|
The soundstage conjured by the MIT really pushed the limits of the Sonus Faber Lilium loudspeakers, feeling limitless. Recordings and their inherent soundstages are revealed to the fullest. Not only are recordings showed off at their best, components such as the Audio Research Ref 3 phono stage made its superiority known immediately upon inclusion and stretched the MIT’s performance beyond where I had heard it go before. The Ref 3 sounded simply sublime through the MIT.Acoustic instruments are extremely well served by the MIT. “Good bye-for My Father” from Brian Bromberg’s Wood again, offers up a level of sheer tactile realism, unable to be reached with prior cable looms I’ve auditioned, with timbre and texture that is spot on.I try to stay above the fray when it comes to the controversy these types of products incur and their rightful place in the audiophile universe, so I will leave the ultimate value proposition up to you. I wish a cheaper way to get this level of performance and flexibility would reveal itself, but it has not. Yes, the system as connected with two 2-meter pairs of IC’s and a set of 8ft speaker interface rings in at $94K. There is no way around that when you build them by hand and one at a time. But if you already have a Porsche 911Turbo in the garage and building a true reference level music system is next on your list, MIT provides the products worthy of that quest. If you are like me, you consider the cables to be of equal importance to other components that comprise any audio system. One could argue without the best possible interface, a system never reaches its fullest potential. Reaching full potential is what Reference Grade products are all about.I love anything that really pushes at the limits of design and performance. Whether it be watches, cars, guitars and especially audio, I am fascinated by all things cutting edge. Products representing the best that any designer or engineer can offer fascinates me. I believe in following this creed right down to the cables that connect my speakers and electronics, having spent the better part of two decades investigating the cables that lash together my separates as I work to make it a system. With these latest iterations MIT has thrown down a gauntlet for all others to traverse. Listening to Joe Walsh’s classic “Life’s Been Good to me so Far” sipping a Peroni and writing about the MIT ACC169 and MA-X SHD, I can’t help but relate. Yes, life’s been good so far. Spending time listening with MIT in my system has been enthralling and offers greater insight into what is possible in Hi-Fi. These products are truly state of the art and meant for the very best possible systems. MIT ACC 169 and SHD interconnects represent and beautifully demonstrate the result of decades of commitment to advancing interfacing technology, from the team at MIT.
|