The fact that The Palladian performs best in all well-known audio disciplines and that it demonstrates excellence in immediacy and live character should now be more than clear. But with all the records heard along the test run, a primary experience has gained ground in an initially very subliminally, but then increasingly deliberate way:  Even within the wildest musical performances, or throughout fortissimo passages, or when facing brutal impulses, The Palladian unveils an integral sovereignty. You surely have experienced that particular kind of sensation that creeps up when a cartridge tracks a critical passage, yet without distortion, but the feeling sets in that something of a limit has been reached, and more consequently would endanger a stress-free playback. The Palladian doesn't raise these concerns at all. It is always in charge of the situation – and therefore you are able to enjoy even the most violent musical attacks in full intensity, yet highly relaxed. Magnificent!

After taking my decision for the final load impedance of 150 ohms, I granted The Palladian some more of my records, and a few days later subsequently awoke the long unused JR Tamino from his slumber, letting it play two album sides right away. Months ago, I had opted for the lower terminating load of 40 ohms, as this impedance supported the Tamino's full-bodied, colour-intense and physically palpable acoustic depiction. A few minutes of Zakir Hussain's fantastic album were sufficient to make clear that the analogue division of my playback system nourishes its fascination not only through Acoustical Systems' combo: The JR Tamino mounted to the Thales tonearm lets oneself delightfully indulge in iridescent sounds, while the Acoustical Systems duo lets Making Music unleash a slightly richer dose of adrenaline. Its dynamics make the live experience a touch more tangible. It remains to be seen which proportion of the sound quality can be allocated to the cartridge or to the tonearm, in both cases equipped with non-interchangeable internal wiring. However, for me there is only one conclusion to be taken out of this:  As of now, I want to listen to a lot more records again, no matter which of these two tantalizing high-class cartridge systems I use.