Wojciech Korpacz: „Lorelei Silver Lux” – English Version
Grudzień 5th, 2011
With the greatest pleasure I have listened today to the newest “Lorelei” named by Mr. Andrzej the “Silver Lux”. It differs from the preceding versions in some significant details, which have no minor meaning when naming this unit.
1. All internal signal cabling has been made of a double screened silver wire.
2. The connection between a loudspeaker transformer and loudspeaker sockets has been made of silver wiring.
3. The loudspeaker terminals WBT-0705 Cu Nextgen have been made of pure, oxide free copper gold platted.
4. The power supply socket Furutech has been joint to a power supply transformer and a relay 3 mm with a silver wire covered with teflon.
5. Anode voltage of a preamplifier is supplied through a silver strand cable of the 2,5 mm diameter.
6. The American tubes 6AC7Wa and 6F8g work in a preamplifier.
7. The French wide band tube 5933 works in a phase inverter.
8. The double triode 6463 Siemens works as an entry tube.
9. The Soviet tubes 6P15P work as followers of the tubes 6P14P. They give far much more micro-dynamic details than the tubes 6P14P used earlier for the purpose.
10. 20-section loudspeaker transformers with a primary winding of the diameter of 0,30 mm have been hand winded. It is extremely hard for making due to a small window area, which has to comprise all planned winding sections that are separated from each other with doubled insulation.
The “Lorelei Silver Lux” has been made on a special order of an advanced audiophile, who has been using the earlier model of the amplifier for certain time. In result, he has got a desire to have the best unit of those ever made by Mr Andrzej – with no account for any limits. Thus unusual tubes and silver cabling of the most important elements, both, the signal channel and the voltage. Hand winded multi-section loudspeaker transformers are the speciality of Mr Andrzej. The preceding model of the “Lorelei” also had the transformer with wire of 0,30 mm; it comprised successfully even 18 sections and it seemed to be the record not to be beaten. Andrzej Marków has designed a special tool, which enables leading a wire more tightly. In result two more sections has been successfully placed and a 20-section transformer has been made.
Today, I have been listening to the classical music above all. Firstly, because it is my favourite kind of music. Secondly, because it enables the most complex checking of the amplifier capabilities. First of all the natural colour of both, the voices and the instruments, can be listened to. A stereo-microphone registers the real distances between musicians, and it also shows the true interactions with acoustics of the room, which a recording has been carried on in. Listening to the “Membra Jesu Nostri” by Buxtehude in performance of the Concerto Vocale conducted by Rene Jacob has taken me straight to a small castle chapel. I have heard the perfect diversity of both, the female voices and the male voices. Each of them marked with the maximum expression and soulful. The instruments accompanying the human voices have sounded as much natural as one can imagine. Deep contemplation has been stimulated by extinguishing in far away sounds, repeated in reflections from the stone walls. After Buxtehude I have listened to the cantata by Bach performed by the ensemble of Peter Jan Leusinek, and I must admit that it has been even greater experience. The calm elegance of this interpretation, perfectly matched voices of the soloists and the choir, as well, all enabled me to concentrate on advantages of the sound. All the instruments have appeared so naturally as the musicians have had played alive some meters away from me. The highest quality of transmission of a voice of wooden instruments has caught my attention. It is rare, except for the concerts alive, to be able to hear so clearly that the baroque flutes, oboes or fagots were made of pieces of wood. I have admired the natural softness of the going on down fagot, and even more – piercing ordinary flutes, which owing to the Lorelei have been softly crying giving at the same time laud, clear tones of rounded edge. With sopranos alike. I have heard how they purely vibrated in the air. Following Bach and a short break I have tried the most difficult recording, which I have got in my collection: “Vespro della beata Virgine” by Monteverdi conducted by Gardiner. The performance was recorded in the St. Marc Basilica in Venice, i.e. in the place where the first performance had been carried out in the year 1610. Three choirs, several instrumentalists and ten soloists perform the piece with using acoustics of the room. Sounds are sometimes long, some other time muffled by louder singing. It requires the highest attention from the performers not to loose the legibility of sound plans. The Gardiner performance was a success, but the quality of presentation of the piece depends only on the equipment. An amplifier presents the highest class, when it manages the singing unisono female choirs with no slightest deformations, and transmits truly the acoustics of a place. The “Lorelei Silver Lux” has no single problem to manage it. If no earlier arranged meeting, I would endlessly have been listening to how the subsiding choir voices reflect from the arched ceiling of the Basilica. How clearly the delicate accompaniment of organs and strong voices of soloists are heard on their background. I like in particular the part “Due Seraphim” with the voices of angels calling each other somewhere beneath the rounded ceiling, and far from the musicians accompanying them. But nothing can beat the emotion, which has been aroused in me today by the final “Magnificat”. I have been listening to with my flesh creep, all my hair up and my heart in my mouth. It happens rarely, even on the good concerts.
One day before I listened together with Mr Andrzej to his favourite music, that is the jazz from the old times. We started with mono-phonic recordings by the New York Cotton Club in thirties of the passed century. Not long time ago the record was issued with recorded radio programmes, which had been broadcast alive with the audience participation. The marvellous dynamic of the entire big-band was enchanting, the quality of recording was astonishing. Following this we were listening to recordings from the very beginning of a stereo era, the record by Billy Holiday “Songs for distingue lovers” of 1957. There is no need to add that we were overwhelmed with the charm of her voice and the magic recorded nearly 60 years ago. We listened to recordings of seventies and eighties, limiting them to performances from before the digitalisation age. The “Lorelei Silver” did show the class by incredible number of micro-dynamic details to which I did not pay attention before. The music was whirling while going through the walls. I felt like I was at the jazz concert in Fabryka Trzciny. I heard fingers on contrabass strings, micro-touches of percussion, licking of lips by a vocalist or a trumpeter, that is the details underlining the realism of the recording. But the highest impression was made by the dynamic and resolution of the amplifier. The huge hits of a foot beat a chest pointwise. On their background the transparent lines of a bas guitar, humming of a Hammond organs or saxophones were clearly drawn. We did jazz, no comments.
(translated: Barbara Budkiewicz)
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