To explore the range ascending past the midband, I reached for piano. Here the La Rosita pegged itself ideal for modern material. Be it pert Jazz piano via Caroline Wegener’s Jazzsketches, Hiromi’s Place to Be or contemporary classical readings like Ragna Schirmer’s Händel Klaviersuiten, in each case a 21st century concert grand materialized with present clarity and very high accuracy. All of it was Maverick fodder, each hammer fall a minor explosion, each detail formal case evidence for a player’s fingering technique. Particularly Frau Schirmer lights my fire under Händel where I’m usually hard-pressed to get into Baroque much past Bach.

I do however fancy older classical recordings. Be it the tender self-deprecating Dinu Lipatti or Clifford Curzon’s more filigreed sonic tapestries, with the Maverick I felt less squarely in their milieu. Which didn’t mean bad. Other amplifiers simply allowed me to enter these legacy recordings at greater depth than the French whose virtues kept reminding me that many such albums don’t conform with modern-day standards.

In the treble, I felt similar to the bass – very high control without excess generosity. Those who fancy gleaming brilliance or extreme airiness should give the Mk2 a good listen before committing to a purchase. Like down low, it plays it neutrally sober on high. This bypasses any chance at getting nervy. But with its great love of detail also in the tweeter range, the La Rosita never gets boring. Which fits the general picture.

Soundstaging and the Maverick were its own topic. Precision again became fascinating. Over my Geithain which excel at scale both in depth and width, it moved the stage actors forward a bit with very keen edge limning.  Dee Dee Bridgewater’s Live at Yoshi’s has me used to sitting or standing amongst the audience a few meters from stage. The La Rosita put me on the stage, with Frau Bridgewater at arm’s length. Just so, I didn’t feel crammed. Yoshi’s place hadn’t really narrowed much and the background din was intact, just a bit closer and more present than I’m familiar with. With grand orchestral too the staging seemed more compact. The Maverick Mk2 countered its less opulent staging with higher precision. If one is used to something else, this can take some adjusting. Yet, I quickly caught myself wondering whether La Rosita’s dimensional perspective wasn’t the more authentic.