THE Show Report

[c1ferrari]

(9) Vandersteen-ARC-Basis #1004. Basis tt, Vector arm, Lyra Atlas. i liked the room and did visit it a couple other times and listen to other vinyl. it did sound good overall. i really do like the Vandersteen's and ARC gear. but on Snooky it was mush to a degree. and A.J. was out in the hall so you would assume the set-up was very good. yet; it did not have even the precision of the Soundsmith Hyperion cartridge....let alone anywhere close to the Durand-Ortofon's. if you never heard Snooky done right, i can see where you'd be enjoying it. but for me i was disappointed as i expected much more. i'm sure the Atlas is better than this.

This was the best sound I heard for this show...balanced, generally extended, with dimension and great portent. I would hear this system again under more favorable conditions.

(11) Scaena--VAC-ARC. #216. Kronos tt, Graham Phantom Supreme arm, Clearaudio Goldfinger Statement cartridge. i had high expectations for this system, the tonearm, and the cartridge. i had enjoyed the Scaena speakers before, the VAC electronics are always enjoyable to me, and i was anticipating hearing the Graham Supreme and the Goldfinger statement. i sat down right next to the Kronos turntable designer, who i assumed had set up the arm and cartridge. it was mostly a mess. everything. the bass was not right at all, the tt seemed to have speed issues, and Snooky was not happening. i'm going to assume that none of the parts were at fault, and wait until next time to assess the Phantom Supreme and Goldfinger Statement.

i had visited this room 3 different times and never heard it sound quite right.

A room I imagined with great anticipation...similar impressions as above; however, I listened Friday and Sunday.

Another room which fascinated was Wisdom Audio. The tri-amped loudspeakers fueled by Burmester electronics beguiled...if only I could suspend my disbelief, as the the considerable scale of the system became inescapable, when reproducing solo vocal.

This year, I approached the event differently as I had arrived with digital media, which were both expressly non-audiophile and expressly familiar. The majority of exhibitors favored us when a request was made to hear our files I would hazard an opinion approximately 80% of the rooms exhibited surplus lower-mid and upper-bass energy according to my subjective observations and preferences. I concluded concepts underscoring the import of loudspeaker/room interaction and nature of source were, indeed, axiomatic.

Off topic: Attending John Atkinson's talk on speaker measurement was certainly a personal highlight Of course, seeing friends...making and renewing acquaintances -- priceless

 

[Joe Cohen]

The NVS-Telos-Ortofon Anna combo ranks far and away as the best analog front end I have ever heard. Thanks for listing us as number 2, Mike. I wonder what our sound would have been like with that table, arm and cartridge.

Best,

Joe

 

[MylesBAstor]

The NVS-Telos-Ortofon Anna combo ranks far and away as the best analog front end I have ever heard. Thanks for listing us as number 2, Mike. I wonder what our sound would have been like with that table, arm and cartridge.

Best,

Joe

Welcome Joe and hope to see more of you round here!

 

[Joe Cohen]

Welcome Joe and hope to see more of you round here!

Thanks, Myles!

 

[KeithR]

Thanks for the comments MikeL. Any thoughts on the two Wilson rooms? Seems we both agree on the Scaena bass/room.

KeithR

 

[Lee]

Keith, really good report. Thank you. Work commitments kept me from going sadly.

The Pulsars are terrific. They had a really good showing at RMAF too.

 

[Lee]

IMO it is very difficult/impossible to get a meaningful impressions of equipment at shows. There are too many variables at play and some rooms are impossible to work with so even great gear is doomed from the start. I personally don't take any show impressions too seriously. The only time I post listening impressions of equipment is when I change something out in my own system which I am intimately familiar with, and even this is likely not meaningful to others as it is impossible to rule out personal subjectivity and influence of other components in the chain. I think reviews are good to get a general impression of a component (continuities in multiple different reviews), which can then be used to shortlist components to try out at home. Unfortunately home demo's are a hassle to arrange and come with some sort of obligation to the dealer.

It depends. Many exhibitors at RMAF have been in the exact same room for the past five years. If you have not figured it out by then then there are larger issues. I will concede I have heard some terrible Magico demos in Denver that were possibly room related.

 

[MylesBAstor]

It depends. Many exhibitors at RMAF have been in the exact same room for the past five years. If you have not figured it out by then then there are larger issues. I will concede I have heard some terrible Magico demos in Denver that were possibly room related.

And for some manufacturer, the room they're in is all they afford and can't move up to a better/bigger room There's really so much one can do with some of these rooms.

 

[KeithR]

As a follow-up, I was at Stereo Design in SD this weekend and heard Maxx3s in a well-treated room (albeit too small for them imo) with ARC Ref5 and 250s.

My critique is similar to what I heard at the show- not enough body. I really don't feel Wilson/ARC is an ideal combo- I would look to BAT and Lamm (which I've owned or heard respectively on Wilsons) as better solutions.

I also heard Wilson Sashas with a full Boulder setup in a great, large room--I found it a tad bright, although detail was exceptional.