It’s not often that seeing a vendor at an audio show warms my heart, but seeing that Grant Fidelity is still kicking makes me incredibly happy. Watching Rachel Grant bounce her company back onto the industry map is one of the feel-good stories of the year.
Not that I’d be nice about it if her room sucked, mind you. Business is business. Fortunately, the room shared by Grant Fidelity and the PureAudioProject was about as far from sucking as it’s possible to get for under ten grand total.
Starting with the competent Yulong Sabre DA8 dsd-capable DAC ($1199) and 25 watt, Psvane TS845 integrated amplifier ($3550), the Grant Fidelity supplied electronics offered supple musicality and holographic midrange. The open-baffle, 92db sensitive, PureAduioPoject Trio15B ($3,500) opened that holography up well past the back wall of the room. This was a massive dose of audiophile trickery on the cheap, with an added dose of straight, no-chaser, not-audiophile-at-all musicality. It was definitely one of the best realized budget systems at the show.
I also got to look at, but not hear, the Trio10AMT ($3,999), a smaller speaker for those allergic to whizzer cones. If it can beat the sound of the Trio15 (not easy), it may be the go-to for a killer introduction to what a refined high-efficiency speaker can do.
I could happily leave the amp behind but there is something visually appealing about those speakers. I like the understand, industrial look. Plus I’m partial to OBs and the price isn’t obscene either. Thanks for covering.