A long-term partner with multifaceted personality

“…My Boss, ‘I know from the distributor that The Source has been discontinued for years. Many users have asked Einstein whether they will make a vacuum tube CD player again. By popular demand, Einstein made more than a dozen The Source Ultimate, and Hong Kong has been allocated two of them.’…”

“…My Boss, ‘I have listened my Source at home for five nights a week for ten years. It never has any issues and still sounds good. It’s that great!’”

“It is so fly and the rhythm is clear. The vital dynamics and infectiousness give people the urge to jump along when they listen!”

“The Ultimate’s instant response is as fast as a supercar. When you step on the gas pedal, it goes from 0 to 60 miles per hour in two seconds, and other cars end up eating the dust it leaves behind. Of course, that’s cool!”

“[When playing the Romeros’ Famous Spanish Dances,] the steel-string guitar has a clear tone … you can almost smell the metal from the vibration of each steel string, like a sword blade that cuts through the air. Though its sound is sharp, it is not harsh; when there are vocals, the sound of real flesh and blood singing is sensational!”

“The sound of the classical guitar is elegant and smooth, with just the right amount of richness. Its aftertaste is round and sweet, and lingers for a long time… The Ultimate replays the reverberations of these overtones, and the details are so nuanced, it is as though you are there in person.”

“The strength and explosiveness of the Ultimate is unreserved. It is fierce but not aggressive, fast but not hurried. Its fire does not cause unbearable pain, but it does ignite passion in your heart, so much so it makes your blood boil and you want to dance when you hear the song!”

“When the Ultimate replays an excellent recording of the guqin from Guangling Qin Yun [Guqin Melodies from Guangling], the overall tone is clear and dewy. Like ageless poetry, the ending rhymes are intertwined, the guqin’s cavity rich with resonance, its strength coalesces and dissipates with changes in volumes and rhythms being natural and smooth. ”

“What testing the sound of string instruments on Zheng Jing’s Bach Sonatas & Partitas album … it was ‘sugar and spice, and all things nice’. The sound of the violin’s wooden cavity coupled with the strong swipes across strings made for smooth and pleasant listening… When I listened to [Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist] Derrin Nauendorf earlier, the clear transporting sound of the recording made it feel as though our listening space was enlarged several times!”

“Since the Ultimate is good for blasting music, let’s rock with it! With The Cranberries’ signature song Zombie, the Ultimate lived up to our expectations: the electric guitar was wild and the impact of the bass came through. The lead singer Dolores O’ Riordan’s endlessly changing voice, whether it was seamlessly transitioning between her head, her chest, and mixed in-between; the free alternation between her own voice, falsetto, and breathing, or the unrestrained dash between treble, midrange, and bass ¾ the Ultimate was magnificently utilized…. When playing You Make Me Feel So Young in Mayte Alguacil’s album Trav’lin ‘Light on the Ultimate, at the beginning, the plucked strings were dancing freely with the double bass … Mayte Alguacil’s voice was fresh, sweet, and intimate; she mouths the lyrics meticulously, and one can almost feel her exhale like a fragrant orchid when listening to the song.”

“When it came to the piano… the notes I heard condensed into beads of pearls… The sound is colourful and clear… the levels of resonance from the midrange to the bass are clearly defined … When I tried playing the fourth movement of The Heavenly Nights with Charles Dutoit conducting the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the speedy tempo at the beginning of the concerto, felt like a stormy sea … In addition to the tense and thrilling atmosphere, it also instantly created a large and deep sound field. When it was time for the violin solo… the complex texture of the bow rubbing against the strings, and the rich resonance of the violin’s chamber made the physical form of the violin came to life… The Ultimate’s sensitivity and speed, its unrestrained dynamics made the music so exciting, it leaves you with the feeling that you’re jumping off on a free-fall theme park ride. Your heart almost leaps away from your chest!”

“The Ultimate uses the Philips CDM2 Pro laser pickup system that is famous for its strong analogue flavour. When it is coupled with the Ultimate’s harmonics and airy vacuum-tube amplification, there is barely any loss in projecting vocals and acoustic instruments.”

–        Doraemon x Drug Addict

HiFi Review – February 2020