[Bear]

Hi Bear,

Comparing the Von Schweikert room to the Econowaves is a difficult comparison.

The VS room was a high-end vinyl  / tube system (where the turntable probably weighed 100 pounds).  I think the VS speakers are $12k or something?  I've heard those speakers a total of three times now and they are good in many ways.

The Econowave room was a DIY type of room, no fancy source or amps, just straightforward and the materials list was under $500.  Bang for the buck, I thought it was unbeatable if you like the sound of constant directivity horns.  If there's one aspect you don't love, you can always upgrade that one part (e.g., the woofer, the box, the compression driver) and then do whatever tweak on the xover.  Endless possibilities.

So they are two different extremes of hifi.  (Great avatar, if that's Eastbound and Down).

Thanks for the feedback!  The avatar is indeed Kenny, from Eastbound and Down.

[Vapor Audio]

Just got back into St Louis this morning.  I'd say the show went well, we had a nice stream of traffic on Saturday ... Sunday was totally dead, but that let us get back on the road earlier than I'd planned.  I got to meet a few people that I had been wanting too for years, which was one of the best parts of the show.  In all, it was definately worth the drive down. 

We received a ton of great feedback about our room, as always that made me feel great!  I'll let you all say what you thought of the sound.  Here's a couple shots I took:

[HAL]

Oooh!  I see a Dodd Audio Battery Buffer in that setup!   

[Vapor Audio]

Oooh!  I see a Dodd Audio Battery Buffer in that setup!   

Yea, Trung was nice enough to let me use his for the weekend.  The Eastern Electric M88 has a switch that lets you bypass the pre section and use it as just an amp.  So flipping that and using the Dodd buffer as the pre instead made for a nice upgrade.  Nice little piece that I think I might have to add to my own system at home soon.

[jimdgoulding]

Yea, Trung was nice enough to let me use his for the weekend.  The Eastern Electric M88 has a switch that lets you bypass the pre section and use it as just an amp.  So flipping that and using the Dodd buffer as the pre instead made for a nice upgrade.  Nice little piece that I think I might have to add to my own system at home soon.

Trung is a good dude.  Got a rain check from him for some Vietnamese food.  Love the stuff.  That's another reason for me to carry my hiney back up there next year.  What I'm workin on now, FYI, is a video (a friend will shoot) of me in my room walkin and talkin (educating, hopefully) about my small product.  Then I should have less to do at the show.  Heck, I might even attend RMAF?

[TrungT]

Jim
Yes, I do have your "rain check Vietnamese food" here. 
Please let me know if you heading this way gain.

[jimdgoulding]

Jim
Yes, I do have your "rain check Vietnamese food" here. 
Please let me know if you heading this way gain.

Definitely, T, thanks.

[jtwrace]

Oddwatt makes really interesting tube and solid state amp kits.

How do they sound?  I've never heard of Oddwatt. 

[Blooze]

How do they sound?  I've never heard of Oddwatt.

I thought they sounded quite nice, especially for the money.  They make no bones that they will not sound like a $5K amp, but they do sound like some amps I've heard that cost 3-4 times as much.  A very good buy for the money, IMO, if you are into kits.

[xsheaffer]

I'm sorry I did not catch the vendor's name but it was a killer vinyl setup and really nice amps.  The Vandersteens I've heard twice previously and they are good.

This was my room, Found Music (www.found-music.com). The speakers are Von Schweikert Unifield 3's on gracious loan from Scott Warren at Advanced Home Theater. I am sorry we didn't get a chance to meet and chat more!

Scott Sheaffer
Found Music LLC

[TrungT]

Little late   

[marvda1]

 
Nooo... take the pictures down, i fell in love with the melody equipment.

[Nick77]

I was hoping to make it up to the show to hear Wayne's pi3 speakers.

Any additional comments on this room?

[Blooze]

I was hoping to make it up to the show to hear Wayne's pi3 speakers.

Any additional comments on this room?

I'm a Pi speaker fan.  I have a pair of the Two Towers, which were my first "DIY" speaker attempt.  I've heard all of the models and many with the different upgrades.  My personal favorites are the Pi 3's with the best drivers.  I think they just do more right than any of Wayne's others.  Especially if you've got a pair of subs to run with them.  I suck at making audiospeak descriptions so I'll let others do that.

[Nick77]

I'm a Pi speaker fan.  I have a pair of the Two Towers, which were my first "DIY" speaker attempt.  I've heard all of the models and many with the different upgrades.  My personal favorites are the Pi 3's with the best drivers.  I think they just do more right than any of Wayne's others.  Especially if you've got a pair of subs to run with them.  I suck at making audiospeak descriptions so I'll let others do that.

Thanks, i am actually interested in the pi4 and Wayne said the pi3 exhibit very similar traits.

[FredT300B]

I was hoping to make it up to the show to hear Wayne's pi3 speakers.
Any additional comments on this room?

I've owned the pi3 speakers and have heard both the pi3 and the pi4's. Their sonic signature is very similar. My pi3's had the Eminence woofer and tweeter. The pi3 pair Wayne exhibited at the show had the upgrade woofers and tweeters, which take the midrange and treble clarity to another level. With either set of drivers the pi speakers don't have that signature "horn" sound you hear in some older non-CD horn designs. If you didn't see the horn you wouldn't know you're listening to one.

The pi3's with the Eminence drivers don't have the treble resolution you would hear from a "high end" speaker with an expensive dome tweeter, but their constant directivity waveguides image better, and they are far more dynamic than conventional speakers. Even with the less expensive Eminence drivers a tweeter capacitor upgrade provides an audible sound improvement.

If I had to live with one speaker pair for the rest of my life, the pi speakers would be on my short list.