Fun and interesting day there today.
Coffee table book on the history of high end audio. Special show price of $120. You're f****** kidding me. Kramer?
They guys I saw last year selling $10k power strips were back. I overheard them telling a prospective customer that their strip was so excellent that they had just sold one to a cardiac surgeon.
I was impressed with how good the Lowthers sounded there, driven by First Watt amps. Not my favorite speakers, but it's better than I've ever heard them before. Nelson Pass's slot-loaded bass.
German Physics had a pair of speakers the size of Panzer tanks. Emperor Mk II. Perfect for invading Russia. Costs more than my house. I was not reminded of live music. They were playing a clarinet and string quartet at 100dB sound pressure levels.
The Grimm 3 way was punchy and dynamic. Very narrow sweet spot. Excellent speaker, very rationally designed with built-in amplification. But, oh, the price!
I've heard a lot of Sound Labs ESLs over the years. I've never heard them sound worse than this, though. Abingdon electronics, but I don't know that this was the guilty party.
Soundfield Audio was on the lower end of the price range for this cohort, with their M2 monitor speakers. Some of the best sound at the show.
Matt Weisfeld from VPI is an extraordinarily nice young man. Their latest product is a record player for the masses, with built-in electronics. Could make a fine off-to-college gift.
Polymer MKS-X speakers were $60,000. They claim that the midrange driver alone costs $10k. Maybe it does. Hard as nails, both tactile and sound.
Endeavor speakers with Constellation electronics were astounding. Not in a good way, bright and hard, besides being turned up too loud.
MBL always impresses, but they must have EQed the bass to make it so overpowering and unnatural. And deafening levels.
That really was a common theme for all but one or two rooms- exaggerated bass, way-louder-than-life volume levels, and boomy, gut-shaking bass. It's a pity, but I guess they're going for a demographic that's getting increasingly deaf.
Coffee table book on the history of high end audio. Special show price of $120. You're f****** kidding me. Kramer?
They guys I saw last year selling $10k power strips were back. I overheard them telling a prospective customer that their strip was so excellent that they had just sold one to a cardiac surgeon.
I was impressed with how good the Lowthers sounded there, driven by First Watt amps. Not my favorite speakers, but it's better than I've ever heard them before. Nelson Pass's slot-loaded bass.
German Physics had a pair of speakers the size of Panzer tanks. Emperor Mk II. Perfect for invading Russia. Costs more than my house. I was not reminded of live music. They were playing a clarinet and string quartet at 100dB sound pressure levels.
The Grimm 3 way was punchy and dynamic. Very narrow sweet spot. Excellent speaker, very rationally designed with built-in amplification. But, oh, the price!
I've heard a lot of Sound Labs ESLs over the years. I've never heard them sound worse than this, though. Abingdon electronics, but I don't know that this was the guilty party.
Soundfield Audio was on the lower end of the price range for this cohort, with their M2 monitor speakers. Some of the best sound at the show.
Matt Weisfeld from VPI is an extraordinarily nice young man. Their latest product is a record player for the masses, with built-in electronics. Could make a fine off-to-college gift.
Polymer MKS-X speakers were $60,000. They claim that the midrange driver alone costs $10k. Maybe it does. Hard as nails, both tactile and sound.
Endeavor speakers with Constellation electronics were astounding. Not in a good way, bright and hard, besides being turned up too loud.
MBL always impresses, but they must have EQed the bass to make it so overpowering and unnatural. And deafening levels.
That really was a common theme for all but one or two rooms- exaggerated bass, way-louder-than-life volume levels, and boomy, gut-shaking bass. It's a pity, but I guess they're going for a demographic that's getting increasingly deaf.
Gee audiari - SY's post was time stamped on my machine at after 4:00PM April 25th - the first day
and having been to a couple of shows myself, 4-6hrs is certainly enough for even a neophyte to get an initial impression of what sounds good or not
when enough rooms sound similarly unmusical, sometimes 4hrs is way too much, and the cheesy band playing in the lounge after dinner is a relief - of course a few cocktails or bottle of nice Cabernet or Pinot Noir, depending on your mood, can be a great equalizer
and having been to a couple of shows myself, 4-6hrs is certainly enough for even a neophyte to get an initial impression of what sounds good or not
when enough rooms sound similarly unmusical, sometimes 4hrs is way too much, and the cheesy band playing in the lounge after dinner is a relief - of course a few cocktails or bottle of nice Cabernet or Pinot Noir, depending on your mood, can be a great equalizer
The levels and eq are probably because the people setting it up, and now two generations, are half-deaf from car subs and ear buds. Our generation only had Who concerts to destroy our hearing, and most of us were too poor to do so.
Investment tip: Hearing aid companies. Gen X and Millennials will all need them before us boomers die.
Investment tip: Hearing aid companies. Gen X and Millennials will all need them before us boomers die.
It was open to the public all day Friday. The main press perk was the use of free wifi in the press room.
My editing could use some work...
Other thing I noticed was reel to reel tape in several rooms. It's been years since I've listened to any tapes, but coming back to it, I noticed that there's a slightly murky, hazy, out-of-focus quality to all the examples here.
Everyone seems to have pad-controlled digital files, and nearly everyone is somewhat uncomfortable with the user interface. Most common sentence heard when I give them a thumb drive with my test recordings: "This is new for me, I'm not 100% sure how to use it, let me get someone..." On the other hand, Redbird and Lee Barber have probably sold a few more albums.
Other thing I noticed was reel to reel tape in several rooms. It's been years since I've listened to any tapes, but coming back to it, I noticed that there's a slightly murky, hazy, out-of-focus quality to all the examples here.
Everyone seems to have pad-controlled digital files, and nearly everyone is somewhat uncomfortable with the user interface. Most common sentence heard when I give them a thumb drive with my test recordings: "This is new for me, I'm not 100% sure how to use it, let me get someone..." On the other hand, Redbird and Lee Barber have probably sold a few more albums.
Interestingly at Son et Image this year almost everyone had moved on from iTunes and iPad based interfaces to J River media player generally running on a lap top.. I also saw a fair number of Asus Xonar family dacs, which sounded pretty good compared to what I remembered from last year.
A lot of vinyl, a lot of digital, some dsd - the Sony HAP - Z1ES was quite good through MDRV6 headphones in the Sony room.
No tape, open reel or otherwise. I have heard some really good sounding tape at 15ips from the Tape Project played back on modified Studer or Ampex decks. (Very expensive transfers and playback hardware) I abandoned 7.5ips open reel tape recently because my digital recording set up sounded much better.
A lot of vinyl, a lot of digital, some dsd - the Sony HAP - Z1ES was quite good through MDRV6 headphones in the Sony room.
No tape, open reel or otherwise. I have heard some really good sounding tape at 15ips from the Tape Project played back on modified Studer or Ampex decks. (Very expensive transfers and playback hardware) I abandoned 7.5ips open reel tape recently because my digital recording set up sounded much better.
Wrong show Scotty ..
What can i say , shocking on all levels and imo no excuse for poor sound at this level , i guess the market is now going for Boom...
Good to see the great Chemist is out and listening....
Agree 15IPS OR GO HOME .....
I control J River using my Android phone or tablet, there is a 3rd party app for the iPad and iPhone/iPod. My iPod is too old so I have not experimented with it.
Yes, 15ips and up is another world compared to 7.5ips, I had an Otari MX55 T equipped with Dolby HX that could do 15/30ips but ultimately I did no live recording with it, and given its size and my relatively small room I didn't keep it for very long. Running at 15ips on 10.5" reels I was amazed at how quickly I ran out of tape. I had a ReVox G36 MKIII with new half track heads, but which only supported a 7.5ips maximum speed. I know exactly what SY is referring to here, it is exactly why I gave this machine away to a friend who was interested last summer - reclaiming space. Hazy is exactly the right word for the noticeable degradation in sound quality when making a needle drop.
Yes, 15ips and up is another world compared to 7.5ips, I had an Otari MX55 T equipped with Dolby HX that could do 15/30ips but ultimately I did no live recording with it, and given its size and my relatively small room I didn't keep it for very long. Running at 15ips on 10.5" reels I was amazed at how quickly I ran out of tape. I had a ReVox G36 MKIII with new half track heads, but which only supported a 7.5ips maximum speed. I know exactly what SY is referring to here, it is exactly why I gave this machine away to a friend who was interested last summer - reclaiming space. Hazy is exactly the right word for the noticeable degradation in sound quality when making a needle drop.
I didn't notice the tablet brands.
Back in the days when I used to lug around my steamer-trunk Ampexes to recording sites, I always used 15ips/two track. Still not transparent, but noticeably better than 7.5/four track common in most consumer applications. Two of the tape decks I saw at the show were running 15 ips as well. I guess I've just gotten accustomed to listening without those colorations, so it's more bothersome to me now than it was then.
Back in the days when I used to lug around my steamer-trunk Ampexes to recording sites, I always used 15ips/two track. Still not transparent, but noticeably better than 7.5/four track common in most consumer applications. Two of the tape decks I saw at the show were running 15 ips as well. I guess I've just gotten accustomed to listening without those colorations, so it's more bothersome to me now than it was then.
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