Axpona 22’ pictures
- Thread starter Mike Lavigne
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Hell, stickers and pens work just fine and cost pennies. They should include it in the ticket price simply because it's good for business. People are more likely to come back to a show (and buy from vendors) if they make lasting relationships there, and name tags facilitate that. Such a shame they seem to be blind to this fact.
I walked into that room a couple of times because I was curios. And I was disappointed both times; out in 60 seconds. Although it didn't have the typical, overt hi-finess of the Audio Research - wilson alex , it did not sound like music to me. Not annoying analytical, but still hi fi sound.
But guys with traditional audiophile tastes , who are not looking for enchilada analytical, may really like this
Ideon dac was shown with Vivid Giyas. I have a friend who owns Vivid Giyas , so I am very familar with what they are capable of- which is is an incredibly realistic musical presentation. However, that room was disappointing. I am being very generous - the system sucked!
I'd guess it was performing at 30 percent of capability. I'd blame it on the amps, to start. The guy running the room used some French amp. He should have begged CAT Stephens for the CAT Statements, to submit the Vivid's big woofers and provide tube bliss, or used some powerful, yet musical SS like Gryphon. That would have made a huge difference.
With all that said, the only conclusion one can draw from Ideon DAC is that it sounds like hifi.
Until guys with integrity can compare it and contrast it with other gear, and identify all the differences and trade-offs, it will remain a hyped up mystery
I've been doing shows since 1989 and I've developed nice relationships with a lot of customers, but in many cases only on the phone or by email. Its nice to associate a name with a face!. Because I know so many customers as friends, when they come into my room it seems they expect me to know who they are, even though I've never seen them before; first names are simply not enough! I found myself looking at the badges over and over to no avail.
Thanks for sharing that! Probably safe to assume that guys who like
Maybe so, but didn't deliver on the Vivids at the show. Sounded anemic and hifi. No realism. No beauty. No magic
A lot of rich guys do, unfortunately. Trust the large number of owners / crowd (social proof) and authority like a dealer or a review. They don't do their homework like guys like Bonzo and KeithR.
If guys had more information to make informed decisions, such full understanding of trade-offs and weaknesses of the design choices, instead of the typical "metaphysical perfection" hype from the "audio journalists", would definitely make a much, much better hobby instead of sewer filled with mis-information that we have now.
I'm a dealer for Scaena (and a few other brands) and helped run the room, so take this as you will.
I found most of the sound quality unfortunately underwhelming, even given show circumstances. More systems sounded like they were presenting rather than playing music, a lack of coherence and flow aka engagement. Missed a bunch of rooms, but will pass on some quick impressions:
Most of the big stuff disappointed, but some smaller rooms got it right. As others have said, the best Magico room was easily the one w/CAT electronics, but none sounded great or even very good. Was looking forward to hearing the Estelons: they energized a large room with clean and tight bass, but the whole presentation didn't hang together. A track I know has a pretty wide soundstage was rendered with everything bunched in the middle, muddling the sound. Much as a love the macro and micro dynamic liveliness of horns, I feel like voices still don't sound quite right and even a half mile away, the sound still doesn't fully come together with horns. Felt this in both the Klipsch and Avant Garde room. The Credo line arrays didn't really gel. I thought the smaller upstairs Stenheim room sounded a lot better than the bigger downstairs room. A lot of people wanted to hear the 140K or so Wadax dac; not sure how you could tell anything about it with the Gobel speakers in a room that didn't really come together. Some of the musical choices throughout -- compressed and/or poorly recorded -- were head scratchers.
Enough negativity. I thought the Bayz room sounded good. The Bohressons sounded coherent in a simple-ish setup that makes you wonder why good sound seemed to escape so many rooms. Vinnie Rossi's room, another simple setup with QLN speakers along the long wall was satisfying. Most of the regular hotel rooms were oriented with the speakers along the short wall which constricts the soundstage among other things -- some of the speakers couldn't have been more than four or five feet apart which makes things tough. The Benchmark DAC/amps/linestage with the Aretai speakers sounded organic -- I heard these Benchmark components a few years ago at a show in a good sounding room w/their own speakers; I think they might be a value leader. The 15K floorstanding ELACs managed well in a small room with transparency, (relative) scale and solid bass.
I found most of the sound quality unfortunately underwhelming, even given show circumstances. More systems sounded like they were presenting rather than playing music, a lack of coherence and flow aka engagement. Missed a bunch of rooms, but will pass on some quick impressions:
Most of the big stuff disappointed, but some smaller rooms got it right. As others have said, the best Magico room was easily the one w/CAT electronics, but none sounded great or even very good. Was looking forward to hearing the Estelons: they energized a large room with clean and tight bass, but the whole presentation didn't hang together. A track I know has a pretty wide soundstage was rendered with everything bunched in the middle, muddling the sound. Much as a love the macro and micro dynamic liveliness of horns, I feel like voices still don't sound quite right and even a half mile away, the sound still doesn't fully come together with horns. Felt this in both the Klipsch and Avant Garde room. The Credo line arrays didn't really gel. I thought the smaller upstairs Stenheim room sounded a lot better than the bigger downstairs room. A lot of people wanted to hear the 140K or so Wadax dac; not sure how you could tell anything about it with the Gobel speakers in a room that didn't really come together. Some of the musical choices throughout -- compressed and/or poorly recorded -- were head scratchers.
Enough negativity. I thought the Bayz room sounded good. The Bohressons sounded coherent in a simple-ish setup that makes you wonder why good sound seemed to escape so many rooms. Vinnie Rossi's room, another simple setup with QLN speakers along the long wall was satisfying. Most of the regular hotel rooms were oriented with the speakers along the short wall which constricts the soundstage among other things -- some of the speakers couldn't have been more than four or five feet apart which makes things tough. The Benchmark DAC/amps/linestage with the Aretai speakers sounded organic -- I heard these Benchmark components a few years ago at a show in a good sounding room w/their own speakers; I think they might be a value leader. The 15K floorstanding ELACs managed well in a small room with transparency, (relative) scale and solid bass.
It's a friggin TRAVESTY no one is talking about Scaena. Spectacular sound!!!!
they made you wait in line. their choice. reap what you sow.
walked by that room 7-8 times, door always fully closed. meh. and we wonder why certain brands are not well known?
Who is stopping anyone from writing their name on the badge? Like with anything, people can take control of the situation instead of working within the constraints
no room on the badge to do that (i considered it), and it's low brow to have to go find a Sharpe and paper. bad idea from our marketing and communication 'expert'.
Illusion of scarcity and specialness
Seems to work for many things in this hobby, but obviously not for you.... I was lucky to get in and thought it may have been one of 2-3 best rooms, if not the best
how is it working for them? did they get the 'show lift'?Illusion of scarcity and specialness
Who cares what other people think? if your name was on the badge, even written by 1st grader in pencil, it would have been a win
I think many know the Scaena's by another name- Pipedreams! Yes, they are no longer Pipedreams but the principles are very similar since Mark Porzelli first designed them. Having owned Pipedreams for many years I enjoyed them but their limitations resulted in me eventually moving on. Among their main liabilities, I found it very difficult for their 3 inch drivers to blend seamlessly with their subs and I spent many years trying using DSP. Still, a good sounding speaker.
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Respectfully disagree. For people who like that sound, there was a lot potential , and those will likely explore further
Ceasar there are up to 15 % dyslectic people in the US.
Indeed i d have thought something better from a marketing expert.
The preprinted badge looks more professional for demonstrators .
If the room is always packed i assume they re doing something right
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If you are speaking about the stand-mount Borresons, they were outstanding... tiny speakers in a 14 x 18 foot (or something like that) was a smart decision... the larger Borresons didn't come close to the magic the little ones had.... but the stand-mounts are $60K or $70K!!!
Borresons had everything except a natural, realistic tone... almost, but no cigar
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