New review of the Cloud 11 by Adam Goldfine
Positive Feedback Online
"Sitting atop the Cloud 11, the first thing I noticed from the Sony was the improved pitch definition and greater resolution in the bass registers. One of the things I enjoy about tight, fast bass is the visceral growl that comes from resonance free, clearly defined notes. With the Gingko in use that growl became a tad more visceral and soulful.
The recorded acoustic environment was more clearly defined as well, while instrumental images came more tightly into focus with a greater sense of blackness between notes. The fine harmonic details that distinguish one instrument from another were more distinct, with cymbals, triangles and upper piano registers losing a slight edge or mechanical hardness. If I had to characterize the overall effect I would say the sound became tighter, removing just a bit of hardness and resonance or overhang from the system.
Due to the nearly ubiquitous reflex tuning of modern speaker systems, bass notes can have a tendency to smear together and the unique character of individual instruments becomes lost in the port resonance. Marcus Miller's Grammy winning CD M2 (CD, Telarc CD-83534) is a real test of a system's bass resolving power if there ever was one. On “Cousin John", the deep bass synthesizer conspires with the electric bass guitar and kick drum to turn the entire lower register to mush on all but the most articulate systems.
And while my system has always done exceptionally well in this aspect, the Cloud 11 improved it further.
With the Sony player sitting on the Cloud 11 each bass instrument was punchy and tight, retaining its own harmonic character. The kick drum gained a greater sense of roundness and tone, with the resonance of the drum head and shell clearly part of and distinct from the impact of the beater. That increased harmonic resolution also found its way to the other end of the scale with cymbals sounding less splashy and more metallic, the ringing of the triangle sounding rich and full instead of hard and truncated. Sonic images were more tightly focused as well."
"I moved the Cloud 11 to under my turntable and from the first needle drop, the quieter background was immediately noticeable. Music stood out in greater relief sounding less mechanical and more like the real thing. It eliminated the kind of noise, as someone recently put it, that you don't hear, until you don't hear it. With the platform I heard less of the turntable and more of the music coming through."
"All in all the Gingko Cloud 11 is a great product at a reasonable price. It is simple to set up and use and it does what it claims to do. It looks good under even the most well manufactured components and larger sizes are also available, (the largest is 26" x 20") for oversized turntables and components." |
