Search results

  1. K

    Los Angeles Audio Show ‘25 at the Hilton Orange County Costa Mesa Hotel on January 17-19, 2025

    as someone who lived in LA for 20 years until 2023 and saw the show's demise over time for the largest market in the country, yes I think I'm correct.
  2. K

    $100k Speaker Cables

    the $75k silver speaker cables in the Aries Cerat room at Axpona were funny...
  3. K

    Sonus Faber goes all out.

    Disclaimer on a forum lol. Nobody forced you to click.
  4. K

    40+ watts SET

    my suggestion is a different speaker if you want SET amps.
  5. K

    KeithR's "Dream Speaker" Search

    Overall show thoughts - sound was pleasantly good in most rooms. There were a few misses, but I'm not going to go there this year. Traffic was good even on Sunday until late afternoon. I was there when the Junkie shot the Focal room at 2pm on Sunday with 50 people squeezed in. Speaking of...
  6. K

    KeithR's "Dream Speaker" Search

    I did, but didn't get any pictures there or in your room funny enough (you guys had tons of people at all hours). Both were sounding good. Others I liked but didn't grab shots: Clarisys w/ Hegel Sonus Faber w/ SPL Mofi w/ BAT (looked much better than the last Jones creation)
  7. K

    KeithR's "Dream Speaker" Search

    And finally, the best experience of the show was afterhours in the Stenheim/VTL playing the 50th anniversary reissue of Dark Side of the Moon. The ~50 person crowd was mesmerized for 45 minutes!
  8. K

    KeithR's "Dream Speaker" Search

    And #2 on the kit list, the absolutely massive Pathos Legacy. You can't imagine how big it is until you see it. Just beautiful Italian hybrid design.
  9. K

    KeithR's "Dream Speaker" Search

    One of my favorite pieces of "kit" at the show - the Riviera APL preamp SE. It was a monster!
  10. K

    KeithR's "Dream Speaker" Search

    Super system showing only $50k/pair speakers. I thought on the ubiquitous Fink Live it sounded very nice with good tone. Bass was tighter than many of the bigger rooms.
  11. K

    KeithR's "Dream Speaker" Search

    One of the show surprises - as I usually don't care for Sonus Faber. But with a Hana red cartridge, analog sounded very good with some get up and go on the Accuphase electronics. All for a much more moderate price level than most here.
  12. K

    KeithR's "Dream Speaker" Search

    For the super systems, Elliott really had this room improved over last year with the room treatments and detailed setup. Had it all on the Riviera Labs, great bass. I still don't know what to think of amps that are tuned by ear basically, but for a half hour it worked for me!
  13. K

    KeithR's "Dream Speaker" Search

    Best of show in a lot of columns, rightfully so. The O96 never had bass I could warm up to, but the new O Bronze was far tighter and natural. The holographic image was spooky in the room not doubt due to the Komuro amplification. Lou Reed sounded "in the room."
  14. K

    KeithR's "Dream Speaker" Search

    Remember Sadurni Horns with the huge ugly red horns that were like 3' deep? Me too. Well these weren't horns and looked like Anthony Gallo clones and sounded vivid, dynamic for a full range driver at 98dbs. The lovely Viva Solista completed the package (high audio drool factor).
  15. K

    KeithR's "Dream Speaker" Search

    Our forum setup wizard Todd did a remarkable job on the new Mezzos. I did not get the sweet spot on the iTron but on Sunday hard them on the Phasemations and it sounded sublime. Locked in, dynamic with great tone were my notes and no driver discontinuities. I continue to think AGs require true...
  16. K

    KeithR's "Dream Speaker" Search

    George Counnas and I had a great conversation listening to good classical on the Tidals. Excellent timbre, don't think they needed the big Eros 500s but couldn't hurt ;)
  17. K

    KeithR's "Dream Speaker" Search

    The Fern & Roby setup was the best "small" system I heard - and the entire system costs 20% of the usual suspects. The new SS integrated that Christopher showed looked promising. If I had a mountain house, I'd just buy this entire setup and spin records up there.
  18. K

    KeithR's "Dream Speaker" Search

    Yes, that's our fearless forum leader in front of me. The big WVLs sounded fantastic on jazz and electronica. Colin has a great ear for non-audiophile music as well. Next door Cessaros were doing their thing in Catalano's room but unfortunately I forgot to take a picture. Melanie de Blasio was...
  19. K

    KeithR's "Dream Speaker" Search

    Well, my favorite rooms at Axpona: The $200k Credos, although perhaps a tough sell in the US, sounded big open and dynamic. The bass drivers were integrated with the line arrays unlike 90% of the usual ones including the former Pipedreams. Tone surprised me on the emmlabs electronics which...
  20. K

    Re-imagining "Class A" Amplification

    Congrats, all. This looks like an amazing system and I can only hope to hear something so well thought out. The REIs are really special amps.
  21. K

    A Bucket List Wish --- A Vacation Much Overdue

    It’s such a bucket list trip - congrats. My wife and I intend to return when our daughter is a teenager. Although you should have gone to Robot Restaurant, too
  22. K

    Axpona 24’ Mike Lavigne pics

    It’s also a different hotel vs 2017. Generally room treatment is much more prevalent than 5-10 years ago at shows. Also, tons of vinyl vs poor Wi-Fi setups. Accuphase even used a new cdp for you Al
  23. K

    AXPONA 2024 Ron Reporting

    Great reporting, Ron. One album that needs to be retired from audio shows is Fink Live.
  24. K

    Verity Audio went out of business

    Very sad news indeed. Perhaps one issue is the Parsifal never really was updated.
  25. K

    Axpona April 12-14 2024

    See you tomorrow, Elliott. Looking forward to it!
  26. K

    "Long-Term Equipment Loans: A Win-Win for Everyone" by Robert Harley, The Absolute Sound

    If you can cut a $100k check in this business, you can see lots of deals from several sources. Not uncommon on this forum, either.
  27. K

    Best amplification for Wilson Audio Sascha DAW

    I think most McIntosh people, perhaps more than any other brand, get off the gear merry go round.
  28. K

    Visit to Chris to See Magico M9 and VYGER and Pilium in Southlake, Texas

    Agreed, this thread is so off the rails based on nothing. There are literally hundreds of videos on YT of SOTA speakers if you search. Jay's Audio Lab has dozens just of the XVX. The marketing world has changed, so get in the now folks. I'm still waiting to hear how a video submarined a...
  29. K

    Visit to Chris to See Magico M9 and VYGER and Pilium in Southlake, Texas

    Peter, just go hear a pair dude.
  30. K

    Lamm ML3 + LL1, at last!

    they aren't quite as sensitive as they appear - nor have simple crossovers. 89db, with amps required that drive below 4 ohm loads, dropping into 2 ohm territory: https://www.stereophile.com/content/gobel-high-end-divin-marquis-loudspeaker JA also adds color with Lamm hybrids in the review at...

About us

  • What’s Best Forum is THE forum for high end audio, product reviews, advice and sharing experiences on the best of everything else. This is THE place where audiophiles and audio companies discuss vintage, contemporary and new audio products, music servers, music streamers, computer audio, digital-to-analog converters, turntables, phono stages, cartridges, reel-to-reel tape machines, speakers, headphones and tube and solid-state amplification. Founded in 2010 What’s Best Forum invites intelligent and courteous people of all interests and backgrounds to describe and discuss the best of everything. From beginners to life-long hobbyists to industry professionals, we enjoy learning about new things and meeting new people, and participating in spirited debates.

Quick Navigation

Home Forums Contact us

User Menu

Login
Steve Williams
Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator
Ron Resnick
Site Co-Owner | Administrator
Julian (The Fixer)
Website Build | Marketing Managersing
Top Bottom