October 16, 2024

Audio Bliss

The new audio system is almost complete! And it sure sounds great. Last week, I ordered a used Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum III and a REL T/9x SE subwoofer (in Italian Red) from The Music Room. My thanks to Michael for his help. They arrived early this week, and Giles and I finally set the amplifier up today at his house after a bit of surgery. We had to switch the impedance from 8 to 4 ohm for the Sonetto IIs. This procedure didn’t take long, and soon I was enjoying Michael McDonald’s cover of “Hallelujah.”

From the first notes, I knew this was a huge upgrade from the Adcom. Not that the Adcom was bad—it was a great starter system. However, where the Adcom was a bit harsh, particularly in the upper register, the CMIII rounds off all those rough edges and, as Giles said, brings a “sparkle” up top. And the bass the CMIII brings to the little Sonettos is pretty amazing—and we haven’t even added the sub to the system yet. Giles suggested we listen to the system without the sub at first, and I agreed. And I listened and listened, playing music I had recently heard through the Adcom, like Lyle Lovett’s “If I Had a Boat” and Peter Gabriel’s “Four Kinds of Horses.” Just wow. Lee Morgan’s trumpet on “The Sidewinder” was in the room, slightly stage right, and I could hear every nuance of his performance.

I had to leave about 14:30 to do the dad-thing. I hope to get a full report on Giles’ listening tomorrow when we set up the sub. I’ve very curious as to what this well regarded component will bring to the system.