CES 2011 Bryston/Thiel and Bryston/Magnepan Demo Feedback

James Tanner · « **Reply #20 on:** 12 Jan 2011, 12:42 pm »

http://stereophile.com/content/thielbryston

james

James Tanner · « **Reply #21 on:** 12 Jan 2011, 12:44 pm »

http://www.theaudiobeat.com/ces2011/ces2011_hp_bryston.htm

james

vegasdave · « **Reply #22 on:** 12 Jan 2011, 05:34 pm »

I better get to work on my article!!

alexone · « **Reply #23 on:** 12 Jan 2011, 05:41 pm »

Quote from: vegasdave on 12 Jan 2011, 05:34 pm

I better get to work on my article!!

...do you have a review for us, Dave?

al.

James Tanner · « **Reply #24 on:** 12 Jan 2011, 07:55 pm »

CES 2011 – Magnepan 3.7 – Bryston

I was wondering why someone was clapping so loudly after the jazz demo finished. And why were they so close to my ear. I’ve never head anyone clap after a demo at an audio show. I opened my eyes and realized that no one in the room was clapping. It was the audience from the record. I was dumbfounded.

The new Magnepan 3.7 for $5,495 are stunning. I heard $70,000 speakers that weren’t as detailed, realistic and believable. A lot of air and space around the instruments but not to the point of making them sound thin like a breathless lover’s whisper. Granted I only heard a jazz cut and a classical cut. I loved the way the 3.7s resolved the skin and stick sound of the toms drums in the jazz track as detailed and clear as the thump and reverberation of the enclosure blow the sound. And it came out of now where. Maybe, of course, with some Slayer, which I do listen too, I’d not have the same overwhelmingly positive reaction. I didn’t want to put anything on that might give the older gents and ladies in the room a heart attack. But I know one thing, at this price, when wifie and I have to look for a new place, it will have a room large enough to put these in.

James Tanner · « **Reply #25 on:** 12 Jan 2011, 07:58 pm »

CES 2011: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

At first, I wasn't going to start a new post but rather, make comments found on other posts. However, I am finding it hard to respond to others who want to share their impressions of similar gear heard at CES, thus the number of individual blogs I am responding to, is snow-balling out of control. Hence, if you'll forgive some repetition, I've grouped everything thus far into one blog report.

The one and only Magneplanar 3.7w

First, and I might as well get this out of the way, the "best" speaker I heard was the $5500 Magneplanar 3.7s. They were simply stunning. Now, Wendell Diller pulled a few tricks out of his hat in choosing to demo them using Maggie 1.7s as rear channels as well as a Maggie Center channel on his multichannel source material, but that did not detract from what were all heard on the 3.7s. In fact, Wendell specifically played 2-channel material using only on the 3.7s for completeness sake. The sound was just superb. The usual accolades are appropriate; detailed, great imaging, excellent frequency response, low distortion etc. But for me, it was something that is often not mentioned, and that is their vibrancy. They had life. And that was very much the opposite of what is described below for the Lamm-Wilson room. Wendell played that old warhorse, 1812 overture and I nearly stained the seat looking for a subwoofer that wasn't there when those cannon shots were launched.

Emotionally involving on every level. And, get this, although he was using Bryston 28s to drive the planars, he was using (I think) some ordinary Lexicon preamp and an inexpensive CD player for the front end, thus making me wonder why we have all been so successfully brain-washed to believe that it takes mega-expensive front ends to have a good sounding system. "Best" is of course a relative term. But if we include both performance and value, ascribing this word to the 3.7s is not difficult at all. A landmark loudspeaker for (almost) everyman indeed!

James Tanner · « **Reply #26 on:** 12 Jan 2011, 08:01 pm »

The Two Maggie 3.7 Setup's

There were two rooms with Maggie 3.7's with completely different sound's. The first was the Magnepan Room--- a rather large room conference room at the Flamingo with the 3.7's set up on on the long axis, toed in severely and about 12-15 feet between the inside edges with the at least 4-5' between the outside edges and the side walls, and at least 3 feet from the rear wall which was covered with heavy drapes. There was also a new prototype Maggie center (no details) that Wendell Diller would address nor explain other than to say it was to expand the sweet spot. Set back about 20 feet were a pair of 1.7's almost as far apart as the 3.7's, also toed in severely. They were at least 4 feet away from any walls. The overall sound was incredible and vital, even with the 1.7's turned off. They never were played without the center so it is hard to accurately assess the 3.7's. The power was three Bryston 28's for the fronts and a 4B for the rears. A Lexicon preamp and an unknown (to me) CD supplied the sound.

The overall sound was wonderful, and incredibly vital, especially when the played Fanfare For the Common Man.

The second room was the ARC room, which was a typical Venetian single king room with the speakers set up in a two step down sitting area probably about 9' by 11'. The 3.7's were less than 18" from the rear wall, which I believe was a huge part of their problem. They were also toed in quite a bit. Sound came from their Anniversary Preamp, their DAC 8 and CD 8, plus a turntable/arm/cartridge combo that I did not note and their DS 450 amp. I have heard all of these components with the exception of the Anniversary preamp and know that they can sound better than they did on that particular day and I know from the Magnepan room that the 3.7's can sound better.

James Tanner · « **Reply #27 on:** 12 Jan 2011, 08:08 pm »

Bryston and Thiel - 3D without the glasses

http://translate.google.ca/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://www.magazine-audio.com/2011/ces-thiel-bryston/&ei=_gkuTe2mOY_ksQPDgNGIBw&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBoQ7gEwADgU&prev=/search%3Fq%3DCES%2B2011%2BBryston%26start%3D20%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-CA:IE-SearchBox%26rlz%3D1I7ADFA_en%26prmd%3Divns

james

vegasdave · « **Reply #28 on:** 13 Jan 2011, 03:07 am »

Quote from: alexone on 12 Jan 2011, 05:41 pm

...do you have a review for us, Dave?

al.

Coming soon. I'm just waiting on some publicity photos from the other manufacturers. They're not as savvy as BRYSTON!

Laundrew · « **Reply #29 on:** 13 Jan 2011, 05:59 pm »

Hello James,

I have heard through the "grapevine" that JBL is now, or will shortly start producing their 1400's and up in Mexico. Did you hear anything about this during your travels at CES?

Thanks.

Be well...

James Tanner · « **Reply #30 on:** 13 Jan 2011, 06:02 pm »

Quote from: Laundrew on 13 Jan 2011, 05:59 pm

Hello James,

I have heard through the "grapevine" that JBL is now, or will shortly start producing their 1400's and up in Mexico. Did you hear anything about this during your travels at CES?

Thanks.

Be well...

Hi Laundrew - no nothing was said at CES as far as I know - but I am always stuck in my room so I rarely get to hear the scuttle-but.

james

vegasdave · « **Reply #31 on:** 13 Jan 2011, 08:13 pm »

Quote from: Laundrew on 13 Jan 2011, 05:59 pm

Hello James,

I have heard through the "grapevine" that JBL is now, or will shortly start producing their 1400's and up in Mexico. Did you hear anything about this during your travels at CES?

Thanks.

Be well...

I told you that a million years ago! You just chose not to believe me! Now what?

Laundrew · « **Reply #32 on:** 13 Jan 2011, 08:40 pm »

Quote from: James Tanner on 13 Jan 2011, 06:02 pm

Hi Laundrew - no nothing was said at CES as far as I know - but I am always stuck in my room so I rarely get to hear the scuttle-but.

james

Thank you anyway James

Be well...

youngho · « **Reply #33 on:** 13 Jan 2011, 08:44 pm »

Quote from: Laundrew on 13 Jan 2011, 05:59 pm

I have heard through the "grapevine" that JBL is now, or will shortly start producing their 1400's and up in Mexico. Did you hear anything about this during your travels at CES?

Not James, but I just got a pair, and they were made in Mexico.

Laundrew · « **Reply #34 on:** 13 Jan 2011, 09:06 pm »

Quote from: youngho on 13 Jan 2011, 08:44 pm

Not James, but I just got a pair, and they were made in Mexico.

Hello youngho

Were they the 1400's?

Thanks.

Be well...

youngho · « **Reply #35 on:** 13 Jan 2011, 09:25 pm »

Yes, I bought two 1400s and a single 800 for the front three channels. I will be using JBL Control Now speakers mounted high at ceiling/wall corners for the surrounds. Once I get things set up, I'll post pics in the Home Theater thread, but I don't want to get to hijack this thread too much.

Laundrew · « **Reply #36 on:** 13 Jan 2011, 09:37 pm »

Quote from: youngho on 13 Jan 2011, 09:25 pm

Yes, I bought two 1400s and a single 800 for the front three channels. I will be using JBL Control Now speakers mounted high at ceiling/wall corners for the surrounds. Once I get things set up, I'll post pics in the Home Theater thread, but I don't want to get to hijack this thread too much.

Awesome set up youngho and thank you for the information

Be well...

vegasdave · « **Reply #37 on:** 13 Jan 2011, 09:50 pm »

Quote from: youngho on 13 Jan 2011, 08:44 pm

Not James, but I just got a pair, and they were made in Mexico.

Ok, made in Mexico...how's the quality, and the sound? How much did they cost you?

And are you running BRYSTON equipment at all?

youngho · « **Reply #38 on:** 14 Jan 2011, 02:26 am »

Hi VegasDave,

The build quality seems to be totally fine, though I can't really compare to other 1400s. The suckers are heavy.

I've only had a chance to do very cursory listening because of a six-month-old infant and holiday travels, but I hope to get things set up soon and also do some measurements in the next few months.

Let's just say that I got an exceptional price due to a mix-up on my original order for a pair of 1000s and a single 800. I almost passed up on my local dealer's offer, since the 1400s are overkill for our room, but I couldn't resist. If I had, he probably would have gotten them himself for that price.

I have an Anthem MX 300 on order for now, which I'll be using to drive the front three channels (I'm going to use the JBL WEM-1 wireless for the surrounds). I also have a Hsu TN-1220 HO sub that I may or may not keep (top-heavy, not so great for baby once mobile), so I may look into buying a Bryston 9B SST (used) down the line, but the MX-300 should be fine for our typical listening volumes, at least for now.

vegasdave · « **Reply #39 on:** 14 Jan 2011, 03:01 am »

Quote from: youngho on 14 Jan 2011, 02:26 am

Hi VegasDave,

The build quality seems to be totally fine, though I can't really compare to other 1400s. The suckers are heavy.

I've only had a chance to do very cursory listening because of a six-month-old infant and holiday travels, but I hope to get things set up soon and also do some measurements in the next few months.

Let's just say that I got an exceptional price due to a mix-up on my original order for a pair of 1000s and a single 800. I almost passed up on my local dealer's offer, since the 1400s are overkill for our room, but I couldn't resist. If I had, he probably would have gotten them himself for that price.

I have an Anthem MX 300 on order for now, which I'll be using to drive the front three channels (I'm going to use the JBL WEM-1 wireless for the surrounds). I also have a Hsu TN-1220 HO sub that I may or may not keep (top-heavy, not so great for baby once mobile), so I may look into buying a Bryston 9B SST (used) down the line, but the MX-300 should be fine for our typical listening volumes, at least for now.

Well, it sounds like the build quality hasn't suffered much if at all. As far as price, @ CES Harman said they're $11500 list. Personally, I think that's far too much for Mexican made speakers. Perhaps dealers will now give the customer a good discount since maybe their price has reduced. Anyway, if you got 'em for far less, you got yourself one hell of a deal.

Ok, no problem. Yeah, check out the BRYSTON, if you can.