Old Forge Audio

The other shoe has dropped in Part 2 of Jack Robert’s review of Pure Audio’s ONE integrated amplifier.

There are so many comments I’d like to share, but I’ll just quote his ‘Wrapping Things Up’ and suggest you read the full review for the full scoop. https://theaudiobeatnik.com/pureaudio-one-integrated-amplifier-review-part-2/

“ “If I had to choose one sentence to describe this amp, it would be, “With the PureAudio One, my system enveloped me in the performance more than I had ever experienced before and by a significant margin.”

The performances were just as evocative whether I was listening to jazz, rock, classical, or solo piano. I particularly enjoyed the way it took me to the venue and that on certain recordings I was able to transcend the sense that I was listening to recorded music.

I could not imagine giving a piece of audio gear a higher recommendation. I would feel the same if it cost $50,000, but luckily it costs only $10,000.”

I spent yesterday afternoon alternately laughing and gasping at the ephemeral fine detail, shockingly life-like, effortless dynamics and walk-through, holographic imaging of the DeVore Fidelity Orangutan Reference loudspeaker system.

It was all part of preparation for a DeVore Fidelity ORANGUTAN REFERENCE EVENT coming up on Saturday, September 28 from 5-9pm at Old Forge Audio in Mystic, CT.

If you would like to attend, please let me know. It’s a good-sized, but not infinite, space, and I’d like to get the catering right!

Feeding them with a single digit-powered SET, It’s akin to what happened to Tony Stark when he donned the Iron Man suit, except Tony can’t paint like Rembrandt. The O/Ref can.

As George Takei is wont to say, “Oh myyyyy!”

Old Forge Audio’s first Chord Electronics shipment has arrived and I couldn’t be happier or more pleased with my initial listening impressions.

The Qutest is a fairly straightforward DAC, offering USB, optical and SP/dif inputs, four filter options and a pair of unbalanced RCA output jacks. The sound quality is smooth, detailed, extended in bass and treble response and quite dynamic. Taken together with its size and price, it offers outstanding value for money. No wonder it’s so popular!

The DAVE is a bit of a Swiss Army knife, except, unlike the knife, it’s outstanding in all of its functions. It can operate as a DAC, DAC+digital pre-amp or headphone amp. So far, I’ve listened to it solely as a DAC, fed by the Innuos Zen music server and Luna Cables’ Mauve USB cable. Output via Mauve RCA interconnects.

The sound quality is at once highly detailed and extremely unforced and natural. Dynamics and authority, in the bass particularly, can be rather startling at first.

A shout out to Vinnie Rossi’s L2 Signature pre-amp and mono amps, Sound Kaos Wave 42 speakers, Luna Red speaker cables and SGR Symphony III rack, which complete this particular system.

More to come . . .

The current system set-up in the front demo room:
SoundKaos Wave 42 loudspeakers, Garrard 401 ‘table in Vinylista plinth with GrooveMaster II arm and SPU A cartridge, Wand Plus 9.5″ arm and EMT Lime cartridge, Vinnie Rossi L2 Signature pre-amp with phono and DAC modules installed, Vinnie Rossi L2 Mono amplifiers, AcousticPlan power supply and CD transport, Pure Audio Reference Mono amplifiers. Luna Cables throughout, except Acapella speaker cable.

As of today, July 22, 2019, I’m proud to say that Old Forge Audio is among the select handful of authorized Vinnie Rossi dealers in the U.S. We have the L2 Signature pre-amp on demo, just for starters.

The first thing you’ll notice, besides the sleek industrial design, is that there are two wire mesh chimneys protruding from the top. They protect the pair of 300Bs, (or other DHT – directly heated triodes.) Our demo model is complete with optional phono (3 inputs!!) and DAC modules installed. It provides remote control of input selection, volume, balance, mc cartridge load (x2, separately stored), phase and display.

Call, text or email to set up a listening session at a time convenient for you!

Old Forge Audio will exhibit in Room 5220 at the Oakland Hilton July 26-28. We’ll be demoing the following system:

• Wand 14-4 turntable with Wand Plus 12″ tonearm
• Pure Audio Vinyl and Little Vinyl phono stages
• Pure Audio One 100.3 integrated amplifier
• SoundKaos VOX 3f standpoint 3-way monitors
• Luna Cables used throughout – AC cords, interconnects, speaker cable

The VOX 3f has never appeared at a show in the U.S. before, and the Wand turntable and arm will be making their West Coast debut in Oakland.

Everyone is encouraged to come listen, of course, and dealers are encouraged to stop by to discuss adding Wand, Pure Audio and Luna Cables to the brands they represent.