Next, he swaps the MKII version's standard veneered honeycomb-core top-shelf for a Carbofibre° shelf, which comes at an extra cost. Here, too, the sonic improvement is immediately audible - and you don't even need to be sitting in the Audio Physics' sweet spot to hear it: The gain in dynamics and fine detail is surprisingly large! But that's not the end of the story: The sonic leap is at least as big when the CD-2 is placed on the Pagode MKII Carbon Edition instead of the Pagode Edition MKII with the Carbofibre° shelf, where the carbon clad honeycomb-core shelves come as standard. The cladding of all wooden parts with a carbon layer results in a more accurate, powerful and colourful bass range. The articulation of the voice is a good deal better defined. Suddenly the musical reproduction appears to be right in a way that is difficult to describe. You immediately think you know that instruments and voice should sound like this and not differently. Slowly I begin to doubt whether the decision not to try out the Carbon Edition in the listening room at home was the right one...

After lunch in a restaurant on the bank of the nearby Henne barrage, we visit the wood parts supplying carpenter's workshop. After delivery, the solid maple wood is first put into a drying chamber and then stored for three to four months. The processing in the various production steps then takes a few more weeks. Due to the long lead time, it is of course necessary to keep a large stock. Therefore, large quantities of semi-finished wooden parts are stored in the joinery, which are assembled as needed and then lacquered. Each part is primed twice, followed by an intermediate sanding, but even after the so-called final lacquering, it is not yet finished. Only after further sanding does the final coating take place. Of course, the carbon layers are also glued to the maple in the joinery and then surface-treated. What we didn't get to see, however, was the honeycomb material that forms the core of the shelves. Luis Fernandes does not reveal any further information about this. But even without this detail, it was impressive to see the amount of work that goes into the racks from Finite Elemente: Extremely high quality made in Germany.

PS: Somehow I can't get the enormously positive effect of the Carbon Edition on the sound of the CD-2 out of my head. So don't be surprised if a test should come around in the near future.