Hello all,
Here are some Lifeforce impressions from one of the first to take the plunge.
LIFEFORCE
I have one of the first pairs of Lifeforce55 modules Hugh made for sale. I’ve finally had enough time with them to be able to write a bit about them.
First, some background info; I listen mostly to classical sacd’s, high rez recordings. My speakers are one of a kind 2.5 ways with Seas W18E drivers and Hiquphon OW1 tweeter, high rez drivers to be sure. My speakers are set up 7 feet out into the room, and I sit in a near field position, and have a very good 3D effect from this setup. My N+ amp has attenuators build in, and thus I have no preamp.
I heard one of Hugh’s Lifeforce prototypes during a visit in March. It was just a short casual listen, but I was so impressed by the sound that afternoon that I wrote Hugh the following day that I felt he was really on to something with the new design.
Once Hugh published his price for the new Lifeforce modules, well, I didn’t really have to think too long before ordering a pair.
What most got my attention in the casual listen at Hugh’s were the superb clarity and three dimensionality of the music. This three dimensionality stood out to me, as music I had previously heard at Hugh’s had never really sounded that way. However, my own system, setup, and listening choices already stood out for high resolution, clarity, and three dimensionality. I was not sure of how much improvement the Lifeforce would really add, as the music was already quite good and at a fairly high level.
After giving the amps some hours to play and myself to listen, I can say that the Lifeforce raises the level of music playback up a fair bit. What I believe to be the strength of the Lifeforce is an increase in the low level detail of the music. This gives the music a higher level of clarity and precision, a much firmer stereo image, and a much more natural sound.
Low-level detail is a real benchmark of an audio system’s quality. Classical music is all about musical detail, decay, and notes fading to infinity. The more an audio system is able to resolve these musical notes, details, and decays the more natural the music will sound. The more low level detail present, the lower one needs the volume to be, in order to hear everything that is there in the music. If you have to turn up the volume in order to “get into the music”, well, it’s just not there. It’s just loud.
I have made numerous changes to my audio system through the years. And some of the more profound changes have been amplifier changes. Going to a BAT VK60 several years ago, made the music overall sound so much better than before. The Aksa N+ kept the VK60 tonality and added superb bass response and driver control, as I described in my testimonial that is still on the website. And now………………
The Lifeforce has increased the low level detail that is in the recorded music, to a superb level. And I think it is a performance level on par with, or beyond, the highest performing audio amplifiers.
I think this is why the music sounded so very good at Hugh’s. The Lifeforce seems to raise the level of performance of the total audio system to a very high level. I certainly think this is what Aurelius was alluding to in his comments about Hugh’s system with Lifeforce being a notch above his N+ w/Orion’s.
Much has already been written about the increase in bass performance of the Lifeforce over the N+. Classical music doesn’t exactly have the pulsating bass line of most popular music. Classical bass is more of a foundation to the sound of the orchestra, best done with a large bass driver or subwoofer. My system here has neither. Yet there have been times in certain pieces when I’ve noticed the tympanis sounding much louder than before, and other times where there was a greater firmness to the orchestral foundation.
The other day I put on a couple of old popular music rbcd’s that I still have in my collection. And like WOW, where’d that bass come from! It was like my nice little 55-watt amp had become a mini Krell. And my 7-inch W18E lower woofer (the .5 woofer) had become a 12-inch bass monster. This definitely got my attention!
Oh, and I must mention that I wouldn’t really think of this quality as slam. I don’t really think that slam is a very good musical term; although I realize that others might beg to differ. I’d rather say that it’s “increased bass performance”.
At this same time, I also put on a couple classical rbcd’s still in the collection. Again, another WOW, as I heard more resolution and detail than ever before in these discs. It was somewhat like the resolution had almost risen up to sacd level, although not quite.
In conclusion, the Lifeforce is such a high performer that every other component in the audio system seems to also have it’s level of performance significantly raised as well.
I think the Lifeforce is the most cost effective improvement one can make to one’s audio system, provided of course that you already have an Aksa.
I rather like this Lifeforce amplifier. It gives the music a Life Force all it’s own. Or perhaps I should say that it gives the music more LIFE!!!!
Steve
