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Many peoples since I begin to harass my site visitor with the “Melquíades” paranoia have asked me questions about the sound of those amps. Try to put aside my excitement about the FINAL result of this project I will try to convey what exactly I appreciate in the “Melquíadeses” and why I consider that my introduction to those amps was one of the few most remarkable and significant mind-opening experiences that I ever had in audio field so far.

Before I go further I would like to point out (and people who know me personally can confirm it) that I am absolutely free form any thinking that my “kids are prettier” (despise of the primitive expectations of many audio-idiots who run after me over internet). The fact that this amp is mine is absolutely irrelevant to me. Should the project turned out to be not good I would not have any problems to acknowledge it, announce it and to move forward. So, my overly drooling reaction about the “Melquíades” is not the result of my master’s pride but very objective and very evolved evaluation of a person who preoccupied with Result but not about the observation of myself walking to the result. I certainly do play many egomaniac games. However, I do have my reasons to play them and I am well aware when and what I do. So, my ego trips and my self-admiring attitude have nothing to do with the seriousness with which I will tell you about the “Melquíades” sound. From a different perspective… Igor Stravinsky did stated what each single note that he ever composed was composed with no other objectives then to assert his own self-worth and to enrich his own ego.

Anyhow…

I first announced about the “Melquíades” existence at the following thread:

http://www.goodsoundclub.com/TreeItem.aspx?postID=636

with a consequential posting of some additional information:

http://www.goodsoundclub.com/TreeItem.aspx?postID=650

After the amps were designed and bult they were quite aggressively evaluated and the project was declared as a success.

 The “Melquíades” had unmatchable speed, which surpassed some of the crazier OTL that I well familiar with. However, contrary to all OTLs “Melquíades” contained a fantastic harmonic stricture, even more interesting then ML2 has (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). This combination of lighting speed, astonishing, absolutely unseen by me in any other amps transient response, and the ability to accelerate across the dynamic range combined with an ability to maintain AT THE SAME TIME a full harmonic stricture without going “#” was exactly what I was looking for. Also, “Melquíades” did not loose to ML2 in bass and as far as I concern the ML2 is undisputable kind in bass reproduction. From a certain perspective the “Melquíades’s” bass was even more interesting, it had sort of mass and implacability of SS electronics but still a softness and harmonic indigence of ML2.  There was multiple arias where “Melquíades” was not just better them ML2 but completely left ML2 in dust. One of them was a “Melquíades” ability to run to the dynamic and to the frequency extremes. The ML2 always hold down and do not let the excessiveness to flow. It reminds me how some German conductors leading some Italian operas when they do not let the anxiety-loaded Italian singers go for thier final topmost pitch. I would not call it a “subdued sound” but it certainly has some room to go in this direction. The problem with ML2 is, the always was, that there is no other amplifiers that would go there, but do anything else correct at the same time. There are multiple other limitations with ML2 but I do not write a review about the Lamm’s SET. The “Melquíades” quite effectually took care about almost all fundamental ML2 faults (with exception of two) and plainly speaking was much more advanced amplifier.

So, when “Melquíades” was born and I got what I was targeted and I was quite delighted. I spend a few weeks learning how to get better sound out of it, consulted with Dima’s how to finalized the design, tuned it up in the way I felt it should sound, and as the result I do a 15W SET that first time for many years let me to get more sonically-impact full and musically-loaded auditable experience then I was able to get out of ML2. To me, it was quite of accomplishment. I did conducted multiple listening session using know to me “proper evaluation techniques” (here is were the ego comes, anyhow you would be very surprised…) with quite serious material assuring that “Melquíades” do not slipping in the very multiple slipping areas and does all necessary for me things, that I have mentioned (and you did not read!!!) in the “Introduction” and the “Objectives” of my playback section:

http://www.goodsoundclub.com/Playback/MyPlayback.aspx

A couple weeks back I thought that I was victoriously through with my “quest for a better SET” project. How little I knew what was coming….

The following two weeks was not juts a radical change in the fate of “Melquíades” but a revolutionary, completely radical turn over of all my believes about the capacity of entire sound reproduction, I am not kidding. I am not trying overly dramatize the events and the results that came next but they really turned my relationship with audio into a very new and very different coordinate system, and I never knew that it is possible to go in there. The “Melquíades”  amp was exposed to slightly different expertise and the amp was slightly changed. Now, the “Melquíades” do not “sound” even remotely close or similar to how it sounded 2 weeks ago. How does it sound now?

:-)

Certainly this assay will be continuing in a day or tow whan I have time. 

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