Interesting posts. I was tied to the AC demo room, but did get around with Morricab. Having heard lots of material in the AC system for 5 days, then drifting into the various rooms on the first and second floors, it was interesting. It struck me how many systems did some things really well, but after a couple of tracks, something started to bug me. For example, the Cessaro room, initially it had a nice opera recording playing, simply mike'd, it sounded very nice. But as things got more complex the integration of the drivers sounded off to my ears. It was very unconvincing. And the bass, when it came in was very separate, lacked speed and texture, it was not convinced.
YG room was nice, lots of details and full range. However in this room I detected compression. This impression followed in many room after that. I am not saying I couldn't live with some of these systems if I could afford them. And they did do some things really well. But most left me unmoved.
I'll post more impressions early next week, when I can gather my thoughts. Short story is, I am now a horn lover, and once heard (done right) I can't get dynamic drivers. It comes down to the release of energy I think, speed, once things get complex, things really 'test' a system, then it unravels somewhat. Horns and the timbre of SETs seems to float my boat.
The TechDAS AF Zero was amazing, I agree. I spoke to Motofumi and Hideaki on the final day. I respect companies who push the limits in their field. He is a true enthusiast.
I agree on the Alsy Vox Ribbon, I heard them last year at Hifi Deluxe, looks like the same setup. They sounded very balanced and superbly open, 3D soundstage and good separation. They used 4 panels which is big money, but the room was huge, so I can imagine 2 would fill a normal room size. I have a soft spot for Panels (love the LCD4 headphones) but in my setting would struggle to find the space required behind the speakers. What is the recommended depth for that? And by the way, speakers made in Spain!
