Alex Siufy of Alma Music and Audio in San Diego had a very strong presence at T.H.E. Show 2019 with multiple exhibit rooms. I previously mentioned how wonderful the latest generation of Wilson Audio loudspeakers sounded in Long Beach, and two of the three pairs from Utah were in Alex’s rooms. When I visited Alex at his store last fall and covered the Dan D’Agostino Relentless debut and the YG Acoustics Sonja XV loudspeakers, I barely noticed any Wilson Audio product on the sales floor–probably because I was so entranced by the sound in Alma Audio’s “big room.” Perhaps Alex has come to the same conclusion I have about the “new” Wilson Audio sound, a sound that’s more human and warm and embraceable– for me, anyways.
The first Alma Music room, which featured Wilson Tune Tots ($10,000) and a Luxman L-590X integrated amplifier ($9495) with digital from MSB and Innuos, was the very first room I covered at T.H.E. Show 2019. I was fresh out of my hotel room on Day One, wandering the halls, and Alex was the first person I ran into that I knew. He beckoned me into the Alma Music room, probably because he knew had something special and surprising, and he wanted me to hear it. It was a simple system, relatively compact. Once I saw the diminutive Tune Tots on their stands, I was eager to hear them–which is a reflection of my old Wilson Audio rule that the smaller a Wilson Audio speaker, the more I generally like it.
I did like the sound of the Tune Tots with the Luxman. A lot. Part of me said that the Luxman was the reason, that I’m so in love with the laid-back and luxurious sound of these Japanese amps after reviewing the LX-380 integrated that the little Alma Music system must have seemed familiar and comforting. But the more I focused on the Tune Tots–which I keep calling “Tiny Tots” in my head–I realized that I was mightily impressed with the depth and weight of the sound. Yes, these are “tots,” but they were fully capable of delivering satisfying low frequencies, even though the were positioned far from the back wall and out into the room.
I’ve already mentioned that the Wilson Audio Sabrinas that I heard in the Rutherford Audio room were, in my mind, the finest Wilson Audio speakers I’ve heard. These Tune Tots might come in a close second. I keep saying that I’m a classic two-way kind of audiophile, and I really respond favorably to the coherence and simplicity of two-way bookshelf loudspeakers. The Tune Tots are right in my wheelhouse, a premium two-way design that is meticulously built and voiced and able to deliver an overall sound that’s rewarding in every way.
Innuos at the source again. Seems to be catching on.