Under the heading of "You shouldn’t
judge a book by its cover" was the system featuring FJ Speakers Dude 2 loudspeakers
($5795 per pair), an Emotive Audio E-Linear EL34-based integrated amp ($6000), a Symposium
Isis rack ($3299), an Essential Sound Products the Essence Reference power distributor
($1599) and Essence Reference power cords ($799 each), Audio Path Silver speaker cables
and interconnects (price to be determined), and an discontinued Phillips CD/SACD player.
Small and unpretentious, it was a system you could easily overlook in the rush to find the
biggest and presumably the best, but, when given the chance to strut its stuff -- wow! The
bass from the Dude 2s was deep, tight and clean, and it had John Crossett looking for the
subwoofer he was sure was doing the heavy work. The Dude 2s had a big sound that flew in
the face of their diminutive size.
Of course, speakers alone can’t do
anything except look pretty, so the amp, cabling, power system and rack had a lot to do
with getting this system to sing as beautifully as it did. This system proved that you
don't need to spend your kids' college fund to have superb sound. [www.essentialsound.com]
