Audiophilepure

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“The VEGA G2 is equally effective on tightly focused and purely acoustic material such as the track ‘Le Boulet Rieur’ from Joël Grare’s Grare: Paris – Instanbul – Shanghai[Alpha, 16/44.1]. Grare leads a remarkable percussion ensemble whose talents and multi-coloured instrumental voices are highlighted in the jaunty, syncopated ‘Le Boulet Rieur’. As the track played through the VEGA G2, three things caught my ear: the brilliant purity and richness of the tonal colours of each of the instruments in play, the dead-accurate rendering of the dynamic envelopes of the instruments (and especially of their distinctive attack and decay characteristics), and—once again—the striking three-dimensionality of the overall presentation. In short, the G2 offered up a sound that was at once invigourating, elegant, refined, and realistic.”

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“One of the secrets of the Benchmark’s stellar performance is that it re-clocks the signal to eliminate jitter and timing errors. McIntosh addresses this issue with its own set of proprietary protocols. The C52’s digital engine deploys premium ESS chips configured in a fully balanced mode of eight DACs (four per channel) with fanatical attention to regulating power-supply voltage so precisely that it doesn’t deviate from the exact value the DACs require for optimal performance. I have no means of measuring this, but I did try to confound the C52 by replacing my audiophile-grade coaxial cable (of superb construction and shielding) with a cheap, no-name RCA interconnect. The result? Absolutely no discernable effect upon the reproduced sound. Still not satisfied, I went for the jugular, unbending a coat hanger and using it for the coaxial connection. Same difference: no effect upon the sound quality whatsoever. Suffice it to say that you can safely banish all worries about the C52’s ability to deliver a bit-perfect signal. (The coat-hanger stunt was to simulate a worst-case scenario of timing errors and jitter, but you should never use anything except a shielded cable for all digital connections owing to the sheer amount of RFI digital radiates—enough, say, to interfere with an FM tuner or other equipment used within ten to twenty feet of an unshielded connection.)”

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“That makes understanding just where the ‘6.5 II fits into the audio firmament a challenging prospect — not because of the product but because of the reality it forces us to confront. On the one hand it delivers a genuine glimpse of the highest end; on the other, it can be as unforgiving of partnering equipment — or more specifically, the failings of such — as those high-end credentials suggest. Are you ready to meet that challenge, or to build and work with a system that can? This product is all about musical power and communication — not about pretty pictures and a rose-tinted audio viewpoint. Its impressive dynamic range is based on a genuinely low noise floor, its rock-like stability and presence on seemingly unburstable reserves of power. It won’t mask shortcomings elsewhere in the system, or draw a discrete veil over poor recordings. Instead it has that almost priceless ability to step aside, allowing each performer and performance its own voice, focussing not on the surface detail but their inner structure and musical integrity. It’s a quality it will bring to your whole system if the partnering products are up to it.”