GoodSoundClub - Romy the Cat's Audio Site

In the Forum: Melquiades Amplifier
In the Thread: A quest for a better SET.

Post Subject: Still, there is something in it.Posted by Romy the Cat on: 8/2/2010

As many know I sine move in the new house do not have a fully functional Macondo and most of the time I listen Dunlavy with SS amp. Melquiades sit in there, collecting dust , waiting what it will be called to duty again. This weekend it was called and I again and again got a feeling that something does live in this beast.

I was listening all Sunday Bach’s organ works by Simon Preston. It is 14 SDs and I wish it was 114 CDs – so good it is. Still, listening Preston’s play I was feeling that at different dymick ranges the expressively of performance is different. It like Mr. Preston become more or less caring about music with volume goes up and down. Dunlavy are know dynamically-stupid loudspeakers but the vibrancy of sound rendering was obviously was coming from amplifier.

I shut down the SS toy and turned Melquiades with the remaining Macondo. God, I forgot how good it is! The ability of Melquiades to glide the peak and values of sound is staggering. It is not that it has dynamic range but it rather the fact that it renders dynamics in so uniquely-wonderful way. It does not toss the huge dynamics but it does it in very smart way, sometime slowing down and sometimes accelerating – but always doing it in very measured and superbly condoled manner. It is like the amplifier has an operator inside who rides the volume control with respect to the played music.

In away what Melquiades does with dynamics reminds me how I was taught to drive a tank. To drive an older tank across a complicated terrain is a truly artistic form of expression. The older tanks did not have very good axis stabilized gun controls. It used gyro stabilizers that that help to maintain the aiming point to a degree. Still, when the terrain it too wild and the tank goes up and down too much then the stabilizers can’t handle it anymore and then the artistry of tank driver take a control. Working with gas, the tank’s mass inertia and many other aspects a good tank driver can make the tank do not dive too much in values and do not rise too much on the hills. A normal person would driver a tank across holes and bumps and the tank will reflect them. A very good tank operator will drive the tank with the same speed but the tank will be literally gliding above the terrain with not too much vertical movement of the tank body.

I think what Melquiades does very much reminds me what a very good tank operator does – the amp gliding the dymick of music in a very unique manner. I have written abs about the Mil’s “dymick viscosity”, so it is nothing new but I juts forgot how interesting and addictive it is….

Then Cat

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