Lone Star Audio Fest 2010 - Reports

[rjbond3rd]

We just returned from the Lone Star Audio Fest in Dallas, where we heard lots of incredible rigs. This was a very DIY-oriented show. What follows is less than 10% of the total show, so I hope others will chime in.

A number of forum members were there, including Panomaniac, MightyM, and italynstalyn. Below are the smooth Altec 605 OB's that Panomaniac brought. He was using a very modified Behringer active crossover and the room sounded great (and he has impeccable music taste).

Upstairs, on the fourth floor (who knew?) John Busch had a crazy OB using the Goldwood GW-1858 (two per side) and it wins the bass award -- it was utterly phenomenal.

[rjbond3rd]

Forum member Udailey brought a really excellent-sounding 12" Audio Nirvana with a Fostex T90A horn tweeter. The music was very clear, and the bass was clean if a shade polite. Definitely they do not sound small!

I believe Udailey built the whole rig and it was artfully crafted and very refined. Also a man with excellent taste in music.

[rjbond3rd]

Does anyone remember that really cool exotic little Fostex FE103 speaker from some years back, with little square ports on the front and the sand-filled baffle? Forum member Phil Townsend built a pair and they are great.

And they were invented by Audio Crafters Guild, who also build amps etc. and this great pair of mini floor-standers. The image / soundstage was terrific. These are champs. Nice balance and not bass-shy.

[rjbond3rd]

These $15,000 Van Schweichert speakers are basically the Fostex F120A (I think) with a ribbon, and a robust bass module.

They are fantastic. They did the whole image / soundstage thing really well, and the bass was really deep for their size. So this goes to show what you can do with a Fostex.

[rjbond3rd]

These chamberless back-loaded horns have monster bass (not boomy), thanks in part to the Jordan JX92S. The design also uses the Aurum Cantus GS2i (as does Jim Griffin).

The cab is finished in a sort of formica. The designer is the very friendly Johan van Zyl. The contour is tractrix, but I guess it must be truncated since it evidently doesn't open to the full 90 degrees? It sounded really solid.

[rjbond3rd]

Well imagine my surprise when I entered the Affirm Audio / Mark Audio room and saw two Scottmoose designs -- I did not expect to see these.

I recognized Mr. Italynstalyn's Lotus BVR immediately. From the photos, I imagined it was 6 feet tall but actually it's very compact and maybe 4 feet tall and much thinner than I would have guessed.

The other cab is beautiful. It is a really nice high-end ply (I guess) and there is a slight 45-degree bevel on every piece of wood, on both the outer edge and the inner edge (very unusual and really nice). So there are "grooves" where the panels meet.

The cab houses a field-coil Mark Audio Alpair 12. Bob Spence adjusted the current to the coils, rather than the voltage. The drivers sounded very crisp, clean and snappy.

Alas, we didn't get to hear the Lotus BVR's but maybe next time!

[rjbond3rd]

Mr. Wayne Parham of Pi Speakers was sporting a large speaker called "3pi" and it is a beauty.

It uses an Acoustic Elegance Lambda woofer and B&C compression driver in a waveguide. It covered the whole room with a very big soundstage. I was surprised at the seamless sound.
The veneer is bubinga finished in a glossy lacquer.

[nebojsa]

Great review rjbond. Sounds like a lot of fun. Was wondering which one of those speakers made an impression on you. I know that when I go to an audio meet, usually I keep coming back to couple of them over and over. They somehow hit that right spot with me, I am sure you had your favorites or speakers that really surprised you. I am not trying to take away from other speaekers by any means, just curious. Thanks

[rjbond3rd]

The Emia room is a collaboration of Jeffrey Jackson and Dave Slage. Their room was packed with custom tube gear as you can see.

Their high efficiency rig had a beautiful mahogany front-loaded horn outfitted with a Lowther field-coil, atop a bass bin (and there was a little tweeter in there).

The sound was effortless and airy. You could hear a lot of detail but it didn't sound "bright" at all. Out of nowhere, it could get very "loud" but even when it was loud, it didn't /seem/ loud per se, because there was no straining. It could play Led Zepplin or jazz, and it never broke a sweat.

I never heard a system like this before.

[planet10]

Originally Posted by rjbond3rd

Van Schweichert speakers are basically the Fostex F120A (I think)

FX120. F120A have dark cones.

dave