Sometimes I get frustrated at audio shows when reviewers fail to mention a critical aspect in every room... The Cables! The cables, whether digital or analogue, tie together all the components, either in a good, so-so, bad or superb synergistic manner...
I place a lot of sweat equity and $$$ equity into participating at the various audio shows and when only the speakers and/or electronics get mentioned, I get frustrated!
Recently, at the Capital AudioFest, my cable looms (analogue & digital) were featured in a total of
FIVE rooms, as follows;
Rooms 309 & 316 with my normal "partners in audio crime", Volti Audio, featuring their flagship "Vittora" (
Room 316) & baby brother "Rival" (
Room 309) loudspeakers and BorderPatrol Audio, featuring their acclaimed sublime Control Unit, 300B amplifiers and analogue sounding DACs! We also featured Innuos music servers. For a second time, partnering with fellow AC Sponsor Daedalus Audio in
Room 516. Lou featured his Muse/Studio speaker. BorderPatrol Audio provided their 300B amplifier and analogue sounding DAC! We also featured my personal Innuos music server (ZENith Mk. 3).
I also teamed up again with another "partner in audio crime" & fellow AC Sponsor Vinnie Rossi, in
Room 528, along with Mark Sossa of Well Pleased AV. Vinnie had his new, beautiful L2i-SE integrated amp coupled with QLN Prestige Three SE loudspeakers and an Innuos Statement Music Server.
Finally, I'm also teamed up once again with Greg Takesh from GT Audio Works and Sound Insight's Steve Rabitz. We were in the huge
Frederick Room again. Greg had his full range planar ribbon speakers with Pass Labs electronics, Esoteric K-01X SACD player and Basis Turntable. I
I was given the following award from Audio Resurgence, after they heard the sound emanating from the above FIVE rooms...
Here's their summary of my cable performance...
https://audioresurgence.com/2019/11/qln-innuos-vinnie-rossi-and-triode-wire-labs-show-report-from-capital-audiofest-2019.htmlAn excerpt...
"Which brings me to a point that occurred to me as I was getting ready to wrap up for the day on Friday. It’s really tough to make a judgement on cable performance at an audio show, when pretty much everything you hear emanates from a combination of equipment that you’ve probably never heard before, and it’s all happening in a room that you know is far from ideal.
But I know from my many years’ experience with QLN speakers that they thrive and come alive only when fed by high quality components working synergistically with top quality cables. Yet I’ve had a lot of different high-end gear hooked-up to my QLN’s over the years and they’ve never delivered quite the same degree of sonic transparency that I heard at the show. That tells me everything I need to know about the electronics, and just as importantly, the wire. As far as my ears are concerned, the Triode Wire Labs’ cables imparted no sonic signature of their own on the sound of this system, and took nothing at all away. This impression was supported later in the show when I encountered other top performing systems with…. low and behold…. Triode Wire Labs’ cables.
So I’m dishing out my first award for a manufacturer at Capital Audiofest – and it was the easiest award decision I’ve had to make."Thanks, AR!!!
Cheers,
Pete
