Audiophilepure

https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/equipment-reviews/2023-audiolab-9000q-preamplifier-dac

Peter Gabriel’s recently released Live at WOMAD 1982 (24/96 FLAC, Real World / Tidal) is an excellent live recording just bristling with energy. “Shock the Monkey” begins with what sounds like a drum machine combined with Jerry Marotta’s live drumming in a tight, funky, infectious beat; in my opinion, this arrangement is superior to the studio version of the song. Gabriel’s vocals are presented with a lucidity conveying the urgency in his delivery of the lyrics. I was impressed by how well the 9000Q unraveled the complexities of this live production, keeping the varying primal beats separated from the energetic vocals.

This clarity was even more evident on “Mercy Street,” from a 2000s-era live Gabriel album, In the Big Room (24/96 FLAC, Real World / Tidal). The closely miked a cappella harmonies in the opening had a palpable sweetness, and the gently undulating electric bass of Tony Levin sounded inspired. Even though his notes were incredibly slow to develop, each flowed smoothly into the next, with prominent weight and differentiation between successive notes. Levin’s ability to mirror the sombre vocals with his intensely expressive but subdued bass is brilliantly captured in this recording and was magnificently recreated by the 9000Q.