I neglect this forum not from lack of interest, but because I've ran out of things to say. Today is different, I have something to say, and some of it you may not agree with.
First I'd like to thank Larry over at Paragon Sight & Sound in Ann Arbor, MI for being the host of the Fall Music Series. I was invited to four events, missed the first one by mistake, but enjoyed the other three I went to. I think there were a couple of prior events I missed. Link below to host store:
http://www.paragonsns.com/
Series-1 (for me)
Krell and B&W plus HRS resonance control (Wadia CD player as well)
Series-2 (for me)
McIntosh and Wilson Audio
Series-3 (for me)
Fine Sounds, the Italian company which owns/reps;
Sumiko, Audio Research, Wadia, and Sonus Faber
I mention and refer to the whole series in part for context and comparables, as McIntosh in the end must stack up against the competition.
Interesting enough, the Mac rep said because of the front glass plate and other supplies/material which they use in a year's production, they need to stock up the year before for the production run. Last year they sold/made all they could with the supplies on hand, best sales year in over 20 years, in fact I think he said it may have been a record year if not close to it. They must be doing something right, or maybe people are spending money before 2012 just in case that whole Mayan calendar things is correct - live while you can, right? Anyway, this is not what I had expected to hear, being in Michigan we are still in the Great Recession.
Some sketches/notes I took that evening:
http://s184.photobucket.com/albums/x295/kach22i/Stereo/
Several of the attendees drove quite a ways, and in the rain to get there. In the rain and at night Ann Arbor is a 1-1/2 to 2-hour drive from Lansing and or Holly, but people came that far, maybe farther. It was a 10 minute drive for me, guess I'm lucky. Reports of stereo stores throughout the state which have closed this economic cycle were sobering and even a bit chilling.
.............................................................................................................................
The "small room";
All McIntosh including the speakers but using a laptop computer as a music server.
The speakers were only about a foot and a half from the wall, the speakers are designed to real world living room conditions, they get some bass reenforcement from the front wall.
I was not swept away by the sound, it was good but not good enough to justify the cost of the equipment in my opinion. This is a subjective thing, and I'm a cheap guy that buys used equipment so weigh it as you will. It was full of that famous three dimensional McIntosh soundstage which no other brand can quite reproduce. However, the pace or speed just was not there for me. It was non-offensive and non-fatiguing, but a bit timid despite the powerful depth and mastery.
.............................................................................................................................
The "Big Room";
I'm not a huge fan of Wilson Audio, I'm a flat panel gut at heart and I like tubes and vinyl too.
I will say that the Wilson + McIntosh combination is pretty darn good though. In fact this was my second favorite combination of the whole series.
I'm not a big fan of computer server and recordable CD's either, the stuff I heard 10-20 years ago was terrible, but I'd be hard pressed to hear any differences these days. I'd like to do a blind hearing test to see if I could tell the difference. I only mention this because it is one of my irrational biases which I have to overcome at these types of events. For example at the Series-1 event, the Wadia CD player had difficultly at times playing the tracks the rep burned on to a CD. My first thought was; if the CD player can tell the difference, then why do you think my ears cannot?
There were no problems playing recordable CD's on the McIntosh CD player in the big room I'm happy to report.
The sound was big and solid, nothing really negative to say about it. Maybe I should say something nice then? It was nice, just not a game changer or life altering experience. If I had to put together a ultimate "Dream System" this would be a good starting point or base line. To best it would be a real challenge.
You will have to forgive me if I don't spout out all of the model numbers, full list of equipment used, wattage, specifications and so forth. I'm only posting this because I woke up at 4:00 in the morning and this was on my "to-do" list for a while and I'm tired.
Here is a nice display which was in the lobby, gave viewers a factory tour and such.
.....................................................................................................................
To compare and note, in general:
Series-1
Krell and B&W plus HRS resonance control (Wadia CD player as well)
1. Krell still makes my ears bleed
2. B&W diamond tweeters may be great but not will Krell in my opinion.
3. HRS has products which really work and seem to be a pretty good value.
Series-2
McIntosh and Wilson Audio[/B]
1. Good synergy between McIntosh and Wilson, you would expect better between an all Mac system.
Series-3
Fine Sounds, the Italian company which owns/reps;
Sumiko, Audio Research, Wadia, and Sonus Faber
1. Awesome, awesome and more awesome.
2. Actually, the big room with the larger speakers was spectacular, but for my money I fell in love with the Sonus Faber "Elipsa" and Audio Research tube amps in the small room. The Wadia rep in the tiny room up front did a great job of explaining his product and letting the music play. This was the only time they used all three rooms, and I enjoyed it the most out of the series.
........................................................................................................................
I hope to post more photos and sketches of the series, but may do so in another part of the forum as it deals with other brands.
First I'd like to thank Larry over at Paragon Sight & Sound in Ann Arbor, MI for being the host of the Fall Music Series. I was invited to four events, missed the first one by mistake, but enjoyed the other three I went to. I think there were a couple of prior events I missed. Link below to host store:
http://www.paragonsns.com/
Series-1 (for me)
Krell and B&W plus HRS resonance control (Wadia CD player as well)
Series-2 (for me)
McIntosh and Wilson Audio
Series-3 (for me)
Fine Sounds, the Italian company which owns/reps;
Sumiko, Audio Research, Wadia, and Sonus Faber
I mention and refer to the whole series in part for context and comparables, as McIntosh in the end must stack up against the competition.
Interesting enough, the Mac rep said because of the front glass plate and other supplies/material which they use in a year's production, they need to stock up the year before for the production run. Last year they sold/made all they could with the supplies on hand, best sales year in over 20 years, in fact I think he said it may have been a record year if not close to it. They must be doing something right, or maybe people are spending money before 2012 just in case that whole Mayan calendar things is correct - live while you can, right? Anyway, this is not what I had expected to hear, being in Michigan we are still in the Great Recession.
Some sketches/notes I took that evening:
http://s184.photobucket.com/albums/x295/kach22i/Stereo/
Several of the attendees drove quite a ways, and in the rain to get there. In the rain and at night Ann Arbor is a 1-1/2 to 2-hour drive from Lansing and or Holly, but people came that far, maybe farther. It was a 10 minute drive for me, guess I'm lucky. Reports of stereo stores throughout the state which have closed this economic cycle were sobering and even a bit chilling.
.............................................................................................................................
The "small room";
All McIntosh including the speakers but using a laptop computer as a music server.
The speakers were only about a foot and a half from the wall, the speakers are designed to real world living room conditions, they get some bass reenforcement from the front wall.
I was not swept away by the sound, it was good but not good enough to justify the cost of the equipment in my opinion. This is a subjective thing, and I'm a cheap guy that buys used equipment so weigh it as you will. It was full of that famous three dimensional McIntosh soundstage which no other brand can quite reproduce. However, the pace or speed just was not there for me. It was non-offensive and non-fatiguing, but a bit timid despite the powerful depth and mastery.
.............................................................................................................................
The "Big Room";
I'm not a huge fan of Wilson Audio, I'm a flat panel gut at heart and I like tubes and vinyl too.
I will say that the Wilson + McIntosh combination is pretty darn good though. In fact this was my second favorite combination of the whole series.
I'm not a big fan of computer server and recordable CD's either, the stuff I heard 10-20 years ago was terrible, but I'd be hard pressed to hear any differences these days. I'd like to do a blind hearing test to see if I could tell the difference. I only mention this because it is one of my irrational biases which I have to overcome at these types of events. For example at the Series-1 event, the Wadia CD player had difficultly at times playing the tracks the rep burned on to a CD. My first thought was; if the CD player can tell the difference, then why do you think my ears cannot?
There were no problems playing recordable CD's on the McIntosh CD player in the big room I'm happy to report.
The sound was big and solid, nothing really negative to say about it. Maybe I should say something nice then? It was nice, just not a game changer or life altering experience. If I had to put together a ultimate "Dream System" this would be a good starting point or base line. To best it would be a real challenge.
You will have to forgive me if I don't spout out all of the model numbers, full list of equipment used, wattage, specifications and so forth. I'm only posting this because I woke up at 4:00 in the morning and this was on my "to-do" list for a while and I'm tired.
Here is a nice display which was in the lobby, gave viewers a factory tour and such.
.....................................................................................................................
To compare and note, in general:
Series-1
Krell and B&W plus HRS resonance control (Wadia CD player as well)
1. Krell still makes my ears bleed
2. B&W diamond tweeters may be great but not will Krell in my opinion.
3. HRS has products which really work and seem to be a pretty good value.
Series-2
McIntosh and Wilson Audio[/B]
1. Good synergy between McIntosh and Wilson, you would expect better between an all Mac system.
Series-3
Fine Sounds, the Italian company which owns/reps;
Sumiko, Audio Research, Wadia, and Sonus Faber
1. Awesome, awesome and more awesome.
2. Actually, the big room with the larger speakers was spectacular, but for my money I fell in love with the Sonus Faber "Elipsa" and Audio Research tube amps in the small room. The Wadia rep in the tiny room up front did a great job of explaining his product and letting the music play. This was the only time they used all three rooms, and I enjoyed it the most out of the series.
........................................................................................................................
I hope to post more photos and sketches of the series, but may do so in another part of the forum as it deals with other brands.
