According to Luis Fernandes' experience, a further improvement of the racks' tonal qualities was only possible by increasing the rigidity of the construction. Therefore, as a first step, he introduced the Carbofibre° shelves for the current racks and then, as a last consequence, built the Carbon Edition, where all maple parts are covered with carbon layers all around using hard-hardening glue. That's already a considerable effort, but Finite Elemente raises the bar even a little higher: for one thing, according to the developer, the fibre course is important with carbon in order to achieve the desired tonal effect. On the other hand, Finite Elemente also pays the utmost attention to the appearance of its products. Even in the gaps between the frame and the shelves, which are visible from above, there is not even the slightest offset in the fibre orientation: In any case, I am no longer surprised by the prices, which start at 17,550 euros for a 71-centimetre-wide rack with two levels and still don't end at 37,350 euros for the 85-centimetre version with five levels. Finally, there is also a 123-centimetre double-wide version and surcharges for heavy-duty versions of individual levels and high-polished side pillars.

As fascinated as I am by the Carbon Edition's visual appearance, ultimately it's all about the sonic aspects and so it's time to settle down in the listening room. Here, the DAVE from Chord Electronics serves as converter and preamplifier. It drives two ASCENDO DNA 1000.2 HE mono amps, which provide the power for two Audio Physic Midex speakers. The source components consist of a Melco N100 with D100 drive and a Lyngdorf CD-2, which are connected to the DAVE via an M-Scaler powered by a Plixir linear power supply. The components are usually placed on a 123 centimetre wide Carbon Edition rack with three levels. However, the cable between the CD-2's S/PDIF output and the M-Scaler's BNC input is long enough to allow the CD player, which serves solely as a data source, to be placed on each of the three adjacent racks.

For a first impression, the CD-2 took its place on the upper level of a first-generation Pagode Edition with MDF sandwich shelves resting on spikes: I knew neither the song chosen for comparison nor the system, but was not particularly taken with the sonic result. The music flowed rather sluggishly out of the Midex and the reproduction was anything but transparent. The term "swampy" inevitably came to mind. And, this shouldn't be due to the fact that the system in my listening room has been spoiling me at the highest level for years, because the system in the Finite Elemente listening room certainly plays at a much higher level than my smallest combo of Aries Mini, NAD and Dynaudio Emit M 20, with which I often listen to music with entire enjoyment. The given potential of Lyngdorf, Chord, Ascendo, Audio Physic and cabling from Transparent was immediately apparent after the CD-2 had been moved to the upper level of the Pagode MKII: the chosen track sounded much clearer and more transparent - and you really don't need bat ears to notice this serious difference. No wonder Luis Fernandes describes the sandwich shelves of the first Pagode generation as overdamped from today's perspective.