[Vinnie R.]

All,

We had a great show in the DC area this past weekend! 
It was a pleasure to meet so many new faces, as well as chatting with familiar ones.
Thanks to everyone who visited our room!



Stereophile's Herb Reichert posted on our room, here:

http://www.stereophile.com/content/capital-audio-fest-day-two-continued

The room featuring Vinnie Rossi and Harbeth was packed. I had to push and shove my way to the front—no way was I leaving without another chance to experience the magic of the Harbeth HL5s ($6695) driven by the Vinnie Rossi LIO modular integrated amplifier that I review in the September issue... Vinnie was playing a Fleet Foxes LP and I almost fell into a dream.

This combo makes me relax, forget about hifi and slip into whatever music is playing. Rossi and Harbeth are perennial contenders for best sound at every audio show.

A brief video of our room was posted to youtube by AVS Forum:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-D8B2HAvqcw


An Acoustic Signature Manfred mkII turntable was feeding a fully-loaded LIO (with LIO Phonostage, AVC/Tubestage, MOSFET Amp, and more), driving Harbeth SHL5plus speakers. 

We were also playing many show attendees' LPs, CDs, and USB sticks - that's what the show is all about!  



I'll post more updates as they become available...


And the fun continued late into the evening!

On Saturday evening after hours, I met up with Volti Audio's Greg Roberts and brought the LIO to his exhibit room down the hall, driving
the Volti Vittoras + ELF (Extended Low Frequency) cabinet.  WOW! WOW! WOW!   A few of us in the room stayed up past midnight
and didn't want to leave.  I certainly was glued to my chair and in awe of the Vittoras - they really do it all, and Greg had them set up in
such a way that listening in the sweet spot made them disappear into the room (and they are not small to begin with) and leave you
with a HUGE soundstage, amazing tone, dynamics, transients... like I mention above, they do it all, with all genres of music that we were throwing at them!    

Equally impressive is the build quality - all hand-made in Maine.  I want to congratulate Greg at Volti for what he accomplished with the Vittora / ELF combo.  They are worth every penny (there are soem rooms that have speakers/electronics costing many multiples more $$$ and can't even come close).  If you haven't spent time listening to them at the shows, bring some music and give them a good listen.  http://www.voltiaudio.com/


Back to work!

I'm going through all your emails / voicemails - thanks for all your patience while we were away at CAF. 

More LIOs are shipping this week, and we are finishing a new batch of AVC/Tubestage modules to ship out to LIO customers
who are upgrading from their RVC and Tubestage modules.

I'm also getting the upcoming ultracapacitor-powered, dedicated power amp ready to show at RMAF with LIO - more on that
soon!

Cheers!

Vinnie

[TomS]

Wow, I can't imagine how great a match the LIO would be with Greg's Volti speakers. I'm sure that late night session was a great time. Good folks too 

[yardbird4]

Vinnie:

It was wonderful to meet you and Alexis at the CAF.  This was my first show but I think I will regularly attend in the future ... schedule permitting.  There were many wonderful items on display.  However, it is nice to be an owner of the LIO, which was in my opinion, one of the premier items on exhibit at the show.  After listening to the many amplification systems on display at the show if confirmed what I already knew, purchasing the LIO was the best choice I could have made. Thanks so much for your continuing contributions to the "future" of Hi-End Audio, and wishing you well deserved success. now and in the future. 

[DTB300]

Vinnie....

Always an excellent showing of your equipment and of course you and the wify hospitality.   

Wish I could have visited the room more, but each time I stopped by it was packed - like the photo!!!!   A true testament on how good the setup was - and in a hotel room at that!!!

Thanks again for coming to the show here.

[woodsyi]

It must have been a great show for Vinnie.  The room was always packed.  I hardly got a chance to talk to him.  I really wanted to hear his phono module on the LIO with music I know but I got there too late on Sunday.  Breakdown had already commenced.    My fault for not waiting out the crowd.

Anyway, the LIO is an intriguing piece I would like to try sometime in my room. 

[Vinnie R.]

Wow, I can't imagine how great a match the LIO would be with Greg's Volti speakers. I'm sure that late night session was a great time. Good folks too 

Hi TomS,

Greg's Vittoras are sensational!  I could have pulled an all-nighter listening to them powered by the LIO. 

It was wonderful to meet you and Alexis at the CAF.  This was my first show but I think I will regularly attend in the future ... schedule permitting.

Hi yardbird4,

Same here!  Thank you for stopping by and bringing your friends to listen, and thank you for all your kind words!  Glad you had a fun time at your first audio show. 

Wish I could have visited the room more, but each time I stopped by it was packed - like the photo!!!!   A true testament on how good the setup was - and in a hotel room at that!!!

Hi DTB300,

Thank you for visiting our room.  I certainly was overwhelmed by the traffic (in a good way)!  But every morning when the show started at 10am, the first hour or two was very slow traffic.  After lunch it was the exact opposite! 

It must have been a great show for Vinnie.  The room was always packed.  I hardly got a chance to talk to him.

Hi woodsyi,

It was - and I'll be there again next year!  Thank you.


Vinnie

[klaus@odyssey]

Right up my alley...Nearfield ???   Oh Yeahhh...and the Lio's concept is awesome....Vinnie, good seeing you, and what a great job,

Klaus

[Vinnie R.]

Right up my alley...Nearfield ???   Oh Yeahhh...and the Lio's concept is awesome....Vinnie, good seeing you, and what a great job,

Klaus

Hi Klaus,

Great to see you again, and thank you for visiting and your kind words! 

Vinnie

[Vinnie R.]

All,

I just spotted this thread:

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=136944.0


Audiocircle member Jonathon Janusz offers solid CAF show report, with good pics and
listening impressions of the show rooms.  In case you missed it, check it out!

I want to thank Jonathon for covering our room, here:

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=136944.msg1456916#msg1456916

Above I mentioned how I brought the LIO into the Volti Audio room after hours on Saturday night.  Jonathon was
there to enjoy this combo with us as well, and reports on it in his show coverage thread as well, here:

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=136944.msg1456908#msg1456908

Much appreciated, Jonathon!     

What a show!

Vinnie

[bunky]

I really enjoyed the LIO paired with the Harbeths.  for me it was in the top five rooms at CAF. the other four were Border Patrol , Odyssey, Salk and Backert Audiolabs.

[Vinnie R.]

I really enjoyed the LIO paired with the Harbeths.  for me it was in the top five rooms at CAF. the other four were Border Patrol , Odyssey, Salk and Backert Audiolabs.

Thanks, Bunky!  Sounds like the Audiocircle manufacturers brought their "A game" to CAF.

I will be stepping it up even more at RMAF, with the upcoming higher-power amp and Harbeth 40.2s (Debuts for both products!).

 

[DavidH]

On Saturday evening after hours, I met up with Volti Audio's Greg Roberts and brought the LIO to his exhibit room down the hall, driving
the Volti Vittoras + ELF (Extended Low Frequency) cabinet.  WOW! WOW! WOW!   A few of us in the room stayed up past midnight
and didn't want to leave.  I certainly was glued to my chair and in awe of the Vittoras - they really do it all, and Greg had them set up in
such a way that listening in the sweet spot made them disappear into the room (and they are not small to begin with) and leave you
with a HUGE soundstage, amazing tone, dynamics, transients... like I mention above, they do it all, with all genres of music that we were throwing at them!    

Equally impressive is the build quality - all hand-made in Maine.  I want to congratulate Greg at Volti for what he accomplished with the Vittora / ELF combo.  They are worth every penny (there are soem rooms that have speakers/electronics costing many multiples more $$$ and can't even come close).  If you haven't spent time listening to them at the shows, bring some music and give them a good listen.  http://www.voltiaudio.com/


That is such awesome news to hear Vinnie. I sent my request out into the world as and the universe delivered!!

 I have ordered a complete Vittora set and they arrive in Wellington (NZ) next week after 12 week journey. I plan to order my LIO later this month as I suspected that would be a fantastic pairing.  When i learned that Greg had decided to go to CAF i seriously considered emailing you to ask if you would ply Greg with alcohol and try out the LIO with the Vittora. No need!! The two of you made it happen on your own.

I have never had the opportunity to meet Greg myself but he strikes me as a great guy and a really talented designer and craftsman.

Reading your comments about the two products together makes me even more excited.

Regards David


[/quote]

[dflee]

Hey Vinnie: Sounds like the show went pretty well.
What was the equipment with you and Greg on Saturday night?
Was the LIO the only thing different in the room?

Don

[Vinnie R.]

Hey Vinnie: Sounds like the show went pretty well.
What was the equipment with you and Greg on Saturday night?
Was the LIO the only thing different in the room?

Don

Hi Don,

The show went VERY well - I sure hope that Capital Audio Fest is on for next year!

Yes, the only thing different was that we replaced Greg's (Volti) McIntosh Preamp and Monoblocks with
LIO.  We used the same source (his Yamaha SACD player), and still used his Marchand amp to power his
ELF (extended low frequency bass unit).


Hi DavidH,

That is such awesome news to hear Vinnie. I sent my request out into the world as and the universe delivered!!

It's funny how that works! 

It sounded so good that Greg and I will be teaming up for the New York Audio Show 2015 (November). 

Two two V's (Volti / Vinnie Rossi) and I'm  Very excited about this 

and Pete from Triode Wire Labs will be joining us as well!

I have never had the opportunity to meet Greg myself but he strikes me as a great guy and a really talented designer and craftsman.

Based on what you will see/hear when you receive your Vittoras (congratulations!), he certainly is a really talented designer/craftsman.
And he was the one who invited me to listen to LIO after hours, so I say he is a great guy, too! 

Please keep us posted!

Vinnie

[Triode Pete]

Hi Don,

The show went VERY well - I sure hope that Capital Audio Fest is on for next year!

Yes, the only thing different was that we replaced Greg's (Volti) McIntosh Preamp and Monoblocks with
LIO.  We used the same source (his Yamaha SACD player), and still used his Marchand amp to power his
ELF (extended low frequency bass unit).


Hi DavidH,

It's funny how that works! 

It sounded so good that Greg and I will be teaming up for the New York Audio Show 2015 (November). 

Two two V's (Volti / Vinnie Rossi) and I'm  Very excited about this 

and Pete from Triode Wire Labs will be joining us as well!

Based on what you will see/hear when you receive your Vittoras (congratulations!), he certainly is a really talented designer/craftsman.
And he was the one who invited me to listen to LIO after hours, so I say he is a great guy, too! 

Please keep us posted!

Vinnie

Yes, the LIO sounded great after-hours with Greg's Volti Vittoras & my entire TWL cable loom...  Two thumbs way up!

Looking forward to teaming up with you Vinnie at the upcoming November New York Audio Show! 

Cheers,
Pete

[dflee]

Was there a team buss that everyone was riding on Saturday night?

Don

[Triode Pete]

Was there a team buss that everyone was riding on Saturday night?

Don

Hey Don,
If you mean a PI Audio UberBUSS, yes there was! We were using Greg's (Volti) personal UberBUSS he received from Dave Elledge...

Pete

[Vinnie R.]

Hey Don,
If you mean a PI Audio UberBUSS, yes there was! We were using Greg's (Volti) personal UberBUSS he received from Dave Elledge...

Pete

Hey Pete,

The SACD player in the room and the ELF's power amp most likely benefited from the UberBUSS.

As for the LIO, I am certain that it does not benefit, as the quality of the power feeding it has no relevance - except
for the fact that we do need it to charge the ultracapacitor banks.  Once charged, its all just electrons waiting to be fed to the audio
circuits - totally disconnected from the other ultracapacitor bank that is charging.   

The two ultracapacitor banks look something like this: 

Everything else should be looking like this:                 

Looking forward to NY!

Vinnie

[Vinnie R.]

And the CAF2015 Show Coverage continues....

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/Capital_Audiofest_2015/Part1b.htm

Very black backgrounds in this room, when it was less populated, helped the musical details flow from the system. Voices and violin/string tone were sensational here, nothing bombastic just very real sounding. The after-hours pairing of the LIO with Greg Robert's Volti Vittora horn speakers proved spectacular. The 104dB/W/m sensitive Vittoras had all the power they needed, no noise floor – zero. The dynamics were stunning especially noticeable on drums/percussion and horns, low level details revealed easily, and thus a perfect combination.

Thanks for visiting us and your coverage, Kemper!

Vinnie

[Vinnie R.]

But wait - there's more!

http://parttimeaudiophile.com/2015/09/09/caf-2015-vinnie-rossi-lio-sings-with-harbeth/

I will offer that the sound I heard in the room at CAF, which was co-sponsored by Fidelis AV, was seductive and altogether engrossing. The new Super HL5+ from Harbeth is an extraordinary loudspeaker, and the new cones and updated design make this little guy one of my favorite Fantasy Island acquisitions...

...the straightforwardness of the room was a visual breath of fresh air. Look at how compact that footprint is! Hear how expansive that sound stage is! It’s enough to make me want to start tossing gear out onto AudiogoN just so I can start over. But if you’re not starting over, and looking at ways to improve what you’ve got, and detail+tone is your sonic cup-of-tea, I think this room would have been a fabulous place to tie up your boat.

I just posted this reply on his website (and I began to spill the beans on the upcoming power amp since he posted about that as well and I wanted to clarify a bit):

Hi Scot,

Thanks for visiting our room, and the great pics!

The new LIO AVC/Tubestage module is now listed on our website’s store section:
http://vinnierossi.com/store/#!/AVC-Tubestage-combo-module/p/51938116/category=13223079

The upcoming Vinnie Rossi stand-alone power amplifier will hopefully be shown at RMAF next month (a pre-production prototype) and debuting with the upcoming Harbeth 40.2 speakers. While it will not be modular like LIO, it will be ‘configurable’ to be used in stereo power amp mode, or monoblock mode – the latter runs in bridged mono mode for even more power! The mode is selected from a switch on the rear panel.

The output power in stereo mode will be >100wpc into 8-ohms and >200wpc into 4-ohms (specifications and pricing will be announced by RMAF time), and those power figures will more than double in monoblock mode. The enclosure will be the same size and style as LIO, but without the LED display and knobs on the front panel. And of course, it will use the PURE-DC-4EVR ultracapacitor power supply to isolate the amp from the mains power and provide the insanely high output current

Thanks again!

Vinnie Rossi