Impressions: Robinson's Brutus Awards for 2020, Part the First

Ye Olde Editor in days collegiate, presenting the goods. Corvallis, OR, 1972 (photograph by Dr. John Hull)

Thoughts at this end of the first year of the pandemic…

Once again, yes, once again it's time for my Brutus Awards. This time, the 2020 edition…a year that will live in infamy.

Our first major pandemic in a century, one that I was concerned about very early in the year back in February in Issue 108. As I followed the development of COVID-19 from a distant concern to a growing menace, I thought that I might have serious effects for both the production and transport of high-end audio gear.

Unfortunately, I was right…in fact, things turned out to be much worse than I suspected. The production of audio parts and components was harmed, reviews were delayed…sometimes for months…and the murderous toll of this deadly disease ran rampant over the planet. As a result, show after show were postponed, some cancelled directly, and the postponed shows later turned into cancellations. In the USA, after the very early Florida Audio Expo, all the rest hit the ground. For the first time ever, Positive Feedback had to take a stand on the question of high-end shows trying to find a way to reschedule their events in the face of COVID-19. I wasn't happy about having to do so, but we at PF saw no way around the reality of the pandemic, and the need to spare audiophiles…quite often an older, high-risk group…the dangers of large and crowded gatherings for days on end.

One thing that has come out of the lack of audio shows has been a reconsideration of the role of such events in our industry of audio passionates. Will we see a return to the heavy show schedules of the years immediately preceding the pandemic?

Many companies have been driven to accelerate their online presence to further their reach. Some have gone into some pretty serious video presentations to present a focused (and often quite effective) showing of their components/systems. Factory-direct business models have become more common, as some firms have decided to forgo local dealers in a world that is increasingly turning to the Internet and Web-based point-of-sales. Many have added YouTube channels to archive their growing library of videos. Some innovators are adding presentations of their systems at major dealer sites in large markets. What we are seeing in the larger world…bricks and mortar losing ground to online transactions…is being duplicated in our own world of audiophile enterprises.

What then will be the future of audio events/shows, which are relatively high-cost to run and to take space in? And now long will it take us to know the answer to that question?

We can be thankful that effective vaccines for COVID-19 are now on the verge of shipment. But it will take months for us to hit critical mass in the number of inoculated persons. It's not likely that whatever audio shows go forward will be able to do so safely before early summer. Munich 2021 has already moved to early fall; the Pacific Audio Fest will be at in late July; AXPONA 2021 is slated for late August. We'll see about the others.

So this has been a unique and awful year for the human race in general.

But high-end audio seems to have found ways to carry on, with many companies reporting to me that their sales have been solid, or have actually gone up in 2020. And that's great news.

Let's hope for better times in 2021.

About the Brutus Awards

Carol Clark, Dave Clark, and David W. Robinson, Long Beach, CA, 2016 (photograph and image processing by Carol Clark)

For those new to Positive Feedback and the Brutus Awards that Dave and Carol Clark and I give out at the end of each year, here's the scoop. Quoting from myself, quoting myself in January of 2020 (Issue 107…my Awards were a few weeks late last year):

"The Brutus Awards are given at the end of each year, in recognition of the best high-end audio gear that Dave Clark and I as Editors of Positive Feedback have had in our own listening rooms for evaluation during that calendar year. These are entirely our own subjective choices, based on our own tastes in what's righteous…and what's not…."

Dave Clark, Carol Clark, and I "…instituted the Positive Feedback Brutus Awards way back in the mists of time…yonder in 2003. And every year, for the new readers who have joined us, I review the parameters of the Brutus Awards, so that everyone knows what they mean, and what guidelines direct Dave [and Carol] Clark's and my choices.

As I said in 2016: ‘At the end of each year, my unindicted co-conspirator Dave Clark and I give our Positive Feedback awards. These are our annual ‘best stuff we heard this year' plaudits. No padding, crap, junk food, or meaningless drivel here: Just the righteous word!

[And] as [we] said in Positive Feedback all the way back in Issue 10, December of 2003, when I announced the birth of the Brutus Award:

"‘We at Positive Feedback are going to have two main categories of annual awards. The first will be our Brutus Award. This will be recognition given to "the best and the brightest" products that we have experienced in various categories in a given year. In hardware, these will range from "best bang for the buck" to "the best period, and hang the expense!" designs. In recordings, we'll be paying tribute to the best that we've found in various formats. In addition, we'll have a "Lifetime Achievement Award" that will recognize individuals whose contributions to fine audio in various respects has been both superior and sustained.

All products that are so recognized by PF will be work that has been reviewed by us personally; no design will be recognized that we do not have experience with in our listening rooms. This means that you, our readers, may disagree with our selections, wondering why this or that component, recording or individual was not mentioned. Quite apart from differences in taste/opinion, the answer is simple: we won't be mentioning any design that we haven't spent time with in our own listening rooms. If a product does not win a Brutus Award in a given category, this does not signify lack of merit—we just may not have gotten to work with it.'"

But life goes on, and I've come a long way since these foundations were laid. Last year I reflected on "them changes":

"As my Brutus Awards and their accompanying annual photo-essays have developed over the years, they have changed into reflections on the products, recordings, and people that I have come to respect during the course of a year…or over the years. I have become more introspective as time has gone by, and my comments this year will continue along this way.

Not narrowly technical, but also very personal."

2020 didn't see any show going for me, and so I wasn't able to add to my portfolio of portraits that I've been developing over the years. That's one of the worst things for me in this year of COVID-19: missing the people, and the photographic opportunities, that go along with being a photographic artist.

But here, at the end of this year, I can still give merited praise to what's been in my listening rooms and spaces throughout 2020. I can give alerts to our readers to worthwhile new designs and prospects in the audio arts, ones that they should be aware of.

This is what we're about with our Brutus Awards. Certainly, anything that I mention is worth your remembrance and further exploration in the future. If you think of them as advance scouting reports, and not as pompous pronouncements from on high (there's too much of that in high-end publishing, as it is), then you'll have the proper perspective for applying what you read here.

By the way, note that not nearly all of my Brutus Award products for 2020 have been reviewed yet. This has been a tough and busy year, with some very serious medical issues for me personally. (I'm still working through those.) Some have been reviewed; if so, you'll have a link to my prior review. But if I've had enough time with the review sample before deadline to be convinced that it is worthy of inclusion in the list for this year, then that's all it takes. The review…whether long or short in length (not everything requires The Brothers Karamazov)…will follow, sooner or later. What's important is that I announce what I found to be excellent and worthy of my awards this year.

Also, note that sometimes my comments in my Brutus Awards are my review of the review sample in question. As I said, not everything requires an extensive write-up.

So, stay tuned.

Finally, especially in this pandemic year, some products/setups were delayed, sometimes seriously. Several other products missed the submission deadline for consideration in 2020, and will have to wait for evaluation and consideration in 2021. (What a year this has been!) I hope that things will be smoother in 2021.

Onwards, regardless…

Ye Olde Editor, fall of 2020 (photograph by David C. Robinson, Esq.)

My Brutus Awards for 2020

This year, due to time constraints, I am going to be more summary in my award notes.

Here at the end of 2020, and in no particular order:

VIVID GIYA G1 Series Two Loudspeakers

After the departure of the Raidho TD 4.2s early this year, which received one of my 2019 Brutus Awards, and which I reviewed HERE, I brought in a pair of loudspeakers that have intrigued me for years: the VIVID GIYAs. This particular model was their G1 Series Two.

Ever since first hearing them in Philip O'Hanlon's On a Higher Note rooms at various audio shows, I have been show-type impressed with the VIVID line. Visually, these are stunning, being highly seductive to the eye. The flowing lines of the unique cabinet design compel interest, and draw the listener in to audition them further. These loudspeakers are real works of sculpture, in addition to being killer translators of high-end audio signals into music.

My son, Saint John the Strong, who helped with the unpacking and setup of the VIVIDs, loved them just as soon as he saw them!

And it's whenever I sat down with any VIVID-equipped system that I found myself entranced with their transparency, ease, naturalness, a superior organic presentation of the music, and their ability to vanish into the music. And FLOW! Did I mention FLOW?

The VIVID GIYA G1 Series 2, being driven by a pair of Audio MAX monoblock amplifiers...delicious!

I was truly surprised and enthralled with the VIVID GIYA G1 Series Two Loudspeakers during the (all-too-few) months that they were here. In our listening room, they sounded even better than I remembered from my visits at shows. Review to follow in the very near future…it's in the works now.

But a 2020 Brutus Award to VIVID in the meantime!

Raidho Audio TD 3.8 Loudspeakers

The Raidho Acoustics TD 3.8 Loudspeaker (image courtesy of Raidho Acoustics)

At the end of 2019, I gave one of my Brutus Awards to the Raidho Acoustics TD 4.2 Loudspeakers, very gladly. I followed that up with an "Impressions" essay on the 4.2, which you can read HERE. These loudspeakers, modified by Benno Meldgaard, were quite something.

Benno the Magnificent! (Photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson)

After the lamented teleporting of the VIVID GIYA G1 Series 2, I was highly compensated by another pair of loudspeakers from Raidho Acoustics: the TD 3.8.

Once again, the name of the brilliant audio designer Benno Meldgaard comes up in conjunction with Raidho Acoustics…but this time, instead of modifying an existing loudspeaker as he did with the TD 4.2s, he was able to design a brand-new loudspeaker from the ground-up. Fully his design, incorporating everything that he considered to be right, true, and beautiful.

The result is the TD 3.8, a pair of which is in our reference stereo listening room right now, making music very happily with the Wolf Audio Systems Alpha 3SX Music Server/Streamer, via Skogrand Beethoven USB cable to either the Ideon The Absolute DAC or the aqua acoustic Formula xHD Rev. 2 DAC (reviews forthcoming) to the Merrill Audio Christine Preamp (ditto), and thence via Merrill Audio XLRs to a pair of the Merrill Audio Element 118 Monoblocks. From there, the signal cascades to the TD 3.8s via GamuT reference speaker cables in quad-wire configuration.

To say that my first couple of months with the TD 3.8s was splendid would be a gross understatement. It's rare that I have been so pleased and impressed with a new loudspeaker design. It's as if Benno and I had designed the 3.8s together, in agreement as to what a loudspeaker of this size and price range should do.

I'll be publishing my evaluation of the TD 3.8s early in 2021. But you can see where my enthusiasm is going, I think. I have plenty enough impressions on this one to make an easy decision on these remarkable loudspeakers.

Raidho Acoustics' TD 3.8 richly deserves one of my Brutus Awards here in 2020.

"So let it be written; so let it be done!"

GamuT Phi3 i Loudspeakers

The GamuT Phi3-i Monitor Loudspeaker (image courtesy of GamuT)

Here's a very pleasant surprise from GamuT: a monitor loudspeaker that punches way above its weight and price ($2790 per pair) class, to produce GamuT's signature organic, coherent, and always-musical presentation of recordings.

I've used it for months now in desktop application, with two sets of three Wave Kinetics A10-U8 isolation devices. Fed by its fellow 2020 Brutus Award winner, the superb Vinnie Rossi Integrated Amplifier, with the Clarus Audio Concerto Line Conditioner, and cabling by TARA Labs and Synergistic Research, the Phi3-i simply sang. I could scarcely believe that so much was coming from such compact monitors…but it was true.

Without doubt the Phi3-i are sitting firmly in the sweet spot of reasonably priced (for high-end audio) and wonderfully musical loudspeakers. A review will be forthcoming in the near future...stay tuned.

Meanwhile, a 2020 Brutus Award for this overperforming design!

Warwick Acoustics Aperio Reference BD-HPEL Headphones/Headphone Amp/DAC/Preamp

The Warwick Acoustics Aperio Reference BD-HPEL Headphones/Headphone Amp/DAC/Streaming-capable system (photograph by David W. Robinson)

My recent review of the Warwick Acoustics Aperio reference headphone/amp/DAC system can be found HERE. It sums up my very high admiration of this phenomenal and synergistic design…one that I waited several years for, as it came to full fruition.

Read the review above. You'll see why Warwick Acoustics easily earned one of my Brutus Awards here in 2020.

Vinnie Rossi L2i SE Integrated Amplifier and DAC

The Vinnie Rossi L2i SE Integrated Amplifier (photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson)

Back in September, in Issue 111, I rhapsodized over the glories of the Vinnie Rossi L2i SE Hybrid Integrated Amplifier, with available Quad DSD and high-resolution PCM DAC, and available phono amp section. Plenty of power, wondrous musical performance, and utterly seductive to the eye…what's not to like?!

Mark Sossa and Vinnie Rossi of Vinnie Rossi Audio, RMAF 2019 (photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson)

And what more can I say? Read the review, and you'll see exactly why I am giving one of my 2020 Brutus Awards to this fantastic integrated…with the highest enthusiasm!

Wolf Audio Systems Alpha 3SX Streamer/DAC/Music Server

Joe Parvey of Wolf Audio Systems at AXPONA 2019 (photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson)

Joe Parvey of Wolf Audio Systems is a person who I've gotten to know from several audio shows over the past few years. (You know: back when we were actually traveling and attending audio shows. Remember those days?) During that time, I've become more and more impressed with his advanced technical expertise in the realm of computer-/network-based high-end audio. We both share some pretty deep background in information technology, which makes it much easier to deal with the issues and challenges of Ethernet/USB systems.

Joe Parvey with the Alpha 3SX (silver upper unit on the bottom shelf) at RMAF 2019 (photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson)

During our last show session, back in 2019 at RMAF, Joe received one of my Audio Oasis! Awards for that event. He and I discussed getting in one of his new Alpha 3SX Music Server/Streamer units in for review sometime in 2020.

It took a while, but the Alpha 3SX Music Server/Streamer system, including the external monitor, keyboard/pointer pad, and cables arrived last June. The physical setup of the system was relatively straightforward (USB to the external DAC; HDMI to the monitor; Ethernet to the Wolf Audio System QNAP 1273U NAS and points Internet-bound). Joe remoted into the Alpha 3SX from Florida, and did the configuration of the external DACs (first the Ideon The Absolute; then the aqua acoustic Formula xHD Rev. 2, both of which are also winners of my 2020 Brutus Awards).

As a music server, the Alpha 3SX has its own motherboard, Intel i7 CPU, 32 GB RAM, internal storage from 1-12TB, numerous upgrades available, and runs a special version of Windows 10 optimized for audio services. With Stillpoints internal isolation and EMI/RF shielding by eXemplar Audio, one doesn't have to worry about those issues. It uses JRiver's Media Center to actually do the playback of local or network-based sources, with a powerful custom configuration that make the playback of your stored music files a real pleasure to do. You can easily play your music from connected hard drives/NAS, stream from the Internet, and rip CDs/DVD-As/BDs, and do so to multiple recipients simultaneously. DSD is fully supported, from DSD64 to DSD1024(!) in both Native and DoP. The full range of PCM and DXD likewise. All in all, this is a remarkably powerful system with too much to describe in this award announcement. For more details about the Alpha 3SX, go HERE.

On both Ideon's The Absolute DAC and aqua acoustic's Formula xHD DAC, the sound was exceptional…truly world-class. My review will follow, but I can already tell you with assurance that the Wolf Audio Systems Alpha 3SX is killer!

And very well worthy of one of my 2020 Brutus Awards.

Wolf Audio Systems QNAP 1273U NAS with RAID

One other Wolf Audio Systems product to mention: their customization of the QNAP 1273U 2U NAS with RAID as an available external storage.

(Image courtesy of QNAP)

While not listed on their site, Joe Parvey and company do custom NAS with RAID solutions for those of us who have a serious need for more high-powered and RAID-protected music/file storage systems. The QNAP 1273U is a 2U server package with its own Linux-based operating system and administrative apps, AMD Quad Core CPU, 8, 16, or 32 GB RAM (we have 32 GB RAM here), 12 3.5" hot-swap hard drive bays, two M.2 SATA 6Gb/s SSD slots, two power supplies, four 1 GbE ports, and two 10 GbE ports.

The QNAP 1273U, rear view. Note that we have the dual power supply model, and so the option slot above the power unit above has a second power supply in it. (Image courtesy of QNAP)

We elected to install 8 Seagate Exos 12 TB hard drives (96 TB storage space) in 8 slots, and leave the other four for future expansion. Joe configured these drives for RAID 5, which, after subtracting for RAID 5 overhead, left us with 84 TB of free and protected storage. This is organized into a single large 84 TB volume.

Since the Wolf Audio Systems QNAP 1273U configured for Positive Feedback is RAID 5 and hot-swappable, a single hard drive failing will not lose files. The failed drive can be pulled easily while the unit remains online, a new drive installed in the holder, and then it can be slipped back in and locked into place. The server will then regenerate the RAID 5 data to the new drive, and all will be restored when the process completes.

In these days of a great sea change to digital downloads, with many audiophiles investing in large libraries of high-resolution DSD, DXD, and PCM albums, the need to shift to RAID-protected SAN on a local network is obvious. Sooner or later, many audiophiles will have to make the upgrade to protect their digital music archives.

For more information, or to get a quote, contact Joe Parvey at Wolf Audio Systems.

Having used the Wolf Audio Systems custom QNAP 1273U NAS with RAID 5 for a number of months now, with various attached players, I can give it my highest recommendation, and thus give it a 2020 Brutus Award…with pleasure!