As mentioned in a few threads, I really enjoyed the show. And it was great to meet so many of the AC crowd. A great time.
A few general comments: I was not looking for any particular gear, per se, but visited every room I could find that was displaying or playing vinyl. (my first love, audio-wise). Most all the rooms seemed a little bass heavy to me- some more than others. Low ceilings maybe? Some of the extreeme esoteric gear did little for me, really. I reviewed my notes and literature that I picked up with notes scrawled too; and one common theme that was written on all my notes was whether the equipment 'got out of the way' and allowed me to really 'hear the music'. Those are the rooms/gear I'll discuss here, in no particular order...but with emphasis on the AC group:
-Stirling Broadcast LS3/5a V2 Loudspeakers: Charming speaker and very musical. Allowed the music to flow and they 'disappeared' just fine. (it didn't hurt that they were driven with Manley EL-84 based amps)
-Serious Stereo 2A3 Amps & Altec 15" 604 Loudspeakers: The sound from this system was extreemly real and engaging. Deep soundstage.
-VMPS RM-30's/Musica Bella 3205/Modified Squeezebox/et al: Beautiful sound in Wayne's room. All things considered, probably the most 'relaxed' sound at the show, while sacrificing nothing in the way of resolution.
-AVA/Salk: My favorite combination in this room was the Ultra DAC/T-8/Ultra Amp/HT-3 combo. As mentioned in another thread, the Ultimate 70 thru the HT-2's left nothing to be desired either...
-Odyssey: Very musical room. Much more resolving than Klaus admits to. True high-end bargains if ever there was any. The very best bipolar amplifiers I've ever heard at any sane cost, and then some.
-Merlin/Joule/Audio Aero: Very engaging and harmonically complete sound. My little TSM's share the same resolving midrange but with less bass and 'scale'. (guess that's why I like 'em so much). Neutral and refined presentation.
-ACI: The Sapphire XL's are a great speaker. The amp and player were a great match. When I was there on Fri.- the sub wasn't running yet, and I never missed it.
-Linn Room: The music flowed in here too. Scale was smaller than some, but well balanced.
-Selah/Blue Circle: The open baffle upper cabinet allowed for an extreemly deep and big soundstage. Bass was deep but a little too large for my taste...I'll bet it was a room issue...
My notes on other rooms are less complete; except I must mention HagTech and great sound from the Trumpet phono stage (I'm thinking about a Cornet in the future); The Zu room where they were playing the little Music Reference RM-10MK2 amplifier (a great piece); and Louis's 8" Hemptones (only wish I could have heard them with Vinnie's Sig. 30). Very natural sound.
I saw many more rooms, but either the sound didn't draw me in; or the crowds were too large each time for a 'good' listen.
oh yeah, The Nuforce/Harbeth/SOTA/ et al room: The SP9 speakers really sang with the Nuforce amps. The Harbeths aren't as good a match. Damn, the sound of vinyl still grabs me better than digital, though.
That's enough. Whew.
WEEZ
