[Bosh]

Louis' Omega Grande 8s (Standard) played a starring role in what I'd count as one of the most alive, most sonically exciting rooms at this year's NY Show:  Robyatt Audio's room.  

Robin drove the 8s with an amazing Tektron 2A3/50SI integrated; speaker cables and stands were by Mapleshade (Double Helix cable and Gibralter).  Front end was a $150. (!!!) Pioneer universal player.  I'm thinking about putting my Double Helix back in the system on L/R mains and using the AQ cable for the sub run.

Total system cost?  $3203.  And this room blew away a number of others where the freakin' power cord cost that much.

Congrats to Lou, and you'll find complete show coverage at http://www.6moons.com/ over the coming days.

Cheers,

-b[/b]

[minliu]

Same here, I went to the room directly from the registration desk because I know both Omega and Horn Shoppe are there. As I was sitting there, someone in the crowd refer to a person as Louis. Then I start saying Louis build me a Grande 8 not too long ago and that gentleman start saying that is the last Grande he built recently and it is in cherry finish. I am kind of curious that how come he knows because the name tag show another name instead of Louis. Louis went on explaining that he lost his tag or something so it is a borrowed one . He kindly allow me take a picture with him. What an treat, standing there with the guy who actually built your speaker for you.  

The demonstration went on and to be honest, the volume is just too high for my liking. At home, Grande 8S work beautifully with my Jeff Korneff 76/45 tube combo at modest volume (~80dB). Is it true that all audiophiler listen to their music so loud or the speakers have to be pushed hard to reach their optimal performance?

Cheers,

[Carlman]

I gave up looking for the review from your link... can you link to a more specific spot?

Thanks.

[Bosh]

It's not a review, it's Show coverage.  The editor's three-parter is already up, and mine (such as it is) should go live today...with the observations of several more 6moons writers to come.

But there IS an Omega review on the site; just look in review archives.

[JLM]

minliu:

From attending three audio fests and occasional visits to a local audio club my experience is that the volume can tend to get cranked up from where typical audio folks typically listen.  It depends on the setting and the personalities involved.  Audio shows tend to bring out the higher volumes as folks strut their stuff and try to block out whats going on next door.

Long before you reach a threshold of pain I believe you usually run into the "threshold of annoyance" (ToA).  ToA can vary based on "sonic fatigue", your mood, the level of various distortions involved in the playback, and if you like the music or not.  "Sonic fatigue" is the overload your brain suffers from trying to critically absorb too much information.

Your stated playback level of 80 dB is right in the ballpark I use when seriously listening, seriously.  

[albee]

JLM:  You stated 80db playback--at one meter or at the chair?  I've made some "crude" measurements and 80db at the chair is where I really like it.  It's starting to get loud but not fatiguing.

[Louis O]

Hi Bosh,

Many thanks for posting about the show and also the great review on 6moons. I had a great time at the show and wished i could have been there for the whole 4 days. I made it for Saturday and Sunday. Robin had done all the setup and he did a great job. I was very curios to hear the speakers set up on the maple shade stands. I do have the bedrocks wich are much lower than the gibralters. The newer stands sound much better being a little higher off the floor. They work very well and also enhance the bass with the added room gain without being boomy. The Tektron was sounding very good and and the tube rolling you can do with this amp is amazing. Robin did it on the fly and it was pretty wild to see everyones faces while he was changing tubes. George's Audiozone amp sounded fantastic too and was very impressed with it. I think it's one of the best sounding SS amps I've heard and he is sending one to me to try out. I can't wait to get it.

Hi minliu,

It was great meeting you at the show and your right about the nametag. By mistake Robin didn't register my name for a nametag. I'm really happy you stopped by and it was a pleasure taking a picture with you. I do agree at times the sound was very loud. Backround noise at shows can be pretty loud so sometimes it's helps to add more volume to overcome it. I do actually prefer to listen at lower volumes too, for the most part. The Korneff and Grande 8s work great together and I had a borrowed Korneff at the shop for a very short time and wished I could have kept it longer.

Denver is next and I'll report more on the Audiozone when I get it in a couple of weeks.

Thanks again,
Louis