Full Report
 THE SHOW Part 5
January 8th-11th, 2007

 

* product carried by Audio Federation

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All pictures in this report are freely copyable and distributable.

 

 

 

 
The Art Audio, Gill Audio Design, Custom Isolation Productions, Verity Audio room.

These dark photos kind of give you a feel for what the room really looks like.

These 'lit up' racks are quite striking... I am not sure if, after awhile, one would just turn them off because they are too bright, turning them on only to impress company. :-) Make no mistake, they are visually impressive - kind of a lighted display case for your equipment. Sonically...

 

 

 
 

 

 

 
The Simon Yorke turntable.

 

 

 
 

 

 

 
The Veryity Parsifal loudspeaker.

 

 

 
Close-up of the rack.

 

 

 

 
The Empirical Audio room.

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
The upstream electronics. Not sure what they are doing here, but if I was to guess, I'd say they were streaming music off of the laptop. Shouldn't that laptop be on some kind of vibration control? :-)

 

 

 

 
The Haliaetus Room.

I found this presentation to be very 'beamy', like a horn system but with a narrow focus. This was as I was listening with the expectation that this was going to sound pretty good - what with the Nagra amps, which aren't half bad.

It was as I was taking the photos of the speaker from the side [see below] that I thought the sound was best, more balanced top to bottom, especially in terms of dynamics.

 

 

 

 
The source electronics... more Nagra and an equalizer.

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
The Haliaetus speaker. I took several more from the side, but they all sucked. It is a black speaker in a dark room, with a dark background.

 

 

 

 
The Respons Loudspeakers, Akustikmiljo, Solid Tech room.

The Swedish contingent, from Marten and from Jorma Design, mentioned that these speakers were also by a Swedish gentlemen. So when I finally got to this room, I thought 'Oh, these are the speakers that they mentioned'.

I really had no time to listen, but what I did hear reminded me of the Marten speakers in that there is the attempt to render music competently. Similar to other brands as well, for example the *Acoustic Zen Adagios, at one extreme, and the *Marten Coltrane Supremes, at the other, there seems to be an attempt to apply an even hand, top to bottom, to all aspects of the performance and not pander to this or that constituency.

My impressions, and staring at the ARC amps it may be the sound of the amps I am describing, most definitely something close - are hat this was a neutral yet musical sound, with a round rather than a delineated pattern of note formation. Good control, not a lot of air. Yep, sounds like the amps. Which is a very good sign, if they can sound different on different amps. Perhaps we will be able to hear this at the next show....?

These speakers, in hindsight, were getting good buzz at the show - I just assumed that Respons was spelled 'Response', and so didn't sync up the mythical 'Response' speakers with these 'Respons' speakers until an embarrassingly long time after I visited this room.

 

 

 

 
The smaller Respons speakers.

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
The electronics, all ARC.

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
The Laufer Teknik room. Ascendo speakers and Behold amplifiers.

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
The *Acoustic Dreams equipment rack with more Behold equipment.

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
The Navison Audio room. With RL Acoustique speakers.

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
The Janszen room.

 

 

 

 
A Janszen speaker.

 

 

 

 
A Janszen speaker with cover on.

 

 

 

 
A Janszen speaker cover.

 

 

 

 
The Ridley Audio room. Everything in here is by Ridley Audio. Except the Sony disc changer.

The sound here was... idiosyncratic .. which is what a lot of 100% pure systems from manufacturers are unless they are very, very disciplined.

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
The Ridley turntable.

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
The last photo of the Ridley loudspeaker.

 

 

 

 
The AYDN, Artemis Labs, Schroeder room.

 

 

 

 
The source equipment.

 

 

 

 
The second, adjoining room.

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
The equipment from Artemis Labs has a nice look to it. And it is so much more easy fun safe enjoyable to take photos of equipment that is not black.

 

 

 

 
The NFS Audio room. NFS = Not For Sale. Just a bunch of guys who bring their stuff to these shows each year.

 

 

 

 
The traditional beaded entrance to the NFS room.

 

 

 

 
The system they brought this year. Looks like a receiver, a cassette tape deck, and some turntable....and some other stuff.

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
The entrance to the adjoining room. Do we dare enter?

 

 

 

 
The record collection easily wins best of show by at least a factor of 4.

 

 

 

 
The wall art - not the same painting that the other 50 rooms have??? Are we still in Las Vegas? Not a poster touting a company? What kind of show is this, anyway?

 

 

 

 
Oh, that kind of show. 

 

 

 

 
I've seen this movie... right? But was it with my eyes open or closed?

 

 

 

 
The speakers. Not sure what they are. With Ganesh and Buddha presenting.

 

 

 

 
The Volent, E-Speakers.com room.

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
The Almarro room. The Almarro room has never blown us away with their price performance as much as they did in San Francisco at the Stereophile Show in... 2003. Not sure why they didn't stick to that design which was able to communicate much of what the best 6C33C amps bring to the party.

Not that they aren't good anymore, it is just that Slam Dunk that we are all looking for. Some of us to the exclusion of being able to enjoy our current systems - some of us just trying to recognize it when we see it.

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 
Keep that bulb burning bright!

'Till next show...

 

&n