Axpona 2015: Vivid-CAT, AudioKinesis-Atma, Alexia-D'Ag, MBL, Raidho makng music? You?

[caesar]

Decent show so far. And the sound will only get better. I have not heard everything. Looking forward to hearing YG and Polymer audio again, as well as many others.

My goal from a system is music and emotion. If you want soundstage, F*** Y**. If you want imaging, F*** Y**. If you want resolution, F*** Y**.!!! ...... All those audiophile words are ok to talk about once the system sounds good, but if you talk about them before the ability to sound like music and convey emotion, F*** Y**!

So far:
- Vivid CAT is the best system I heard. That room sounds like music. Like humans in the room with you, even during a show. This room disproves the idea that shows sound bad. Could this system be better in your own home? Heck yes. But even after a quick setup in a hotel room this system blows away most systems in peoples homes.
- Alexia with D'Agostino is very, very good also. Can't imagine a better amp for Wilson.
- Raidho is good. Wish they had a bigger room to control the bass waves. Also, they were using their own integrated amp. Wish the had the newer, more dynamic and less analytic Soulution amp.
- AudioKinesis with Atmasphere is a great choice for folks on a budget. Great affordable system!!!
- MBL. Always very good, even in a bad room.


Magico is most improved. Heard both q7.2 and Mpro, driven by aesthetix/ top pass and octave respectively. Definitely better than the previous version of magico, but even using the $200K Clearaudio turntable on the Q7 , there is still a HUGE claw print from the wolf in the upper midrange / lower treble that immediately distracts the listener and keeps the music lover from getting into the music. Magico definitely has a lot of resolution, but lacks musical transparency. Oh well, there is always the next version of Magico. I kind of hope that Wolf goes back to aluminum-birch next time.

Your favorites?

 

[DEV]

Some pics and actual model numbers would be a nice ad on for us folks who aren't there

Vivid what and Cat what? Rest of system?
MBL system consisted of?

 

[DaveyF]

Caesar, interesting observations so far, I would say that these observations pretty much align with my thoughts whenever I have heard Magico and Vivid in the past. It does not surprise me at all that Vivid and CAT sound great! I have not heard Raidho sound great, but that is probably/possibly due to limited exposure at two shows.

 

[MJB]

Thanks for sharing. Look forward to your impressions after day 2.

 

[chrisr]

Went today only. Sound quality was much improved over 2 years ago. A lot of good sounding rooms this year. For me, the rooms that stood out were:

1) Wilson/D'Agostino (Alexias, D'Agostino monos and pre, DCS, Transparent)
2) Scaena
3) Essential Audio (Atma/AudioKinesis)
4) Magico room upstairs ($155K M version)
5) The big MBL room was pretty good too

 

[MadFloyd]

My favorite rooms were Vivid/Cat and YG/Audionet/Kronos.

 

[Philip O Hanlon]

Kyomi Audio @ Axpona 2015 (CAT, Luxman & Vivid)

Some pics and actual model numbers would be a nice ad on for us folks who aren't there

Vivid what and Cat what? Rest of system?
MBL system consisted of?

Our local Vivid / CAT / Townshend / Magnan / Lumen dealer - Kyomi AUdio, headed up by Kyomi Audio. George Vatchnadze (President) is a music Professor at De Paul University, Chicago, and is undertaking recording the complete Prokofiev piano sonatas over the next few years. Needless to mention George has a wonderful pair of ears and is a master at system set-up. I was not involved in the system set-up as my plane was delayed at Denver & what was meant to be a 40 minute lay-over turned into a 6+ hour layover as the plane suffered mechanical problems in Boston and so I blew my Friday in Denver.



Still Saturday at Axpona was a lot of fun; thanks to George and all the attendees at Axpoona for the warm welcome !
Vivid Giya G3
CAT Renaissance Preamp (inc phono)
CAT JL5 stereo amp (100 wpc, all triode, 25W Class A, then slides into AB)
Townshend Rock 7 with a Helius arm & Symphonic Line cartridge
Lumen music server
Luxman D-08u used as a CD & SACD player as well as DAC for the Lumen.
Magnan Signature series cables & power cords

Last night Ken Stevens at the request of a client installed the CAT Signatures after the show was closed; that was quite special. Though I heard the Signatures before on the Giya G1 and that was superb. Best bass I have ever heard from a tube amp with lovely tonal color & a huge three dimensional soundstage.


Georgia's celebrated concert pianist George Vatchnadze clearly happy with the sound of his system


CAT Signature monoblocks with the JL5 stereo amp in the middle.

 

[caesar]

Hi DEV,

I will post my iphone pictures later tonight ( depending on when the hockey playoffs end) or tomorrow.

The MBLs were the 111fs, with either the 9008 or the new Noble class D amps, their usual blingy preamp, and top of the line Greg Beron's United Audio tape deck. The room was noisy and hot, yet packed all the time. At times you could smell the man or woman sitting next to you (if you were lucky or unlucky). Yet the music made by the tape was sublime!!! You could just close your eyes and melt away, which to me is the purpose of the hobby. I know you are on the all out pursuit path in this hobby, so I imagine tape is in your (hopefully near) future.

 

[caesar]

A few other observations:
- The new Martin Logan is excellent. If people can get over its immense size and overcome the psychological limits of paying so much for an electrostat, it can be a competitor to folks who like the huge, open sound of the mbl but don't dig mbl's spatial presentation. Also, its detail resolution and big sound can also appeal to folks who have been going for Magico over the last few years. However the Neolith probably has greater detail resolution than Magico or YG (would love to compare in good rooms with same ancillaries) and its bass is so much more vigorous and absolutely rocks. Macintosh and Logan were a great showing.

- The beryllium tweeter of AudioKinesis is the smoothest of its kind. AudioKinesis berryllium tweeter doesn't have the psychological flow-busting bite! It sounds more like a Raidho tweeter than what you hear in a Wilson, Magico, or Focal.

- The Verity room with TW Acustic and electronics unknown to me was the best I have ever heard Verity sound. That TW Acustic Raven turntable seems phenomenal.

- The Scaena room was very good. However, I think the ARC amp, which sounds so sublime with NOLA, failed to bring the fabulous Scaenas to life. It was sounding deader than it should. I was hoping to haul in some Atma-sphere or CAT amps into that room to some more life into the system.

 

[edorr]

My take. I second the vivid / cat vote for best of the show. Spend a solid 40 minutes in animated discussion with the aforementioned George. Also, for the first time I finally got the magic of vinyl. LPs clearly superior sounding than digital in this setup.

Both magico rooms left me unimpressed. The big room upstairs had a big standing wave problem, but both rooms had the same problem. Overly pronounced low and high, distracting from the midrange, which is where the music happens. Details to spare, but just not a natural tonal balance to me.

The agostino / alexia room sounded good, but did not really draw me into the music. MBL was disappointing in both rooms. I was actually quite enamored with the KEF blade 2. Surprised no one mentioned it.

 

[MadFloyd]

I didn't bother with the Alexia/D'Agostino room, but I did listen to the new Sabrina.

I didn't like the Magico rooms either, but I don't blame the speakers. The Q7's were driven by electronics that I don't think showcased the speaker. The Q7's are like huge magnifying glasses on the recordings and signal path; anything wrong and you're going to know it. Feed it properly and it should be stunning, but the upper mids were very hard and thin.

The MPro room was too small and the listening position was close - near-field territory. I don't think the drivers converge at less than 7 feet or so (just a guess based on my playing around with my M-Pros). The midrange was ultra-thin and the sound fatiguing with no real depth. The best seat was the front center which was a very low chair. I can't tell you how comforting it was to get home and have a nice long listening session in my own room where things sounded so much better.

Another room that intrigued me on Sunday was the Esoteric/Cabasse room where they had some very unique, alien looking speakers. My wife said they were so ugly they were cute and we both enjoyed the sound.

I got to hear the CAT Statements on Saturday evening - wow! What awesome amplifiers.

Also enjoyed the SF/ARC room a lot - but on many tracks the soundstage was too large for my tastes (it made everything sound like it was coming through a PA system in terms of image size) but it sure did sound right for Jeff Beck!

Anyhow, I loved the show overall and I had a wonderful time. It was great to meet Philip and several other industry folks whom I respect greatly.

 

[caesar]

My take. I second the vivid / cat vote for best of the show. Spend a solid 40 minutes in animated discussion with the aforementioned George. Also, for the first time I finally got the magic of vinyl. LPs clearly superior sounding than digital in this setup.

Both magico rooms left me unimpressed. The big room upstairs had a big standing wave problem, but both rooms had the same problem. Overly pronounced low and high, distracting from the midrange, which is where the music happens. Details to spare, but just not a natural tonal balance to me.

The agostino / alexia room sounded good, but did not really draw me into the music. MBL was disappointing in both rooms. I was actually quite enamored with the KEF blade 2. Surprised no one mentioned it.

Edorr,

Ain't it amazing how a"cheap", "tiny" turntable (apparently only $4K) can compete and beat out digital that's around $20K?



And I am with you on the KEF Blades. For some reason KEF is not "sexy" enough for audiophiles, but is very, very good. A true chameleon for the equipment in front of it, and people can flavor their taste with warmer or leaner amplification based on their preference.

 

[caesar]

Sceanas: Some of the most real speakers out there when setup right in a good room.

 

[steve williams]

I ve not seen that stand before where the subs are under the speakers. Is that new

 

[caesar]

Too bad Magico did not sound like their potential. I know people will blame Aesthetix amps, which are quite good, or cables, or whatever. The reality is that it was most likely the room. But the real shame of this showing is that when a burgeoning audiophile is told this system costs as much as a downtown condo yet sounds this poor, they are disgusted by our hobby.

 

[marty]

Steve, regarding the Scaena, my guess is that it's a new model called (as the sign says), "Manhattan". No?

 

[steve williams]

Steve, my guess is that its a new model called (as the sign says), "Manhattan". No?

probably correct as the tower seems much smaller than the Scaena tower I'm used to seeing

 

[caesar]

I ve not seen that stand before where the subs are under the speakers. Is that new

And with smaller number of their "pod" drivers, it's a strong possibility that the ARC 75 amp, which sounds great on their larger models, just didn't have enough juice to make the system come fully alive.

 

[caesar]

I ve not seen that stand before where the subs are under the speakers. Is that new

I think it's the more wife and shared space friendly version. Usually they spread those kick a$$ subs around the room to even out the bass response, which unfortunately limits that speaker only to dedicated rooms.

 

[steve williams]

I think it's the more wife and shared space friendly version. Usually they spread those kick a$$ subs around the room to even out the bass response, which unfortunately limits that speaker only to dedicated rooms.

those seem to be smaller subs as well as compared to what I've seen before with the taller pod stack. Those bigger subs reminded me of jet engines