Review: PE V Pro Special Edition
PE-V-Pro listening impressions:
24 hours: Sound is awful. Could only listen for about 5 minutes before taking CD out in horror. Sound is terribly bright and etched. Soundstage has lost all depth, width, and detail. Sounds like the tweeter is the only driver functioning. No bass at all. Everything sounds very metallic. Impression: Where did my stereo go?
48 hours: Sound still too bright and etched, but a bit more listenable. Still very little low bass. Sounds like subwoofers are turned off; I actually went to check the amps to make sure they were in fact “on”. Soundstage still completely diffuse; no focus. Can’t pinpoint instruments in soundfield. Instruments all sound like they are metallic even if they are made from wood (guitar, violin, cello, etc). Sounds lacks “body”, timbre is hollow sounding.
72 hours: Things seem to be settling down. Instruments are starting to get some “body” again. Timbre is still kind of bright/metallic sounding, but definitely heading in the right direction. Still very anemic bass.
96 hours: Much improved today. Sound quality and timbre are much more real sounding. Starting to sound like music and not like stereo. Voices have good deal of palpability to them as do brass instruments. Just the right amount of “bite” without being edgy or overly bright. Now the sound is becoming full and harmonically rich, not hollow like before. Bass is better, but still a bit thin. Strings, however, still sound a bit “glaring”.
168 hours: Things are sounding much, much better. Soundstage has opened up in width and from front-to-back. More front-to-back depth than before the PE-V, but still a bit narrower side-to-side than before PE-V install and less focused, i.e., cannot yet pinpoint precise location of specific instruments. Timbre of male voices now very good; better than before PE-V. Nice richness without boominess. Wood instruments sound like wood again, not metal. Listening to didgeridoo on stereo is freakishly “real”. There is still a hint of glare or haze when listening to loud orchestral music, especially violins and violas. Some details are have never heard before are now emerging from recordings I thought I knew very well.
240 hours: Things are definitely still improving. Sound has now become very lifelike with all instruments. Some startling so; gongs, bells, and other percussion is so real it’s almost eerie. I play trumpet and would have sworn, had my eyes been closed, that the solo trumpet fanfare playing on a SACD was actually a person standing playing in the room. Imaging is getting better still, but not yet holographic. Bass is suddenly subterranean. Very deep, taut, and solid. Definitely improved over pre-PE-V. Instruments have wonderful resonance and the decay at the end of a note/piece is fantastic. It just fades seemingly forever. Still just a wee bit “hot” on top, but perhaps this will still settle.
Days 14-16: WOW! I don’t know what transpired during the past couple of days without listening, but when Alan says everything will “click” and come together, he’s not kidding. I popped a CD in and turned to leave the room and go back to work on my computer. I took all of three steps before I stopped dead in my tracks and spun around to stare in amazement at the stereo. Something profound has definitely taken place within the AC in my house and the PE-V. The soundstage has blown wide open and has become truly holographic. Sitting in the listening chair, I’m enveloped in sound. The orchestra stretches well beyond the outside of the speakers and I can position each instrument exactly where it should be on stage. The timbre of instruments is literally to-die-for. I didn’t know stereo reproduction could sound like this, and all this improvement is coming from the components I’ve been listening to for years without realizing all of their hidden potential. Although Alan has assured me “things can always get better”, I truly can’t believe it can get better than this! ~ Chris Porada
