Both Gary Alpern of True Audiophile and the man himself, Carlos Candeias of B.M.C., were on hand to show off the full extent of B.M.C.’s “Pure” line. I wrote about how impressed I was with the PureVox bipolar loudspeakers ($6,490) at the California Audio Show, particularly their excellent soundstage. This time, however, I was paying more attention to the rest of the gear, particularly the new PureMedia media server ($4,890).
Gary was particularly excited about this box, and it’s really no wonder. This server is sleek, easy to use, and comes with a standard 2TB of storage. With a USB port smack in the middle of the front faceplate for easy access, files can be easily loaded via a thumb drive or USB cable, or transferred from another computer via wireless. The PureMedia also works with streaming services, features a high-resolution video player and video transcoder software, and paired with a USB DAC, plays PCM, DSD64, and DSD128. It can be controlled via desktop computer, laptop, smartphone, or tablet with a simple, easy-to-use interface. I hear it will also julienne your potatoes. Combined with the UtraDAC ($3,490), PureAmp integrated amplifier ($2,690), PureUSB1 active USB-Audio interconnect ($390), and the aforementioned PureVox speakers, you’ve got a system with a relatively small footprint and exceptional functionality.
I elected to put it through its paces with Tori Amos’s “Father Lucifer,” from Boys for Pele. I’ve been listening to this track since… Well, I almost hate to say how long, but suffice it to say I was bogarting my dad’s shelf system the first time I heard it. There’s a number of details that are easy to overlook on a lesser system: the way Tori bangs on the piano pedals to keep time throughout, in particular, and the way the various multi-tracked voices wind around each other during the bridge. All of these details were there on the B.M.C. system: Tori’s voice was clear and rich, and the pedal thumped steadily in the back of the mix. There was some kind of hotel power glitch midway through the demo — the lights in the room faltered and the sound dropped entirely — but impressively, the server picked up precisely where it left off and all was well. As in the past, I was impressed by the way the PureVox speakers disappear and offer a spaciously three-dimensional soundstage.
With this line, B.M.C. has pulled together a very satisfying, easy to use, and attractive complete system for around $17k — not chump change, by any stretch, but the components all qualify as “moderately priced” for this marketplace, and they’re both visually and sonically appealing. This is superb work from Candeias & Co.!
