As was to be expected, we were partly controversial about the changes: On one side there was the admirer of female voices, on the other side the lover of transients that come as close as possible to those at a real concert. In any case, I have kept the clock cable from AudiaZ for a more detailed study. And I could also imagine to incorporate Weber’s modification of the SOtM switch in my own device. A side effect of the many concentration-consuming comparison tests was that I came to build up more and more confidence in the Cadenzas: They make even the smallest change in the audio chain dependably audible – even though I am convinced that they were primarily designed as a means of enjoyment rather than as an analysis tool. Anyway, for my part I had a very good feeling when I used the AudiaZ speakers for testing the Audioquest Thunderbird 48 (HDMI).

On the first few days, I of course listened to all the pertinent test tracks - without being disappointed even once. Well, if my memory serves me right, my Epoque Aeon Fine, which settles in a several times higher price range, still performs with a tad more liveliness and fine detail. Also real and virtual rooms appear a touch larger through the bending wave transducer. But such minor aspects are no longer an issue when one spends more time with the Cadenza and the music, rather than trying to track down differences with the same music pieces over and over again. Fortunately, I was given about two weeks before the Cadenza had to set off for the photo studio. And during those days, I listened to music significantly more often than usual. This was partly because I wanted to burn-in Soundsmith's Strain Gauge, but also because I kept coming across forgotten vinyl treasures. And the majority of them were a lot of fun thanks to the Cadenza, because it's the overall package that fits: There is no particular frequency range calling for attention, none of the three driver sections pushes to the fore. The Accuton drivers, which are sometimes alleged of a certain coldness in the one or other internet forum, have been melted by Helmuth Weber to an incredibly pleasing, seamless unit: When my old records take me out to indulge in reminiscences, there is not the slightest thought about the technical aspect of the musical performance.

No wonder, then, that I wanted to enjoy the Cadenza even after work: For an evening aperitif, I chose a rarely heard record by Wolfgang Puschnig and Wolfgang Mitterer to go with a Frizzante "Libellenteich" (dragonfly pond) from the Austrian "Weinviertel" (Wine Quarter) region, mainly because it was recorded live in natural acoustics, in the parish church of Lienz in Tyrol. The instrumentation is unusual, but quite exciting: alto saxophone, organ and computer. In 1985, however, music was not simply recorded by computer: It was previously produced in the Elektron music studio in Stockholm, as the liner notes reveal. The fact that obsoderso was released on the Moers Music label should have been a warning to me, but unfortunately I didn't pay attention to the label. Hadn't I given the record a listen, my spouse and I would have missed the exquisite spatial depiction of the organ and saxophone. The sometimes brute intonation of organ and electronics made us cringe in our listening chairs. The title track is certainly nothing for the faint-hearted, but musically it's an exciting contemporary document and sonically - not least thanks to the AudiaZ Cadenza - a true pleasure. In any case, we survived the whole side of the record, and then satisfied the desire for something more harmonious with the Speakers Corner LSP reissue of Henry Mancini's score to The Pink Panther. Especially if you've seen a movie of the series not long before, you can't help but go into raptures in light of the timbres, dynamics, and rhythmic intensity when playing the title tune over a good system. But no matter if you opt for unwieldy sound experiments or sweetly arranged film music: The Cadenza convinces with every kind of music.