For the yeah-buttniks—what the hell did I mean by more artistic willfulness?—I have a suitable demonstrator track from Rafael Cortés' latest Oasis album. I'd just heard it one room over on Raal's Immanis off the below flagship balanced direct-heated triode amp with special output transformer connection for the triple ribbons. Returning to the desktop, its darker heavier speakers with mini subwoofer drivers acting as widebanders assisted by dual carbon-fibre lateral passive radiators now exhibited some of the same unfettered speed. It's when staccato lives up the maxim 'never linger'. We might translate it as 'easy come, easy go' here expressed with the type nonchalance which a stacked beach babe or ripped stud display sashaying along the water's edge whilst pretending to not notice the stares. Listen to this track's easy-going guitar mastery swinging between hyper-edged blister runs and dancing elasticity. First and foremost, it manifests very confident attitude. That pulsates between and around the notes just as double entendre lives between the lines. The AVC contributions above and beyond my domestic volume controller put a greater magnifier on this. Staccato had more bristling machismo, elasticity sexier give. In approved tech terms, what precisely was the enabler? Ask the oracle. I'm just a reviewer groping in the dark. If I had to guess, I'd revisit the general concept of drive allied to speed from which emerges crisper timing.

Frankly, tech talk only takes us so far. The inner game of deep listening happens on the dark side of that 7th moon. We might nurse pet theories as to why certain hardware groupings penetrate farther but that's all they are: theories. Still, like the judge and pornography, we recognize it when confronted. Now the question is, was it our temporarily higher state which generated that extra frisson? Or is this entry into it repeatable because inanimate electronics in a new configuration open that door from their side? If the latter, do we indulge purple prose pickled with copious music links which may only speak to us? Do we acknowledge that words fail us to keep quiet? Having decided to make a living at hifi reviewing, playing silent mystic sadly won't do. One buggers on with words knowing that they ultimately miss whilst upsetting those who believe that measurements tell all. Here it's fair to say that the ARP Silver's peculiar action demands serious coin especially in true balanced quad-autoformer mode.

Those sensitive to its qualities whose wallets constrict regardless might decide to instead contribute more from the listener's side to make up or at least diminish the difference. Now that really speaks my language. If we can bring our complete senses to bear, a modest mono table radio will do the job. If we're closed up, even premium hardware will disappoint sooner than later. By the same token, if we know how to apply all our attention and emotional alertness, we also tap whatever premium hardware offers us extra to participate in. Of course it's always us who occupy the role of primacy in this equation. We have the inspired musical experience; or not. Our hardware only ever deals in electrons, currents, voltages, magnetism, radiated fields and mechanical motions. If we want a deeper experience, our psycho-physical apparatus must be in good nick to give the air energized by our transducers something to play on. All this by way of suggesting that this AVC's benefits seem aimed at 'advanced' listeners who have evolved beyond only noticing basic bass/mid/treble and soundstage coordinates. Playing to my pet theory of timing being one opening into deeper layers of playback participation is this solo track by Adnan Joubran, one of the three brothers of the famous Le Trio Joubran of Palestinian oudists. Here it clearly doesn't take many players to conjure up rhythmic complexity. With the ARP-S, it really jived.

Returning my desktop to its resident €349 HP70 head/preamp collapsed nada. It just didn't exhibit that same rhythmic tension and its more electrified and charged airs. In systems not in need of source switching or external volume control, what then is redundant functionality could make the ARP-S a tough sell and sheer luxury indulgence. Then one must be strongly keyed into its special extras and not worry that one's variable source could do the same job even if covering up raw emotive energies behind a thin or thicker layer of muslin; or two or three layers as the case may be. At this point in our narrative, veils did factor. Enter Uncle Albert's law of relativity. The big system had opened up. Again, here the comparator was source direct via variable reference voltage on the DAC's split-level R2R ladders versus setting that to bypass/max to run through the Hattor which sat at ~23/65. Either signal path was fully balanced. In this A/B, source direct was still the more separated, keen and of high contrast. Detouring through the ARP Silver incurred a slight softening and very gentle gelatinizing. Though minor, prioritizing energetic rawness favoured the shorter signal path whose own very noticeable quickening had come at the hands of the high-voltage crossover just days prior; and in the process eliminated my Lifesaver icOn 4Pro. In that context, the adage of two is company, three a crowd had made itself felt. Less was more. The same held true now; albeit with a smaller offset.

The enemy of great is the even greater. Sentiments to that effect soon overlaid this listening station to move upstairs. The interim takeaway was a reminder. Blanket statements are rarely true. What rules one system may not necessarily do in another. Things are relative. My more modest desktop truly fêted the ARP Silver for its obvious intensifier effect. The leather insert matching my desktop's own clinched that deal. After its last upgrade, my very mature big system alas had already moved beyond it. No matter its light touch, to my ears the extra box from sunny Spain now took away rather than add desirables.