Words by Rafe Arnott, photography courtesy of Esteban Pasquale, pictured above.
A listening space. What is it to each of us who pursue to perfect this domain? In a hobby divided along tribal lines, each subset fiercely territorial in their machinations, can there be agreement to the parameters such a space should adhere to? I believe there is a deep undercurrent of tightly-held beliefs that above all else a listening space should be where one can escape everyday stresses which pervade modern life in this digital age of information overload.
These oases of sonic exploration, and one hopes, tranquility as opposed to anxiety (Are my AC cables good enough...?), can help encourage relaxation not only for the one curating them, but for their familes, friends and even pets. After all, should not a hi-fi system constructed around the pursuit of fidelity to the recorded event engender the sharing of music playback? Is not the system itself merely the means to an ends; the enjoyment of sharing music with the people who make up our short lives on this small planet which has given us millions of artists, each producing dozens of recordings aimed at providing pleasure, solace, and enlightenment?
Each listening space, like a fingerprint, is as unique as the individual putting it together – from the source material, equipment chosen, the sofa or chair one reclines on, to the room dimensions and furnishings. These all add up to an equation too complex in its number of variables to be processed as a whole. But, like zooming in on a massive digital image, close examination reveals the whole consists of many pixels... these pixels represent those individuals committed to creating a room for music and its enjoyment, and it is these singular lights this column focuses on.
As I’ve written previously regarding this, a listening space is a structure for the deep exploration of music’s impact on our collective and individual psyches. And so, Listening Space is back with a fourth instalment (Read the first HERE, the second HERE, and the third HERE). This time around we spend time with Esteban Pasquale of New York City.
This escape into hi-fi journalism is supported by Hi-fi Centre.
"My way of seeing hi-fi is a process of learning and understanding where the gear that I'm listening to stands in history, why it was made the way it was, in what period it was made, and what music was on trend at the time that the gear was created."
–Esteban Pasquale
Resistor Magazine: Who is Esteban Pasquale and why does he have so much hi-fi?
Esteban Pasquale: “If there is a word that describes me, it is passion. My whole life has been driven by passion. To answer the why and how I started collecting hi-fi gear, I need to go back to the moment I quit working as a lawyer to start my hand-made bespoke motorcycle company Pasquale Motors. Since that moment I understood that following a life driven by my passions was the way to go. That journey took me to so many different places and taught me a lot, I started realizing that learning new things kept my head spinning and hungry. After some years building bikes I moved to New York City from Bogota, Colombia. This new path opened learning opportunities and I started building racing Porsches for DeMan Motorsport.
"At this point one may realize my passions are closely related, and I love all mechanical things and I love to understand how things work and are built. On the path of building race cars, I got obsessed with coffee and espresso machines, that took me into a completely different direction where I started experimenting more with the coffee and the coffee machines. My obsession and passion led me to opening a coffee company with a friend that use to be a DJ in London. This part of the story is important because that friendship reintroduced me to the record player, in the form of a Technics SL 1200MK2 paired with a Cambridge integrated amp and a set of bookshelf speakers from Mordaunt Short.
"This opened a whole new world which didn’t have any ending and that is what I love about collecting, researching and the most important thing – learning about gear. My way of seeing hi-fi is a process of learning and understanding where the gear that I'm listening to stands in history, why it was made the way it was, in what period it was made, and what music was on trend at the time that the gear was created. All of that unlocks a whole new universe of people, music, and ideas.”
Photo left: Pasquale's living room system consists of a Thorens TD150MK2 paired with a Grado Gold, a Kenwood KA8006 and a Marantz 1090 driving a Hafler P230 power amp. Pasquale rotates between a pair of JBL 4311XWA, JBL L96, and Infinity Quantum 5. Photo below: A pair of Infinity Quantum 5 loudspeakers paired with a VPI Scoutmaster turntable and Allnic H1202 phono amp driving a Byston 11B preamp, and Bryston 4b power amp.
Resistor Magazine: What got you started down the strange path of high-end audio?
Esteban Pasquale: “After being reintroduced to records I started reading and decided to buy a Thorens TD150 and a Kenwood KA8006, I showed my new toys to a cousin (Juan) who has always loved music and he started talking to me about soundstage, dynamics, and imaging. Terms that were strange to me at the time, but are now part of my day-to-day existence. This first conversation with Juan made me realize I had a whole new world to explore ahead of me, a never-ending world of all the things I love; music, machines, design, and passion.
"I still remember the first day that a song gave me chills. I was listening to Roberta Flank’s Quiet Fire album in my main system which was comprised at the time of a ROTEL RX1050 paired to a JVC QL A7 and JBL 4311WXA. That day I understood that all the reading and learning was just for one reason, and that reason is the music. The learning process has been through browsing, talking to other passionate people and some podcasts: Thehifipodcast, Beginneraudiphile, and Brokenrecord.”
Resistor Magazine: How often do you listen to your system? All day? A few hours? Less?
Esteban Pasquale: "I try to listen every day to at least three complete records. The days when life gets between my listening session, I feel something is missing. Besides the listening sessions I always try to play records when I'm cooking.”
Resistor Magazine: Did you grow up with music? Was it an important part of family life, or just whatever was on the radio?
Esteban Pasquale: “For my family music was important. My father and mother love music and I grew up listening to records, cassettes, and CDs. My father was obsessed with music and the reproduction of music, he still owns a Sansui set that he bought in the ‘80s. We grew up with a big collection of records and a bigger collection of CDs. I still remember that my father used to have two different sets of speakers, one for the living room and another for the dining room. When I was growing up, I never paid attention to their music which was mostly Salsa, Merengue, and Boleros. My father also liked classic rock, those records now are part of my collection.”
Photos above: Left – The living room and second system. Right – A Shelter 501 MKII moving-coil cartridge in the upstairs bedroom system.
Resistor Magazine: Do you play any musical instruments?
Esteban Pasquale: “When I was young, I took some drum lessons, but I was never consistent or good so I stopped taking them.”
Resistor Magazine: Do you remember the first LP (or cassette or CD – physical media) you ever bought?
Esteban Pasquale: “Yes, I remember as if it was yesterday. I’m from Colombia and as you probably know we have different releases than the United States. I'm telling you all of this because I remember that I saved money, went to a special record store where they used to import the US and European releases and I bought the Blink 182 Buddha CD. I still have that copy in Colombia, but I no longer listen to CDs and rarely Blink 182. My music interest has shifted completely with the development of my system.”
Photo above: Altec A7 Voice of The Theatre (VOTT) loudspeakers rotated into the bedroom system.
Resistor Magazine: Could you describe your record collection? Do you cover a lot of genres, tend to focus on key ones? Or is it a free-for-all?
Esteban Pasquale: “I have a lot of jazz, I actually use one of the first records that I bought for $5 at my local record shop to test any changes or additions to my system. That record is Steve Grossman Perspective. But I also have Salsa, reggae, soul, funk, and classic rock. I like Japanese pressings and I try to buy everything that crosses my path that can introduce me to new sounds, new ways to push my system. When I'm searching for records, I have a rule: I buy all the African music that I can find and lately I'm buying bluegrass and good vocals. And I think that new phase in my record collection responds to the addition of the ALTEC A7 to my main system. But basically free-for-all.”
Resistor Magazine: I know a lot of people have completely changed the way they buy LPs since Covid hit. Do you shop online, or do you still love searching through the stacks at a new (or old) bricks and mortar store, thrift shop, record fair, etc. Or is it a mix of all of it?
Esteban Pasquale: “Since I started buying LPs, I promised myself to search for records every time I’m traveling and that became a tradition. I love the sensation of going though dusty records and finding that special record which has been waiting there for years. I love the idea of getting home, cleaning the record, checking the art, and realize how old the record is – hat makes me feel alive. I also order records since I like to collect Japanese pressings, Salsa music and audiophile pressings that you normally wouldn’t find in the wild. I think record stores, thrift shops and garage sales add a special magic to the whole experience of playing records, also the record stores create opportunities for a good exchange of experience and knowledge with fellow members of this path.”
Resistor Magazine: Music first, or gear first? Which is the master, which is the servant?
Esteban Pasquale: “For me it’s a little bit weird, but I can say that they are interconnected. That said, what got me into this journey was the gear and I can't deny that I love the gear. I love the who, the how and the why of every piece of gear that I own. I love to explore and experiment with different lines of thought, from the high efficiency speakers like my Altec or my Klipsch Cornwalls, to the low efficiency, high demand of the Thiel CS 3.6. At the end of the day they are so interconnected that you need the music to enjoy your gear and you need your gear to enjoy the music.”
Resistor Magazine: Describe your current system(s) in detail and how you ended up with what you have.
Esteban Pasquale: “Right now I have two systems. My main system lives in our master bedroom and consists of a custom rack that I designed and built with two shelves made of one-and-three-quarter-inch bamboo. Those shelves are suspended with four pieces of sorbothane into a steel frame that is filled with sand and rests on spikes. The whole idea of this rack was to decouple my gear from the room and from each other. My gear consists of a VPI Scoutmaster turntable fitted with a Shelter 501MKII, the tonearm is a VPI JMW Unipivot. The turntable rests on a solid piece of bamboo that is suspended with four IsoAcoustic pucks. This turntable is connected to a Allnic H1202 phono amp through Morrow Audio RCA cables.
"I have two sets of preamps and power amps; my reference set consists of a Byston 11B preamp, Bryston 4b power amp and my more warm set consists of a Aragon 24KSP preamp and a Yamaha P2200 power amp. These are connected with Mogami cables. I have all the preamps and the turntables wired with Morrow power cables connected into a Pangea Quattro. From the Pangea to the wall, I use a Puritan Audio Labs power cable. In terms of speakers, I have three sets for this system. Klipsch Cornwall 1.2 1985, Thiel CS 3.6 and my latest addition Altec Lansing Voice of The Theatre (VOTT) A7 with an 808 compression driver, a 511b mid horn, 421 8LF woofer. I also added a JBL 075 super tweeter connected via a high-pass filter (Jantzen Audio Silver ZCap 1.5uf). For speaker cables I use GR Reseach 24-strand cable.I describe my reference system as natural sounding with a wide and deep stage, the combination of the Shelter and VPI bring a lot of definition into the sound without being overwhelming or harsh, the Allnic adds the magic of tubes without the full coloration of the music.”
Photos above: Left – Vintage Klipsch Cornwall in the upstairs system. Right – A JBL 075 supertweeter crossed over with Jantzen Audio Silver-Z capacitor on the A7 VOTTs."
“Now in terms of the amps, the Bryston tends to be more analytical and cold sounding than the Yamaha, both are powerful and can drive a good range of speakers, and have really good dynamics. Regarding the speakers, I can say the Thiels are super detailed on the top end, they are more analytical, and they present the music close to how it was recorded. That means if the recording is bad it’s going to sound really bad. They are the closest to a full-range speaker in my arsenal. The Cornwalls are really good with dynamics and create a good stage, but they don't image as well as the Thiels, and getting them to disappear demands time with the placement and the room treatment.
“Last but not least, my dream speakers, from when I started this journey – the Altec VOTT (Voice of The Theatre). They were just a dream; they were expensive and huge. A month ago I found these speakers, or well, they found me. I bought them from the original owner who used them as his band’s PA system during the ‘70s. They were a little bit rough since they used to travel on the back of a van. The 511b horns were inside a wooden cabinet wrapped in black vinyl, the Altec 825 cabinets were painted about five times. I fully restored them.
“My secondary system consists of my Thorens TD150MK2 paired with a Grado Gold. For amps I use a Kenwood KA8006 and a Marantz 1090 pair with a Hafler P230 power amp. I rotate between a pair of JBL 4311XWA, JBL L96, and Infinity Quantum 5.”
Resistor Magazine: Would you describe your sound system as an emotional touchstone for you? As in, does it promote well being in your life?
Esteban Pasquale: “Yes, the system and the music that I listen to is like a catalyst for my life. The music is energy and being able to listen in this intimate way is a blessing. Also, the joy that it brings to hear amazing concerts on your own system can't be described, because you put so much effort into learning and after trial and error you get your indescribable outstanding sound – you have the musicians in your listening room. It's a unique sensation that gives you energy to continue with your day. Also, it makes you feel part of a community where you can help or someone else can help you.”
Resistor Magazine: What have you learned about high fidelity over the years you’ve curated your equipment? What advice would you pass on to those looking to explore this world and curate a system of their own?
Esteban Pasquale: “My first advice is that it is not good to rush the process. Curating a good system is time consuming, but the time that you are going to spend is time listening. The only way to curate your system is listen to it. My second piece of advice is don't trust one source and always ask questions. Don’t be afraid of contacting others with queries. In my experience there is a lot of information out there, so it’s always good to hear different positions on the same topic. If you plan to start and you are on a tight budget invest in a good set of speakers, don't get stressed thinking about cables. And remember happy wife, happy life, get some records for her as well.”
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