T.H.E. Show Newport 2015-Who's Going.
- Thread starter Steve williams
- Start date
I was very impressed by this system, to me the sleeper system of the show, so basic so good! Forgot to ask MSRP, and it is their smaller system.
The Oden/Magico room sounded good, as did the Boulder/Focal room. The Boulder room another simple basic outstanding system.
But I have not been to the 4th 10th and 11th floors yet, that is for tomorrow.
And the TechDas rooms kind of had be baffled.
Thought the Legacy room sounded pretty bad. Very boomy bass and mid bass. High end very directional. Bunch of reps that would not be quiet for even 10 seconds telling lies to one another.
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Curious about MBL, Rob :b My initial foray into the room, Friday, had me departing within minutes, too; however, I later returned and upon hearing a different source -- analog tape -- as well as a CD of mine resulted in a perception that was more favorable than previous impressions.
Rob, I'm wondering...would you characterize the MBL's as deficient in bass?
Agreed...numerous servers and DAC's, e.g., Lampizator, sounded very nice. The distinction I am suggesting is the stellar rooms had gear lavishing us in pure analog.
I think the Kyron Kronos is sold as a system inc. amp and cables for about $100k. The MBL had a "glare" using analog tape that sounded like cheap, old digital; both Fri and Sat afternoon. My best room so far, slightly ahead of the Dart/Ea room (which was playing server digital 2 out of 3 times so far for me), is the HiFiOne room (Steve McCormack and others) which played Sonorus (tape) and Wadax (server/DAC). Most time listening to the server but honestly didn't prefer either. At one point a couple of people came into the room late yesterday while the tape was rolling but the server actually playing and commented on how good tape sounded (which it did, but not right then).
My cents is that I think the Kyron Kronos other speaker system is going to be a hard sell at the end of the day mainly due to our nature and it just being offered as a complete system - our nature being wanting to see if the SQ can be improved trying different components up the chain feeding the actual speakers but due to their design does not allow.
It's great to read that some are reporting experiencing some good sounding set-ups - norm for me when I have attended show's isn't so and that included the RMAF Show last year - only a couple stood out.
It's great to read that some are reporting experiencing some good sounding set-ups - norm for me when I have attended show's isn't so and that included the RMAF Show last year - only a couple stood out.
I'd say sound is pretty good.
Overall, I'd definitely say this is the best show I've ever been too- since maybe the Stereophile shows in the 90s. The energy, music, crowds, and sound have just been over the top fun. And I haven't been to 3 entire floors yet
Overall, I'd definitely say this is the best show I've ever been too- since maybe the Stereophile shows in the 90s. The energy, music, crowds, and sound have just been over the top fun. And I haven't been to 3 entire floors yet
Rob,
I'm uncertain if I made it to the Kyron room -- I did make it to one of the KR Audio rooms, but the other KR Audio room I went to had its door closed and locked.
I want to visit the Bill Parrish/Joe Kubala/'X' room, today. It seems to me that this combination with 'X' electronics consistently provide good, if not great sound...show after show.
Thanks for sharing your impressions of MBL. Did you or anyone hear the Meridien presentation?
I'm uncertain if I made it to the Kyron room -- I did make it to one of the KR Audio rooms, but the other KR Audio room I went to had its door closed and locked.
I want to visit the Bill Parrish/Joe Kubala/'X' room, today. It seems to me that this combination with 'X' electronics consistently provide good, if not great sound...show after show.
Thanks for sharing your impressions of MBL. Did you or anyone hear the Meridien presentation?
garylkoh
WBF Technical Expert (Speakers & Audio Equipment)
Many thanks for the kind comments DaveyF. I enjoyed visiting the few rooms with you. Alexander's room is one of the must-visits, as is Steve McCormack's room.
As for value-for-money, the Funk Firm + Tanner and Friedl + Heed room was outstanding. I brought Anne Bisson to the room, she sang with her vinyl, and everybody there thought that she sounded exactly on the money. "Cheating" by using a Transfiguration cartridge that cost more than the turntable and electronics combined helped......
As for value-for-money, the Funk Firm + Tanner and Friedl + Heed room was outstanding. I brought Anne Bisson to the room, she sang with her vinyl, and everybody there thought that she sounded exactly on the money. "Cheating" by using a Transfiguration cartridge that cost more than the turntable and electronics combined helped......
Thanks, Gary! I'll try to hit the floor today and see some rooms... So busy so far that I haven't been able to see much of anything!
and of course, everybody's welcome to stop by our three rooms, 1147, 1148 and 1149!
alexandre
and of course, everybody's welcome to stop by our three rooms, 1147, 1148 and 1149!
alexandre
That's interesting. When I went into the Kryon room on Friday, the sound was ok...but certainly not in the top 10. Any idea as to what they did to improve yesterday?
BTW, as to the MBL room, I don't even bother there anymore. There systems just do nothing for me. I have heard them so many times and always feel that they are bloated and
not realistic. The electronics are so "stylized" that I just can't appreciate the vibe.
Ricky Brown's room ( Hi Fi one) was nice, although I felt his space was a little strange and the wall extension half way between the speakers was problematical. The sound on Friday was
good, however, I felt the Kaiser's were a tad thin sounding and a little bit imprecise in their imaging. ( Probably/certainly a room artifact).
I was away on vacation and didn't return home until last evening so today was my only chance to get an overview of the show. I managed to grab a bunch of photos and I need to go through them and try to color correct them and will have them posted under a separate thread tomorrow.
Some preliminary observations
1. The new venue (Irvine Hotel) is an absolute winner and clearly a huge step above the two hotels by the John Wayne Airport. Elevator service was not even an issue. T.H.E. Show IMO has blossomed to be a terrific shoe and well attended. This one seemed no exception and I would bet that in the next few years CES will be a non issue for high end audio and this one and RMAF will become this countries major players. If I had a gripe with the hotel it would be that the staff was simply overwhelmed with the crowds and understaffed to provide quick service around the hotel
2. High end audio...well guys, I hate to say that we are a dying breed and in the absence of wooing the next generation the "dark side" the industry as we have known it for the past 40 years will become a has been. On every floor was every type of DAC and streamer. There were speakers that streamed music and were connected with nothing but a small USB cable. Music on the digital side was heard through every type of Player (including Gary L. Koh's recently released Muse, which I had the privilege of hearing with Gary's description of what's in the box).
3. High Rez PCM sounds wonderful but I have to say DSD is better and 2xDSD is best but that's just me
4. Having said that turntables and vinyl and tonearms abounded from entry level all the way up to the Clearaudio Statement". Not only that but so many more rooms than last year were showing tape with the systems.
5. I must have been lucky in hearing everything on the last day but as they say "one man's passion is another man's poison'. I heard the Mbl room and gentlemen to my ears it was superb but the only source I was hearing was tape. I just heard nothing of the tinny sound reported earlier or that it sounded like mp3. In fact sitting in front of me in the wee spot was a gentleman who got up and spoke after we listened to Willie Nelson singing "You're always on my mind" and introduced himself as Michael Jackson's drummer who travelled as well with the Jackson's as well as Madonna and others. He was mesmerized by the sound and said he heard things that he has never heard before in that song. Suffice it to say he loved it
6. For my ears, the big rooms and big speakers still provided the most satisfaction. I heard most of the big speakers except Magico as their doors were alway locked when I came by. I will get my thoughts together and give a feeling of my best rooms with the proviso that I was only there for the day and didn't hear everything and what I did was not as long as usual
7. It was really good to meet up with so many WBF members and thanks to RonR who spent the day with me.
Some preliminary observations
1. The new venue (Irvine Hotel) is an absolute winner and clearly a huge step above the two hotels by the John Wayne Airport. Elevator service was not even an issue. T.H.E. Show IMO has blossomed to be a terrific shoe and well attended. This one seemed no exception and I would bet that in the next few years CES will be a non issue for high end audio and this one and RMAF will become this countries major players. If I had a gripe with the hotel it would be that the staff was simply overwhelmed with the crowds and understaffed to provide quick service around the hotel
2. High end audio...well guys, I hate to say that we are a dying breed and in the absence of wooing the next generation the "dark side" the industry as we have known it for the past 40 years will become a has been. On every floor was every type of DAC and streamer. There were speakers that streamed music and were connected with nothing but a small USB cable. Music on the digital side was heard through every type of Player (including Gary L. Koh's recently released Muse, which I had the privilege of hearing with Gary's description of what's in the box).
3. High Rez PCM sounds wonderful but I have to say DSD is better and 2xDSD is best but that's just me
4. Having said that turntables and vinyl and tonearms abounded from entry level all the way up to the Clearaudio Statement". Not only that but so many more rooms than last year were showing tape with the systems.
5. I must have been lucky in hearing everything on the last day but as they say "one man's passion is another man's poison'. I heard the Mbl room and gentlemen to my ears it was superb but the only source I was hearing was tape. I just heard nothing of the tinny sound reported earlier or that it sounded like mp3. In fact sitting in front of me in the wee spot was a gentleman who got up and spoke after we listened to Willie Nelson singing "You're always on my mind" and introduced himself as Michael Jackson's drummer who travelled as well with the Jackson's as well as Madonna and others. He was mesmerized by the sound and said he heard things that he has never heard before in that song. Suffice it to say he loved it
6. For my ears, the big rooms and big speakers still provided the most satisfaction. I heard most of the big speakers except Magico as their doors were alway locked when I came by. I will get my thoughts together and give a feeling of my best rooms with the proviso that I was only there for the day and didn't hear everything and what I did was not as long as usual
7. It was really good to meet up with so many WBF members and thanks to RonR who spent the day with me.
Silverline Audio Speakers sounded fantastic, didn't catch the identity of the other hardware as the conversation turned quickly to music.
They had the same speakers hooked up to 80k of WAVAC in another room, sounded much better in this room.
These speakers sounded amazing 15k bargain.
They had the same speakers hooked up to 80k of WAVAC in another room, sounded much better in this room.
These speakers sounded amazing 15k bargain.
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