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...hauntingly sublime in the way it presented music. This was Vinnie Rossi’s debut of the L2 Signature Edition integrated amplifier ($18,995), which offers the option of a phono stage and DAC for $3495 each. Vinnie paired this beautiful amp with the surprising QLN Prestige Three SE loudspeakers from Sweden ($12,000/pair) and the Innuos Statement music server. Placed diagonally with the QLNs placed far out into the room, this system offered some of the most astounding imaging and soundstaging I’ve ever heard. EVER.
Dave, I thought the new products were NOT supercapacitor powered. Did that change?
Ha, I actually didn't ask so that may be the case. If it's not supercaps whatever he's doing is working!
Best Sound of the ShowWell Pleased AV room featuring Vinnie Rossi’s new [L2i-SE] Integrated Amplifier, Innuos streaming, QLN Prestige Three Loudspeakers, Swiss Cables and Giggawatt power conditioning. This was the first choice by each of us. A musical oasis. We visited three times. The new Vilde Frang violin recording was incredibly lifelike, with wonderful transparency and superb bow and rosin timbres. Fantastic digital. Source was Qobuz HiRes. The room was always full and was set up beautifully. This is where we first experienced just how good the new hotel rooms sounded.
Vinnie Rossi showed the new Signature Edition integrated amp which features a zero-feedback direct-heated triode preamp section driving a 100Wpc MOSFET output stage. The amp is bristling with tweaky design touches including dual-mono construction, a discrete 64-step resistor-ladder volume control, and integral Stillpoints feet on the machined aluminum chassis. Phono input and a DAC module are options.
As for how it all sounds? Amazing. These QLN loudspeakers are familiar to me with Well Pleased AV exhibits, and with Vinnie’s new integrated, and statement pieces from Innuous, it’s the overall best they’ve ever sounded. On day one I was ready to professize that this system would definitely set a high bar for all others to come, and likely be a shoe-in for best in show. Then on Sunday, when I swung by for a return visit, things were even better as the tubes had been changed to something a little more exotic from Western Electric. What was already great, just got greater. This system more than almost any other at the show sang like angels on the mountain tops. By Eric Franklin Shook
Yes, we were running Elrog 300B's in the L2i-SE (they are used in the preamplifier voltage gain stage), and also switched in the Western Electric WE-300Bs on SundayVinnie
...the diagonal set-up provided a soundstage that was one of the best I’ve heard at a high-end audio show, deep and taut and with imaging that could not be more precise. My notes at the time just say “easy and natural,” but days afterward I am still haunted by so many things about that system. Those Qln speakers, for example, defied my expectations. They are small in person, petite towers that look as if they could be easily scooped up and brought into another room. Yet the sound was incredibly expansive and airy, with plenty of deep bass that could really energize the relatively spacious room.The centerpiece of the Well Pleased AV system, however, was easily the Vinnie Rossi L2i-SE, with its stunning industrial aesthetic, amazing fit and finish and astonishing flexibility. Vinnie’s amps have been thrilling my ears for many years now, but this is new, a sound so natural and light and fulfilling on so many levels. I must try one out in my home, I told Vinnie, getting on the short list for review. So, I’ll work hard to make that happen over the next few months. I might exert the same effort for Qln–I think those speakers were among my favorite transducers at the show.
Hi Matthew, Steve, and Charles: Thank you, gentlemen! Regarding the Elrog 300B, I do not like them more than the TAK TA-300B (you and others might prefer them, depending on yoursystem, room, tastes in sound and music. That's the beauty of the L2 Preamp and L2i-SE's DHT Filament Switch - you have incredible flexibility to roll in the finest sounding triodes available! ....Vinnie
Vinnie, would you mind giving an impression how the Elrogs sound different from the WE300b in the L2i SE (and from the Talk 300b). It was mentioned in some show reports that after you put in the WE tubes the sound was even better, however without really mentioning how. I am running the Elrog 300b in my LIO and am very happy with them.
I have been giving these out since 2006, and over the years they have become a popular indicator of excellence of performance at high-end audio shows.This award is given to you due to the superior sound that I experienced in your space. Being in your room was a true Audio Oasis! moment…relaxation, and getting into the music, instead of being driven out of the room!
