Show coverage day 2

Pez · « **on:** 4 Oct 2011, 03:58 am »

Rocking on as we speak!!! Updates to come constantly.

Tyson - OK, just like yesterday - I'm commenting at the end of the day, not in real time. I'll be posting my impressions in-line with Pez's awesome photos and his suspect opinions.

Pez · « **Reply #1 on:** 15 Oct 2011, 03:51 pm »

I'm here!!! Waiting for Tyson.

Everyone is doing the morning shuffle. Manufacturers tweaking and adjusting. Attendees sipping coffee and stuffing themselves into over crowded elevators. Fun stuff!

Pez · « **Reply #2 on:** 15 Oct 2011, 03:59 pm »

Started out in the Daedalus room. A pretty good improvement in sound. They pulled the speakers out a bit from the wall and now they have a deeper soundfield.

Listening to Natalie merchant 24/96 and Marvin Gaye. Just groovin'. Great stuff here.

Don_S · « **Reply #3 on:** 15 Oct 2011, 04:05 pm »

Quote from: Pez on 15 Oct 2011, 03:51 pm

I'm here!!! Waiting for Tyson.

Everyone is doing the morning shuffle. Manufacturers tweaking and adjusting. Attendees sipping coffee and stuffing themselves into over crowded elevators. Fun stuff!

Pez, Just exactly what fun stuff is going on in those overcrowded elevators?

Great show coverage. My thanks to you and Tyson and anyone else I missed.

Pez · « **Reply #4 on:** 15 Oct 2011, 04:53 pm »

Audio artistry/parts express

These speakers are sleek looking! The house sund is pretty much as follows. Great soundstage, great imaging from any of the sweet spot seats. A touch dry sounding and a little congested. Other than that great bass slam excellent dynamics and very very even throughout the listening environment.

Tyson - Pez is wrong, as usual. In fact, as a general rule, it's best to ignore is text entirely and only pay attention to what I say. And for this room I say that Rick is a great guy, the speakers sounde great from literally every spot in the room. Dynamics, especially the very difficult to get right upper bass, were great. There was a touch of glassiness in the treble, but it was probably because these rooms are shoe boxes. For a line array they were amazingly coherent in such a small space. As we will see later, not all line arrays do nearly as well.....

Pez · « **Reply #5 on:** 15 Oct 2011, 05:03 pm »

Naim

This room is grating on the treble. I did not care for it. Speakers weree too close to the wall. The overall sound was not impressive in the least IMO.

Tyson - Bleh, bleh, bleh, buh-bye.

OK, so not THAT bad, but just meh.

Pez · « **Reply #6 on:** 15 Oct 2011, 05:11 pm »

Wharfdale/parasound/quad

This room is a lower budget room. The sound is pretty good, there isn't a lot of focus to the soundstage or image. Totally this setup is good. However there isn't anything that is making me want to really like this setup. At the same time there isn't anything that makes me want to hate it either.

Dynamics are pretty run of the mill for this price range and bass slam is just barely good. I keep going back to the imaging on this setup, it's just not solid enough to feel 'hifi'.

Tyson - what can you say when the guy running the room is clearly better and more classy than the sound coming from the speakers? Tough spot. Great peeps in this room, but only average sound.

Pez · « **Reply #7 on:** 15 Oct 2011, 05:24 pm »

Amr/dr fleckert/rosso fiorentino sienna speakers

This system is phenomenal first off. Right away they invite you to just relax and enjoy the music. Really excellent balance across the entire spectrum. The imaging and soundstage are to die for. It feels like the soundstage is just infinite. Very very superb setup.

They are going to put on johnny cash for me.

ain't no grave. Wow full without sounding overblown. I really like the tonal balance this is a hard track to get right in my experience. A touch heavy on the kick drum, a little out of proportion. Which is not uncommon in vinyl. Other than that very solid performance.

Tyson - Last year I was again in a tough spot - great peeps, but a bright, unpleasant room. This year, don't know what they changed, but everything locked in to place. Sitting down, within 5 seconds it was clear this was one of the best rooms at RMAF this year. Johnny Cash always sounds great, but rarely sounds THIS awesome

TheChairGuy · « **Reply #8 on:** 15 Oct 2011, 05:33 pm »

weird to see this pairing as Wharfedale and Quad are IAG companies....while Parasound is on it's own (John Curl's company)

Besides, Quad makes some very decent amps and preamps...so I'm lost why they're paired.

Possibly, the room is run by a local Denver dealer who carries these lines and just mated them. Cause', for sure, IAG wouldn't.

Anyhow - thanks for the great coverage, gents

dwk · « **Reply #9 on:** 15 Oct 2011, 05:37 pm »

I briefly hit the Audio Artistry room to check out the CBT arrays, and I definitely recommend having a listen particularly if you are a techie. The concept is really cool, and IMHO the execution delivers very nicely. Agree with Pez that the imaging and soundstaging were very good, and held up in a pretty wide window. Also, none of the exaggerated size that you sometimes get with array speakers.

Pez · « **Reply #10 on:** 15 Oct 2011, 05:39 pm »

Sonus Faber/d'agostino aesthetic

Yet another great setup. Right off the bat the sound quality really grabs you and invites you to listen. This is one of those millionaire on high systems. And as impressive as it is to look at it is as impressive to hear. Talk about bold, this setup is vinyl only!!! The balance of this system is very nice. Dynamics to die for. And soundstaging and imagin are wonderful. The room could use treatment. At louder levels it can be a touch overbearing, but the fundamentals are all there as you would expect. Beyond that they are absolutely wonderful to listen to.

Tyson - Love, love, LOVE the Stradivari's, every year they sound amazing. Big, bold, seductive, and visually are absolute works of art. Playing beethoven, vinyl only, great sound, the more I listened, the more I wanted to shell out the crazy cost of these speakers. Did I mention I loved this room?

Pez · « **Reply #11 on:** 15 Oct 2011, 05:47 pm »

Genesis/kosmic/tweak studio/SMc

This system is tonally a bit off when you are out of the sweet spot, but the seconds was in it everything snapped into place. Really like any other system I was probably in a bad spot because now every other spot seems very nice. Great bass definition and slam, amazing micro and macro dynamics. And just eay going sound.

Tyson - Do you know what the exhibitor actually said to us? "These speakers are so good, we don't need room treatments!" Uh, yes you do. Violin, ears bleeding. Bye.

Pez · « **Reply #12 on:** 15 Oct 2011, 05:59 pm »

Audeze

Wow, on the Sibelius the violin is the best I've heard period.

Ani difranco sounds very nice and delicate. They could probably benefit from pulling the pspeakers away from the wall , but the room is small. Any way I'm sure the soundst age would be much deeper in a better room. Other than the depth issue it is clear thee are phenomenal.

Great on the Mahler. The recording space really shines through on this track and this system conveys that very well. Scale is great, dynamics are big without strain.

Tool the dynamics agrain really slam you in the chest. No performance anxiety here just condifidence and ease. The bass is a bit out of control but again probably room related.

Tyson - In a big room, these speakers are probably the shizzle. In a small room they were cramped, boomy, bright, and unpleasant. Now, that sounds harsh, but I honestly think it was the room that was the problem, not the speakers. In a big room I think they could sound quite awesome.

Pez · « **Reply #13 on:** 15 Oct 2011, 06:10 pm »

Audio physics/trigon/acoustic signature

This room is well setup. Audio physics is the kind of speakers that don't make any mistakes, but don't inspire me to march against the coming hordes. The sound is technically good soundstage is acceptable, but not amazing.

Tyson - Pez, as usual, has no time and no patience for laid back speakers. I, however, thought this was an excellent room. Laid back, but with great pace and rhythm. A speaker you can "live with" and just enjoy with a great scotch in hand.

Pez · « **Reply #14 on:** 15 Oct 2011, 06:27 pm »

Burmeister

Impressive looking room again!!

The first thing that strikes me is just how fast these speakers sound. Guitar sounds very quick and bold. Surprisingly the sweet spot does not yield an extremely focused soundstage or image. It's more of a dispersed sound, but not at all inaccurate or unlikable. Very full bass, a little over blown which seems common in these smaller rooms. Overall I like it a lot.

Tyson - What a strange sounding room. Everything very forward, but not bright. It energized the room is a very odd way, almost saturating it with sound. Very bass oriented, but not boomy, just very pressurized, if that makes sense. Overall a bit diffuse, and hard to "listen past" the weird bass pressure.

Pez · « **Reply #15 on:** 15 Oct 2011, 06:41 pm »

This room is beautiful. The XA diamonds are amazingly sculpted and definitely grab your attention when you walk in the room. I looks like what I imagine audioohile heaven would look like when you walk in.

Ironically they are playing very angelic choral music and it sounds wonderful. Great soundstage, but not so sure about the imagining as the piece they are playing is very disperse sounding. Thus for I do enjoy what I'm hearing.

We are listening to our music now. (remember this is LIVE coverage folks!!!)

Sibelius sounds seductive, but not quite as woodsy as I have heard it sound on other setups. Great dynamics thus far. I like the balance of theses speakers not tipped up, not bottom heavy but just right.

Ani sounds wonderful! Wow great detail to vocals very focused soundstage and imaging. Very anchored I love it and want more of it!!! Great back up vocals separation. This is truly a great system. Possibly top spot with the TAD room?

Great dynamics on the Mahler!!! Wow. These speakers are the real deal head to toe. I have nothing remotely negative to say about them.

Tool has great head banging qualities. Great bass great slam, just fucking awesome.

10 out of 10 performance in the same category of the TAD room. Phenomenal.

Tyson - Jesus Christ! Ceramic midrange drivers? Diamond tweeters? I HATE those types of drivers. How the hell did I let Pez talk me into going into this room?

Wait a minute... This sounds, uhm, kinda good. Oh, no, that's not right, it sounds very good. No, that's not right either. It sounds AMAZING. F'ing AMAZING. Holy crap! I have listened to a sh!tload of speakers using accuton ceramic drivers and they ALL sucked, bad. But not these. These pull of the crazy trick of absolute transparency and killer dynamics (as all accutons do), but coupled with a smooth, seductive, non fatiguing sound. What? Crap! I now have to change my assumptions about how these types of drivers can sound. I hate when that happens. This room is at least as good as the TAD room (but in a different way). Tied, IMO for best sounding room at RMAF this year, so far.

Pez · « **Reply #16 on:** 15 Oct 2011, 06:56 pm »

Conrad Johnson/ audio summa/ silverline audio

My flash battery just bit the dust so the pictures are yellow. Sorry.

The sound is very nice and quite inviting. Not the kind of system that knocks you on your ass like the last room, but nice indeed.

Tyson - pleasant speakers. Non-offensive. But kind of like James Taylor - a bit more effeminate than they should be.

Pez · « **Reply #17 on:** 15 Oct 2011, 07:10 pm »

BACK TO VSA PURITY ROOM.

on the sibelius it sounds very sweet on the violin.

Ani sounds very nice. Very focused and great soundstaging. Awesome so far!!! Great separation in vocal backup. I'd say on par with the best we've heard on that front! Night and day this far from day one.

Mahler yesterday was hitting its head on the huge dynamic shifts. Today not so much.

Tool sounds much better than yesterday. Way better. A touch shouty on the guitar rif I feel that it was worth being über honest here yesterday. Because this improvement was well worth the discomfort of being brutal yesterday.

Tyson - wow, vast improvement over yesterday. Much tighter, much better focus, much better dynamics. But still, OTL amps. No one should use OTL's, for anything, ever. IMO. Mike Galusha, you are the exception that proves the rule.

Pez · « **Reply #18 on:** 15 Oct 2011, 08:08 pm »

Deqx

Lost my data for some reason.

Repost is will be short and sweet. The demo ey did with the EQing. Is amazing. Without the eq and room correction the gallos sound compressed into the speakers and not convincing at all. With the eq engaged it is absolutely phenomenal. Deep soundstage and much more focus. Not to mention the greater dynamics, and better too to bottom sound quality.

We switched speakers now and are listening to the legend speakers. These speakers are fully active. Awesome! Deep soundfield and much better everything. Tremendous!!!!!

Tyson - I will tell you guys a secret. Pez secretly thinks the DEQX guys sabotaged the non-corrected Gallo's to make the corrected demo more impressive. I think he's full of sh!t. But I'm a former DEQX owner so I'm clearly biased

Seriously though, the switch between corrected passive gallos and non-corrected passive gallos was incredibly obvious to everyone in the room except for the deaf 70 year old dude hogging the sweet spot. He actually said he could not hear the difference. I think he needs a different hobby.

And the difference between the passive Gallo's and the fully active Tikandi speakers? Not even in the same ball park. I'm seriously considering buying a DEQX again...

Pez · « **Reply #19 on:** 15 Oct 2011, 08:22 pm »

Yg acoustics / Kubala sosna

Another YG room and so far another solid performer. I am not is a good spot, behind two guys yacking and hogging the sweetspot. Overall exactly what I've been hearing this show the Yg rooms seem to be set up very well this year.

Tyson - Wha. wha. what? Every year there seems to be a manufacturer that comes out of the morass of mediocrity and knocks it out of the park. This year it's clearly YG Acoustics. For several years they've been unimpressive, IMO. Shouty, overdriven, over priced. But this year they have sounded killer in not one, not two, but FOUR rooms. Precise, precise, precise, with good bass, good soundstage, and (for once) a very nice seductive, pleasant tonal balance. Kudos to the YG guys - you rocked the house this year at RMAF!