CES 2016: Chord, Vienna Acoustics, Audeze, Bluebird Music

[amirm]

I visited this booth on the day one when the show was very slow. They were kind enough to hand me the iPad to play whatever I wanted. This is a great move to let the person pick what they like to play. I queued Yello to check for dynamics. My notes say "boomy bass and dynamics lacking."

Great industrial design.

 

[audio.bill]

Interesting comments Amir, thanks! Did you recall finding any positive attributes to their system? Their new DAVE DAC is claimed to be a truly revolutionary digital converter which provides a level of depth and natural decay that is unmatched in the industry. Bold claims are being made about it by the designer (big surprise there!) but the comments from others that have auditioned it seem to agree. They achieved a signal to noise ratio of -350dB in the digital section of that DAC!

 

[amirm]

I tend to hear the loudspeaker performance more than anything else in these rooms so I am the wrong guy to ask .

 

[RayDunzl]

350dB

That's a ratio of 1:316,227,766,016,837,950 according to the first calculator I picked on.

 

[amirm]

I suspect that is simply the accuracy of their registers for resampling/filtering. Hence the comment about "digital section." You just need to have wide enough word to get that low (and extra DSP power to use it).

 

[RayDunzl]

350dB @ 6dB per bit takes 59 bits.

Decimal to binary conversion result in base numbers

(316227766016837950)10 = (100 0110 0011 0111 0111 0111 1010 0100 1101 1000 1100 1000 1001 0011 1110)2

59 bits

 

[amirm]

64 bit words then would do it.

 

[audio.bill]

The Chord digital engineer, Rob Watts, did state that the -350dB noise level was when he tested the digital section in isolation. He was surprised to find that as he improved that value from -150 towards -350 that he was able to hear incremental improvements in the sound quality particularly regarding the sense of spaciousness and depth recovered.

 

[Phelonious Ponk]

To each his own. To me, "great industrial design" in electronics is small and unobtrusive. But if you get your ya-yas out looking at lots of shiny hardware, you could definitely find your bliss in that room. I've heard a lot of Vienna Acoustics and never would have described them as boomy bass. Room issues?

Tim

 

[amirm]

OK Tim. Let me say that it is an acquired taste and I myself would not want to have that look in my system. What I compliment them on is finding some other direction to go than the usual sheet of metal. In person the equipment feels very masculine and makes a statement. Is it too much? For some it will be. But some will appreciate all those lights and looks.

Did i dig my way out of this Tim?

 

[amirm]

On bass, yes, for sure it could be the room. I am passing on what I heard, rather than diagnostic of what I heard.

 

[Elberoth]

I visited this booth on the day one when the show was very slow. They were kind enough to hand me the iPad to play whatever I wanted. This is a great move to let the person pick what they like to play. I queued Yello to check for dynamics. My notes say "boomy bass and dynamics lacking."

Must have been room speaker interaction.

 

[Phelonious Ponk]

OK Tim. Let me say that it is an acquired taste and I myself would not want to have that look in my system. What I compliment them on is finding some other direction to go than the usual sheet of metal. In person the equipment feels very masculine and makes a statement. Is it too much? For some it will be. But some will appreciate all those lights and looks.

Did i dig my way out of this Tim?

You had nothing to dig out of, Amir. I agree that it is unusual, and more attractive than the big aluminum box. But jeezs that's a lot of metal!

Tim

 

[slcaudiophile]

I visited this booth on the day one when the show was very slow. They were kind enough to hand me the iPad to play whatever I wanted. This is a great move to let the person pick what they like to play. I queued Yello to check for dynamics. My notes say "boomy bass and dynamics lacking."

Great industrial design.

these are such sexy speakers. wow.