However, with such experiences in mind one will appreciate all the more what the new ART G3 is capable of doing. I’m listening to Beethoven’s piano sonatas featuring András Schiff (ECM) and already after the first few notes of the »Moonlight Sonata« I’m completely enthused. Because in those first seconds the ART G3 reveals everything which makes a concert grand in a hall: although touched only softly, the low octave in C sharp stands positively like a rock in the room. After this first note I would love nothing better than to send back some CD players on the spot. For certainly not all succeed in playing softly and substantially. But even with those soft volume levels the Audionet conveys a notion of the concert grand’s momentum and shows that a Steinway D grand piano does not put a hefty 500 kilos on the stage floor for naught. By the way, it’s not a matter of sheer bass or truckloads of moved air: if the source is good, you can also experience this rather intrinsic authority of a sound through a little Spendor.
András Schiff keeps playing, accurately following Beethoven’s pedal instructions; so he doesn’t change the damping with every harmonic shift, creating after a few bars an extremely complex haze of overtones. On lesser players this haze simply sounds cloudy, whereas the ART ultra-finely resolves it, virtually letting me listen around the discrete ramifications and yet merging everything into a logical entity. Quite en passant, the Audionet sketches between the loudspeakers a wonderfully credible and downright palpable image of the stage area of the Tonhalle Zurich where these recordings were made.
The ART G3 knows its craft
Even with complex opera recordings the ART G3 preserves this immense overview. With its help it becomes easier to follow the singers in Wagner’s »Lohengrin« (EMI, Wiener Philharmoniker, Rudolf Kempe) and to put them into a meaningful context with the accompanying orchestra. Because even from this – in audiophile terms not very successful – recording the player extracts a maximum of usable information, which in the end results in an enhanced musical density. Emphatically it demonstrates that a technically extremely well-designed component must not sound dead and unmusical, as is claimed so often. Rather the opposite is true: owing to its incorruptible and incredibly meticulous signal readout and processing, we can approach the artists and their intentions to a rarely witnessed extent. Whether I’m following the most delicate lines of the high strings in the prelude, realising the immaculate interleaving between soloists and orchestra or watching the action in the precisely imaged virtual room – the Audionet simply brings me closer to Rudolf Kempe and his colleagues.
One point which I naturally care about after my experiences with the older generations of the ART is the sonic influence of the granite slab. It has always grounded the player soundwise, giving it an »analogue« tonal substance to take along, yet thwarting the ultimate contour sharpness in the bass range. This was never a tragedy nor a clear intervention – but audible after nitpicking comparisons. Now the new one shows that the Bochumers have taken care of this tiny signature and – however they managed to do so – compensated it. For also with Al Jarreau or the Red Hot Chili Peppers the ART G3 lacks the ultimate clarity in no department.
Substance instead of a fleeting fad
The last point on my list is the USB input. After several comparisons it becomes clear that it’s far from being a stopgap. With it Audionet expands your personal stereo setup with another source which – given a careful configuration – won’t have to take a back seat to the other signal suppliers. The easy plug & play design of the ART computer link should also free many music lovers from their reserve towards the new medium. In my final analysis, however, I give preference to the ART’s internal drive, because with it musical lines still flow a tadbit more smoothly, and in my discretion the inner suspense of the music is preserved more completely.
