[Pez]

Esoteric
TEAC Reference Series
Cabasse
Audio Plus Services
Gold Sound
Focal
Cambridge Audio
VPI Industries









Bach piece sounds a little demur. Not exactly sweet and sorrowful, but more sugary and apologetic. Mahler is sort of the same not great on emotion. Very dry and uninteresting. I find the dynamics a little compressed. Ani was ok I didn't really feel connected to the music. Thom Yorke no imaging to speak of. I did not like this room one bit unfortunately.


Tyson Notes[/u]
Mahler - Mahler - sounds big!!  The cello's and basses dig deep.  Wind instruments are a tiny bit astringent though.  How does it scale dynamically?  Goddamn that is a big bass drum!!!!
Bach - Good tonality, nice spaciousness
Ani DiFranco - Guitar has a nice tang to it.  No boominess at all.  Her voice is crystal clear.  Nice sense of honesty.  Still, not perfect - a tiny bit sibilant. 
Thom Yorke - Holy crap, bass dynamics like fucking crazy.  And Tight!!!!!! 
General Room Notes - Crazy looking speakers, I love it!  Cabasse has always been sort of "Mars Attacks" in their aesthetics, but this year they knock it out of the park.  Room Treatments!!!  Makes a big difference - the room quiets down very nicely between notes.  Great room.  Love the 4 way coaxial speakers.

[Pez]

Gold Sound
Focal
Cambridge Audio
VPI Industries







This room for what it is, a midfi setup with no room treatment with speakers that sound out of phase the tonality is pretty good. I liked the sound of the Bach piece and the Mahler piece. The phase issue is pretty obvious to me in the Ani piece. On the thom Yorke piece the bass is pretty out of control and flubby. I think the overall impression I am getting from this room is close but no cigar.


Tyson Notes[/u]
Mahler - The people in this room appreciate good music!  Diggin on the Mahler   Very surprising amount of bass from these speakers.  Pretty sure there's no sub, but they hit the bass drum very nicely.
Bach - Solo violin did not drive me out of the room, always a good thing.  Still a bit too sharp though.
Ani DiFranco - Ouch, pretty sibilant.  Gotta love Ani, if your system has a weakness. 
Thom Yorke - Strong bass.  Maybe a bit boomy.  Or maybe it's the track.  Honestly this is Jason's request for this track,so I take no responsiblity for it's overall lack of quality
General Room Notes - OK, these are way smaller than the ones I loved last year.  But they are well set up and sounding nice out of the gate.  Overall not bad, but based on the weakness with Ani I don't think these would be a good long term solution. Also, Jason noticed one of the speakers are out of phase, which is probably why he noticed the soundstage was off (I never listen for soundstage), and I noticed that the tonality was off.

[Pez]

Note to ALL manufacturers and to all going to the show. This is what happens when you are not careful. I might be the only one who notices this all day, I might not be, but I will say that sitting in the sweet spot it was blatantly obvious that something was not right. My ears told me phase was wrong. I would normally never poke around behind an equipment rack ,but I had to in this instance. Here's what I found.



Pretty obvious this is out of phase. 

[Pez]

Hear No Evil
McIntosh laboratory inc.
Clarus
KEF










Looks great on here! More hifi than you can possibly afford.
Bach very nice tone. I like the microdynamic capabilities of these speakers. The Mahler piece has gusto! Side note, Ferrari orange... Fuck ya! The room itself has a very loud ac unit so it is swallowing some microdynamics whole. Great macro as well. Ani with great emotion! Finally after three rooms. There are no apparent anomalies in driver integration here very nice. Thom Yorke Yorke is strong as hell. A little gloomy in bass, but probably the giant untreated room. Imaging is good, not great and realistic like the analysis speakers room, but leave little to be desired. Great head bobbing factor here. 

Tyson Notes[/u]
Mahler - I'm begging to think the basses and cello's on this track are just recorded spectacularly, because EVERY system sounds good on this track, and the Blades are no exception.
Bach - Violin sounds a little pinched and forced.  The tiny bit of pathos is missing, not connecting me with the emotion of this piece, unfortunately.
Ani DiFranco - Ouch, guitar sounds metalic.  Man, that's too bad, the sound does not live up to the sexiness of the speakers.  Not terrible, but not great.
Thom Yorke - Sounds good because there's not much going on in the presence region, and the bass is punchy.  Still, even with that, the bass is droning.  Good punch but too much lag/overhang.
General Room Notes - Gian ballroom - these rooms are always the most difficult to get good sound from.  Gotta say the Blades look very cool.  Overall this room is very noisy, lots of people talking and babbling in the background, makes it hard to appreciate the system. 

[Pez]

Kimber Kable
EMM Labs Inc.
IsoMike








Isomike/kimber/emm labs room is notoriously hard to get them to play our music. This year is no exception, but there is a great reason for that.  Isomike is the showcase here therefore all the music played in this multichannel setup is specifically for that.

Dynamics are pretty off the charts. Spacious and almost atmospheric when it comes to soundstage. Imaging is never pinpoint in this room, but disperse and this year is no exception. Just a different kind of awesome if you will.

Tyson Notes[/u]
Mahler -
Bach -
Ani DiFranco -
Thom Yorke -
General Room Notes - Full on surround sound here, so obviously cannot listen to my own music.  But as always, the room sounds great.  I'm always surprised that Sony speakers sound so good.  I mean, SONY SPEAKERS????  But there you have it, and there it is.  Anyway, super spacious and enveloping.  Kinda makes me want to re-setup full surround at my house!  Now I just need a huge ballroom to put everything....

[Pez]

Apex Audio
Critical Mass Systems
Graham Engineering
Accuphase
Transrotor
Air Tight
TARA Labs
Focal
Running Springs Audio
Soulution







Hmmm last year this room was pretty damn great. This year it's pretty damn mediocre. Boominess galore the overall sound is good don't get me wrong, there is nothing that jumps out as me as off, but nothing that jumps out at me as completely on either. In the sweet spot imaging is pretty good, but the is just too much bloom in midrange to my ears that draws attention away from deeps enjoyment. Perhaps with more aggressive room treatment these problems would be overcome. What this setup does well is the pace and laid back presentation. Easy to listen to on that front.

Tyson Notes[/u]
Mahler -
Bach -
Ani DiFranco -
Thom Yorke -
General Room Notes - Ah, the room I loved so much last year, much to my dismay.  I mean, what right does the Focal room have to suck so bad for so long, then suddently appear beautiful, on a dime?  To quote every bad romantic chick flick "You were right here, the whole time...".  Do they sound as good this year?  In a word, no.  Soundstage is all wonky, or maybe it's just this crap Roger Waters music they are making us listen to.  Also, expectations are higher, so I'm not as blown away.  In the language of chick flicks, I had a magical evening and now reality is awaking me.

Oh wait, I changed seats and guess what, it sounds phenomenal again.  Soundstage is huge and the speakers sound like big ass muscle cars, just oozing power and weight.  Alright, my conclusion is that the Focal's have a pretty damn small sweet spot, but sound crazy good if you happen to be able to hog it. 

[roscoeiii]

Note to ALL manufacturers and to all going to the show. This is what happens when you are not careful. I might be the only one who notices this all day, I might not be, but I will say that sitting in the sweet spot it was blatantly obvious that something was not right. My ears told me phase was wrong. I would normally never poke around behind an equipment rack ,but I had to in this instance. Here's what I found.



Pretty obvious this is out of phase. 

Here is hoping you were a "dispenser of Truth" to these exhibitors.

[Pez]

Laufer Teknik
Extreme Audio
Silver Circle Audio
Stillpoints LLC
Kaplan Cable
Klee Acoustics LLC
Audio Power Labs
The Memory Player 64
Leonardo Speakers USA







First I just want to say these amps a pretty much the baddest of them all in the looks department. Holy shit they are massive and they are purposeful.

Bach the violin is just so sweet. Emotive beyond belief. Detail on par and beyond the analysis room. Every pull of the bow emotes. Mahler decent dynamically speaking. Definitely does not knock me down. This system is certainly more about finesse than brute strength. On the huge dynamic passages this system does pretty good, but again I know these passages well and they defiantly should be more dynamic than what this setup conveys. Ani sounds big, room feeling on the guitar. Vocals are lovely. Not quite the soundstage that feels like you can walk out in and shake her hand, but better than many. Thom Yorke starts very strong indeed. Lacking the bottom end to really grab me, but sounds good none the less.  Good detail overall.

Tyson Notes[/u]
Mahler - OK, finally a room where the Mahler does not sound just spectacular.  I bit mushy and soft in the basses and cellos during the opening.  Sounds pretty good, but not nearly as clean as I've heard in other rooms.  Drags a bit, overall slow sounding.
Bach - Ah, yes it catches the emotional heft of this piece - seemingly happy, but with pathos underlying it. Very rare.  Tonally just beautiful.
Ani DiFranco - Guitar does not bloom like it should, lacks bite.  Ouch, sibilant sssssssss like crazy.  OK, maybe not crazy, but one of the poorer rooms so far on this track.  Really boomy guitar sound. 
Thom Yorke - OK, for all the bad stuff I've said, I do really like the soundstage on this track.  It's got a nice wide spread and sense of realism. 
General Room Notes - Nice, they have the room dark and it's actually quiet.  Much nicer room to evaluate gear in.  And having tube-porn in the front of the room definitely helps!  Overall an unbalanced sound.  Soft in the mids, loose in the bass and too sibilant in the highs.

[Pez]

Here is hoping you were a "dispenser of Truth" to these exhibitors.

Do you mean we should tell them about their mistake?  If so, then you are in luck, because that's exactly what we did!  I'm now enjoying basking in your moral approval -Tyson

[Pez]

Musical Surroundings
Graham Engineering
Clearaudio
AMG
Benz Micro
Aesthetix
Apex Audio
Critical Mass Systems
TARA Labs
Focal
Running Springs Audio










Tyson Notes[/u]

General Room Notes - Ah the classic Focal room - rip your ears off tipped up top end.  Bleh, cannot leave fast enough.  Buh-bye.

[Pez]

ModWright Instruments, Inc.
Daedalus Audio
WyWires, LLC









Bach Mahler dynamically speaking the Daedalus meow right combo is among the best every year and this year is no exception. Very sweet sound and more spacious than previous years. Authoritative and big sound. Ani sounds phenomenal in this setup.  Emotion off the charts. Thom Yorke in a word amazing. Better detail out of this setu than any previous year. Completely lacking in boom.   Not the same monster sound in previous years when it comes to midrange and I sort of miss that. But overall I like the sound of this room a lot.


Tyson Notes[/u]
Mahler - I think the channels are switched - the basses and cellos are coming from the left of the soundstage instead of the right.  Hmmm. 
Bach - A bit thin, but not enough to drive me out of the room or anything. 
Ani DiFranco - Guitar has the needed bite and good focus.  Vocal are too sibilant though.  Soundstage is nicely, tightly focused.  Guitar is boomy.
Thom Yorke - Good news, the bass punch is very good, and stops cleanly.  And I like his voice better in this room than in other rooms we've been in.  This track definitely sounds the best of the 4.
General Room Notes - Yay, another room with decent room treatments!  Of course, Jason and I helped a bit with setting up setting up this room, so we're probably a bit biased...Still, we'll have to come back, I think it still needs a bit of work to dial it in to get the same level of sound they had last year in this room.

[roscoeiii]

Do you mean we should tell them about their mistake?  If so, then you are in luck, because that's exactly what we did!  I'm now enjoying basking in your moral approval -Tyson

Bask away. Much approval being sent y'all's way.

[audiogoober]

Was just gonna ask for photos? Thanks!

ModWright Instruments, Inc.
Daedalus Audio
WyWires, LLC




Tyson Notes[/u]
Mahler - I think the channels are switched - the basses and cellos are coming from the left of the soundstage instead of the right.  Hmmm. 
Bach - A bit thin, but not enough to drive me out of the room or anything. 
Ani DiFranco - Guitar has the needed bite and good focus.  Vocal are too sibilant though.  Soundstage is nicely, tightly focused.  Guitar is boomy.
Thom Yorke - Good news, the bass punch is very good, and stops cleanly.  And I like his voice better in this room than in other rooms we've been in.  This track definitely sounds the best of the 4.
General Room Notes - Yay, another room with decent room treatments!  Of course, Jason and I helped a bit with setting up setting up this room, so we're probably a bit biased...Still, we'll have to come back, I think it still needs a bit of work to dial it in to get the same level of sound they had last year in this room.

[Pez]

Photos and replies are not going to always sync up guys please be patient.

[WGH]

The Daedalus speakers look like the new Orpheus with a pair of the BOW subs.

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=110326.0

[blemmo]

Gorgeous speakers!

[Pez]

They don't just look like the Orpheus, they are exact replicas down to the last atom!

[standub]

Just to wet some mouths.

[Pez]

Aaudio imports
Bergmann Audio
Lansche
Stage III Concepts
Ypsilon Electronics
Tandem











The overall sound is very nice in this room. Very pleasant but (I feel like a broken record) boomy and a bit shouts in the mids. Also the overall sound is a bit on the loud side and without any room treatment it is very overbearing at times. I can imagine this setup being stellar if they took the time to add real treatment rather than 3 tiny panels in the back of the room.

Tyson Notes[/u]
Mahler -
Bach -
Ani DiFranco -
Thom Yorke -
General Room Notes - Giant speakers with plasma tweeters!!!!!  Monoblock amps that remind me of the Straits of Gibralter!!!  Normally I hate, hate, hate, hate speakers with plasma tweeters.  But these sound pretty good.  Diana Krall was sufficiently come-hither sounding.  In my seat toward the rear of the room, they sounded a bit boomy and bass heavy, but that might be a function of the room (as is true of all speakers and all bass in all rooms).  Anyway, color me shocked and amazed that I'm still actually sitting in this room typing this.  Normally Plasma based systmes sound like 2 skeletons copulating on a tin roof. 

[Pez]

Dynaudio
XEO Wireless







We are listening to the tower speakers. For what they are they sound very big and pretty dynamic. They pump out a generous amount of bass. It's hard to listen because the vendor is industry speaking us to death. A little shrill on the trumpet section of Mussorgsky piece we are listening to. Listening to Johnny cash cover of 'hurt' its a little dry and definitely suffering from lack of room treatment. Overall though these little speakers punch well above what they look like the should.

Now listening to cash on the bookshelf speakers. Definitely loses some definition but I actually like the tonal balance a little better as well as the imaging. Not as prestigious in the lower octave of bass and you can tell the single driver isn't quite as able to produce the whole spectrum as readily as the dual driver floorstanders.

Thus far this is my favorite 'new thang' room. I can see buying these and using them in a bedroom without any other equipment.

Tyson Notes[/u]
Mahler -
Bach -
Ani DiFranco -
Thom Yorke -
General Room Notes - Wireless Dynaudio speakers, how f'ing cool is that?  Piano white with blue LED and space age finish.  Did I mention that I love Dynaudio speakers?  Even has good music selection - Salty Dog, girl with a guitar.  Good spacious sound.  A bit grainy and not as smooth as the other rooms yet.  I'm surprised as Dyn's are usually very smooth and relaxed, but not this time.  Very cool technology, but still not at the top of the heap.