They are actually pretty nice looking, I am just a mean audiophile. You could also say they look like spinnakers in blossom.
T.H.E. Show Report- 2013
- Thread starter KeithR
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Actually, a single room can sound very different depending upon when you listen (settling times, ad hoc cable/gear changes by the exhibitor, etc.) Show reports that are based upon the sound are a moving target and should be taken with a grain of salt.
That's not a minor point! If you want to hear things sound their best, need to usually go on Sunday. That's why when I go to shows, try and hit every room over several days. I've even had exhibitors see me in the hall and ask me to come back and listen because they found a cable, etc. not working properly. Happened not to long ago in Chicago in the Herron Audio room.
The reality is that if you hear something sound really good at a show, you may just be hearing a fraction of the true performance potential compared to hearing the same gear in a really good room vice a hotel room. Conversely, if you hear something bad sounding at a show, it doesn't necessarily mean it wouldn't sound great if set up in a good room. Unfortunately, we tend to make snapshot judgements of sound quality at shows-or at least I know I do. Some rooms/gear sound so bad I don't want to sit through a single song before I want to bolt.
I always try to remember that when you audition equipment at a show, each piece in the system is at least capable of reproducing the sound quality you experience. You should realize that any of the individual components may be capable of a much higher level of performance when used in a different system or room. Therefore I try to avoid forming any negative opinions after an audition in an unfamiliar system, since poor sonics may just be the result of a mismatch with other components or a limitation of the room's acoustics. (So I'm in complete agreement with mep's comments above.)
Even more true if you consider one of the possible explanations for the expression a "grain of salt" . From Wikipedia An alternative account says that the Roman general Pompey believed he could make himself immune to poison by ingesting small amounts of various poisons, and he took this treatment with a grain of salt to help him swallow the poison. In this version, the salt is not the antidote. It was taken merely to assist in swallowing the poison.
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Bruce B
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Guess I must have heard it on the wrong day at CES. I though it one of the worst and most mechanical, artificial sounding rooms. Lifeless and no microdynamic contrasts at all. All the images were paper thin
YMMV....Guess I must have heard it on the wrong day at CES. I though it one of the worst and most mechanical, artificial sounding rooms. Lifeless and no microdynamic contrasts at all. All the images were paper thin
Seriously? That's a heck of a criticism. I don't think I've ever heard any other pro say anything like that about the sound the two firms make. Most talk about the great synergy of the brands.
Not that that makes you wrong, nor do I suggest that I've read every comment or review. But it's not my first rodeo either and I must tell you I visited the room half a dozen times because I thought it was so good. I'm not a fan of the industrial design or pricing of either brand, nor usually of all solid state systems, so the sublime sound caught me by surprise.
Maybe you were tense or rushed, or the music selection/source equipment was dicey - I know I can't listen to anything when something has put me in the wrong frame of mind.
Or maybe I'm just dead wrong - but if so, I'm not alone.
I am also not a huge fan of all solid state systems, the design, or pricing of both firms, but I agree with you the sound was very good together,
at least at Newport.
I can see how Myles, based on his system preferences (CJ/ML) would find the presentation somewhat mechanical. However, I was
particularly impressed with the bass definition and over all resolution.
Irv Gross was manning the room at Newport, and I get along with him great, he is a sweet guy, but sometimes he
plays very unfamiliar, and well, boring music. I prompted him to play something that people would know aside from
high resolution Bach concertos and he complied.
These products DO need a very long break in period, and it is possible at CES they were not ready. Also, the S1 has
been tweaked since then.
I think Magico could be opening up a whole new market at $12,600. Would love to have a shoot out with the S1 and the Thiel CS3.7.
Don't know what was playing in that room, or the room itself, but I have a Q3 + Constellation Centaur/Virgo here, and it's anything BUT what Myles described.
It's an incredibly lifelike sound, with lots of depth and layering.
I know Myles likes panels, and I liked them too in my limited exposure, but this (Magico + proper amps) is something else altogether.
alexandre
It's an incredibly lifelike sound, with lots of depth and layering.
I know Myles likes panels, and I liked them too in my limited exposure, but this (Magico + proper amps) is something else altogether.
alexandre
If I had never heard a darTZeel, I'd keep those. It has the Krell heft (or the Boulder I heard at your place) with the lovely naturalness of the darTZeel. It's also priced somewhat right.
I have only switched the darTZeels back in briefly, to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. I'm trying to play as many different kinds of music as possible, to get a good idea how these sound, instead of relying on the familiar test tunes.
So final verdict is still up, but this is the first electronics that made me even consider a change. Everything else was nice here and there, better in this or that aspect, but overall, the darTZeel was clearly better. With these (Constellation), it's not as clear cut, the gap is not as big, if it even exists.
alexandre
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