Sonorus Audio ProximitySub Controller

Arian in Rick’s room, Kawero speakers, Berning 211 amps, Stillpoints equipment stand

A Unique Audiophile Learning Experience – What exactly is the Sonorus Audio ProximitySub Controller?

The older I get, the more resistant I become to change. Sometimes it takes a collision with something that your belief system cannot explain to cause you to re-examine those beliefs. For me this was occasioned by my recent visit to the home of an audiophile who had a rather memorable system, comprised of equipment which I had previously heard only at audio shows and never in a home setting.

The system that I heard was set up in a rectangular space (26’ by 16’ by 9’) with the speakers set up about one third of the length of the room from the front wall and the listening position about the same distance out from the opposite wall. Free standing Real Traps was also utilized for room treatment. This is not intended to be an exhaustive review of any of the equipment, which can really only happen when a single piece of equipment is inserted into a known environment and auditioned over an extended period of time. The equipment that I auditioned included the following:

Kawero speakers, Berning amps

Kaiser Kawero Classic speakers $75k

Berning 211/845 OTL amps $73.5K

Stillpoints Rack $21k

Stillpoints Ultra 5's. $21.7k

Stillpoints Ultra SS $3k

Spiral Groove 1.1 turntable $25k with Centroid tone arm $6k and Lyra Kleos cartridge $3k = $34k

SMc Audio VRE-1 Reference line stage - Silver Edition with CAST Silver Duelund caps, silver internal wiring, and Lundahl silver-wire transformers $48.5k

Fono Acustica Armonico speakers cables $19.9k 2.5 meters

Echole Omnia balanced interconnects:

One mtr $14.9k and 6 meter pr $35.4k = $50.3k

Wadax Pre One Mk 2 digital phono stage $38k

Wadax Hermes Server $7.67k

Sonorus Hi Fi One Proximity woofer + controller $12k

Furutech 5 meter FP-Alpha 3 AC cable w/ FI-50 MR and FI-50 R connectors for Proximity woofer $1.35k

Teac Esoteric 8N Reference Phono cable $2.4k

Essential Sound Products AC cords 7 @ $2k = $14k

Essential Sound Products Power distributor $3k

Stillpoints Aperture room treatments 6 @ $700 = $4.2k

Rear Traps room treatments $3.6k

Room treatment

Listening was exclusively to vinyl records played on a Spiral Groove 1.1 turntable + Centroid tone arm with the excellent Lyra Kleos cartridge. The phono stage was the digital Wadax PRE 1 Mk 2. It utilizes signal patterns captured as played on your turntable with a Wadax mapping lacquer, recorded with a hand held digital recorder, factory analyzed and sent back as fully individualized and calibrated ‘plug n’ play’ RIAA maps. The benefits include perfect channel balance and frequency linearity. The Wadax performed flawlessly and at no point called attention to itself. Records played included the following:

Stanley Clarke, If This Bass Could Talk, CBS OR 40923

Tom Jones, Praise and Blame, Lost Highway Records

Charlie Byrd, Direct to Disk, Crystal Clear Records 45 rpm

Fruhbeck de Burgos, Albeniz, Suite Espanol, ORG 45 rpm (ORG 100), reissue of London CS6581

Beethoven, Violin Concerto in D Major, Leonard Kogan/ Silvestri, Columbia SAX 2386, re-issue by Electric Recording Company (ERC005)

Arian adjusting the Proximity Controller