The first week of Trust Your Ears is done.
This week I have been living with Till the Sun Turns Black by Ray LaMontagne.
The setup was deliberately simple. A pair of Acousta 117s with PM6A Sinfonia, a modest EL84 Class AB push-pull integrated amplifier, and Tidal. No vinyl. No heavy system building. Just a clean, accessible(ish) entry point into the Lowther sound.
I have to admit I loved it.
What stood out most was the depth. The way the music moves across the soundstage feels unforced and alive. It is not as wide as you might expect from a larger horn system, but the sense of space and motion more than makes up for it. Instruments drift, overlap, and breathe in a very natural way. It pulls you into the record rather than pushing sound at you.
I hope many of you managed to set aside some proper time to listen this week.
That time matters. Research consistently shows that focused listening lowers stress, improves attention, and supports memory. Even short daily sessions can reduce mental fatigue and help regulate mood. In a world of constant noise, deliberate listening is a reset. Trust Your Ears is meant to give you permission to take it.
Looking ahead, the votes suggest next week’s album will be Nightclubbing by Grace Jones. I am very much looking forward to that shift in tone and production.
Please keep adding albums to the list and recommending recordings you feel are exceptionally well mastered. Digital or vinyl. Old or new. We want to build a catalogue shaped by real listening, not charts or algorithms.
We genuinely live for this.
Thank you for listening.
“Awesome - sound quality sounds great through my DX4.”
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