Sagatun and Sagatun Mono

[lejonklou]

tokenbrit: Thanks for sharing your impressions and nice meeting you!

rowlandhills: Yes, but when later revisiting the arrangement of using only one channel on each of two Tundras, it turned out to be nowhere near as good as a pair of Mono.

I wrote about why Sagatun Mono on page 2 of this thread:

So what differs and why is Sagatun Mono better?
The first advantage of Mono is that the power supplies run more quiet. At first, I thought this wouldn't make any difference, as the current consumption was already very low - one of the battles with Sagatun was to keep it as low as possible, because this was beneficial to sound quality . But nevertheless it turned out that almost cutting it in half was even better.

The second advantage is that with this lower power consumption and only one channel to optimise, it's possible to fine tune the supply a bit further. With two channels, any final tuning becomes a compromise between the two. But with one channel, it can be tuned to its peak. Again, the same applies to Tundra power amplifiers. So each Sagatun Mono go through a final tuning where I manually solder fixed value resistors, selected to an accuracy of less than 0.1%, into certain positions.

The third advantage with Mono is that the signal ground becomes separated in the HiFi system all the way from the source to the speakers. Currently in all the digital sources that I know of, the signal grounds for left and right channels are united. When used with Sagatun Mono and Tundra Mono, they will be united inside the source only and then separated, which prevents any ground loops from occurring. The same thing applies to Linn Urika and all phono stages that I know of: The signal grounds are first united and thereafter divided in two channels with my mono pre and power amplifiers.

If you were to use only one channel on each of two Sagatun stereo's, you would only get the third advantage. I don't think it's worth it.

[rowlandhills]

Thanks Fredrik. That makes sense, and I'd forgotten that post. In terms of my second question, though, would you agree:

If so, if I had a multichannel setup, with three linked Sagatun Stereos handling 5.1 surround, would I get noticeably better performance on stereo sources by using 1 channel on each of two Sagatuns rather than two channels on a single Sagatun?

For clarity, this assumes something like this:

SS1: Channel 1 Left, Channel 2 Surround Left
SS2: Channel 1 Right, Channel 2 Surround Right
SS3: Channel 1 Centre, Channel 2 Sub

i.e. the second channel on each Sagatun would be connected and in use for surround sources (TV, Blu Ray) but would not be in use for stereo sources (probably just KRDS in my case)

[lejonklou]

I doubt that your proposed setup is any better than having:
The Stereo channels on the first Sagatun,
the Centre and Sub on the second Sagatun, and
the Surround channels on the third Sagatun.

There is likely no ground separation advantage, as there would be signal grounds loops between several units.

In the past I've done similar "channel swaps" in both multi channel systems and in aktiv systems. My recollection is that it hasn't been any better.

[rowlandhills]

Okay, that's useful to know. Thanks.

I guess there could be some advantage when in source direct mode, as there would be no input connected to the source direct second input (if I was using it for my DS).

Obviously, at some point I'll probably try it myself to confirm...

[lejonklou]

I guess there could be some advantage when in source direct mode, as there would be no input connected to the source direct second input (if I was using it for my DS).

I assume that your reasoning is that one channel will perform a little worse when the second is also used. That the channels interact with one another. Correct?

That should not be the case with Sagatun. The stereo version is internally a dual mono design, so there is mimimal interaction between the two channels all the way from input to output. The only place where they meet is at the shared power supplies. But the way Sagatun is designed, the load on the power supplies is nearly constant, signal or no signal through the main board.

Obviously, at some point I'll probably try it myself to confirm...

Cool! Curious to hear whether a channel swap could actually be beneficial.

[tokenbrit]

If you can live without the rear surrounds for a while, rowlandhills, I might suggest 2 x Monos and a Stereo for the same initial outlay as 3 x Stereos:

SM1: Left
SM2: Right
SS1: Centre & Sub
(SS2: Surround Left & Right - later as further funds allow)

The Stereos are very good; just not as good as the Monos ;) Of course, you should confirm for yourself as you may find that 3 Stereos do it for you.

[Ron The Mon]

I was at the Lejonklou demo at Overture Audio a few days back and this is my first post here though I've been a lurker for many years.

The open house was advertised as a "Lejonklou products" event. I got there very early in the day and not once were the phono stages mentioned let alone auditioned. In fact, they must have been in another room because I don't remember seeing one at all!

The Tundras weren't discussed much at all either. There wasn't a Tundra "stereo" vs. "mono" demo that I remember though they were both on display and powered up. All demos I heard were with the Tundra mono power amps; and it sounded damn good!

The point of this event was to showcase the Sagatun mono preamp [three pair were sold that night!!!]. I got there just as Fredrik and Tom were finalizing how the demos were going to be. I was the guinea pig and first heard the Sagatun monos vs. Linn Klimax Kontrol. I heard the Linn being far better with the "tune" and a little more detail and clarity. Sagatun had better timbre and pace. I really didn't want to admit this aloud to Fredrik. I asked a few more questions first and it was then I realized I misunderstood the Tundras were mono, not the Sagatuns.

AHA! Then we compared the Sagatun stereo to mono (with the Tundra mono as amps). This was the big WOW! moment. The Sagatun mono had all the benefits of the Klimax Kontrol and Sagatun stereo combined with even more music and timbre.

This was the theme throughout the day and night. Every person made the same comments as me. One guy out loud apologized for liking the Klimax Kontrol better; misunderstanding again, compared to Sagatun stereo.

To be VERY clear, the Sagatun MONO costs less than the Linn KK!!! The Sagatun stereo is almost one-third that. If you are a "Linn amp" guy, you MUST audition these products.

"Lejonklou" fans are certainly an oddity. At one demo, I counted eleven people listening. Nine of us owned LP12/Radikals as our main source. One had an LP12/Lingo as secondary source and DS as primary. The eleventh had a Rega P25 as primary source but is trading it in next week toward an LP12. Lejonklou is for "source-first" aficionados.

During one demo, I realized I was the only person there who didn't own anything Lejonklou!!!! It made me feel naked and ashamed.

The next time Fredrik is in town, he'll probably be at my home hearing how good Isobariks sound powered from Sagatun and Tundra. It will be a treat for both of us!

The best demo of the night was the last with Fredrik still there. Many of us brought our own records and we all kind of voted on what to listen to near the end of the evening. One record everyone kept passing by was Machine Head by Deep Purple. We've all heard it before, right?

It wasn't until I quizzed the guy who brought it that it was a British first pressing; very special. This is a record I could play three times in a row and not start to get tired of it. At this point, I realized I was the only person in the room with balls to cue a Kandid after a few beers. So on went Machine Head, starting with Highway Star. This was the "HOLY SHIT!!" moment of the night. Fredrik ran back into the room playing air guitar, organ, and drums obviously well-versed in Purple-ology. He turned to me and said, "This sounds fantastic!". I told him it was a first pressing and he just nodded and kept jamming. I will never forget that day.

Ron The Mon
Needle-Freak

[Linncredible]

Thank you Ron The Mon for a most enjoyable and interesting post! Sounds like an evening to remember for a long time! :-) Can't wait to hear the Sagatun's with my own ears!

[Ozzzy189]

I too enjoyed that first post by Ron, especially the bit where Fred was miming and performing imaginary musical instruments!

[lejonklou]

I was at the Lejonklou demo at Overture Audio a few days back and this is my first post here though I've been a lurker for many years.
...

Hi Ron and welcome here!

Thank YOU for coming to the event and spreading wisdom about vinyl and pressings! It was very inspiring. I even got a record with me back home, which I played yesterday. Thanks for that as well!

I had a spledid time, and as Thomas can testify, I didn't want to leave although it was getting late. He basically had to drag me away.

Hope to see you all again!

[Ron The Mon]

Below the LP12 are two mono Tundras and a Linn DS (which was only played for half a song the entire day!). The next stack is two Sagatun monos and one stereo. Below that, the exemplary LP12 power supply; Radikal.

If you've been reading the Sagatun posts here, you should have guessed the temporary yellow LEDs I intended to show in this photo is the -20db mute mode. Fredrik apologized (and explained) for the really weird color coding of the LED on Sagatun. It changes color depending on mode and volume.

One customer at the demo bought a Sagatun stereo the week before and even though he loved the sound, couldn't figure out what the actual colors meant and was quite frustrated! Fredrik spent a good ten minutes explaining to us all the why, how, and what that one particular LED meant. Basically, the contamination the digital controls exert on the analog circuits is catastrophic to the music. Not just minimizing, but eliminating, this noise was Fredriks' goal.

One listener gave Fredrik a standing ovation congratulating him on such a clever solution to a quandaried problem. Actually, the guy didn't stand and clap, but that's how I heard the compliment. Fredrik has no reason to ever apologize for such a quirky system. Once you adjust to the color change, it is actually easier to understand than some "-db" numerals in dull light from across the room.

I wish I had taken a picture of the Sagatun remote control. It is the cutest damn thing you ever saw! It's a little key fob jobby. You may, of course, use your Linn or other such remote as well. However, the fob fits so easily in your hand and just a slight rotation of your thumb controls everything.

My attached photo unfortunately doesn't convey how sexy the Lejonklou products look together. I have seen Tundra stereo and mono in mixed systems in person and online. I have to say though that a full Lejonklou system looks sexy.

I would say more about the rack pictured above except my Polish-American liguistics won't succomb. If you're a regular visitor here, you know why.



Not much more to say here. Just look at the photo and drool. Yes, it's a Harbin movingui LP12/SE/Urika/Kandid. Record is The Young Gods T.V. SKY which draws the colors out of the plinth. The song Skinflower at full blast was a treat too.

Ron The Mon
Needle-Freak

[Ozzzy189]

I totally agree Ron. Why do you even need a volume number? Just alter the volume to the level you're happy with! Red dot, blue dot, numbers 56 or 70,who cares, just enjoy the music!

[Daniel]

Similar (same?) as the Kikkin. I think it worked great on that, easier to see the colors then numbers on a display imho.

Agree Ozzzy!

[Charlie1]

+1

Works great for me too.

All this praise for the Sagatun Monos makes me wish we'd had more time to listen to them and also do a comparison against the KK1. Not that I can afford either option :(

[Music Lover]

Why do you even need a volume number? Just alter the volume to the level you're happy with! Red dot, blue dot, numbers 56 or 70,who cares, just enjoy the music!

Even if I normally don't care about absolute volume and very seldom look at the volume display - I have to disagree :)
It's great to check the volume:
a/ when you are playing very loud, o be able to estimate when you need to decrease the volume avoiding getting hearing damages. (remember...volume and time are both factors that have to be considered)
b/ when plying music when my family are sleeping, knowing how much I can turn up the music.

By just selecting volume "by ear" you easily end up in a situation where you, over time, slowly increase the volume level.
At least for me...as I normally constantly feel a desire to increase the volume when the music is great and I'm diggin' like crazy

The Sagatun volume indication is an intelligent and elegant solution!

[Ozzzy189]

Lol, music lover, if someone upstairs shouts down to you to turn it down, then it's too loud. If you not enjoying the music, but dancing round like a mentalist to a particular song, then that's probably too loud too! I love the little light, much better to see.
Photo bucket gone mental, struggling with it, but there's the little remote.

[Ozzzy189]

[Charlie1]

Proper cuppa tea that Ozzzy - I can't bear a mug of warm milk!

I have the same remote. Works great and easy to fit your pocket.

[Ozzzy189]

Aye, well if yer evva up north, yer'll ger a reet gud un!

[ThomasOK]

That's what I like - a nice cup of tea. Bring a non-drinker the comments on getting an ale and curry don't do much for me, although I'd love the curries.

[ThomasOK]

I had promised a more thorough rundown of the Musical Evening we had at Overture Audio to introduce the Sagatun and Sagatun Mono to North America and here it is. This will be in two parts: the first is the longer one dealing with the actual musical event and the second shorter one talking a bit about Fredrik himself.

We had a wonderful Musical Evening with Fredrik Lejonklou on Tuesday July 15th introducing the Sagatun and Sagatun Mono to North America. The event took place from 5:00PM to 9:00PM although Fredrik was in the store all day and spent much time talking with people once we got the system setup and running properly. I’d like to start by thanking everyone who was able to attend. The people here were very enthusiastic, interested and inquisitive and you made Fredrik feel very welcome. Afterwards he told me he felt the room sounded very good, that he really enjoyed being with everyone and wished he could stay longer and that the musical evening was one of the best demonstrations he had the pleasure of performing.

The system, most of which is shown in the photos by Ron above, consisted of my own fully loaded LP12SE with Kandid and Chris Harban Movingui plinth connected to either my KK/2, the Sagatun Stereo or the Sagatun Monos, then to Tundra Monos and finally a pair of Dynaudio Focus 380 speakers. For those not familiar with this model Dynaudio (as Fredrik wasn’t until hearing them here) they are the top of their Focus line at $9500US which is mid-line for them. They are a largish floorstander (significantly bigger than Akubariks and close to K350s) that have two 8” woofers a 5.5” midrange and Dynaudio’s Esotar 2 tweeter. There was also an Akurate DSM with the volume control switched off as an alternate source. All the sources and electronics were installed on Harmoni racks as you can see in the photo and the preamps were all on Harmoni Tor shelves.

Fredrik and I went to the store the night before to evaluate what speakers to use. The only Akubariks we have are the Aktiv versions so they were ruled out as we wanted to use the Tundra amps. So we listened to three other upper middle-range speakers to decide which to use. Fredrik liked both the Dynaudios and the Vandersteen Treos. If we had the time we would have done more comparisons of the two as Fredrik found the Vandersteens likeable and quite interesting but in the end decided the Dynaudios sounded quite good in the room with the system so we used those. (It didn’t hurt that I had expected they would be the best choice from my previous listening so I had placed them pretty precisely in the room using tune method and had torqued all the drivers.)

So Fredrik and I were quite happy with how the system sounded and it got better after things warmed up. Since this was well before the event started we were firing on all cylinders for the demos. The main theme of the evening was the US introduction of the Sagatun and Sagatun Mono preamps and their comparison to our previous reference, the Klimax Kontrol/2. We did mention in one of the Facebook updates that we would have the full line of Lejonklou products on hand and indeed the Tundra Stereo, Slipsik 5.1 and Gaio were all in the room (with an LP12/Lingo2/Kore/Trampolin2/Ekos2/Aditk to plug into them) if anyone wanted to hear them. However, as Ron mentioned, none of them ever got played as everyone was so interested in the preamp comparisons and in general just listening to the music that nothing except vinyl on the maxed LP12 got played until the very end when a customer, quite reasonably, wanted to hear the Mono to Stereo comparison with a lesser source that would be closer to his KRDS and LP12/Lingo. A simple A/B with the ADSM was all it took to convince him that the Monos were easily superior even with a lesser source than his and therefore a Sagatun order was changed to a Sagatun Mono order!

Fredrik started each session with a little background on how he got involved in the Hi-Fi business and designing products in particular and in his process in designing them. This was quite enlightening and included information even I was unaware of. Then we went to the demo and this is where the real fun happened. First the Sagatun was compared to the KK/2 (all units that were not in the system were kept connected to the AC and turned on to eliminate warmup problems) and then the Sagatun was compared to the Sagutun Monos. The response was interesting and, I believe for both Fredrik and I, enjoyable. On the comparisons of the Sagatun and the KK/2 there was a mix of opinions. I didn’t do a precise poll but I would say that 40 to 50% of those listening had a hard time deciding which they liked better the other 50 to 60% generally preferred the Sagatun. Most felt that there were differences in presentation between the two but many found it hard to put into words. Those who preferred the Sagatun commented that they could pick up more emotion from the musicians, hear the subtleties of tone better and found the pace to be clearer. If I had to use a single word I would say they found the Sagatun more involving. At the same time everyone felt the KK/2 was also an excellent preamp and it seemed to sometimes show a bit more weight and control in the low end and a smoothness in the highs that could be alluring on some tracks. There was one track in particular (one by a Canadian vocalist called Feist) that even had Fredrik and I needing an extra back and forth comparison as it was very close and the KK/2 sounded really good on it. (I say that not because Fredrik and I can hear better than others, but because we have had more exposure to the Sagatuns and KK than anyone else there as I have had the Sagatuns for a couple of weeks.) I have a theory on that track which I will come back to later. The opinions expressed were similar to those of a few customers for whom I have done these comparisons over the last week or so. So far all of them have found the Sagatun and KK/2 (or the equivalent KK/1/D) very close although all did feel the Sagatun to be a bit more musical. As Ron stated at the event the more than $8000 difference in the US between the Sagatun and the KK/2 makes even equaling it, much less bettering it in important musical ways, a pretty stunning achievement. But the best is yet to come.

Once several of these comparisons were done and everybody felt like they had heard what they needed to of those comparisons things went to the next step: the KK/2 was moved to another rack but still powered up and the Sagatun Monos were compared to the stereo version. This was a whole different ball game! I would say that everyone there agreed that the Sagatun Monos were just in a league of their own. They not only did what the Sagatun stereo did even better than the stereo: things like the emotional involvement, the momentum of a piece of music, the incredible subtleties of tone and color with harmonics so clear it often sounded like the instruments were there, but even the places where the KK/2 had a slight edge were now being outperformed by the Sagatun Monos. These were things like bass extension and power, sweetness of the highs yet with even more definition. All this was accompanied by a very expansive yet solid image that several commented on. One person, a newcomer tomthe store brought by a friend, who had a difficult time deciding on the Sagatun vs. the KK/2 said that he felt the Monos were clearly superior to both. He also mentioned that he was afraid he couldn’t hear as well as the others there until the Monos came on and he could hear how much more music was coming through.

Once the Monos got up and running and had been compared a couple times nobody wanted to compare anymore – they just wanted to listen to more music. It is interesting to note that not a single person ever asked to compare back to the KK/2 once the Monos were playing. Instead one person after another brought out a record they had brought or requested a specific track from one of the couple dozen records I had brought from home. The talk became less about the equipment and more about the music being played. Several of the people there just wanted to stay and listen to music all night. Indeed, as Fredrik mentioned, I had to almost literally drag him out of there to make sure we got to the Ethiopian restaurant before it closed. As it was when we returned after dinner to pick up a couple of things so I could reassemble my system at home there were still a few people there just finishing up listening.

Now despite what Ron said I did not actually sell three sets of Sagatun Monos that night, although it is true I sent Fredrik home the next day with an order for three sets of Monos. But I had already sold one of the sets to a customer who had picked the Sagatun Stereo over the KK with his own records a couple of weeks before and then chose the Monos over the Stereo once I had them for him to hear. He did come to the musical evening and said that the very first track he heard on the Monos reconfirmed his decision. Another person who had bought a Sagatun from me decided to give it back unopened and wait for the Monos instead after hearing the comparison. The third set I ordered is a permanent pair for my main system at home as the demo pair is for sending to current and potential dealers to hopefully increase the number of dealers in the US. I’d also like to correct one other little thing which is that there is nobody who has been frustrated by the volume indication if for no other reason than that nobody outside the store has used it yet. As mentioned the only person who bought one already didn’t open it so he hadn’t used the volume control. Some people at the event were confused at first but Fredrik gave a very good explanation of how it worked and why it was chosen (musical quality of course!). Indeed so far those who have had a chance to use it, either trying out the Sagatun or previously on the Kikkin, have found it quite intuitive once you get used to it which really only takes a couple of times using it. Personally I find using the spectrum of light quite clever as we are all used to yellow, then orange then red as being increasing signs of warning so the fact that they represent volumes of 70 to 80, 80 to 90 and 90 to 100 fits perfectly. Once you get used to it you know about where in the color range you usually listen and where you want to be if you want it a little quieter or louder (and on Sagatun into Tundra it sounds really good a little louder ;-). The color indication on the Sagatun is even better than the Kikkin as the shift from one color to the next is gradual yet with a very clever pause in the movement of volume at every 10dB point. I certainly find the color indication easier to make out in my listening seat 13 feet away from my system than the tiny numerals on many displays and it also isn’t obscured by reflections from the window behind me.

I’d like to sum up by telling a few impressions that were told to me by the customers who had come to listen. There were several people there who said this was the best Hi-Fi system they had ever heard – strong praise indeed. But my favorite comment was from the gentleman mentioned earlier who had a hard time choosing between the Sagatun stereo and the KK/2. For the last track of the formal presentation I brought out something special. I have a 45RPM single of St. James Infirmary by Satchmo that was pressed in a limited edition on 200 gram Clarity vinyl by Classic Records a few years ago before they went out of business. While I am normally not into audiophile vinyl as I find the original pressings to be generally better, this is an exception. It seems like Classic really got everything right with the Clarity vinyl and the new profile they developed for it but the process of getting there seemed to have pretty much put them under. However, this record is just stunning not only having a “you are there” presence to it but also showcasing the voice as an instrument so capably demonstrated by Satchmo. I fell in love with this piece of music the first time I heard it in the store on black vinyl and even moreso when I was able to obtain the clear vinyl version. I had played this record for Fredrik the day before at my house on my system and noticed it brought a tear to his eye (as it has done to me at times). So I brought it to this event and put it on as the last piece. As it played the room became completely still and it was a few seconds after it ended before anybody said anything. Then, as many were getting up, the person I mentioned above came up to me and said “That was the most amazing musical experience I have ever had from a Hi-Fi system!” It is not every day you hear a comment like that and it is certainly, in my mind and I believe in Fredriks’, the reason we are in this business. What could be better than bringing that kind of joy into someone’s life by recreating lifelike, palpable music in their homes. And no preamp in my experience, and obviously in the experience of others that night, has done so like the Sagatun Monos (of course fed by the exceptional LP12SE/Kandid and feeding the excellent Tundra Monos and the rest of the setup). What an accomplishment for Fredrik!

[Ozzzy189]

Thank you for taking the time to write such a fantastic piece Thomas. I look forward to reading the rest. That was really enjoyable.

[anthony]

When I was at the launch I heard many combinations am Hidden Systems. It was only towards the end the system gelled. My favourite combination was kds sagatun monos and Ozzzy s tundra into akubariks. I still remember this as a very involving musical experience. Normally after a few weeks it is erased from my mind, this one certainly was not.

[ThomasOK]

This post is not about the Sagatun demo, nor is it about Lejonklou HiFi so it possibly doesn’t belong in this thread. But it is due to the visit for the Sagatun unveiling so I’m sticking it here anyway.

This post is about Fredrik as many have never met him in person, as I had not until this month. While this forum isn’t home to all the travel logs or cults of personality that some of the others are, after meeting Fredrik I felt it would be a good idea to talk about the visit more here even though it might embarrass him a bit. So we will have some photos along with the text.

To start out with Fredrik is really just a very nice guy. When I asked one of the regular customers a couple of days later how he liked the musical evening he said he really liked it and added: “Fredrik is really a breath of fresh air!” I’m not sure if I could have said it better. At the musical evening what was more obvious than anything was how much Fredrik is into the music, how much he loves it being reproduced well and how much he has put into allowing us to hear it with more emotional connection to the music than ever before. As Fredrik was demonstrating he was constantly dancing and playing air guitar to the music. (OK not constantly, he did stop short of playing air trumpet!) Indeed I made the comment at one point that you could tell he wasn’t a real salesman as he was dancing to the competition’s product ;-) He was so into the music he had a hard time lifting the stylus off the record to switch units. This to me is the essence of Fredrik: he has an obvious joy in what he is doing and also in life in general if my time with him is any example. Yet it is obvious from his works that he is very intelligent, quite clever and possessed of extreme determination - a fact that became more obvious to me as he told me of how hard designing the Sagatun was for him while he was doing it. Fredrik claimed at one point that he felt the Sagatun had aged him 10 years but you couldn’t tell it by me – he looks like he is still in his thirties! (Photographic evidence below.)

While he has that capability of focus and determination I found him to be very easygoing while he was here and he seemed to just enjoy everything with a constant smile on his face. Fredrik managed to get here the Saturday afternoon before the musical evening on Tuesday so we would have some time to talk, discuss business and just get to know each other better. If we had time we were invited to visit Salty Dog on his boat “Salty Dog” and spend time on Lake Michigan. Since I had wanted to show Fredrik what one of the biggest freshwater lakes in the world that surround Michigan was like we made time to go there. In fact we headed straight to Michigan City, Indiana from Detroit Metro airport and spent some time in the evening on the lake and talking with Salty. We slept on the boat to big thunder and lightening storms (Fredrik really enjoyed the lightning show), went out for a great Sunday brunch and had a few more hours out on the lake on a beautiful, sunny Sunday before saying goodbye and heading back to metro Detroit. The two and half hour to three hour drive each way gave us plenty of time to talk and share our experiences in the business and with music in general.

On Monday Fredrik, who “works as he walks” made the three mile walk to my house in the morning where he met Debbie, Jake and our black lab Bella. We spent a lot of time listening to my system, some of it with the KK/2 and much of it with Sagatun Monos, playing around with configurations of the Harmoni racks and exploring my music collection. A break for a home-made Greek salad (one of Fredrik’s favorite things) and back to more listening. Fredrik enjoyed a wide range of music from Devo to Satchmo to Porcuplie Tree and Led Zeppelin. Being my guest he had to be treated to at least one King Crimson tune (I chose “Starless”) but otherwise we mixed it up a lot. Many of the records we played I brought to the musical evening so he could use them if he wished. As mentioned in the other post the Satchmo track was a big hit. A nice dinner at our favorite sushi restaurant around here and then Fredrik and I went on to the store to test out speakers as already mentioned.

I have already covered the musical evening in detail so I won’t go into it again. Afterwards an Ethiopian dinner with Debbie and Jake was enjoyed by all and Fredrik was ferried back to Livonia. He had a morning flight so I picked him up at 9:00AM, drove him to the airport and bid farewell. When I got home I took advantage of the day off I had taken and the mostly empty house (except for Bella) and took a nap to recover from all the 5 hour sleep nights I had since Fredrik arrived (there just isn’t enough time in the day sometimes!). When I woke up four hours later I went into the kitchen where Debbie was sitting and she said she missed Fredrik already. I replied that I did as well. I think everyone who met him hopes he will return for a visit sooner than later and I hope he can schedule some more time so we can explore a bit more of the Great Lakes.

So a very enjoyable visit with a man who not only makes some of the best Hi-Fi in the world but is also just a fun, intelligent, modest and enjoyable human being. Our industry could use more like him.

Fredrik and Salty:


Salty Dog (the boat):


The stern:


Lake Michigan:


The setup in Studio C for the demonstrations:


Fredrik and the rarely photographed ThomasOK:


(It took forever to get that last photograph as neither Fredrik or I are very photogenic when we are posing for photographs.)

[tokenbrit]

A simply wonderful post, Tom. Thank you! I heartily endorse the wish for more visits and fun evenings of good company & great music.
Having had the pleasure of meeting Fredrik & hearing the demos, the Lejonklou range just makes even more sense now - I can hear how Fredrik's attention to detail, his enthusiasm for making the most musical products, his passion for music, all come through to make his system as enjoyable & engaging as possible. You are both a credit to the industry for understanding what matters most - thank you for helping to share the music!