Black Ravioli

Clark (a Positive Feedback writer and proprietor of the famous Listening Studio in Boston) and some others met at Kwame’s house on the East Coast at the weekend to put the ML* Maedeups through their pace and fortunately – as it turned out – he brought some of these wonder pads with him. Here is what he wrote afterwards about the listening session.

“So we gathered at Kwame’s this morning. He had recently acquired this pair of monoblocks from

http://www.musical-laboratory.com/maedeup/

For other stuff he has Beauhorns, REL subwoofers, a McIntosh player, an external DAC I failed to get the name for, the ML passive pre, and Kondo and Nanotech cables.

It all sounded…OK. Well, those amps are truly minimalist design — the parts weigh a few ounces and the gorgeous lacquer boxes bring each unit up to, oh, two pounds. Yes. Not, one should think, likely candidates for your new best footers.

Well! These Big Feet … made a considerable difference, with easily audible improvements in nearly every department. Then we added them under the player and they were good, but not perhaps worth the investment …so finally, we took that last set and placed them under the amps’ power supply, et voila! Great sound! Best I’ve ever heard for this particular cut, Tiden bara går, an old favorite. Almost as much of an improvement as they were under the amps themselves….

So I feel well-armed to go to Vegas… and California. ”

Best I’ve ever heard … we like these words. Thanks Clark.

Marshall Nack has been listening to Paeonia in his home system during October and his review is at an advanced stage. Fingers crossed, his feedback will be … ahem … ‘positive’. Sorry, Marshall.

Check out Marshall’s amazing review of Paeonia Rev 2.3 in Positive Feedback Issue 46 here.

Musical Laboratory* is pleased to learn that it has been awarded the prestigious Best of 2009 Blue Note Award in the Amplification category for its gainclone amplifier Bosangwha Rev.2.3.

The award was announced by Enjoy The Music.com Editor, Stephen R Rochlin at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest (RMAF) 2009 in Denver late September. Click here to see the awarded products.

Musical Laboratory* CEO Malcolm Hyde extended a warm thank you to ETM for the Blue Note Award and added “The Bosanghwa was Musical Laboratory*’s first commercial product, so we are very grateful for this recognition.

2010 will be another exciting year for us as, with the release of The Maedeup – our  final word on gainclone design – and our forthcoming loudspeaker, we will have  two new unique and enigmatic designs, which will again materialize our Minimalist Ultra-Fi ethos.”

Pre-sales orders have now been filled so delays will be minimal.

The Maedeups represents ML*’s final word on gainclone design, which carefully combines vintage and exotic passives with state-of-the-art power supply technology and proprietary silver gold foil wiring.

The sound is truly unique and unlike anything we have ever heard before.  The Maedeups will be reviewed by Stephen R Rochlin of EnjoyTheMusic.com in Superior Audio October timeframe and by Alan Sircom of British Hi-Fi magazine Hi-Fi+ in December.

So far Maedeup is showing all the characteristics of a true diva – in voice, and in personality!

Even if the Maedeup breadboard prototype worked brilliantly, we have had to work through different issues in the productionisation process: From LEDs that defy LED calculations and still shine too brightly; to PCB materials that bent under pressure causing the Maedeup circuit to go quiet or to complain loudly – in fact *too* loudly for 2 drivers in our testing system.

Of course, as with all divas, you fully expect to wait. Now, when make her sound like the prototype, then I think you will agree with us when we say: ‘This lady is worth it!’

The Meadeup – taking the style factor and sound factor to the next level.

Pre-sale orders are on course to be filled by first week in September.  A limited number more will be built starting second week in September.

Don’t miss out.

The Maedeup is our cost-no-object project, which uses the Bosangwha internals as a starting point and builds from this. Some very exotic and rare passives are used in the transformation process, and the whole project is finally window-dressed in luxury wooden casings decorated with images of cranes (a national symbol of Japan), child-proof locks, which are decorated with traditional Korean macrame knots.

The design brief for the Maedeup was clear: The Maedeup should offer the absolute transparency, detail and soundstage capability of the Bosangwhas. However, the Maedeup will also be voiced to include certain sought-after artifacts normally associated with single-ended triode designs, such as bloom and body.

At ML* we are known for continually striving to push the musical envelope in terms of what is possible. Can we deliver this? …. well, let’s wait and see, shall we? …

The Meadeup is due for release later this Summer.

Earlier in the month the much anticipated head-to-head between the mighty $80,000 Kondos and the $3,500 Bosangwha/ Dual combo took place at Steve (SOS’s) house in New Hampshire.

ML* was unable to attend the event, but Steve reported back his assessment: “No, David didn’t slay Goliath!” After a day of listening, Steve gave the nod to the Kondos on the basis of the extra bloom and soundstage height. The Bosangwhas did, however, manage to take some useful rounds from the Kondos in the areas of transparency, detail and soundstage depth.

In an industry where as many would like a ‘new’ lab like Musical Laboratory* to fall down as to succeed, it was fortunate that we approached Steven R Rochlin, Editor of top US High-End magazine EnjoyTheMusic.com to review the Revision 2.3 release of our Korean Lacquer range.   Steven, in the 3-4 months he has had our review samples at his home, has become quite attached to the Bosangwhas, and has championed Musical Laboratory*’s cause on his site by writing a wonderful review of his experiences with them in the April-May 2009 edition of Superior Audio.  

  Click here if you have not already seen his review.  

 When we set out we knew we wanted to take the path that Junji @ 47 Labs started to the next level, so it was a rite of passage for ML* when Steven confirmed to us that with the Bosangwhas we had achieved this.  Something about ’standing on the shoulders’ of great audio designers comes to mind here.  

Unfortunately we were unable to let Steven hold onto the Bosangwhas on this occasion, as the review samples were ear-marked for ML*’s prospective US Audio Note Japan KONDO distributer, Sounds of Silence.  I say ‘prospective’ because first they have to prove their mettle and go head-to-head with Steve @ SOS’s all KONDO reference system, which he knows and loves.

This must surely be the audio equivalent of spending twelve rounds with Mike Tyson on a day when he skipped his anger management class; a stiff challenge indeed for our little bonsai-sized jewel boxes.  

Wish we could all file round to Steve’s to witness this Rumble in New Hampshire!   

We at Musical Laboratory* have had worse weeks.  First up, we were contacted by Sindarta, the proprietor of Concrete Sounds in Jakarta. Sindarta told us he was interested to align his audio business more along the Ultra-Fi path, by offering chip amps and complimentary components with “DIY attitude”.  Well, he certainly came knocking at the right place.

  In fact we were pleased that Concrete beat a path to our door as it turns out that Sindarta had some interesting perspectives on the SE Asia audio scene, and shares similar views to ourselves in matters audio.

Sindarta has been involved in the music scene for many years in that region of the world, working in PR & A&R roles for record labels and radio and as an audio dealer and distributor. Sindharta, assumes responsibility for distributing Musical Laboratory* products in Malaysia, Singapore & Indonesia, with immediate effect.

Then, as we were winding down for the weekend, Matej@MonoAndStereo.com sent through the final draft of his review of the Rev 2.2 Korean Lacquer product line.

When we don’t hear from Matej for a while, it is not because he is being idle … Oh  no … the chances are he has been deep in thought … and I mean deep, as pronounced, deeeeep.  I don’t think I have read a review like it in the audio press in all my years …  Wow!, what a journey he takes us on.

To read his review of our Korean Lacquer product line click here

Hmmm, somehow I think getting the review sample Bosangwhas back off him might be a problem … /

Anyway, Respect to Matej and MonAndStereo.com who have supported us from the beginning – but, really Matej, we are not worthy of this.

My final question for this week is: “Do you think any of us would know there was a recession, if the Media didn’t keep banging on about it?” …

(Makes us wonder if we wouldn’t be better off living in a state with news censorship, where they tell you how good everything is everyday.   I mean, could that be any worse than watching glum-faced suits sitting in Western newsrooms doling out todays helping of bad news, which they have gone to inordinate lengths to find for us? When did freedom of speech turn into freedom to depress us all? Did I get to vote on this? … Can you lot please tell us something positive once in a while forchrisakes?)” 

Now we have got that off our chests  … about that bottle of wine that is chilling in the refrigerator  … Ah, there it is! … chin chin … Have a nice weekend.  

Bosangwa is based on the legendary sounding LM3875 power op amp – first introduced to the audiophile community in the form of the 47 Labs Gaincard. Steven R Rochlin, Editor of Enjoy the Music will personally write a review of our Bosangwha Gainclone Monoblock amplifier and Paeonia Passive Pre, publishing his findings in the April 2009 edition of Superior Audio at EnjoyTheMusic.com.

It is a really great honor that Steven has agreed to do this for us. Steven R Rochlin wrote a now famous review of the 47 Laboratory 4706 Gaincard, in which he ‘outed’ this marvel of Japanese miniaturization to the West. Musical Laboratory*’s Bosangwhas mono-blocks are in fact a direct lineal descendant of the 47 Laboratory device.

Stay tuned – we will make an official announcement for the media when the review is published at EnjoyTheMusic.com.

We are also proud to announce that Musical Laboratory* is inducted into the audio ‘Hall of Fame’ at Mono and Stereo – The Finest in High-end and Pro-audio.It is a great privilege, for us to be alongside the most famous people in audio, especially since we just started trading commercially in 2008. We at Musical Laboratory* would like to thank Matej at MAS for their support in what we are trying to do.

Our customers are invited to read the interview at MonoAndStereo.com