IsoMike, EMM Labs, Sound Lab

Talk about over the top! The IsoMike / EMM Labs / Sound Lab room housed a system valued at $340,288, and what glorious music it reproduced. Ray Kimber’s personal recordings made with his IsoMike system on hard drive were sent along via Kimber Select KS-1130 interconnects to a plethora of EMM Labs gear -- CDSD SE, CDSA, DAC6e, DCC2 SE, DAC8 Mk IV (two of them!), and a Switchman III -- through a GML 9500 room EQ (two units) on to four Pass Labs X350.5 power amps and finally, via Kimber Select KS-3038 speaker cables, to four pairs of Sound Lab Prostat 922 speakers. The sound was immersive, full, clean and lifelike. Whether playing jazz, classical or marching band, this system simply sounded right. If you have the cash (and the space -- those Sound Lab speakers are definitely not small), you can come awfully close to feeling as if the musicians are right there in the room with you.