Is it time to get off the “Merry Go Around”?

After 45 years of listening we have come to realize that when you cut through all the hype there are really only a handful of components that will stand the test of time. So get out your 20/20 hindsight glasses and grab those classics now and hold on to them for 30 years.

At Sounds Real Audio we have collected these modern classics. This is what we sell, it satisfies our love of music and we think it will satisfy yours.

You can read a few of the show reports from the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest below but this one by Chris Martens says it all in The Absolute Sound , Feb. 2010.

“Though I've heard the Wilson-Benesch Curve floorstanders many times before, I found that they sounded spectacularly good as driven by Kara Chaffee's amazing deHavilland tube electronics . Nothing I heard at RMAF, save perhaps for the far more expensive Vandersteen/ARC system, could touch this rig for sheer midrange purity, detail, three-dimensionality ."

The reason for this is because in our room we truly had some classic gear. The completely updated version of the Fischer 50A tube amplifiers, (manufactured now by deHavilland Electronic Amplifier Company) originally designed and manufactured in the 1950s at a time when these same engineers were designing tubes. Surely they knew something about tubes and amplifier design.

We also had the Wilson-Benesch speakers that finally address the real problems that dynamic speakers suffer from which is the material the cabinets are made from, not the drivers. There is no better material to make speakers from then Carbon Fiber and Wilson-Benesch has been making their cabinets from Carbon Fiber for almost a decade. The others are just starting to catch on, including Vandersteen's.

deHavilland/Kubala-Sosna/Esoteric/Sounds Real room. "Oddly enough, I believe last year, this room was my runner up. The sound was largely how I remember, but even better. I have my reasons for voting this room "the best" and here they are. It played music for me. Its presentation was very big and wide and spacious, yet intimate. It was as if the music was being played just for me. The timing and pace were right on as was the instrument and vocal definition. No, I don't think this system could fool you into believing that an entire orchestra was right in front of you, but then I didn't hear a single system at the show that could. The front-to-back and side-to-side special cues were intoxicating. At the core of the system are the deHavilland KE-50A monoblocks, which were driving Wilson Benesch Curves. The CD player was an Esoteric X-03SE and the preamp was a deHavilland Mercury III with all cables by Kubala-Sosna (which is new to me). The sound was so damn good I told Kara that if they had a turntable there, it might just push me over the edge. Seriously, as amazing as this system sounded, I wonder what level a solid analog front end would take it to. Here's the icing on the cake for the whole deal - the entire system's cost: $50k. $50k! A lot of dough? Yes. Yet for "Best of Show" at an audiophile event - 50 grand is nothing. Kudos to Kara Chaffee and company for setting up an amazing system with amazing components. The system just shined." Thad Aerts from The Hi-Fi reader

“I've always wanted to audition deHavilland Electric Amplifier Company's products. I was fortunate enough to do so at the show, with the very cordial assistance of Kara Chaffee, deHavilland's designer/owner. I went back to this room about half a dozen times. Kara probably thought that I was stalking her. Truth be told, I couldn't get enough of the sound of her Mercury III remote line stage and Model 50A, 40 watt Triode monoblocks driving a stunning pair of Wilson Benesch Curves. Their were far, far more expensive rooms at the show, off the chart expensive compared to deHavilland's very reasonably prices, yet none of them produced sound so sweet. Kara was available throughout to answer my dumb questions, and spin every special request. I wish that my picture would have captured the subtle beauty of this system. It doesn't get any better than this.” Ed Becker from hometheaterhifi.com.

“Kara Chaffee of deHavilland Electric Amplifier Company demonstrated her relatively new KE 50A Signature monoblock amplifiers ($9,995 per pair) with her Mercury preamp, ($4,495) the $9,950/pr Wilson Benesch Curve 2.5-way floorstanders and Kubal-Sosna Research cables. Musicality reigned supreme here with the speakers completely disappearing in an expansive soundstage.” Steve March from 6moons.com.

Rooms That Really Floated My Boat

The deHavilland room had almost the same system as last year, but in a different room. The big difference is that, this year the sound was perfectly beautiful. An Esoteric CD player into the a deHavilland Mercury III Linestage was providing the signal to a pair of the deHavilland 50A Signature mono amps which was powering a pair of Wilson Benesch's Curves, all the cables were by Kubala-Sosna.  

This was a room that I found myself returning to more than once when my ears were tired of all the noise. This is certainly not a cheap system, but it sounded better than some systems that cost three times as much. Most importantly, it was a system that allowed you to really enjoy music.

Jack Roberts from www.dagogo.com

deHelluvan Amp (deHavilland amp and Wilson Benesch Curve speaker)

I like the deHavilland amps more every time I hear them. The smaller room seemed suited more to the Wilson Benesch Curves with the amps; last year this combo seemed lost in the room. Not this time; it was intimate and powerful. The 50A Signature Mono Amps and Mercury III Remote Line Preamp sang an enchanting song together. Previously I had felt the need for the Curves to be powered by bigger amps, but the deHavillands are challenging that conclusion. They startled me with their fortitude, as well as their golden toned dialect spoken through the Curves.

Best Sound: “Honorable mentions include systems from: Wilson-Benesch/deHavilland.” Chris Martens from avguide.com

I heard the 50A's at RMAF and it was awesome. Highlight of the show.

"deHavilland Electonics with Wilson Bensch speakers, the room we revisited most. Sound to die for." John Zurek from positive-feedback.com