I've shared my excitement with/love for my LIO in a couple of other threads, but thought I'd re-post and update in this thread.
I bought my LIO a little over a year ago, being intrigued by the LIO concept and early industry buzz. I was a little nervous about ordering my LIO without having heard one, especially since I first needed to sell some components I had been very happy with. In my previous system, I'd gone all out on power conditioning (Bybee Stealth Power Conditioner and Lessloss Reference and Signature cords) to feed an Ayon Orion II and an Ayre QB-9 DSD. Interconnects were Wywires Platinum . . . and I had assembled the system through much trial and error to deliver the sonics I wanted.
In deciding to order the LIO with RVC and tube stage module, I figured I would have a fair amount of flexibility to be able to tailor the sound to my liking through tube rolling. I've been using the LIO, with Telefunken E88CC's to drive Audience 2+2 speakers, and I'm not looking back, which is saying
a lot considering my level of satisfaction with the previous system. The LIO/Audience combo rings all the right bells for me: focused, pure, tonally dense, transparent and dynamic. In addition to great sonic performance, the LIO is very attractive . . . from the basic design, to the top cover logo to the Vinnie Rossi insignia, every detail is tastefully executed.
Owning the LIO also helps feed an ongoing process of simplifying my life. It's calming to replace the clutter of multiple power cords, interconnects and component boxes with a single box. And, it didn't hurt at all that, after replacing my other components and cords with the LIO, I walked away with approximately $6,500 in my pocket . . . and a system that I prefer.
I later upgraded to the AVC/tube module, which was another step up from the RVC based module, and continue to use my LIO to drive Audience 2+2 speakers. A few other changes in the past several months have progressively enhanced my listening enjoyment: 1) New V2 drivers from Audience for the 2+2's, 2) Upgraded speaker cables from Au24 SE to SX, and 3) Changed from supporting the speakers on brass cones to using constrained layer damping between the speakers and stand platforms; the stands are heavily damped with lead shot/micro bearing fill in the lower portion of the pillars, and lead shot/sand in the upper portion; I sandwiched a layer of Herbie's Audio Lab dB Neutralizer between the speaker bottoms and the solid birdseye maple platforms (bonded in compression with removable silicone adhesive). Each of these changes brought meaningful improvements and, taken as a whole, the pure, natural music they yield never fails to put a big ole' grin on my face. The purity that results from coupling full-range drivers (no crossover artifacts) to the LIO (clean, natural sound with no power supply hash) is addictive.
As much as I love my system as is though, I recently ordered the DHT Pre module and the microRendu modification for my LIO DAC module. I'm very excited to hear my system with those additions, having read Vinnie's comments about them in the forum and having learned to trust that, when Vinnie promises a significant improvement, he delivers in spades!
In closing, I want to thank Vinnie for sharing his vision, execution and superb customer service. Much appreciated, and much respected!
Charlie
