RMAF 2019 Show Report Part 7: Acora Acoustics, Esoteric Audio, Audio Research Corporation

Audio Creations Outperforming & Redefining Acoustics, or ACORA, sounds to me like the centerpiece of a yawn-inducing corporate powerpoint presentation. That, and the fact that they follow their acronym Acora, which ends with ‘Acoustics,’ with the word ‘Acoustics,’ was enough to make me giggle as we walked through a large area toward the system set up at the end of their giant room.

What made me stagger backward for a moment was the sight of a full Esoteric Audio source component stack, featuring one of my favorite preamplifiers the Grandioso C1, a K1 disc player and the matching word clock unit. We’ve had both components (minus the word clock) come through my testing station at The Music Room in the past year, and it was cool to see and hear them synced up, proprietary connections and all, and shown in their full glory.

And what would one use to amplify such a regal analog signal? How about a giant pair of Audio Research Reference 750SE tube monoblocks. Why not.

The quality that I took away from listening to the 4-foot-tall solid granite Acora Acoustics SRC-2 floorstanding speakers was an easy sense of “bigness.” This was a huge room on the lower floor of the convention center, and an immensely challenging load. And it wasn’t a perfect showing, but it was impressive to my ears… and eyes. Anywhere I sat or walked around the listening zone existed a richness of sound that was easy to love.