It was no surprise that we visited the Vinnie Rossi Audio and Well Pleased A/V room more than once. Their gear seems made to go together, and it was one of the best sounding rooms at the Capital Audiofest 2019. The surprise is that even though the total cost of the system is less than the speakers in most of the other rooms, the sound was one of the very best at the show.
Vinnie Rossi Electronics
This was our first time to see Vinnie Rossi’s new L2 ‘Signature Edition’ Integrated Amplifier or L2i-SE ($18,995). It debuted at RMAF, but we didn’t make it to that show.
The Class A amp has a wide-bandwidth, zero-feedback, and is ‘convertible’ to a direct-heated–triode (DHT) preamplifier design. It is compatible with 2A3, 45, and 300B tubes, and 6SN7s and a few others. The output stage has a Class-AB MOSFET topology, with dual-mono power supplies.
The DAC was Vinnie’s L2 DAC, which is an optional module ($3,495) for the amp. This preamp is so good I hope there will be a stand-alone one before long. There is an optional L2 Phonostage as well for the same price.
Source and Speakers
The source was the Innuos Statement Music Server ($13,750) The best I could count, there were Innuos servers in seven rooms at the show. And, when I visit with other audiophiles, it seems many of us now have an Innuos music server in our personal systems.
The speakers in this sweet-sounding system were the QLN Prestige Three SEs ($12,000). I always enjoy listening to these speakers from Sweden. They just deliver a beautiful sound that makes me want to listen just a little longer.
The rest of the system was the GigaWatt “PC-4 EVO+” with LC-3HC power conditioner ($10,000). The cables were from Triode Wire Labs. The rack was an SGR Model 5 Statement Equipment Rack.
Without a doubt, this was one of the most beautiful sounding systems at the show.
