What a week its been
Planning to showcase the full Aries Cerat system started about 10 months ago. Not only did Stavros need to construct the Symphonia but I also requested a burn in service. This was due to the speakers being shipped directly to Melbourne for the show.
I can't thank Stavros enough for his exceptional support throughout the process. No matter the time of day or night my questions were answered promptly (Does Stavros sleep?
) Just like his products, the level of support was truly above and beyond.
Firstly the hotel setup had its challenges due to our room having no lift access. Luckily there was a removalist crew on site (performing other duties for the hotel) that gave me a hand to get the gear in the room and then back down the stairs after the show. See pic below. In all there were 4 flights of stairs to navigate.
The hotel staff at the Como and the event organisers from Chester group were all very helpful and did what they could to assist.
This was my first hands on experience putting together the Symphonia. Much planning and study had gone on beforehand. Stavros put together extensive online training and video's for my reference which made things as straight forward as they could be. Bump in time was 3pm but it wasn't until 7:30pm that all the crates were loaded in the Toorak Suite.
I believe this was the first instance Symphonia were shipped without Stavros being on site to help assembly. I could tell he had some nerves regarding the situation
Assembly was not a problem. And I soon realised that the interaction of the Horn speakers and room would present bigger challenges.
The first night was a long one trying to get the best from the Symphonia against a less than ideal back wall.
Day 1 was a lot of fun presenting the gear. Many looks of amazement and wide eyes as people entered the room and saw the setup.
The sonics were a bit hit and miss and by mid way through the day I realised that I needed to make a change. Lack of soundstage cohesion was present no matter the changes I made in day 1 position.
Day 2 I moved the setup to the front flat wall. Straight away the sound was a big improvement.
The soundstage came together and the tonal balance was better.
One of my reasons to bypass the front wall in the first instance was a absence of powerpoints on this wall. So for the final 2 days of the show we ran the whole system off a cheap 10mtr power lead that the hotel provided. $10 power cord powering a ultra high end class A system?
Everybody who attended day 1 and came by on day 2/3 commented on the improvement in sound.
Dynamics in spades, huge coherent soundstage and in the room vocals. The sound impressed many and the comments and feedback were fantastic.
For most of the show the Diana Forte powered the Incito S, Kassandra Ref with the Pink Faun server as source. The Forte is without a doubt one of the best power amplifier I have heard.
The refinement, control, subtleties and huge power combined to produce a sound that for the price, I consider a absolute bargain. And the people who enquired about the Forte during the show expressed the same sentiments.
That the price/performance ratio is more than fair.
And the proof is in the results as the Forte found a happy new owner the day after the show.
Im still waiting for my high res photos to come back and ill post a review on my facebook page. Until then heres a few snaps from the show via cameraphone
My sincere gratitude to Stavros for the support in helping to make this happen.
Regards
Rob
Day 1 setup
Day 2 setup
My saviours
