HH. Not His Holiness, the honorific of Tenzin Gyatso as the 14th Dalai Lama but happy hunting I was, first with Albedo then Kaiser. The former—not spatially enhanced by balanced-force radiators whereby Furioso Mini involves the side walls at higher-than-usual frequencies—helped me make the connection. That's once I'd dumbed down my attention span to a single instrument recorded very well and played in minimalist mode. Enter Javier Perianes with Blasco de Nebra's Piano Sonatas on Harmonia Mundi.
Each note falls like an ink drop on wet paper before it sets. It happens right after the hammers fall. For a fractional instance, tones radiate into space with harmonic halos before their flickering spray dies and tonewood takes over. Turning the second coarse control to the max, this spatial bloom action expanded, then its gap filled with iridescent silver. This felt as though the recording venue's reverb time had lengthened. Simultaneously, lower harmonics were more palpable for increased metallic fizz like dropping chewable vitamin C into sparkling water. Backing off the coarse control three clicks then filling in with the associated fine control, I achieved the most…pleasing effect. Forget 'correct' and 'absolute fidelity'. How would I know? All you have to go by is your own God-given sense and taste.
By overdoing that subtle tonality/halo effect, more complex music with far more traffic intersecting should get slightly blurry just as heavy 2nd-order sauce from no-feedback SET amps applied across the entire bandwidth does. Because Kaiser's maxi monitor turned out to be tuned inherently richer and more redolent already, it was harder for me to track these fine shifts and determine when I crossed the line. I thus stayed with Aptica. Having now won my first set of spurs—finally knowing where to focus—it was time to go beyond basic solo piano and explore girl+guitar stuff. Baby steps!
Knowing the score, I had just the thing: Paco Ortega's gorgeous "Sevillanas de la vida" done by Alba Molina. Now I saw that I'd overdone my piano-led compensation. Going full blast for confirmation, vocal sibilants unsheathed. Flipping the script to full bypass, tonality dried out. That showed both extremes. With guitar and voice as my guides, two coarse and about four fine clicks became my new default. Returning to the Perianes cut showed how that could still handle a somewhat higher dose of overtone injection but already sounded fuller and harmonically richer with the Molina values than in bypass.
That's probably the core of Marko's concept. As we sensitize ourselves to its action then scope to dial in our ideal mix, we accept the existence of alternate flavors. They live between the outer lines of too much and too little. For believers into an absolute sound, this is heresy. For OCD types, it'll be their worst nightmare of too many very subtle choices. For those into self gratification and adventures instigated by sheer curiosity, it should be liberating and empowering. With changes this repeatable then easily undone, intensified or mellowed, one indulges and entertains oneself whilst getting ever more specific about personal preference. It's certainly more strategic than rolling cables. Right is what sounds best to us.
If my own experience is at all typical, basic provisos will be twofold: 1/ a clean 'neutral' system of high resolving power should be most telling; 2/ sparse simple music will be the easiest entry point to catch the effect. Afterwards it becomes ever easier to observe, massage and manipulate. To this we add Marko's conditional qualifiers of typical small silk-dome tweeters which are the ubiquitous default for 99% of all speakers. That means no AMT, ribbon or horn. Also, shallow slopes in our xovers will maximize the effect. My narrative left deliberate room for detours and dead ends. That should reiterate how with the Mozzaik1, it's important not to be impatient or expect to be hit over the head by a big stick. Even for this writer who does careful listening daily to earn a keep, 'twas virgin ground. Tread slowly. Trust that all will be revealed in due time. That should be your maxim to learn how Marko Dvecko's unique invention really can enhance your listening pleasure.
So Croatia no longer is just for Game of Throne tourists. It's become a destination also for audiophile pilgrims. In a dream where inventive small hifi boutiques have endless financial resources, I just saw a Mozzaik2 relocate its controls to the front behind an Accuphase-style flip panel. Being wide awake again in a world where reality bites, the Mozzaik1 works perfect just as it is. Which should be today's takeaway. This proof of concept just proved the concept!
