The next few days had Marge and I meeting up with her cousin and his girlfriend for dinner at Vandal (if you like street art this place is a MUST), lunch with her nieces working in NYC but who are Portland natives and basically just wandering about Manhattan in the most leisurely way. The City was surely growing more and more welcoming and I was feeling more and more comfortable. It helps that my wife grew up in New York as a child and went to school not too far away from where Ron did. Our strolls were filled with tales of her childhood memories. I was starting to feel much less of a stranger. Like Marty said, there's nothing like having local friends around to really help you feel more at home, and that I was.
Vandal was a visual highlight but musically Hadestown on Broadway and Billy Joel at MSG were bucket list experiences.
With just one full day left, I craftily suggested lunch at Eataly knowing full well one of NYC's precious audio havens was on the same block
I have had the great pleasure of meeting so many friends here at WBF in person. I met Steve and Ron Party in Danville many years ago. Rodney in Las Vegas. Ron and Kevin have come over. Myles in NY as mentioned. I hope to meet Lloyd and Marc in London next July before I head to Scotland for my Golf pilgrimage. Someday I'd love to meet up with Al and Bill in Texas, Graham in Australia, Tang in Bangkok, David in Utah, Gavin in Indiana. Gianni in Italy, Wisnon in CH. Oh so many friends! Damon and Leif were having a ball on and off the water with Russ in New Jersey so we didn't meet up. I was already in NY, I didn't want to bug Myles on short notice and I have always wanted to meet Bob.
I pick up the phone and called him. A few hours later I was at Rhapsody. Yeah!
I'd been following Bob for years too and we struck up a great friendship here at WBF. Of the many industry friends here I've always felt that we had many similarities in terms of our philosophies. I've always felt like Bob is one of the guys who blurs the line between work and play the way it is for me. We have to take the work part seriously for sure but I think I can surely say that we both approach new gear like kids in a candy store. Very picky kids, but kids nonetheless. As such, while we maintain lines that are very well known, we gamble on up and coming artisanal builders. Many times for us, it is sort of a "before they were famous story". Some fade away, some eventually gain global recognition. Helping talents achieve the latter is always a rewarding feeling.
Upon meeting Bob finally and the exchange of bearhugs like those with Steve and Marty was just really cool. Now the toys in his toy store, they are cool too! Let's get to it audio friends. I know you've been curious so here we go.
Like I said, Bob likes to play. His experimental streak is evident as soon as you walk in his store and you see his custom acoustic guitars some of which look like they could have been used in a Sci-fi flick like The 5th Element. So seeing OB/Horns and Planars beside Magicos isn't that shocking. Our being whatever one would call the opposite of dogmatic is something that has always made me feel a kinship with Bob. It's supposed to be fun dammit, so that's what we should do right? It could be made of tine foil and popsicle sticks, if it sounds good, it is good. LOL
So Bob, what we got? Bob walked me through the system. Front end was the big Vyger with a Koetsu cart on the left, an AF1P on the right both cleverly hooked up to a Zesto. Digital was as Marty described an SGM into an Acquos DAC. Both again cleverly hooked up to Pilium electronics from Greece, another Rhapsody discovery which I suspect will become well known as time goes by. I venture to guess sooner rather than later.
On the back end we had the very visually stunning pairs of speakers, the Alsyvox planars and the Diesis horn OB hybrids. Somebody please explain to me what it is about Italians that have them making such sexy stuff. For the next hour Bob and I went switching from speaker to speaker and among the three front ends. Let's start with the speakers.
Here are prime examples of how some things can be so different yet both be so good. The Diesis with its large paper woofers (Jackie like big paper woofers) its Mid compression driver and tweeter was direct as horns almost always are. Hey, that is what they do and that is what you get. If immediacy is your thing here it is in spades. The Alsyvox hews more closely to what I get at home. Bob gets a huge soundstage in his showroom. It looks packed to the rafters but acoustically it is a very good space. The ceilings are high and the speakers set up well as you would and should expect. The Alsyvox being a dipole did that dipole thing you planar guys are addicted to. Space, transparency. I intentionally do not mention speed because here is where they differ in the way it is delivered. Both are capably of copious amounts of it. The diesis reaches out and hands the information to you, the alsyvox conjures up a soundscape for you to wander in. Again more like what I get at home or at least how I've set my system up to be. If there was such a thing as a holodeck knob, this knob would be turned up. This is my preference. With the Magicos in the line-up and the Omnipolar Bayz coming in, you can say that Bob will have all bases covered.
