Patrick Reynaert

Hoogleraar Electronic circuits&systems  KUL

Holsbeek

It was time for a serious upgrade to my audio system.

To my great surprise, even in the higher end, there were enormous differences between speakers and amplifiers. My (naive) reasoning, however, was: the more expensive, the better? That's clearly not the case.
Most speakers provide a certain listening experience, a coloration, a "lay-out" of the sound, but that's completely different from a correct and honest reproduction. After all, I was looking for a system that sounds as accurate as possible. Not "beautiful," "warm," "live," or "detailed." Just correct and tight, one that reproduces the music as it was recorded.

Wim was clearly the right person for me.

He talks about the importance of impulse response, phase, and amplitude flatness.

He offers tips on acoustics and auditory masking. He informs you about sound experience and why all those commercial brands color the sound so much. He also advises you on how best to allocate your budget. After a few listening sessions and many (technical) discussions, I was more than convinced. Admittedly, especially when compared to commercial brands,
Wim's speakers (The Pillar) initially seem "boring" because they don't add anything to the music.
That does take some getting used to. But, I've had them for a few months now, and I'm always amazed at how accurate and beautiful they sound.

You hear the acoustics of the recording
.
You hear the instruments and the recording mix, and there's no listening fatigue.

And since I got this system, I've suddenly been listening to classical music much more, precisely because it sounds so beautiful and genuine.

For the record: the speakers are LINK The Pillar, all cabling is from Link Audio, and the streamer and amplifier are from Cambridge Audio (EDGE NQ and EDGE W).