[TomS]

Actually, I find the biases (from each other and my own) are a big part of the fun of the dynamic duo's coverage

... and, which is why you always need to listen with your own ears and biases, realizing there are no absolutes. If you haven't done so, go to a show!

[sharpsuxx]

to be fair, I think "Bias" refers to some of the publications that don't go out of their way to give non advertisers the time of day.  It is kind of sick sometimes to read stereophile and see them talk about some billion dollar speaker (exaggerating) and un-obtanium speaker cables and they wont give the time of day to the likes of Salk, Vapor, GR research, Dodd or any of the other well established cottage industry brands out there.  I think some of this publicity of the mega buck YG acoustics, TAD, MBL, and the like does more to turn your average Joe off of high end audio than to introduce more buyers to the fold.  Not to say the mega buck companies don't pay for it, but when you're covering a show, you should cover the show, not just the advertisers.

Either way, Kudos T&P, great read all around as usual and great insights into the show, I appreciate the hard work.  Kind of ridiculous video of the back of some dudes heads, get out of the way so I can see the speakers.

[roscoeiii]

Think we've diverged into two different usages of bias here.

[DaveC113]

to be fair, I think "Bias" refers to some of the publications that don't go out of their way to give non advertisers the time of day.  It is kind of sick sometimes to read stereophile and see them talk about some billion dollar speaker (exaggerating) and un-obtanium speaker cables and they wont give the time of day to the likes of Salk, Vapor, GR research, Dodd or any of the other well established cottage industry brands out there.  I think some of this publicity of the mega buck YG acoustics, TAD, MBL, and the like does more to turn your average Joe off of high end audio than to introduce more buyers to the fold.  Not to say the mega buck companies don't pay for it, but when you're covering a show, you should cover the show, not just the advertisers.

Either way, Kudos T&P, great read all around as usual and great insights into the show, I appreciate the hard work.  Kind of ridiculous video of the back of some dudes heads, get out of the way so I can see the speakers.

Eh, it's like the car mags putting Ferraris on the cover... it generates interest and excitement. I don't think it turns off the average consumer as long as the coverage is balanced. I haven't read the major publications recently so IDK what the general "feel" is like, but hopefully they are catering to folks with more average budgets as well.

[Bob in St. Louis]

THANK YOU GUYS!! 

Well done men. I thank you for the time and effort you've spent putting this all together.
Looks like a good show with lots of neat toys.

Bob

[Tyson]

YOU ARE ALL WELCOME!

We are actually really jaded about the audio equipment itself after all these years.  It's the people, like everyone here at AC, that keep us going and keep us motivated every year.

[a.wayne]

This seems to be the consensus from others i have spoken to ....
"Wilson XLF/Thor/VTL room as The Best Of The Best. Nothing IMO came even close to that demo "


 

[Tyson]

Yes, I can say the sound from the lobby outside their locked doors was awesome!

I don't care how good it sounded, they were dicks.

[AlexG]

I read somewhere this morning that Odyssey also has a Phonostage coming out, is this true ?

I believe this is what Alex told me -- $1,200 for the single box version with built in power supply and $1,900 for the two box version with external power supply. I heard the two box version.

Yes, we have a new Phono Stage called "Suspiro" in production from the beginning of this year. The basic one chassis version is $1,200 - and the SE two chassis version with an external power supply is $1,900 as stated spot on by Vinyl_lady.

Nice to see you again Laura!!

Alex

[vinyl_guy]

Nice to see you again Laura!!

Alex

Same here Alex. Your phono stage does a great job. I was impressed with the tone and dynamics. Great job! In fact, the entire system was just terrific as always.

Laura

[jhm731]

This seems to be the consensus from others i have spoken to ....
"Wilson XLF/Thor/VTL room as The Best Of The Best. Nothing IMO came even close to that demo "


 

"But it was in a large ballroom at the neighboring Hyatt hotel where Wilson produced the most spectacular sound. Wilson pulled out all the stops, bringing the flagship XLF and two Thor’s Hammer subwoofers. David Wilson conducted the demo, explaining how he had transferred the analog master of his recording Winds of War and Peace (released on the Wilson Audiophile label as an LP and now available as high-res download) to DSD. This recreation of a wind band playing at full-tilt was truly startling in its realism, particularly in the portrayal of the 40”bass-drum whacks at concert levels." - Robert Harley,TAS

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/the-2013-rocky-mountain-audio-fest/?page=2

"So what really caught the ears?
Lowlights out of the way, there were some really impressive showings in places. Wilson annoy lots of people, just because, but I could hardly fault their structured presentation at the Hyatt where a pair of the truly massive XLFs, with Thor Hammer subs, and amplification from VTL and Parasound, combined to create a very impressive sonic picture. Big, bold, deep and very clear, the room ran 30 min demo slots that required you to come, listen, and leave. No standing round listening to arguments in this room. The opening track presented drums in real detail with perhaps the best reproduction of cymbals I've heard. Forget the expense, I went there to learn what a top company, going all out, could deliver. Most of us could never, even if had the money, assemble that gear into that sized space in our homes. That, to me, was not the point. What Wilson Audio demonstrated there was how far audio has come and yet how far it still has to go. I thank them for this demo, it cannot have been easy or cheap to assemble and staff this event and they delivered."- Patrick Dillon, Audio Matters

[James Romeyn]

Hey Everybody,
We are just starting to let people know about our speaker.  In building a foundation we ask that you please go to Facebook.  If you like our pictures and our posts, please click on "Like" at our Dream Maker LCS Facebook page here:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dream-Maker-LCS-Late-Ceiling-Splash/286493714721487

Thank you! 

[DaveC113]

The big Wilsons were pretty amazing. I've never been really impressed with Wilson, but the system they set up was very impressive and so was the material they chose to play. I'd rank them 2nd behind TAD though, Wilson can not match the TAD CST driver.

It's too bad they were rude to T&P though, that's not impressive at all.

[Volti Audio]

Tyson Notes

General Room – At least 3 people told us how great this room was and how much we needed to check it out.  So here we are.  Very, very retro cool looking.  Furniture grade cabinets with old school acoustic cloth. 

Listening to the vendors music and I have to say 2 things right off the bat – first, they sound GIANT.  Like Voice of God giant.  Second they are the only speaker at the show where their dynamic capabilities actually startled me.  As in I literally jumped out of my seat.  Phenomenal.  On the downside, they are so bright and spitty in the highs that I am just not able to stay in here.  It’s too bad, in a lot of ways this is a really phenomenal speaker, but they really do need to damp down the tweeter.

Jason Notes

I have done this show for years and years every once in a while something happens that I have never seen before. This time it was Tyson literally jumping startled by the sudden dynamic face punch this system does.

Hey guys,

I was very impressed with how you did this show coverage.  I was there when you came into my room, armed with tablets and connected online, one of you (I think Jason) took pictures and the other started blogging the text.  No foolin around - you guys did a great job.

Just so you know, Gary (BorderPatrol) had that music up very loud when you came in.  We regularly play some songs quite loud to show off the capabilities of the system, and then alternate with much lower volume material.  What you heard was really too loud to be listening to where you were sitting.  You were right in front of the tweeter on that side, and it's no wonder with the volume that you thought the tweeter was too loud.  I can assure you it was not that way in the sweet spot.

I make the choice to set up my room with the speakers on the long wall because of the outstanding sound that can be obtained in the one sweet spot.  The compromise is that the rest of the seats don't quite get the same experience being so close to the speakers and off-axis.  If I chose to set up at the end of the room, many more seats would get a good sound, but nobody would get the outstanding experience that can be heard in the long-wall setup.  It's my choice to show my speakers this way and I accept that there will be those people who unfortunately don't stay long enough to get the opportunity to scoot over into the center seat to really experience the Vittoras the way they are meant to be heard. 

Next year please try to get that center seat, I think you'll find it to be an amazing experience.  And keep up the great work. 

Greg
 

[standub]

Hey guys,

I was very impressed with how you did this show coverage.  I was there when you came into my room, armed with tablets and connected online, one of you (I think Jason) took pictures and the other started blogging the text.  No foolin around - you guys did a great job.

Just so you know, Gary (BorderPatrol) had that music up very loud when you came in.  We regularly play some songs quite loud to show off the capabilities of the system, and then alternate with much lower volume material.  What you heard was really too loud to be listening to where you were sitting.  You were right in front of the tweeter on that side, and it's no wonder with the volume that you thought the tweeter was too loud.  I can assure you it was not that way in the sweet spot.

I make the choice to set up my room with the speakers on the long wall because of the outstanding sound that can be obtained in the one sweet spot.  The compromise is that the rest of the seats don't quite get the same experience being so close to the speakers and off-axis.  If I chose to set up at the end of the room, many more seats would get a good sound, but nobody would get the outstanding experience that can be heard in the long-wall setup.  It's my choice to show my speakers this way and I accept that there will be those people who unfortunately don't stay long enough to get the opportunity to scoot over into the center seat to really experience the Vittoras the way they are meant to be heard. 

Next year please try to get that center seat, I think you'll find it to be an amazing experience.  And keep up the great work. 

Greg
 

On a side note as some one who doesn't like horns, Greg you make a killer speaker.  Seriously only Acapella makes horn I like, and yours cost a fraction of those, awesome job.

[TomS]

Hey guys,

I was very impressed with how you did this show coverage.  I was there when you came into my room, armed with tablets and connected online, one of you (I think Jason) took pictures and the other started blogging the text.  No foolin around - you guys did a great job.

Just so you know, Gary (BorderPatrol) had that music up very loud when you came in.  We regularly play some songs quite loud to show off the capabilities of the system, and then alternate with much lower volume material.  What you heard was really too loud to be listening to where you were sitting.  You were right in front of the tweeter on that side, and it's no wonder with the volume that you thought the tweeter was too loud.  I can assure you it was not that way in the sweet spot.

I make the choice to set up my room with the speakers on the long wall because of the outstanding sound that can be obtained in the one sweet spot.  The compromise is that the rest of the seats don't quite get the same experience being so close to the speakers and off-axis.  If I chose to set up at the end of the room, many more seats would get a good sound, but nobody would get the outstanding experience that can be heard in the long-wall setup.  It's my choice to show my speakers this way and I accept that there will be those people who unfortunately don't stay long enough to get the opportunity to scoot over into the center seat to really experience the Vittoras the way they are meant to be heard. 

Next year please try to get that center seat, I think you'll find it to be an amazing experience.  And keep up the great work. 

Greg
 

I had a chance to hear them in that sweet spot Friday and they were very impressive, with a separate sub yet. I'd never heard of Volti before and it was one of the speakers I added to my short list for follow up. They were beautifully constructed cabinets as well (yes, I know this is about sonics). Great job Greg!

[DaveC113]

Yeah, I didn't hear the border patrol room but I did hear the SST room ($125k worth of big SET amps) and really liked the sound of the Volti Aluras.

Last year I did hear the Vittoria setup, which looks like the same configuration. I wasn't in the exact middle seat, I was a little further over towards the sub and I have to say the sound was very disjointed. The sub was noticeable and the low and high sections of the speaker cabs did not have time to blend together before I heard them. It really did not do your system any favors, I do believe they can sound a lot better than what I heard but not in that room... I think they really need a larger room and you won't be able to get good sound for more than one person at a time unless you get a bigger room.