RMAF 2017 Page 5

I’ve had the luxury to hear Jean Hiraga’s electronics in Munich back in 2009 and wrote of my experience hearing it with Audio Consulting of Switzerland products. Whenever I hear the name Jean Hiraga, my ears begin to sweat. I can anticipate something very special is about to happen. Although Jean Hiraga was not here and did not build these loudspeakers, the Hellenas have a sound that is very similar in that it simply sounds alive.

The Hellenas were setup in a room way too small for these oversized but very attractive 3-way loudspeakers. When I asked Jileta about the sensitivity he replied they were “over 100 dB” which told me enough, particularly when I saw them driven by the new 20-watt Triode Corp TRX-P3M pair of mono amps. Without even realizing the volume, the music just gushed forth with a quality that I can only describe as special. What was most surprising of all was the spectral balance despite the size of the Hellenas. The balance of the Hellenas was remarkable as well considering how slow and heavy the bass was in other rooms using speakers only a fraction of the size. I thought a 20-watt amp wasn’t going to reproduce too much low end or create problems but at the same time, the low-end never felt shy or bashful either. Not only was the bass accurate and tuneful, it was powerful and pitch perfect, creating a seamless connection to the music over and over again. The source was entirely vinyl throughout my 90 minute stay…Yes, I got stuck trying to figure out what was going on in this room. The overall sound was pretty incredible not just from a sonic aspect but from a component aspect as well. I would consider myself somewhat knowedgeable with regard to the names of manufacturers, yet there were names here that I never heard of. Wouldn’t have mattered if the sound was forgettable. But because it was so utterly delightful, I needed to know who these folks were. 

The rest of the system was composed of open-reel tape decks by Sonorus, a tape head amp by Cello/King by Charles King and STS open-reel tapes. A Triode Corp TRX-3 pre was also being used alongside Garrard turntable rebuilt on a Steve Dobbins plinth and equipped with a Frank Schroder arm. I don’t recall hearing digital but just in case someone did, it would have been through a Metronome CD8s player and DiDiT High End DAC. Finally, cables were by a company called Zonotone while the room was tweaked out using Resonators by J. Trillo. Yes, these are very similar the ones that Franck Tchang first brought to CES many years ago. Of course, there’s going to be another opportunity for me to hear the Troy Audio Hellena loudspeakers. Hopefully, the venue won’t be under show conditions either. I can only imagine what this would be like since even here, under these harsh conditions, the sound was absolutely stellar.  

Until we meet again!


 
clement perry