image: http://cdn.stereophile.com/images/110815-April-600.jpg
On display in the April Music room was the Aura Note v.2 combination CD player/DAC/FM tuner/125Wpc integrated amplifier ($2500), driving a pair of Focus Audio FC6 SE stand-mounted loudspeakers ($CDN1500/pair) with the aid of Veristar Grand Illusion speaker cables ($1700/pair approximate). At this New York demonstration, I had much the same experience as in Montreal, at a recent Salon Son et Image (at which the original Aura Note drove a pair of small Dali loudspeakers): enchantingly colorful, involving music-making, with the sort of momentum, flow, and overall realism that I normally associate with analog sources and tubed electronics—really! Now as before, the experience bordered on the uncanny, and without taking away from the inherent qualities of the Focus Audio (or Dali) loudspeakers, I can't help thinking that the Aura Note v.2 is where this system's magic resides.
Read more at http://www.stereophile.com/content/new-york-audio-show-finis#X6YVxAEsZbEGyQ9h.99
