RMAF 2017: The Pure Audio Project, larger than life

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The Story

Ze’ev Schlik is the founder of the Pure Audio Project and he is really on to something. Ze’ev is countering the often negative or fruitless experiences that many audiophiles looking to enter the DIY segment of the hobby encounter. As we all know, the internet is filled with: DIY forums, project videos, and theoretical discussions. Half of them spurious at best in terms of delivering the affordable sonic wonderland they promise. However, the demand for customizable, build-it-yourself audio projects remain. 

What the Pure Audio Project has done to change the DIY landscape is two-fold: 1) offer reliable speaker components and designs associated with some of the best manufacturing available, and 2) offer a truly DIY experience to customers without the risks often associated with garage designed plans.

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On display at Rocky Mountain Audio Fest was Pure Audio Project’s newest behemoth, the Quintet 15 Horn 1 ($9,990 USD) as optioned for the festival. Also offered in the line but not on display at the show; the Quintet 15 Voxativ (w/AC-1.6) ($8,990 USD) and Quintet 15 TB (w/TB W1808) ($6,990 USD) ring out more value from the shared architecture, but also a different sound. You may like one over the other in spite of price, it’s your speaker and it’s all up to you.

From the “tubeologists” at Whammerdyne we have THE TRUTH ($15,000 USD) on display, a 70lb 2a3 power amplifier bringing everything to life with just 4.2 watts per channel RMS (6.5 watts peak). Did it handle the four 15” woofers found in the 96db sensitive Quintet 15’s? Yes, actually quite well, and at no point in the music did I feel a threshold had been met. Exogal’s popular Comet Plus DAC ($3,500 USD) was in control of the tunes and also handled duties of volume control as handled by their highly functional Remote App.