[Triode Pete]

EnjoyThe Music's Rick Becker chose his Best Sounding Rooms at the recent Capital AudioFest!

Border Patrol, Living Voice, And Triode Wire Labs



Border Patrol is now importing Living Voice speakers from the UK and they went all-out, bringing the gorgeous looking (and sounding) R80 that revels in the sound quality offered by the Border Patrol tube amplification.



Room 316  BorderPatrol & Triode Wire Labs

The Saturday of the show was Veterans Day, and while I heartily salute our veterans, I also salute BorderPatrol and Triode Wire Labs for posting recognition of this day on their door. Many in this industry have roots in the military or in companies that support the military.

I also recall that I lamented the repetitive nature of this room partnered with Volti Speakers in past shows. On the one hand, I hope I didn’t cause a divorce among corporate friends, while on the other, the room here offered fresh insight.



Much of that fresh insight was due to the presentation of the Living Voice R80 speakers in a lustrous high-gloss Ebony veneer with external crossovers finished to match. The sound quality took a significant step upward, as did the price, with the speakers topping out at $54,250. Prices start at $42,750 with inboard crossovers and less expensive veneers. BorderPatrol now imports Living Voice speakers and their other models fall into the $6k to $20k range, so don't be intimidated by the flagship R80 seen here. The room also went upstream with an Innuos Statement Music Server, Next-Gen power supply, and 4TB SSD for $26,200. It was interesting to learn that the Next-Gen PSU utilizes Panzerholz plywood to control vibrations in the unit.



This was not the first time I've heard a Living Voice speaker from the UK, but it is one of a very few and this was the first time this particular model has been shown at a North American audio show. The experiences have always been highly favorable, but this low-volume manufacturer has not sought much exposure on this side of the pond.

Like the speaker above, the R80 is a tube lover's delight with 93dB/W/m sensitivity, a 6 Ohm impedance, and a frequency range from 25Hz to 20kHz. Make that a wealthy tube lover. And as shown, the speaker is suitable for the finest homes, whether traditional or contemporary. It just exudes quality when looking at it, and the sound does not disappoint or undermine that impression.



The BorderPatrol amp would have been a better match for the speaker only if it had a gloss finish on the wood. The S20EXD power amp puts out 16 Wpc from parallel 300B tubes (Western Electric, in this particular instance). It is supplied by twin external power supplies, seen on the lower shelf in the photo above. Zero negative feedback is used and the amp is encased in a copper and wood chassis. Both the amp and power supplies have been given extensive cryogenic treatment. Price begins at $21,500 and depends on 300B tube options.

In the center of the top shelf above was the BorderPatrol DAC SE-I (USB) which is a non-oversampling resistor ladder (R-2R) DAC with no digital filtering. It houses a hybrid tube/solid-state power supply housed in a copper case and plays files only up to 24-bit/96kHz. For someone dedicated to Red Book CDs or Tidal Master files, this could be an unheralded gem. It runs from $1650 with USB or S/PDIF in silver or black, up to $2150 with both USB and S/PDIF, plus some variation in between.

Triode Wire Labs cables included The Obsession NCF power cord with Furutech FI-50 NCF connectors used on the power conditioner ($1499), the High Power Digital American II power cord used on the Border Patrol power supplies ($749 ea.), the Digital American II digital power cord used on the DAC, the Bi-Wired American Speaker Cables with TWL Jumpers with Cardas banana plugs (starting at $1100). Jumpers at $299/set. The Spirit II RCA interconnects were $399 and the digital Passion USB cable was $329. There was a glimpse of the speaker wire and the jumpers in the photo of the speaker above. These seem like very reasonable prices for the sound quality I heard here.

Thanks Rick!!!

Cheers,
Pete

[Stercom]

I spent some fairly significant time in this room at CAF. I agree it was one of the best. Very real natural sound. A pleasant relief the from zip, boom, bang of most rooms. The Living Voice speakers seemed to be a very good fit for Border Patrol and Triode Wire. Great stuff!

[Triode Pete]

I spent some fairly significant time in this room at CAF. I agree it was one of the best. Very real natural sound. A pleasant relief the from zip, boom, bang of most rooms. The Living Voice speakers seemed to be a very good fit for Border Patrol and Triode Wire. Great stuff!

Thank you kindly!

[lokie]

I lived with a pair of LV speakers. They sounded pretty great.

Real buggers to get placement right. They really liked a long wall.

Ultimately went with big Altec type diy which suited my music and room more.