are you ready for the shock?

let's cut to the chase - if you are not ready for the shock, don't audition the torus. it is going to change your paradigm about accuracy and high definition, among others.

let me state that i am auditioning the torus with the highly annoying US-to-UK convertors, which i dread, so the torus' performance here is a compromised one.

the best disc to illustrate torus' strengths is none other than 2v1g. a lot of people have told me that they can't differentiate winnie from regine, or vice versa. once you listen to how the torus separates the two voices, you would then realize that the two ladies are world apart in tone and expression. many PLCs, including my hydra 8, didn't do a good job in making these two voices distinctive and unique. this aspect of torus gets my highest praise - this is high-definition of the highest order. in fact, get any disc with many voices and see how torus separates each and every one of them and give them their own character.

another winning aspect of torus is its accuracy. tonally, the torus is on the cool side of neutral, very much like audio magic stealth reference, without the sizzle. this accuracy lends a superb realism to voices in terms of diction and pitching. whether it is rickie lee jones or 2v1g or cai qin, you could hear every word coming from the singer's mouth with shocking clarity, diction and correct pitching. no other PLC comes close in this aspect. hifikaki was uuh-ing and aah-ing when he heard the 2v1g cd being played thru torus.



how does it compare to hydra 8 in other areas? well, you know me, i always love analogy. pitting the two is like comparing a girlfriend/mistress to a wife. hydra 8 is flirtatious, seductive, desirable and colorful, always obliging (and could occasionally tell a lie or two just to please you), the perfect girlfriend. torus is the wife, ever faithful, honest, reliable, compassionate and does her duty quietly. the hydra dresses up the music with make-up whereas the torus does not believe in cosmetics. true, the torus does not have the hydra's femme fatale kind of seductiveness, neither does it have the voluptuousness of body and harmonic richness of the hydra but it plays music with so much conviction that you would think that is how real music should sound like. music thru the hydra 8 is like looking thru the world with a technicolor glasses; with torus, the glasses is perfectly clear, perfectly spec-ed and albeit a bit unglamorous.

the torus' major strengths lie in its honesty, definition and accuracy. if you prize these criteria with top priority then this is simply the best PLC there is. but torus is not perfect. in achieving this astounding level of accuracy and definition, it does come across as a bit thin, solid-state-y, dry and careful/cautious. of course, i am not discounting the fact that i am using a generic 15A power cord and the terrible US-to-UK adapters.

some married men never stop having girlfriends till old age because they are bored with their wives at early stage. some married men keep girlfriend(s) at the early stage of their marriage because it is exciting but ultimately when they are tired and old, they go home to the warmth of their wives. some men, once they get married, would never consider extra-marital affairs because their wives are the best. some men don't even get married and just content of having girlfriends.

which kind of man are you?