Sound engineering
Audio Aero has been around for only 10 years, but it has made a name for itself with its mono bloc tube amplifiers and Capitole CD player.
Its motto, 'Fly to the music', may sound corny, but after all it's based in Toulouse, France, where the Airbus is assembled. And only aeronautical engineers are employed to bring out pure music from the CD - a goal set for the Audio Aero Prestige SACD (Super Audio Compact Disc) player, which costs just over HK$100,000.
Initially, I decide to use only French components to test the Prestige. After adding YBA Signature pre and power amplification and JM Lab's Alto Utopia speakers, the cost of the whole system comes to HK$500,000.
I put on Santana's SACD version of Black Magic Woman and, although the guitars are soaring, it lacks spark. Maybe this isn't a player made for rock, so I change to Midori's Mozart Concerto in D for violin. Again, I'm underwhelmed. The violin sounds dull.
Convinced that the problem isn't with the player, I switch amplification to Chord's flagship CPA 5000 E pre amp and 1400 E mono bloc power amps. I also switch the interconnect cables to Ortofon.
This time there are smiles all round. Santana's guitar reaches new heights, and the bass and drums are much tighter and more dynamic. Having said that, the imaging is still blurred and the depth of sound shallow. But Julian Lau of Shun Woo Audio says the player needs about 1,500 hours of running-in time.
Nonetheless, after five hours of auditioning and changing equipment and cables, this is a remarkable CD player. The soundstage improves as the Prestige warms up and the tubes give the vocals a warmer sound. The only criticism is that it plays only stereo SACDs, which is a disappointment given SACDs' ability to use 5.1 channels, and because at this price you have to be careful in picking the right components to provide the sound you want to hear.
