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These enhancements are so much in tune with Mozart's late operas that it was suspected for a time they might have come from the master's own hand though the score itself clearly is not. There's no proof in fact that Mozart had anything to do with the changes but it's doubtful he would have objected. They move the opera closer to his DaPonte trilogy aesthetic without destroying the youthful freshness of the original which he composed at eighteen in the critical years when he transformed from the child prodigy he was raised to be into the unforgettable composer he would become. It's a suitable metamorphosis of the score then which Jacobs clearly intended as a symbol for Mozart's own evolution.
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Whether one objects to the choice of version and a few other liberties Jacobs takes here and there, the result is another pearl of a recording that can only delight lovers of later Mozart operas. The Rogers/Trafomatic duo gave a fully engulfing presentation of the work, with voices again the shining stars but also with an added sense of space I'd not heard from other discs, proving that the SM-300B can stage with the best when the information is there to be retrieved.
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I won't continue with further disc commentaries but rest assured that these findings held true for many other operas as much as the system proved quite limited with Dire Straights' Brother in Arms or the Gorillaz' G-sides. This was nothing unexpected and simple confirmation of what could be predicted. The Rogers lack the dynamic chops and power needed for this type of music which sounds like it lost the loudness wars and on that system became flatter than a pancake. |
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In the end I knew how this system based on the SM-300B and Rogers would look terrible if measured but for vocal music I've not heard anything as intense short of spending wads on a full Ocellia or Audio Note set. For the money then it was a stellar association. I would expect a similar type of synergy with other British monitors from Spendor or Harbeth who in many ways are the spiritual successors to Rogers. This system really drew me back into listening to operas like I had not in a long time. It truly focused on the emotions portrayed so to hell with accuracy and measurements.
Exchanging a few emails with Sasa Cokic, he's chosen another avenue to maximize the performance from his amplifier which is every bit as valid. He pairs it with Rethm Maargas which provide active bass capable of balancing the relative softness heard in that range and which benefit as much as the Rogers do from a very well behaved upper midrange that is rich and ultra detailed without any harshness. This type of pairing is more in line with looking for an association where weaknesses offset each other. It's not the type of synergy I stumbled upon which associates two components that really play to the same aesthetic and purposely ignores anything outside their reach. In that scenario the Rogers became both limiting factor and enabler, allowing the amp to show off everything it does so well.
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Sasa Cokic's Carpathian push/pull integrated with direct-heated EML 50 triodes, an exotic relative to the SM-300B
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That said the SM-300B ships with a quartet of electro-harmonix gold-pin 300B. Although this tube performed honourably, I could not avoid thinking that some of the limitations I heard now and then on my Ocellias were more due to the chosen glass than amplifier itself. Separate reviews of the EH tube have raised the same concerns for lack of bottom end control and at times thickness of tone. As delightful as the SM-300B ended up being, I couldn't escape the suspicion how much better it might have been with a quad of Emission Lab tubes (not the XLS type which failed to completely convince in the Yamamoto A14 but their regular equivalent which is quite stellar). Unfortunately that would set you back another $2.000 to push the Trafomatic into a much higher price bracket. If you can though that's how I would choose to run it.
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In the end the SM-300B struck me as a superb expression of core 300B sonics. Thus good care must be taken to find speakers that are true soul mates. Whether of the Ocellia, Audio Note, Rethm or Rogers type will depend on the final result you hope to achieve. I would also look at a DAC of Metrum rather than Burson lineage or a Lyra rather than Grado cartridge to ensure signal with as strong leading edge, transient speed and tonal purity as you know the amplifier will provide all the beautifying needed.
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It also remains true that smaller EL84 or 6L6-based amplifiers will do a lot of things as well as their 300B counterparts and a few things better for a lot less coin*. That's an option to keep in mind even within Trafomatic's own line. What you give up is some of the midrange magic. If that's what you're after, nothing else will do and then the SM-300B is one of the very best options available. I far preferred it over the recently departed Yamamoto A014 although I certainly would stretch my budget to include Emission Labs tubes instead of the stock EH to hear it at its very best. |
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*Publisher's comment: Because Frederic's conclusion mirrors my own feelings precisely, I'd like to reiterate it for those readers whose wallets won't comfortably stretch to today's quality 300B amp or who don't have appropriate speakers but who nonetheless have a desire to pursue this area. A well-done EL84 amp won't give you the street cred of 300B ownership but you can get into the game for lower coin and walk away with more extended bandwidth, linearity and drive, albeit at the cost of reduced midrange magic exactly as Frederic described. In Trafomatic's portfolio the Kaivalya monos make a bit more power than the SM-300B and due to going exclusively factory-direct can sell for less.
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