TOUR TO ITALY
Munich show has been taken place from May 14 to 17 this year and I have extended my journey to Italy and visited Ethos of our Italian distributor after the show in Munich. I have met many of integrity and wonderful Harmonix patrons in Roma, including local Medias, and enjoyed chat with them on music and application on fine tuning during one day question-to-answer opportunity. It was my surprising and impression given during One-day session that I found all of them have really studied and familiarized Harmonix product. They are all highly value the effect and performance of Harmonix, Reimyo electronics and ENCORE speakers we make. All experiment and success done by them is so close to my original goal. I am sure it is due to their keen study over our products and also educational guide that Silvano of Ethos and his marketing staffs have done for years. It is great job they have done.
The shown above is Ethos show-room and system setup that attract serious music lovers. The sound of the system I have evaluated is one of the Best ever heard, not only but the best sound on the Earth. I wish to invite everyone of serious music lovers and experience the great reproduction sound of system by which you will be completely floored with so emotional, involving and lifelike sound quality.
It is absolutely unthinkable value sample of perfect music entertainment Reimyo and Harmonix have presented. Don’t miss it!
By K. Kiuchi
CEO and designer
AUDIO CLUB Italy
Report by Andrea Allegri
The Last Samurai of the CD?
The visit of Mr. Kazuo Kiuchi to Ethos was an opportunity to meet with a technician from the extensive experience to transfer tapes vintage and engaged in the construction of high-end appliances. Long plays followed a series of considerations in order to create high-quality digital master, an art that could be lost.
The far country Japan is a land of great traditions and rigorous methods, technologies recognizable in many areas of Japanese product. In high fidelity the contribution of this country is impressive, we consider in the first instance the commitment of big corporations in research and innovation, without neglecting the work of individual craftsmen who hand down some real musical gems with intense dedication at work.
Kiuchi San is a demure but much determined man, with very clear ideas and a detailed vision of the musical reproduction. I do not make a simple comparison to join it to a samurai, to the ways polite and swift reaction to the occurrence, perhaps even when it comes “to dodge” a little indiscreet question as I got to experience.
Let us find out a little more about this character whose professional and personal history is partly surrounded by an aura of legend (his age is a mystery too) but actually has concrete foundations. When it come to audio, he was collaborating with JVC Mastering Studio in which he was committed in the development of XRCD mastering systems and burning, in particular dealing with wiring of equipments used for the mastering and manufacturing music software. There his hand in the creation of the production method of XRCD, it was a successful attempt to raise the performance of digital Compact Disc over the actual limits imposed by the technology itself.
His commitment to research the best possible sound reproduction has poured in Combak Corporation, a manufacturer of cables and accessories for the fine-tuning audio systems by resonances control devices that he developed. There is still his paw in electronic Reimyo, an exclusive line of products hi-end, solution that includes in a catalog only one model for type-component, only the best achievable without no technical or commercial compromise. The passion for music and for its faithful reproduction also resulted in the development of the speaker ENCORE ENC-5, designed from a Scandinavian product but this is fully assembled and customized in the land of the Rising Sun country in Japan.
At Ethos’ it has been recreated a small angle of Japan to breathe some of the rarefied and soothing atmosphere that in the collective imagination this country emanates. Silvano Del Basso puts habitually on hand of its customers elegant listening room in order to present the best listening atmosphere and conditions for the choice of components. One of these was prepared with a complete system in a peaceful and relaxed atmosphere, from the enviable balance for full and empty furnishings, an ideal atmosphere in order to establish a balance of reverb. Beautiful decorations from the East are including, like Japanese Kimono used as tapestries, porcelain and Katana swords, which gave the illusion of being located on the slopes of Mount Fuji. Kiuchi San oversaw the tuning of the system set up for the occasion, composed of a chain full Reimyo (CD player, DAC, valve PREAMP, the final AMPLIFIER solid state which sounds, it is said, as a WE300B tube amplifier, Power CONDITIONER), the speakers ENCORE above and wiring by entire Harmonix with Harmonix Resonance control devices like Harmonix tuning feet and Room tuning device almost everywhere.
A unique experience of listening in which not only a whole chain of reproduction it has been conceived by the same person, but it derives also from the sensibility of the same craftsman who produce music software. The audience who has alternated itself to the listening it was greeted by a selection of personally overturned pieces XRCD from Mr. Kiuchi which between a disk and the other, a presentation of the recording and a story, he has been lend with patience to the questions of the bystanders and the undersigned. Topic Matter on which he has wanted to be very determined it is the care in the treatment of original tapes, their conversion without tampering and the accurate printing of the support.
Although nowadays the XRCD may seem overcome by the availability of material in high resolution, the secret of its objective validity is the cure in tape dub in digital and the management of the original analog master. To specific question Mr. Kiuchi has admitted the eventual technical superiority of formats HD, without however canting itself inside the preference between PCM and DSD and asserting a sure aversion for the employment of the computer within the chain of reproduction.
He has explained to me some of mastering process, like that during the mastering he use flash light and, except components used for the mastering, all electric components, including air conditioning of the room, are switched off, in order to secure cleanest power supply.
The comparison made by Kiuchi San with natural and first quality ingredients used in Italian restaurants, experienced during the journey that led him from Munich to Rome, made me well understand how he has appreciated the itinerary path in our country. Wanting to inquire a bit deeper in the burning job, the Japanese guest told us how everything will start from selection of original material.
It is rightful to make a brief mention on the total performance exhibited by the whole set-up during the time when I have been present. I have experimented an extremely refined sound and from the subtle nuisance, an ethereal natural detail at times that has given never the feeling to go above the lines to any way. The musical program was oriented towards elegance rather than to energetic genres or of impact, with a selection of pieces for which the plant it seemed to me comfortable filling up the wide room in spite of the size of the stand speakers. A well-behaved yield and gentle character one, a little like its craft, with the scene that has always been precise and well focused.
A particular sensibility and a taste in perceiving music that according to the Japanese host, rich of experience in listening is common in its audiophile community and those Italian and Polish.
Before dismissing I have wanted to ask Mr. Kiuchi his vision on the future of musical reproduction; I have received a bitter sweet reply. According to his opinion the music is and will be always important, what it is changing is the attention to the listening of quality sound music. And above all the experience to listen to the executions of great artists, composer, conductor and players. This is an important element and an essential training to become phenomenal music listening enjoyment , and understanding music itself that now we so much acclaim, and that to his way to see could come to lack to future generations. This is a reason in more to mostly appreciate Mr. Kiuchi’s work, perhaps one of the last old way technicians whose XRCD, who knows, one day they will be sought after from the audiophiles as currently are the vinyls of the gold years of analogical recording.
Article by Andrea Allegri
Translation by Studio McNet