Devialet Lost Recordings Open Event Feb 4th

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It was an interesting event.  The session was introduced by a chap from Devialet (whose name I'm afraid I didn't catch).  He did quite a bit of scene-setting and told the story of how the Lost Recordings were discovered.  The Sarah Vaughan lacquer was placed on the turntable with plenty of reverence - white gloves and all - and then played for about 20 minutes.  I was a bit non-plussed by it, to be honest, because although some aspects of it (e.g. percussion) sounded wonderfully realistic, I couldn't get over the nagging feeling that we were hearing a superb reproduction of a mid-1970s PA amp, which seemed to be slightly perverse. To be fair, the system did give a very good sense of "being there" in the club. As well as the Sarah Vaughan, they played a few minutes each from the other two Lost Recordings (on vinyl) - Oscar Peterson and Bill Evans. Of these the Bill Evans stood out for me, from a sound quality point of view - that was very impressive, best of the evening I thought - although the music wasn't really my thing.

The system was a 1000 Pro with Blades, fed by the top-of-the-range Project turntable with an Ortofon Cadenza Red (at least I think that's what I overheard Alastair saying). I would have loved to have heard some classical music through it. The Holywell Music Room was a great venue - apparently the oldest purpose-built concert hall in Europe.

Thence to the shop for a few sips of bubbly and a bite. Pleasant chat with some attendees I didn't recognise from DC (and they didn't own up if they were members!). Frank seemed to be deeply engaged in discussion so I said a quick hello and goodbye. Back home in time to listen to my own system for a bit and think: yes, that's not bad at all either.

Sorry if I missed someone I should have recognised!  And thanks to Jon, Alastair and the crew for a fun evening.