Constellation Audio Inspiration Integrated 1.0 amplifier

Bill Laswell’s slightly crazy remix of Carlos Santana on Divine Light [Epic] was utterly mesmerising. It’s spacey and occasionally cosmic, a bit like Carlos himself, but the Constellation lit it up like a beacon. I’ve heard ultra-high-end systems flatten the perspectives and bleach the colours of this album, but not here. The Constellation drifts the waves of mysticism across the room from the opening track and then the bass starts. It always takes me a bit by surprise but it’s hard not to be captivated by the superb mix and the ambient elements that Laswell is a master of as the piece takes shape. The soundstage, so unfathomably dense through lesser amplifiers are opened up gloriously. Bill creates a delicate world that is so very light that he literally paints a rainbow picture in sound. Weird? Yes, definitely, but bring it on and let it take you with it. That creamy, liquid midband combined with the full range of mixing tricks and effects thrust a mood into the room and your head that is memorable as the Constellation resolves the micro musical nuance that lies within the detail and shows you the core of the piece, at the same time as sounding beautiful, fully resolved and totally together

If it excels at the big and complex, then it is equally impressive on the seemingly simple. ‘Wayfaring Stranger’, the classic American folk tune from Grateful Dawg [Acoustic Disc] by David Grisman and the late Gerry Garcia is a simply arranged live recording with a couple of gloriously out of tune vocals that is so compelling because of its sheer reality and straightforward instrumentation. It could hardly be more different from Bill Laswell’s Divine Light but it is no less compelling. The Constellation shows what a charmingly intimate amplifier it can be. It even makes a banjo sound good and that will do for me. The song is from Grateful Dawg which is not an offering that has undergone much in the way of studio mastery or post-production enhancement, I would think. But it’s the straight-up charm and, of course, the quality of the playing from the guys and their bluegrass sidekicks which make it so real and so interesting. The Inspiration Integrated 1.0 just lets it all through. Atmosphere all the way but very different indeed from another largely acoustic album that has charmed me. Julian Lage is, I believe, one of the finest guitarists on the planet at the moment, electric or acoustic, and I am particularly fond of his collaborations with Chris Eldridge. On Avalon from 2014 [Modern Lore] they use a simply recorded, dry acoustic space to demonstrate some stellar musicianship and show just how expressive, versatile and real this classic format can be. The Constellation showcases the wealth of tonal shading, stunning clarity and texture that these two embellish through thicker, wound strings to breathe life and touch-ability to the music. The speed and eloquent note control plays right into the amplifier’s considerable strengths and illustrates exactly how to tell a story through an instrument. I’ve never heard it sound better.

Bass player, singer and writer extraordinaire Meshell Ndegeocello and her music often present severe demands for any audio system to deal with but on Ventriloquism, from 2018 [Naive], her approach is more considered. This is an album of other people’s songs, unified through her unique production and style. If your amplifier isn’t ultra-resolute at all levels and a superb translator of interwoven themes and nuanced textures then the denser tracks will perhaps leave you unmoved. But no detail remains unresolved as the Constellation never drops a stitch here and it has ever-changing presentation vistas that can grow and grow through the Wilson Audio Duettes. It conjures up vast yet intimate backdrops and then pushes an instrument or voice straight out of the picture, while retaining absolute control of the superb bass that is so much a part of her musical identity. No vagueness, just focus and pinpoint accuracy in the most musical sense. Rhythmically the Constellation is right on the button regardless of the tempo.