OK, I have had my Almarro M1A’s running for almost a week. I fell in love with these little beauties at the Fest. Many thanks to BrianB, at VenusHiFi, for making this deal happen.
My office system is set up in ‘nearfield’ mode, due to space constraints. (8’x10’ room, with two desks, and assorted other junk)
Almarro A205 integrated
Almarro M1A speakers (2-way, rear ported, original design drivers)
Arcam Alpha One cdp
Pioneer PL-115D TT/Shure M97xE cart/Cambridge Audio azur 540P-S phono stage
Marantz 105 tuner (from PunkerX’s bench)
Nordost Solar Wind interconnects
Chord Carnival Silver speaker cables
Atlantis Signature stands (too short, need to be taller)
The good things: The sound is incredible. I have to relisten to all my music. Granted, they have replaced a pair of Mirage 450’s, but the Mirages sounded pretty good, just not even close to this league. Cymbals, brushes, saxophones all have a ‘real’ sound to them, now, something that I hadn’t heard in this room, to this degree, before. Voices? I would swear that Linda Ronstadt, Patricia Barber, and Holly Cole were in my office, singing for me. Another surprise for me is just how much authority these little Almarro’s have, in this room, for the LF. Certain recordings that were ‘less than distinct’, in bass viol riffs, now have more definition, clarity, like the bassist has come into the room, with the rest of the performers.
These are also flat-out beautiful cabinets, made of 1” Japanese Oak lumber, with a smooth-as-silk finish. Big, beefy binding posts on the back, slickly-made grills, and threaded inserts in the bottom of the cabinets, to facilitate mounting on the stands. I WILL be using that feature, once I get taller stands. No Blu-tak on these babies.
The bad thing: I am back to square one for sources. TT, cart, phono stage, cdp all need to be upgraded. Wait a minute; this belongs in the section above. I forgot, for a second, that the thrill is in the hunt.
Seriously, my audio goals are much more clearly defined, so the hunt should be much easier than previously so.
The only bad thing is this: This system gets played while I am on AK. I find myself turning away from reading threads, or administering membership requests, to listen, anew, to a piece of music with which I thought I was intimately familiar. Through these Almarro’s, my music library is all new, again. Tough life, isn't it?
I know that listening is subjective. I have heard other tube systems, specifically Billfort's, which blew me away. My home situation (I live in a semi-detached’) doesn't allow for a big pair of Altecs, driven to 'realistic' levels. Maybe one day, I'll have some horns, or some big Tannoys. Until my home changes, and it probably will never change, I have stopped looking at amps and speakers. This is a pairing I can live with, for a long time, and won't live without.
Thanks, BrianB, for the deal, and Yoshihiro Muramatsu, for your genius designs.
My office system is set up in ‘nearfield’ mode, due to space constraints. (8’x10’ room, with two desks, and assorted other junk)
Almarro A205 integrated
Almarro M1A speakers (2-way, rear ported, original design drivers)
Arcam Alpha One cdp
Pioneer PL-115D TT/Shure M97xE cart/Cambridge Audio azur 540P-S phono stage
Marantz 105 tuner (from PunkerX’s bench)
Nordost Solar Wind interconnects
Chord Carnival Silver speaker cables
Atlantis Signature stands (too short, need to be taller)
The good things: The sound is incredible. I have to relisten to all my music. Granted, they have replaced a pair of Mirage 450’s, but the Mirages sounded pretty good, just not even close to this league. Cymbals, brushes, saxophones all have a ‘real’ sound to them, now, something that I hadn’t heard in this room, to this degree, before. Voices? I would swear that Linda Ronstadt, Patricia Barber, and Holly Cole were in my office, singing for me. Another surprise for me is just how much authority these little Almarro’s have, in this room, for the LF. Certain recordings that were ‘less than distinct’, in bass viol riffs, now have more definition, clarity, like the bassist has come into the room, with the rest of the performers.
These are also flat-out beautiful cabinets, made of 1” Japanese Oak lumber, with a smooth-as-silk finish. Big, beefy binding posts on the back, slickly-made grills, and threaded inserts in the bottom of the cabinets, to facilitate mounting on the stands. I WILL be using that feature, once I get taller stands. No Blu-tak on these babies.
The bad thing: I am back to square one for sources. TT, cart, phono stage, cdp all need to be upgraded. Wait a minute; this belongs in the section above. I forgot, for a second, that the thrill is in the hunt.
Seriously, my audio goals are much more clearly defined, so the hunt should be much easier than previously so.
The only bad thing is this: This system gets played while I am on AK. I find myself turning away from reading threads, or administering membership requests, to listen, anew, to a piece of music with which I thought I was intimately familiar. Through these Almarro’s, my music library is all new, again. Tough life, isn't it?
I know that listening is subjective. I have heard other tube systems, specifically Billfort's, which blew me away. My home situation (I live in a semi-detached’) doesn't allow for a big pair of Altecs, driven to 'realistic' levels. Maybe one day, I'll have some horns, or some big Tannoys. Until my home changes, and it probably will never change, I have stopped looking at amps and speakers. This is a pairing I can live with, for a long time, and won't live without.
Thanks, BrianB, for the deal, and Yoshihiro Muramatsu, for your genius designs.
