I just bought a Wilson Benesch Triptych for my naim CDX/52/250/Royd Albions and I couldn't be happier. For a long while I was struggling with the effects of a harsh leading edge on vocals that some blamed on the CDX and others blamed on the power amp not being the more expensive 135s. With the nap 500 on the horizon I chose to listen to those few small voices in the wilderness that were urging me to replace my Lovan stands and insisted that the stands were the cause of the edginess. At first I found this ridiculous. How could a rack make so much difference. It seemed like one of these mad audiophile fantasies like "I moved my hicap an inch to the left and the effect was as big as the upgrade from a 72 to a 102"
So eventually I decided to give in. For 40 K my system wasn't impressing me, even with the seperate spur and all the other naim tweeks that help make things a little sweeter. I did some research and the names that came up were Mana, Base, and Townsend. The mana effect, however, was said to increase detail while making things more forward and zingy. This seems to be agreed on by all and this was certainly not what I was looking for. On top of that I find the modular glass and metal look a bit unappealing. Even the Aragorn-son-of-Arathorn type face they use is a bit irksome. Further, naim is upgradable and modular enough that investing in upgradeable and modular stands seemed like adding yet another madness parameter into the mix. SHould I get another tier or should I hold out for an XPS or perhaps even go active or maybe I need the new black cable? No.

So I looked at Base. The master himself apparently has a Base platform under his CDS 2, so how could I go wrong? The unit is modular, but not upgradeable. When you get a new component (say an XPS or a power supply for your new Nap 500 - assuming they will take external power supplies as hinted at on the web page) you can just get another rack to sit on top of the rest. And they advertise that it gives equipemnt a more layed back sound, which was what I wanted and why I didn't choose mana. What steared me away was the price. I hadn't heard them but at about 700 Canadian per rack and said to be going up it just didn't seem like that great an investment. What was so special, I asked myself. I liked them and many naimees are happy with them, but an equal number of naimees said they found it killed the music or had no effect at all. This was offputting.

That's when a guy named Frank recommedned the Townsend Seismic Sink, said to be the final word on isolation and a working component in your system. From Base and Mana to Townsend was like going from passive to active. I was excited. But when I saw the price (about 4000) I almost had a heart attack. When I saw a picture I almost collapsed. No, I didn't want to site my CDX on top of an oil rig or R2-D2 look alike. Further, I am skeptical about the ability of air to isolate as I am a scientist and there are whole branches of spectroscopy dedicated to studying molecular vibrations by using ultra sensitive microphones in air in a sealed chamber. If air can't stiffle a benzene breathing mode, then how is it going to isolate my CDX?

It was then that a man in black came out of the shadows at some lurid cocktail party and whispered the words "Wilson Benesch" into my ear. "Carbon fiber," he said as he took a drag from his cigarello. And then he vanished. I was immediately intrigued. When I visited their web site was flaberghasted at how good the stands looked. The Triptych was a thing of beauty that should show up in the New York museum of modern art. But did it sound good? I wasn't convinced by their discussion on Young's modulus as it seemed like the usual technical jargon that accompanies most audio products. I hunted down some reviews and was happy to find that Hi Fi Choice found their asside rack to be a hair behind the Townsend that they said was the best available. That was good enough for me.

So I took the plunge. If the Triptych didn't do it, then all those audio nuts raving about stands were wrong and I'd invest my money instead in an XPS.


REVIEW. They said the CDX wouldn't sound good on glass, but the impact of the Triptych on my system was so immediate and large that a non audiophile firned who was staying and had admitted to being dissapointed with my system was suddenly dominating my stereo playing all of his CDs and raving about how great Naim was. The whole midrange opened up and became much more clear. What was instantly noticeable was more naturalism in vocals and loss of a leading edge. On top of this the bass was smoother and more rounded and the trebbles far more deatiled and resolved. Cymbals became softer and more clear while also becoming less piercing and obvious. A Radiohead track I was a and b ing with the Lovan stands revealed a whole new layer of detail with a strange spiralling marimba in the background that was ENTIRELY ABSENT from the CDX on the Lovans. Everything was much more deatiled but also more relaxed and smoother and TIDIER. For naimees I'd say we are looking at 0.75 hicaps or maybe .4 of an XPS in improvement. Easily worth the money. And the looks? The pictures are lovely but just get one at home and you'll know what I mean. MOMA here we come!

fifve stars just isn't enough. There seldom is a prodcut in which everything is done right and with such pinache that you just have to stand back and take a bow.