FURUTECH Daytona 303E

I do not actually prefer the sound of Chuck Mangione‘s Children of Sanchez the way it is presented on Stereoplay sampler (Die Audiophile Hoertest-CD, GEMA, 2008). Though I admit that this version is sonically impeccable (and it really is), I still think that it is too much polished to be realistically sounding. You will probably not be able to hear such flawless sonics from any stage anywhere in the world, not even in the studio where the recording was made. However, it is a showcase of excellent dynamics, bass punch and texturally wonderful acoustic intruments of a big band so it is ideal for testing purposes.
I am not going to describe what I heard with the Furutech in place – instead I will tell you what I heard when it was removed from the power path. Without the Daytona it seemed that the music acquired better punch, as if macrodynamics would increase. Apparently, it was the one and only positive thing I could say about the system without the filter. It showed, that behind this seemingly better punch, the bass became thinner, it lost its rounded quality and plasticity and got blurred a bit. The mix sounded a bit more attractive as to a high frequency content, however, the highs were unnatural and suffered from textural malnutrition – they were excessively sizzling without any definition and became steely (as the opposite of being brassy). The same was projected into the sound of guitar at 3´20 mark that became too artificial and almost unpleasant. The mids were the area where I desperately missed the Daytona the most; it was like someone had vacuum-cleaned all the information in this bandwith, the music lost its inner drive and tension and got quite boring, indeed.