Australian Hi-Fi & AV Show @ Melbourne 2018- with a full AC system

Aries Cerat

Industry Expert
May 30, 2015
356
601
333
Our Australian distributor Purasound pulled off an amazing system during the last Melbourne show.

Full AC system comprised of the Limited Edition Symphonia speakers.
Amplifiers on hand were the Genus integrated(on power amp mode,resting on a nice Staccore platform) and the Diana Forte SET power amp.Forte took the lion's share of the time pie.

Sources were Kassandra Ref dac fed through a Pink Faun sever.
The Talos Ref dual chassis phono didn't had a chance to participate to the party as a transportation accident of the TT tonearm was show stopper.

Preamplifier duties were handed to Incito S with it's first show presentation.

The system was set in two different walls for the three days of the event.Robert , changed system orientation in the room on the second day with more than worthy sonic improvements.Not an easy task with an almost 1 tonne system.

0_0_0_0_70_-News-20181019054904_DSCF7127.jpg 44495380_1788715391226301_1106052725528854528_n.jpg 44478132_313901392674325_6746509717746483200_n.jpg 44398812_554776038317068_6309412317666738176_n.jpg 44359798_202748710652213_8961120517717229568_n.jpg 44388989_2117505628501274_2200821021487923200_n.jpg
 

Believe High Fidelity

[Industry Expert]
Nov 19, 2015
1,665
318
355
Hutto TX
ibelieveinhifi.com

admin1959

THE FIXER (I build websites)
Mar 27, 2010
294
95
1,780
Aries Cerat, you got promoted to a Feature Article (home page slide show image). Nice system there... It can go in the next Newsletter. We have some great content this last month to show off about.
 

dcathro

Well-Known Member
Sep 16, 2016
571
718
228
Melbourne, Australia
I was there on the Friday.

Loved the look of the equipment, esp the finish on the speakers.

The sound was a little hit and miss - Joni Mitchell sounded glorious, but some other tracks excited a room node.
 
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Aries Cerat

Industry Expert
May 30, 2015
356
601
333
Hi dcathro
Right on for Friday.system was set in front the wall in pic 2,that asymmetric wall and big one sided cavity, reap havoc and raised some hell and not just in low freq.
Friday midnight Rob cake back and switch sides in the room.moved the 200kg each speakers by himself to another wall(rest of the pics).

Night and day.best decision ever:)

Cheers
 
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Purasound

Well-Known Member
May 24, 2018
14
9
85
Brisbane, Australia
www.purasound.com
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? :eek:

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. :D

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
IMG_20181020_011110.jpg
Day 2 setup
IMG_20181020_125640.jpg
My saviours
IMG_20181022_123409_1.jpg
 

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Last edited:

KostasP.

Well-Known Member
May 6, 2016
116
74
135
Melbourne
A sonic oasis in Melbourne.

Having been to both shows within a space of one week ( a rare coincidence and treat for any audiophile ), I can unequivocally say that the Aries Cerat system was indeed the highlight, albeit without its own, inherent or room \ show conditions induced sonic shortcomings.

Here we had, unlike almost any other, a room that allowed the speakers to breath and express themselves without any shackles, at SPL peaks of around 110 dBs ( C-weighted, Fast ). Here unlike many other rooms, we had Robert ( a passionate, affable and obliging presenter \ importer ) willing to take chances, based on what I can only suspect was his utter conviction of this system's ability to tackle and handle anything. And. more or less, it did.

However, in the 3-4 times that I had visited this room on Sunday ( a magnet like no other ), I did also witness certain shortcomings pertaining to a lack of image density and focus, coupled with over-recessed vocals and an incoherent \ inarticulate bass, resulting in a somewhat indistinct, cavernous and amorphous soundstage.

I would primarily suspect the material chosen and the sources, more than the room. With such a system, I would have preferred physical formats with turntable and CD playback, in addition to choosing recorded material that neutralised the soundstage symptoms mentioned above.

These are NOT finite criticisms but comments subject to review under more optimal conditions. On the contrary, for those able to extrapolate beyond the "show sound", this is potentially an apotheotic system. Cheers.

Ps: As I repeatedly told Robert, for what it is and what it offers, the Diana Forte is really an audiophile's bargain and certainly a temptation for me personally.

I listen always learning, Kostas.

The following in Greek for Stavros:

???? ??? ??????,

???????????? ??? ??? ?????????? ??????? ???....."???????" ??????? ??? ??? ??? ??????????? ??? ??? ??? ???????? ???, ????? ??? ??? ?? ?????? ??? ?? ????? ???. ??? ??????? ???? ???????? ??? ??? ??? ????? ??? ??????????.

??????, ?????? ??????????.
 

bzr

Well-Known Member
Mar 30, 2013
4
1
133
The room was 8m x 8m, with a recessed ceiling chamber that created standing waves. In other words this will create a false sound-stage & intermittent timing in the delivery depending on genre of music. I take my hat off to Purasound for how they worked with the room & got on with their little piece of show space for the week-end. With-in walking into the room in the first minute for me it was rampantly obvious of the flaws that are so fatal to most systems, I was actually surprised that a 65w SET could muscle the way it did to show an admirable performance considering ....
 

flyer

VIP/Donor
Dec 16, 2012
423
179
1,160
Belgium
A sonic oasis in Melbourne.


The following in Greek for Stavros:

???? ??? ??????,

???????????? ??? ??? ?????????? ??????? ???....."???????" ??????? ??? ??? ??? ??????????? ??? ??? ??? ???????? ???, ????? ??? ??? ?? ?????? ??? ?? ????? ???. ??? ??????? ???? ???????? ??? ??? ??? ????? ??? ??????????.

??????, ?????? ??????????.

No translation feature on this page? :(
 

Aries Cerat

Industry Expert
May 30, 2015
356
601
333
A sonic oasis in Melbourne.

Having been to both shows within a space of one week ( a rare coincidence and treat for any audiophile ), I can unequivocally say that the Aries Cerat system was indeed the highlight, albeit without its own, inherent or room \ show conditions induced sonic shortcomings.

Here we had, unlike almost any other, a room that allowed the speakers to breath and express themselves without any shackles, at SPL peaks of around 110 dBs ( C-weighted, Fast ). Here unlike many other rooms, we had Robert ( a passionate, affable and obliging presenter \ importer ) willing to take chances, based on what I can only suspect was his utter conviction of this system's ability to tackle and handle anything. And. more or less, it did.

However, in the 3-4 times that I had visited this room on Sunday ( a magnet like no other ), I did also witness certain shortcomings pertaining to a lack of image density and focus, coupled with over-recessed vocals and an incoherent \ inarticulate bass, resulting in a somewhat indistinct, cavernous and amorphous soundstage.

I would primarily suspect the material chosen and the sources, more than the room. With such a system, I would have preferred physical formats with turntable and CD playback, in addition to choosing recorded material that neutralised the soundstage symptoms mentioned above.

These are NOT finite criticisms but comments subject to review under more optimal conditions. On the contrary, for those able to extrapolate beyond the "show sound", this is potentially an apotheotic system. Cheers.

Ps: As I repeatedly told Robert, for what it is and what it offers, the Diana Forte is really an audiophile's bargain and certainly a temptation for me personally.

I listen always learning, Kostas.

The following in Greek for Stavros:

???? ??? ??????,

???????????? ??? ??? ?????????? ??????? ???....."???????" ??????? ??? ??? ??? ??????????? ??? ??? ??? ???????? ???, ????? ??? ??? ?? ?????? ??? ?? ????? ???. ??? ??????? ???? ???????? ??? ??? ??? ????? ??? ??????????.

??????, ?????? ??????????.

???? ??? ???? ?????
?? ????????? ???? ??? ?? ???? ??? ?????.?????? ?? ??? ????? ? ????????? ?? ?? ????? ?? ?????? ?????????? ??????.

???????? ????????????,???????
 

Purasound

Well-Known Member
May 24, 2018
14
9
85
Brisbane, Australia
www.purasound.com
Hello Kosta
A sonic oasis in Melbourne.

Having been to both shows within a space of one week ( a rare coincidence and treat for any audiophile ), I can unequivocally say that the Aries Cerat system was indeed the highlight, albeit without its own, inherent or room \ show conditions induced sonic shortcomings.

Here we had, unlike almost any other, a room that allowed the speakers to breath and express themselves without any shackles, at SPL peaks of around 110 dBs ( C-weighted, Fast ). Here unlike many other rooms, we had Robert ( a passionate, affable and obliging presenter \ importer ) willing to take chances, based on what I can only suspect was his utter conviction of this system's ability to tackle and handle anything. And. more or less, it did.

However, in the 3-4 times that I had visited this room on Sunday ( a magnet like no other ), I did also witness certain shortcomings pertaining to a lack of image density and focus, coupled with over-recessed vocals and an incoherent \ inarticulate bass, resulting in a somewhat indistinct, cavernous and amorphous soundstage.

I would primarily suspect the material chosen and the sources, more than the room. With such a system, I would have preferred physical formats with turntable and CD playback, in addition to choosing recorded material that neutralised the soundstage symptoms mentioned above.

These are NOT finite criticisms but comments subject to review under more optimal conditions. On the contrary, for those able to extrapolate beyond the "show sound", this is potentially an apotheotic system. Cheers.

Ps: As I repeatedly told Robert, for what it is and what it offers, the Diana Forte is really an audiophile's bargain and certainly a temptation for me personally.

I listen always learning, Kostas.

The following in Greek for Stavros:

???? ??? ??????,

???????????? ??? ??? ?????????? ??????? ???....."???????" ??????? ??? ??? ??? ??????????? ??? ??? ??? ???????? ???, ????? ??? ??? ?? ?????? ??? ?? ????? ???. ??? ??????? ???? ???????? ??? ??? ??? ????? ??? ??????????.

??????, ?????? ??????????.


Hello Kostas,

Thank you for your kind words and feedback from the show. It was a real pleasure to meet you and share the experience with yourself and others.
One of the pleasant surprises was the amount of people who I first met at last years show who came by again this year. Like old friends catching up :)
When you are ready to listen to what Aries Cerat can do with your electrostatics I am at your disposal.
All the very best regards
Rob
 

Ron Resnick

Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Jan 24, 2015
16,017
13,346
2,665
Beverly Hills, CA
What a fantastic system!
 

Legolas

VIP/Donor
Dec 27, 2015
1,042
387
455
France
Well done Rob, now you need to take a few days off! Love the B+W photo of the Genus, Symphonia and Kassandra.
 

Legolas

VIP/Donor
Dec 27, 2015
1,042
387
455
France
Looking forward to the Genus landing here. It will sit in the demo system for customers here in Spain. I am also curious how it sounds with my LCD4 headphones! Exciting times ahead I think.
 

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