[Pez]

Coming soon....   

[django11]

No breakfast pics?

[Tyson]

I don't know about you, but seeing Pez's breakfast once in my lifetime is enough!

[Bob in St. Louis]

Breakfast? Heck, it's almost lunch time.
What are these slackers doing?

[Pez]

Playback Designs
Puget Sound Studios
ATR Services, Inc.
Evolution Acoustics
Wave Kinetics
B.M.C. Audio









No cd olayer in this room running reel to reel. Very nice mellow sound and incredibly laid back. Excellent overall tonal balance and nothing jumps out as offensive in the least. I am way outside of the sweets pot but I am still thoroughly nipple joking of what I'm hearing. Though they have no room treatment the sound is still rather good. Of course we are not listening at ear bleeding levels. The speakers are appropriately sized for this room.

Tyson Notes[/u]

General Room Notes - First room of the 2nd day.  These are pretty sweet looking speakers!  Remind me quite a bit of the Sonus Faber styling, so…sexy.  But they have ceramic (metal?) drivers.  I almost always hate speakers with metal drivers.  LIstening to them from the reel to reel and they actually sound pretty good and I'm not running from the room screaming.  If that's not a ringing endorsement, I don't know what is!  Speaking of ringing, these guys actually seem to not suffer from that particular problem too much.  I'm guessing that the small diameter of the driver helps with that. 

Oh, listenening to Shelby Lynn now instead of the previous swamp rock male vocals.  These things are hyper detailed and super transparent, one of the most transparent I've heard outside of stats.  But they suffer from a common problem for this type of speaker - too much power response in the presence region.  When she leans in hard on the vocals, it overloads the room and becomes hard/brittle and now, indeed, I am running out of the room.  Maybe Pez will let me borrow his earplugs....

[Pez]

Coincident Speaker Technology









First impressions easy going sound we are now putting our stuff on. Bach cello (yes I realize I've been saying violin. Oops) is very warm and full bodied. Mahlers quieter passages sort of get lost a bit, but come back very full. For a ribbon speaker the nuance isn't completely there. That said what is there is very pleasant and inviting. Good dynamic focus and superb control in the big passages. Ani guitar sounds very good. This room definitely has the signature tube sound. From the sweet spot very good imaging and great soundstage. BIG sound from here! I still feel there is a certain romanticizing of the detail here which isn't a bad thing necessarily. Yorke has great head bobbing factor! Warm warm warm!!! Not afraid to be dynamic and I am actually pretty impressed at the slightly louder listening that the room isn't screwing up the sound much. This is a great setup if you just want to listen but don't necessarily want that 'I'm there' feeling.  I give this room very good marks.   

Tyson Notes[/u]
General Room Notes - "Can I play a single track of music?".  "We don't play that right now.  No."  Really?  OK, that's fine, I won't totally crap on your room because you have a CD player right there and won't let me play a single track?

Allright, I'm changing my tune - people left and the guy turned out to be really cool, so I'm starting with the serious evaluation now.

Mahler - Not the best cello's and bass I've heard, but probably the best wind instruments I've heard at this show.  Scales very well on the bass drum thrashing.  Soundstage is a bit narrow, but might be my sitting position. 
Bach - Bach is pretty nice sounding!  I remember this room from last year and it was screechy.  This year they must have made some changes because it sounds a lot better, quite good actually.
Ani DiFranco - Upper end of the guitar sounds nice and twangy.  Good body on the lower end without overloading the room.  That's a hard trick to pull off, not many rooms have.  Her voice sounds just like it should.  Not quite as nakedly bare as in other rooms, but also not overly sibilant like it is so many rooms.
Thom Yorke - I think these speakers are too big for the room.  The bass overloads a bit on this track.  I think in a bigger room these speakers would breath better and really be top notch.

[Pez]

PRECISION TRANSDUCER ENGINEERING
Antelope Audio







Bach cello very sweet but lacking in definition. Mahler is pretty bold and decently dynamic. Certainly not the most I've heard but pretty damn good overall. For a solid state system this sounds very smooth overall. On Ani the system the imaging is very convincing. I'm really liking the intimacy of the sound with this setup. Yorke bass portion is solid baby! Big big imaging here I really like it, but the room is definitely being overloaded here. Another good setup IMO probably on the upper end of the bell curve, but  no curve wrecking here.

Tyson Notes[/u]
Mahler - Sound a bit distant with the volume down a bit, but pick up nicely with the volume goosed a bit.  A bit tubby in the bass from where I'm sitting.  Does very well on the big bass drum.  Seems like every system is kicking with this part of the track this year.
Bach - Nice, laid back, sweet.  Love the easy musical sound of the scanspeak softdome tweeters on this track. 
Ani DiFranco - I figured this track would be overly soft, but not so.  Sounds good.  Too much sibilance in her vocals though.  Not bad, noticable, but might be livable long term. 
Thom Yorke - A bit one-notey and thumpy in the bass.  I think these speakers are actually tuned with a midbass hump.  Either that or they are too big for this very, very tiny room.  Most likely the latter.
General Room Notes - These are BIG bookshelf speakers.  I actually built a pair of DIY tower speakers a while back using these exact same drivers.  I have to admit, these guys have done a better job than I did back then.  Overall a good, but not great room.

[2bigears]

    WOW,,,, such glorious EYE CANDY ..... Good Lord    Some of the gear you guys have show even so far sounds good just looking at it !

[nnck]

Not to get too nit-picky. But can we get the name of the Thom Yorke track you are playing? I keep looking back through the Day 1 thread but cant find the title.

Just curious really - but it might help in understanding some of your observations.

Edit: Thanks for the edit on the day 1 thread!

[hessec]

Anybody seen or heard rumors of any magico speaker being used in any room? I know they don't have their own room.  Many thanks want to hear the s5. 

[Pez]

Audioarts, Inc.
ZELLATON GmbH
Nagra - Audio Technology Switzerland
HOLBORNE swiss audio instruments
METRONOME TECHNOLOGIE
SCHOPPER AG
Swissonor.ch







Vinyl only setup. Crazy design with no tweeter???? Wow they do not sound like they are missing anything up top at all! Incredible soundstage and imaging. They project well behind themselves. Spot on and very convincing. Intimate and IMO startlingly real. Good god these things are the knock down the walls imaging sound staging speakers you read about but never actually hear. If your are an imaging and sound staging freak hear me know, these are the speakers for you most definitely.  This room blows every preconception I have away. A widerange driver that sounds incredible and never sounds like its missing anything up top. There is very little coloration which I normally associate with a wide bandwidth.

Tyson Notes[/u]
General Room Notes - Single driver speaker, with a "helper" woofer, no tweeter and metal drivers?  A recipe for DISASTER!  Just about every single element that I hate.  Vinyl only, so no listening to our CD.  But the acapella male vocal group doing Beatles covers sounds incredibly good!  WHAT???  By all reason and logic I should hate this room.  But I'm really digging it on this track. 

OK, now the real acid test - female vocals.  He's putting it on now.  I'm sure it will drive me out of the room.....

Nana Mouskouri doing Strawberry Hill, I'm not running out!  While I wouldn't exactly call it "seductive", it is still beautiful.  Dammit, I hate when my preconceptions get shattered like this.  Next thing I know we'll be in full on Bizzarro world and Superman is evil....Speaking for this world, I'm saying this room is best sound at show, beating out the Avatar Acoustics room (and believe me, that bar was pretty freaking high). 

[fsimms]

Price? 

I am sure that they are giving away the speakers for a song(& maybe your first born child ). 

Bob

[Pez]

Channel D Computer Audio
Lynx Studio Technology







Bach cello ahhhh so warm and confident. Some grit, not a lot but some. Mahler honestly a little weak starting. Not nearly as dynamic as I know this piece should be. Not really cutting it here on the Mahler at all. I find myself just wanting more and really not getting the dynamics this piece demands. What is there is good, in that it is totally good and soulful. Ani sounds very recorded... I don't know what I mean by that exactly but it's not sounding like a shadow of the era thing, rather it sounds like a recording. Imaging is ok, but just ok. I think the speakers are too far apart and too close. Thom Yorke sounds pretty good and definitely contrasts positively to everything we've listen to in this system thus far. That said I'm just not feelin it. I don't think this is the kind of setup that is memorable in any way. I'd have to say toward the bottom of the bell curve.

Tyson Notes[/u]
Mahler - Cellos and basses are pretty lightweight, but not too surprising given the small drivers being used.  Clarinetts and hurns are a bit thin and a bit light sounding.  Gritty.  Not horrible but definitely a consistent sound signature.  With the dual active subs, the bass explodes nicely.
Bach -  Violin is loud and clear, very detailed.  But a bit grainy and not exactly harsh, but not exactly smooth either.  Has bite.  Soundstage is also shifted to the right a bit.  Another hookup problem?  Maybe....
Ani DiFranco - Guitar is pretty good!  Her voice sounds good in the middle and lower registers, but too much sssssssss.  |
Thom Yorke - Wow, this track sounds really good!  But then again, it's Jason's crappy music, so I'm not surprised it sounds good on systems I otherwise dislike.
General Room Notes - Beautiful looking speakers, little gems.  Man, every year I think "this is the year I'm going to really like the Joseph Audio room.  And every year (so far) I'm disappointed.  Don't get me wrong, it's not a train wreck of a room or anything, and in absolute terms it sounds good.  But there are definitely some weaknesses, and those are in areas that are very important to me.  I'm certain others can/will/do feel differently.

[fridays]

CSTech ok if you can deal with the poser

[Pez]

Sumiko
WADIA
Audio Research Corporation
Pro-Ject Audio Systems
REL Acoustics
Sonus Faber







Oh boy Jeff Buckley on vinyl!!!! Hope the system can live up to my expectations on this. Playing hallelujah. warm sounding. I love this song haha. Overall very soothing but a little spitty up top. A little thin sounding despite the warmth. A bit dynamically compressed. Good imaging, but not surreal. A bit shallow on depth but pretty good overall. I think these are pretty good despite the negative things I'm saying. They're just good enough that they make me want more. Basically just short of succeeding to touch my soul.

Tyson Notes[/u]
General Room Notes - No CD player in this room, so no listening to the Bach or Mahler, etc..  But listening to Vinyl, so that's cool.  These are the new Sonus Faber's, which kind of look like mean robots, based on their upswept triangular shape.  Putting on Jeff Buckley, yes!  Hey, what can I say, Sonus Faber kicks but every year and they are doing so again with the new model.  Not quite as relaxed/seductive as last year, but still on the warm side of neutral.  The overall sound has moved a bit more toward the center.  Being more in the center is a good thing.  But I am sure some people will criticize it for not "standing for somethin'".  Hey, IMO being in the center is a good thing.

[Pez]

Bob Carver LLC
Analysis Plus
Purity Audio
AMR
Sunfire (Sub)









Good god how did they even get these flagpoles in here!? So far not bad. I am in a bad chair, but I'm not having any issue listening from here. There's a bit too much air that makes vocalists sound a little too breathy. From the sweet slot the soundstage and imaging are pretty gigantic. Pinched up sound for sure. They a however constrained to the room ie no depth IMO. Modest bass... Bass should never be modest, sorry this is a definite shortcoming of these speakers. Yet another example of having a speaker that is not appropriate to the room size. If you want to go big like these speakers you really need to showcase them in a big room, not the closet we are in. Demo music in this room is very boring... Yet another issue IMO. Overall this setup wants to be great, it just isn't quite there in this listening space which lacks size and treatment.

Tyson Notes[/u]
Mahler -
Bach -
Ani DiFranco -
Thom Yorke -
General Room Notes - Tall speakers!!  And line sources!!!!  I love LS speakers, room looks very promising.  Purity and AMR gear, I am expecting great things here.  Amazing, with all those tweeters pointing right at us, at close range, there's no excessive sibilance.  That's a neat trick - I've heard these tweeters in multiple speakers and they always were shouty, but not here.  Very nice!  Wow, really tall soundstage, Dave Matthews is literally above me, on stage.  I haven't looked up this much to someone since Biden spanked Ryan.

Oh way, sitting off to one side now (switched seats with Jason) - oh, THERE's the sibilance and harshness I"m used to.  Very interesting - if you listen on axis or nearly on axis with these tweeters, they are harsh.  But if you sit nearfiled with the tweeters firing straight forward, maybe at a 45 degree equilateral triangle, they sound very good.  One other thing - NO ROOM TREATMENT.  Trust me guys, your speakers will sound MUCH better if you treat these incredibly poor (and tiny) rooms. 

[Pez]

Price? 

I am sure that they are giving away the speakers for a song(& maybe your first born child ). 

Bob

Tyson Responding - I have no clue.  I don't ask and they don't tell.  Honestly I do not care in any way, shape, or form.  I walk in the room, zero preconceptions around price or value or "It's gotta sound good because it's $150k", or some stupid crap like that.  NO, we sit down, we play music, it sounds good or it doesn't.  If it sounds good, it MIGHT be worth whatever price they are asking for it.  If it sounds bad, then it's not worth it, not matter how expensive, or how cheap it might happen to be. 

[Pez]

HDtracks.com
YG Acoustics
MSB Amps







This system in the Bach sounds very prim and proper. Does nothing wrong, makes no errors forced or otherwise, but fails to impress. Imaging on the Mahler is pretty darn great. Deep wide etc. the Mahler piece has many flare ups with the horns and this setup seems to exaggerate them a bit. Excellent dynamically speaking but lacks emotion which is odd because I've hear these speakers emote like crazy. The Ani piece finally is showing some emotion, but not enough. Do love that imaging though! Thom Yorke is dynamically accurate and has decent bottom end. I really like this track on this setup it's doing Amy things very very well. This is a very mixed result for me. I think the basic issue is this setup isn't sweet sounding.  But simultaneously it does most other things well.


Tyson Notes[/u]
Mahler - Nice soundstage on the Mahler.  Cellos and basses sound nice and weighty, but not as detailed as on other speakers.  A bit slow/plodding sounding on the leadup march to the big cresendo.  Horns are too brassy and thin.  Hits the bass drum very well though.  Impact and power!

Bach - Feels a bit unemotional, more like a technical exercise some random violinist happens to be practicing.  Too bright and hurts my ears.

Ani DiFranco - Brutal sibilance.  Ouch.  Sorry this is just killing me here.  I am temted to just cut my losses and leave.  I'm toughing it out in the name of journalistic professionalism.  Oh wait, I'm neither a jounalist, or a professional!

Thom Yorke - OK, I'm sticking it out because Jason wants to hear his stupid track

General Room Notes - Man, last year the YG rooms were all so good (most improved RMAF 2011, IMO), but they are back to being pretty meh this year.  But, there's 2 more YG Acoustic rooms to go, so they have a chance to redeem themselves.  It's hard to believe that something can perform so badly after having just killed it previously.  But it happens, just ask Barack.

[ted_b]

Tyson Responding - I have no clue.  I don't ask and they don't tell.  Honestly I do not care in any way, shape, or form.  I walk in the room, zero preconceptions around price or value or "It's gotta sound good because it's $150k", or some stupid crap like that.  NO, we sit down, we play music, it sounds good or it doesn't.  If it sounds good, it MIGHT be worth whatever price they are asking for it.  If it sounds bad, then it's not worth it, not matter how expensive, or how cheap it might happen to be.

Tyson/Pez,
You two are doing a great job!  However, I personally wouldn't make those kinds of buyer priorities based on show sonics.  Those rooms suck (literally and figuratively).  And yes, it would be fun to know what your "best room so far" would cost, but then I'm sure some of the presentation plaudits go to the electronics too.  I miss being there (my streak ended/stopped at a mere five), but this helps. 

[taoggniklat]

Which room are you headed to next I will catch up with you there.

Jared