Pacific Audio Fest 2022 Fab 5 Picks
Greg Weaver chooses the Best Of PAF 2022.
Show Report By Greg Weaver

Three
I have to hand it to long-time audio bud Ozan "Oz" Turan, of High-End by Oz, now based in Connecticut, and his room partner, Greg Beron, of Virginia's United Home Audio, as their team-up in Cascade 5 on the second floor, an almost square room, some 30' x 29' x 8', proved to be exceptional.

This was an all-out assault by Oz, that started with the sources. The featured source was Greg's United Home Audio SuperDeck ($90,000), a statement four-component open reel playback machine consisting of the tape transport, an external tape head amplifier, an extreme outboard power supply, and a dedicated rack to hold and isolate it all. This thing is the bomb and represents the best possible playback Greg can muster at this point.

Digital was served up by Denmark's Vitus Audio Signature Series SCD 25 MK II CD/Transport ($26,400), feeding the Thrax Maximinus Mk2S DSP controlled 32-bit/384kHz audio DAC ($38,500). Electronics were the statement Bulgarian Thrax Masterpiece Series two-box Libra 300 linestage ($65,500), the remarkable Thrax Masterpiece Series Spartacus 300 Monoblocks ($97,500/pr.), and the loudspeakers were the Børresen 05 Silver Supreme Edition ($214,500/pr.), also of Denmark.

Connectivity and conditioning were entirely the domain of California's Synergistic Research products and included the Galileo Power Cell SX ($27,995), the Galileo SX Active Ground Block ($8,000), and a full loom of the SRX Cables ($200,000). Everything rested on the sleek, sexy HiFiStay Mythology Rack Systems ($5,200 per shelf). For those who may have been counting, this yields a total system price of just over $775,000... which is in the same neighborhood as my current reference system.

Regardless of the other tracks I heard, I'll cop to admitting that I didn't mind hearing an old favorite of mine, the 1997 Bozzio, Levin, and Stevens release, Black Light Syndrome, on both CD and reel-to-reel tape. No matter which source was used, analog or digital, if the recording was up to it, this system offered an image specificity that was consistently spot on, both in size and placement. This system had an amazing sense of focus and was able to reveal rich tone and very authentic textures. Its ability to render speed and scaling was exceptional as well.

In particular, microdynamic expressions were remarkably nuanced and engaging, especially with the portrayal of instrumental decay and trails. The only frailty to reveal itself over my many visits to this room was a slight constriction of macro expression, with just a tad of stunted, or a slight leanness, of the very bottom octave.

This is the finest presentation I've heard from this combination of vendors in recent memory. This system was amazingly coherent, offered remarkable detail without etching, lifelike bloom without bloat, and beautiful tonal textures without syrupy distractions.

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