Capital Audiofest 2023

[Alrainbow]

just sleuthing a bit onto the Matterhorn Audio Group website and observing the video it appears that the digital is a Creek Audio 4040 CD player.

or maybe the more spendy Creek Audio Voyage CD? hard to tell from the video picture.

agree the video sound is quite good.

He was steaming for songs I asked for.
it was very good sound quality over all
at one point on a song I asked him to play it was clipping a but I asked to lower a few db just a little
It stopped then.
it’s dsp controlled , was good but at some point my brain kicked in and then it was gone
good sound but plastic in way.
the image was solid but just across the front no depth or height.
just my impression of it.

 

[Alrainbow]

I was there 3 days in rooms I liked many times
I was with someone who does know real live event music. great to have someone who knows real and knows the perspective of playing back on systems.
I had a quick chat with a reviewer we all know
on best of show , he made a great point.
the avg room is 15 by 18 and I think this is big many times
So his view a massive system should not be picked as best its out the of the norm.
we do gravitate towards large or I do
what I felt was hands down amazing was not abnormally large. Yes not tiny but could fit in many rooms.

 

[bonzo75]

we do gravitate towards large or I do

yes I addressed that in my NLF thread

 

[David MS]

"specifically" dunno - let me try this. Normally, we'd (myself and an audio buddy) zip up to the top floor and make our way down "quickly" to hear "everything" first, try and remember what we liked (and/or take notes), then go back for an extended listen here and there. We started on the 8th floor and then realized, after an inordinate amount if time, that it was Friday afternoon and we were still on that floor - and still had all the rest to visit. An awful lot of upstairs rooms just sounded so nice that we got absorbed in listening and neglected or didn't feel the need to move on.

I've never had the desire to have to pick out a best of show - unless something was SO outstanding that it was warranted. In this show's case there were a number of rooms that just plain sounded great. I could mention them if that's important (and assuming I could remember)

Of course, the material played made a lot of difference. I consistently marvel that in a show context, the material chosen in many instances doesn't do justice to the system or of course is played way too loud (room overload loud). Those are the rooms that I just walk right by - maybe to my detriment. In my book NO speaker can play ALL GENRES successfully. Pick music that the system does justice to - or to put it another way; stay AWAY from the genres that don't.

Maybe above all, I enjoy and appreciate meeting people / renewing acquaintances. Mingling with the folks who are there to display and maybe even sell something along - with the attendees. Think that the main focus of the occasion is to HAVE FUN.
I had a GREAT time - hope you all did also. Can't wait for next years show.

I was there on Friday and Saturday, and agree that there were very few poor sounding systems. High Water Sound was a room I kept returning to for the sheer refinement, texture, and emotional engagement that I heard there. At a very different price point, the Bravura 7.2 was never less than musical - a very impressive offering.

 

[Alrainbow]

While I have an idea of the cost of rooms and type of amps used. I don’t ask or care unless it’s been into a few times.
Audio is a tough ideal to learn in a few mins but we all do it.
I take videos and yes no way convey all there is. better rooms it’s more waist full .
but they do have value in bringing back memory of the room.
if timbre or phase is odd they may not show it.

 

[Treehaus Audiolab]

It was great meeting you, Ron! It was such a whirlwind of a show.

 

[Alrainbow]

Your room sounded good again this year too. What ever your doing its consistent every show.

 

[garylkoh]

I asked Amedeo of Viva Audio if he would make a high power Aurora for me, say 845 x 3 in PSET for about 80 watts. He declined, as he does not believe in multiplying output tubes.

Amedeo and I have the same philosophy when it comes to output devices - one pair of push-pull. If you have more, even if they are matched during manufacturing, there is no guarantee that they will age the same and hence drift apart.

Ron, it was great to see you at the show.

 

[Rexp]

just sleuthing a bit onto the Matterhorn Audio Group website and observing the video it appears that the digital is a Creek Audio 4040 CD player.

or more probably the more spendy Creek Audio Voyage CD since it's also a streamer and watching the video they are on Roon.

agree the video sound is quite good.

Having looked at Rons video it looks like some Aarvik streamer and DAC was in play.

 

[Treehaus Audiolab]

Your room sounded good again this year too. What ever your doing its consistent every show.

Thats very much appreciated! Given I have several shows under my belt, I've gotten a bit better at room setup. It goes to show that open baffle speakers are not always as picky to room/ room placement as they may seem. Finally, it illustrates why I believe DSP for the woofers (which are crossed over around 95hz at the show) was a strong design decision. Yes, it takes an hour fiddling with a computer, but the result is consistent bass response in a variety of environments.

 

[Elliot G.]

 

[garylkoh]

Thanks for doing this Ron. It is much appreciated as I didn't find time to get out of my room at all.

One thing I've learned over the years is that the phone processes the sound during recording AND during playback, and you actually get great fidelity if the recording and playback are on cellphones. Samsung, Apple, etc. all have large teams of engineers (smarter than I am) to deliver this sound quality - and listening to the videos on a phone rather than on a PC gives me much better an idea of what each room sounded like.

The fidelity is good enough for me to use in loudspeaker design as I will record different iterations of crossover changes, and this helps me tremendously in design and development. Not as good as a proper recording set-up, but far better than you would think just using a cellphone.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Thanks for doing this Ron. It is much appreciated as I didn't find time to get out of my room at all.

One thing I've learned over the years is that the phone processes the sound during recording AND during playback, and you actually get great fidelity if the recording and playback are on cellphones. Samsung, Apple, etc. all have large teams of engineers (smarter than I am) to deliver this sound quality - and listening to the videos on a phone rather than on a PC gives me much better an idea of what each room sounded like.

The fidelity is good enough for me to use in loudspeaker design as I will record different iterations of crossover changes, and this helps me tremendously in design and development. Not as good as a proper recording set-up, but far better than you would think just using a cellphone.

My pleasure, Gary!

It is interesting that you find the iPhone recording fidelity to be useful for this purpose.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Thanks for doing this Ron. It is much appreciated as I didn't find time to get out of my room at all.

One thing I've learned over the years is that the phone processes the sound during recording AND during playback, and you actually get great fidelity if the recording and playback are on cellphones. Samsung, Apple, etc. all have large teams of engineers (smarter than I am) to deliver this sound quality - and listening to the videos on a phone rather than on a PC gives me much better an idea of what each room sounded like.

The fidelity is good enough for me to use in loudspeaker design as I will record different iterations of crossover changes, and this helps me tremendously in design and development. Not as good as a proper recording set-up, but far better than you would think just using a cellphone.

oh boy, now we are in a world of hurt.

 

[Ron Resnick]

It was great meeting you, Ron! It was such a whirlwind of a show.

I enjoyed meeting you too!

 

[Ron Resnick]

Amedeo and I have the same philosophy when it comes to output devices - one pair of push-pull. If you have more, even if they are matched during manufacturing, there is no guarantee that they will age the same and hence drift apart.

Ron, it was great to see you at the show.

It was great to see you as well, Gary!

 

[PeterA]

Thanks for doing this Ron. It is much appreciated as I didn't find time to get out of my room at all.

One thing I've learned over the years is that the phone processes the sound during recording AND during playback, and you actually get great fidelity if the recording and playback are on cellphones. Samsung, Apple, etc. all have large teams of engineers (smarter than I am) to deliver this sound quality - and listening to the videos on a phone rather than on a PC gives me much better an idea of what each room sounded like.

The fidelity is good enough for me to use in loudspeaker design as I will record different iterations of crossover changes, and this helps me tremendously in design and development. Not as good as a proper recording set-up, but far better than you would think just using a cellphone.

Gary, I appreciate your post. You confirm what others have been saying about finding some utility from cell phone recordings. I have shared such videos to discuss the sound of different tubes in my amps as well as different VTA settings on my tonearm, as well as the sonic effects of different furniture locations. They can be quite a good tool.

 

[Elliot G.]

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[Alrainbow]

Gary, I appreciate your post. You confirm what others have been saying about finding some utility from cell phone recordings. I have shared such videos to discuss the sound of different tubes in my amps as well as different VTA settings on my tonearm, as well as the sonic effects of different furniture locations. They can be quite a good tool.

While I have used phones alone using ear buds ones well made yield more details and bass in clarity. they are a useful tool but I still feel lack a realness of the room it’s recording.
to prove my point I’ve used a WiFi boombox. Alone the box is ok but record it on a cell phone somehow it transforms into a mega system in some ways.
it’s a tool but be aware it can give false information too.

 

[Rexp]

Thanks for doing this Ron. It is much appreciated as I didn't find time to get out of my room at all.

One thing I've learned over the years is that the phone processes the sound during recording AND during playback, and you actually get great fidelity if the recording and playback are on cellphones. Samsung, Apple, etc. all have large teams of engineers (smarter than I am) to deliver this sound quality - and listening to the videos on a phone rather than on a PC gives me much better an idea of what each room sounded like.

The fidelity is good enough for me to use in loudspeaker design as I will record different iterations of crossover changes, and this helps me tremendously in design and development. Not as good as a proper recording set-up, but far better than you would think just using a cellphone.

I'm guessing you use Samsung Gary?