[Excerpts From]
Home Entertainment 2001

Show Report

by Rick Becker

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The tube vs. solid state debate was put right on the table in adjacent rooms sponsored by Merlin. I listened in to Bobby Palkovic (spelling?) passionately explaining the importance of the refinement his specially designed conical feet brought to his speakers, and to the joule electra amplifiers as well. In one room the VSM with the latest BAM was powered by joule electra tube preamp & OTL monoblocks (in matching red paint). (The speakers are gorgeous in red, btw, but if you listen to them more than you look at them...the quasi-stucco matte black is fine). An Audio Aero CD player, with tubes, was the source. This player was a popular source for systems at Montreal, too. In the next room, the same speaker was driven by Simaudio solid state gear. What looked to be a rather modest size power amp drove the VSMs very well. The differences were clearly audible. Both sounded great, and I'm still sitting on the fence on this one. It is tough choices like this that put a lot of good used equipment on the market as 'philes try to second-guess their original purchases.

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