High End 2016: Wilson Benesch with Viva play lovely together

Wilson Benesch is becoming a personal favorite; year after year they provide fantastic performance with both solid state and tube amplification. This time around the smaller Discovery II speaker amazed with its imaging, detailed sound and deep bass for the size. The presentation was airy on top with a substantial midrange and given the moderate size of the speakers this could be a great option for those seeking an easy to fit solution. The isobaric woofer arrangement seems to work quite well in all Wilson Benesch designs including the Discovery II, smallest model of the Geometry line.

Of course the Discoveries were not playing all by themselves. In the middle of the set up and sitting on the floor there was a Torus Infrasonic Generator, meaning a dual motor push/ pull subwoofer with carbon fiber diaphragm and 1000Watts of amplification. So yes, bottom octave for such a large room was covered thoroughly.

Amplification was courtesy of Italian manufacturer Viva. A pair of Aurora single ended triode power amplifiers were doing the heavy lifting paired with the company’s LF2 pre-amp with integral phono stage and Numerico CD player/ DAC. Connections were made possible thanks to Way Cables. WB provided the analog front end, at this point and after 25 years of history what we can call a classic design, the Circle 25 turntable with ACT 25 anniversary tonearm fitted with Transfiguration Proteus MC cartridge.

Along with the Metaxas/ Apertura room the best compact sized ones of the show.