The Mingus Ah Um sports some of the best bass of Charles’ work. The BD4.2 again excelled at texture and pitch during even complicated passages to retain wonderful clarity. What about timpani? Virtuoso timpanist Georg Druschetzky's Concerto for Six Timpani and Orchestra under Alexander Peter with the Dresden Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra is one of the gorgeous works for timpani.  The Lear convinced with great extension but I might have liked more impact when listening to such big kettle drums.


Mids. I reached for vocal and piano recordings to test the Lear’s midrange tonality. Dave Brubeck's immortal jazz album Time Out is one of my all-time favorites. His then innovative approach turned this recording into a masterpiece.  The 9/8th beat of "Blue Rondo à la Turk" is typically Balkan and was inspired by Turkish folk music after Brubeck’s visit to Turkey. I was impressed by the detailed clarity of the piano and Paul Desmond’s alto sax but on some passages again came across that peculiar thinness.

South Africa’s male chorus Ladysmith Black Mambazo popularized traditional Zulu music. I am actually not a big fan of the mbube or isicathamiya genre but testing male vocals with their Raise Your Spirit Higher album is always a terrific midrange challenge for any system. The BD4.2’s way with men’s voices was charmingly neutral by showed how neutrality needn’t mean lack of colour. Detail and clarity once again impressed. My final voice test used Marilyn Horne whom I adore. Her mezzo soprano enthralls me each time I hear her effortless coloratura, thrilling and intensity of intent. The Complete Decca Recitals set of 11 CDs includes my preferred Mahler's Rückert Lieder under the baton of Zubin Mehta. The Lear's thinness wasn’t fully equal to the task of her voice and her Carmen turned disenchanting instead of seductive.


Treble. I am not sure what would have happen to The Jazz Messengers without Art Blakey; or Art Blakey without The Jazz Messengers. Moanin'  became another milestone in the history of hard bop. Not merely Blakey but Lee Morgan on trumpet and Benny Golson on tenor sax made this into one of the special contemporary Jazz bands of its age. With the BD4.2, Blakey's cymbals shone. They were resolving, nicely extended, detailed and their harmonics floated across the stage. Using Liszt for hifi treble tests is perhaps not so common but if you know what to look for, his Piano Concerto N°.1 can be a great example. Its "Allegretto vivace - Allegro animato" movement starts with triangle and makes it a kind of concerto for piano and triangle. My favourite readings would be Brendel or Richter's but Zimerman's on Deutsche Grammaphone has the best sound quality. The Lear could be incisive or smooth tracking the triangle. I noted no missteps. Well done.


Intensity and musicality are not something we can measure yet some products fall clearly short even if they are otherwise technically superior. They might still strike you as emotionally dull and uncompelling. If you don’t feel tickled by Bach's Cello Concerto, why bother? Okay, you may skip the Heinrich Schiff but for the Jean-Guihen Queyras, you simply must be in a fragile state of mind. Here the Lear had a little trouble being intense. With its detailed neutral clarity, one might miss a little analogue warmth.