Improved Version
Speaker Cables: Harmonix HS 101-EXQ (mid-high section); Harmonix HS-101 SLC (Section woofer)
IC RCA Harmonix HS 101-GP
Digital IC: Harmonix HS 102
Table: Rogoz Audio; Solid Base VI
Accessories: Antivibration stand for the power amp by Harmonix TU-505EX MK2, Harmonix Enacom improved for AC 100-240V; Harmonix Tuning Room Mini Disk RFA-80i; Audio Philar Double platform
Analog stage:
– Turntable:
drive: Dr. Feickert Analogue „Twin”
arm: SME V
cartridge: Dynavector XX-2 MK II
– Phonostage: RCM „THERIAA”
Power:
– KBL SOUND Reference Power Distributor
– KBL SOUND Red Eye power cable
Opinion 2
Only one and a half month passed since our visit in the Warsaw salon Hi-Ton Home of Perfection, yet things came together and our wishes became true. So we did not think but opened our doors for the top T+A system. So with the courtesy of the distributor, and knowing that after the devices made a round in Poland and now they are fully burned-in, we just provided them an appropriate home – 35 square meter listening room, the Official Soundrebels Listening Room and assisted in setting it up. This time we could see, that this audio “game” is a heavy, and I mean that verbally, job. This half a ton of German engineering immediately rises the blood pressure – you just need to have a look at the price list. Yes, you are not mistaken – we are close to the 500 000 PLN threshold, and it is only a matter of time, when we will pass it. It is true, that the jubilee Accuphase system was even closer to the mentioned threshold, but due to the lack of loudspeakers in the set, it remained in the group of followers. But if someone needs another reference point, I can help. For the price of the T+A HV Series system you should be able to buy a new Mercedes SL 400 or a Porshe 911 Carrera Coupe. Now you can imagine, what is the target group for the Herford manufacturer.
And although the 26 kg heavy MP 3000 HV does not frighten with its weight, and the rest of electronics weighing about 40 kilograms a piece can be handled by one person, any walks with the CWT 2000 speakers (120kg a piece!) I suggest to leave to strongmen, and that after you insure them properly. Maneuvering around 160cm high and very expensive cabinets, burns calories in a second, even when three big guys are handling them.
But enough grumbling. The T+A system looks brilliant, and most importantly, if we own a rack with appropriately polished/varnished platforms/shelves then its setup will be pure pleasure – all devices have bolted feet with felt soles, what is an emanation of pure humanitarian posture and care for ergonomics of the designing team, taking into account the weight. A small thing, but an important one.
The chassis of all the devices are made from precision machined, massive aluminum profiles with truly armor thickness. Due to this the German devices have not only masterful rigidity, but also solid shielding. Fortunately the manufacturer does not conceal the insides, but the top plates of each of the components have a big, round window, where curious people can have a peek on the densely packed PCBs and critically assess the amount of audiophile air inside.
When we talk about external design, then after the very detailed description that Jacek made, I can only add, that being a fan of every kind of VU and other meters and displays, the design and execution of the ones installed in the T+A can only be described as fantastic. They are simply ideal – clear, but at the same time do not dazzle during evening/night listening, and the size of the characters and pictograms on the displays of the player and preamplifier allow for comfortable reading from even a significant distance. There is a bit of the monumentality and dignity of the mentioned Accuphase in them, but while the Japanese set fitted in the highest, so called “cabinet” canon of beauty, the T+A is much closer to the industrial minimalism.
And now for a few remarks of organizational nature, or cableology. We did not want to stir too much around in the configuration, that guests in the audio salon can listen to, so we decided to use the set from Cardas that accompanied the electronics during the tour. This set was composed of the loudspeaker cable Clear SKY, XLR interconnects Clear SKY (between the player and preamplifier) and Parsec XLR (between the preamplifier and power amplifiers). For power supply the cables Crossling and Cardas (for CD player and preamp) while the power amplifiers and PSUs received the company cables, supplied by the manufacturer of the electronics. In addition I think it is worth to mention, that the cables dedicated to the power amplifiers, are not only very stiff, they are also quite short, so you should plan the setup of the system in such a way, that you will not have to move the heavy monoblocks here and back.
For initial calibration we also used a MacBook of the distributor, plugged into the T+A MP 3000 HV using the USB Cardas Audio Clear Serial BUSS cable.
Now let us move to the most important aspect, the sound, as what would come to the buyers from the looks of the T+A system, while… No, no. This time there will be no unpleasant surprises, or any disappointment, because the listening sessions in the salon only suggested the potential sleeping in the German products, and in controlled conditions we could fully enjoy the music it played back.
“Inner City Blues” from Midnight Blue was to play for only one or two pieces. An innocent warm-up with “Ain’t No Sunshine” and “Suicide Is Painless”, but from pressing play and starting the disc I could not force myself to reach for the remote and stop it before the disc played to the end. There was also no talking about me moving from the listening chair even for a moment. Despite its smoothness and creaminess the German system presented the virtual sources with such precision and located in such holographic space, that I could not believe that such big speakers are able to disappear. Usually this characteristic is attributed to bookshelf speakers. In addition the detail and openness of the treble was on a level unreachable for conventional drivers. Every touch of the cymbals by the whisk, each phrase played by wind instruments opened a new, to date unknown for the listener, layers of nuances and tastes, at the same time no losing touch with the rest of the sound spectrum. This situation can be best described by the old, and frankly speaking worn-out, phrase about re-discovering your favorite recordings. I will just say, that sometimes it is worth to take a disc for testing, which theoretically should not surprise us with anything new, anything fresh, but it does, and often in a very positive way. Fortunately this ‘extraction’ of those, slightly dusted, tastes happened absolutely naturally, almost by the way, and at the same time it caused a slight emotional shiver by the listener, related to what could happen in just a moment. Trying to find a film analogy, to my mind come the director’s cuts, or re-masterered/digitalized versions of cinema classics, where everything seems to be the old way, because nobody is painting or drawing anything new on the old film tape, yet everything just looks new.
On “The Devil’s Trill” Palladians the concentration and refinement of the repertoire was perfectly presented. Without any signs of nervousness, or any kind of pushing into trustworthiness, or any pressure to unleash the power hidden in the electronics, the emotions within the music and virtuosity of the players were most important. At the same time with incredible ease and freedom anyone could either follow each of the musicians or lazily contemplate the complete composition. The strings as well as the harpsichord were characterized by their intrinsic sweetness combined with slight harshness. It turned out, that in both the jazz jams, recorded in one take, and in the more toned down, pressed in more stiff frames baroque conventions, the T+A feels like a fish in the water and does its thing right. It creates a wide, precise stage in front of the listeners, where each one of the musicians has its own place, designed only for him, where he feels completely free, and creates with other musicians and vocalists an indissoluble, coherent whole, which deserves to be called a true spectacle.
Then came time for the album that was already listened to in the salon “Kristin Lavransdatter” Arild Andersen. The change of the room to a bigger one, and most of all with the ceiling higher, opened the sound, gave access to a more suggestive buildup of the multiple layers of the presented stage. The things happening in front of the listener had a more true, really holographic character. For example in “Hamarkirken” the choir members stood clearly in the back, allowing the solo performance of the saxophone to shine, while on “Bryllupmarsj” the organs were a splendid background to the saxophone placed on the first plane and being a much “bigger” instrument. The rule of perspective works perfectly here, where the distance between the individual virtual sources plays the main role in defining its sizes as perceived by the listeners.
The lately ‘on duty’ in my tests “Songs of Anarchy: Music from Sons of Anarchy Season 1-4” showed true pugnacity and a true rock drive of the tested system. Without any tries to smoothen out the sometimes truly garage harshness of the sound the T+A reproduced the energy hidden in those recordings very skillfully differentiating between their moods and emotional loads. On this album it could nicely catch the differences between the sound of different guitars, their tune, ways of articulation during play and all this was very clearly shown. On “Gimme Shelter” bas was probably closest to Jacek’s ideal – above average motorics and perceivable incredibly quick hits were in their way “blunt”; it had no overly underlined edges, like it is common on most sampler discs, but their delicate rounding ideally harmonized with their mass and filling, adequate to the size of the speakers. There were also some audiophile tests present, like on “Bird on a Wire” the delicate “smacks” of the closely microphoned Katey Sagal.
I did not want to change the climate too quickly so I reached for the rough, almost perceivable dirty “La Futura” ZZ Top, where with “It’s Too Easy Manana” the urge to reach for a rumpled Lucky Strike and a glass of Texan drink in the form of TX Blended Whiskey or even Garrison Brother’s Cowboy Bourbon became almost unbearable.
“Black Hawk Down” just carried away with oriental rhythms, ideally combined with mighty, almost monumental bass, which reached in regions previously unexplored in our Official Listening Room. What is most important, even those lowest, almost infrasound notes, were all the time skillfully controlled, the monoblocks kept them in a purely steel grip, and did not allow for any insubordination. Due to this all the different sounds that added to the climate of the recording did not escape. Now I would like to dedicate listening to such recordings to all fans of multichannel installations aided by boomy subwoofer-like products. What is the sense of using them, when from big full-range speakers you can get a much better effect, and most of all closer to reality. The sound of a stricken match should not move the curtains. The tested system puts such small things in the right place, attributes them to appropriate sizes. Oriental cymbals are shrill in their own way, but most of all small, with a hard, but ethereal sound and they do not sound like the largest Kodo drums. Only synthetic bass moves the crystals and antique candelabras, as it should – it was created just to do that.
In case of the T+A there is no doubt, that we are moving in absolutely high-end areas. The highest manufacturing quality as well as technological advancement of the individual components ideally combines with phenomenal sound, which we can only place on the audiophile Olympus. Without senseless stretching, tending muscles, they just do what they were designed to do – they play music back. Somewhere along the way we forget about technology, damping factors, current efficiency, etc, but we concentrate on the beauty of music and emotions buried in it. The German constructors achieved something unusual, the technologies used by them became only a tool, a way of capturing magic, and not a goal in itself.
Marcin Olszewski
Distributor:
T+A – Hi-Ton Home of Perfection
Cardas – Voice Sp. z o.o
Prices:
– T+A MP3000HV: 42 990 PLN
– T+A P3000HV: 45 990 PLN
– T+A A3000HV: 57 990 PLN
– T+A PS3000HV: 38 990 PLN
– T+A CWT 2000: 157 990 PLN (pair)
– T+A Power Bar 2+5: 8 900 PLN