All weekend it seemed like everyone wanted to get into the Evolution Acoustics room presented by Blue Light Audio and The Audio Association. Once I finally made it in, I knew why it was so popular. It was one of the best rooms at the show for listening to music!
Before we get into the system itself, this is a good time to say thank you to the dealers and importers who play such an important role in getting equipment to audio shows, particularly to the smaller regional shows. Blue Light Audio is an importer located in Portland, Oregon. The Audio Association is a Los Angeles area dealer.
The System
Let’s start with the speakers. They were the tall, slim and beautiful Evolution Acoustics Exact Series Maestoso 3-way loudspeaker system for $18,900. They were connected by Evolution Acoustics cabling to a darTZeel NHB-108 Model Two Stereo Amplifier at $44,000 and the NHB-18NS MK II preamplifier with a built-in reference phono stage for another $44,000.
The turntable was the Wave Kinetics NVS Direct Drive for $45,000. Using their W8 record weight added another $600, the A10-U8R Vibration Control System added $300 each, and the 2NS Loudspeaker Interface System was another $1,600 for a set of 8.
Mounted on the table was a Durand Tosca Tonearm for $15,000 with an Ortofon Anna Cartridge for $8,924. The digital source was the Merging Technologies NADAC D/A Converter for $10,000 with an upgraded power supply for $7,000 and a U-Clock for $36,000.
The Sound
This was one of the few systems at the show to get really lifelike bass in one of the smaller rooms. I thought the sound with both the analog and the digital sources had good tone and a believable soundstage. The midrange was open and clear with a well extended top end.
Note: Take a look at all of our coverage of this show here.