I was only there about 5 hours on Saturday but @snapsc basically put my thoughts on the show into writing almost perfectly.
I was really amazed by the Apple Orchard / Soundfield Audio was the big surprise for me and one of the cheapest systems there. Amazing.
I really liked the Razz /Border Patol / Triode Wire Labs but loved the Rivals. I just purchased a pair about 3 weeks ago and wanted to hear Greg's set up and wasn't disappointed. One of my very favorite rooms.
@snapsc 's write up on Andrew Jones and the Mofi are exactly my thoughts.
Same with the Focal Utopias and crazy Naim mini-fridges. The presenter said that Focal bought Naim about 10 years ago (?) and that the mini-fridges cost $400k. The Focals sounded fantastic w/ some Santana song I've never heard before and for such big speakers in such a small room.
There were some other excellent rooms but those I remember the most. Oh and I walked into the Piega room and Tool was on and it sounded really, really good. The presenter was awesome and loves rock. He said something like, "when I listen to Exile by the Stones I want to hear the heroin come through the speakers". Something to aspire to with your system, lol.
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My perspective. The clarysis speakers in both rooms were extraordinary. The transparency of a magnapan or apogee with a natural bass
I couldn’t get the Acora sound. Entering I though it was going to one of those van scheikert experience, either the flagship sounding amazing. Overdetailed and lifeless, which you can obtain for 30,000 from paradigm
the sleeper to me was the convergent audio/MAGICO room.was unfamiliar with cat
the cat had the power to drive them, and tame the MAGICO tendency toward hi fi sound
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@snapsc
Thank you for the kind comments about our room with Soundfield Audio & Triode Labs. Our success at the show would not have been possible without their support.
Cheers,
Joe
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@ greenngoldcheesehead you get a chance to listen to Soundfield Audio’s bookshelf Speakers in the Orchard Audio/Soundfield Audio/Triode Labs RM502 on the weekend @FLAX ?
Cheers,
Joe
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@klh007 Thank you for your link. The SRC-2’s were the pair in that lobby large ballroom…? I really enjoyed the 45 minutes I spent in there. Also loving the VAC electronics.
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What I found interesting is that there seemed to be a shift toward near field listening for a lot of the setups. Anyone else get that feeling?
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@jomonhifi When I reviewed the Acora SRC-2s I was worried about the weight as well, but Val showed how they designed the packaging making it easy to handle with a simple fold-up dolly, granted I didn’t have to go up or down stairs but they were easier to move than the Tekton Moabs. The payoff is how much musical information the Acoras deliver, they disappear in the soundstage, and are an easy load for amps but you better have quality watts as they reveal all warts. Please don't dismiss the Acora SRBs, add a pair of SVS SB3000 subs and you have an incredible speaker system.
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What did you guys think of the Gershwin Speakers…? Being a potential customer, I’ve reached out to them and Acora… but dealing with a 260lbs speaker….
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The Eminent Technology 18 LS's are only just Prototype Loudspeakers right now but they will be very special and much improved when they come on the market sometime in the future !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wz3BfUV5aok
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@jeffstrick I agree that the pulsars sounded really good....but for me, its hard to justify $9k unless you are really space limited and want the very best "affordable" sound...but even playing youtube videos, they sounded great.
@ecrotty one thing I heard both the Razz and the Rival do that I didn't hear in any any other room...when a guitar was plucked...especially a low string...you could hear and feel the snap...and you could hear the pick/fingernail against the windings of the string...really amazing...and zero harshness. I could live with these!
As for the show itself....unlike prior years, there didn't seem to be a contest as to who could have the loudest room...as a result, almost every room sounded good and more than a few sounded great....and, my opinion...the loudest rooms (90-100db) sounded the worst probably because the rooms can't handle extreme volume without totally messing up the top end and the bass.
The Eminence Technology room pretty much showed that you could get $75k worth of speakers/amplifiers sound for $15k from Bruce's prototypes on display...but customizable if desired with bigger panels, larger bass drivers, etc.
The Orchard room showed that you can get great sound from class d for not a lot of money and since the Stereo Ultra amp was paired with $2200 Soundfield audio speakers...Holy Cow
Andrew Jones...the man...was an absolute treat and I'm really glad to have been in that great sounding room when he was there and willing to answer darn near any question asked of him...with a bunch of humorous anecdotes thrown in.
Two more comments...loved the big Focals in room 716? paired with the min fridge size Focal amps.
And for those with an infinite budget...Borresen and MBL thank you.
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@p05129 From a dealer’s perspective, it was alright, more for the opportunities to network across the industry combined with the opportunity to meet customers. That said, I didn’t find there were a lot of customers in attendance compared to the other larger shows. I wouldn’t count on making a ton of sales from the show, but if the press picks up the performance of the room in a positive way, that could go a long way into building business. I also felt many customers were not really in a shopping mindset as they are in other large shows and really were just curious to see what is out there.
From a customer / audiophile perspective, it was alright. Many of the rooms were not done well (not uncommon for many shows), but in general not that many stood out. The crowds fluxed, and most rooms were really busy for 2-3 hours shortly after opening, with crowds tapering in the mid afternoon. This is good and bad as many customers could have more access to listening to gear in prime seating positions, but I felt most of the room hosts were at times not invested in the people in the room. If I lived within driving distance, I’d probably set up a room for my business, but I wouldn’t make the investment to fly and ship all my gear there.
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How was the show? Last year it was terrible. Sometimes we were the only people on a floor and it was just us in most rooms. The only rooms I was impressed with were from the smaller manufacturers: Jolida for example. Other rooms either didn’t sound very good or they were so overpriced for their sound quality.
Too bad rmaf and ces/t.h.e show (in the good days) still aren’t around.
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@mushniksflorist Yes, they do. It’s the second time I’ve heard them at the shows, and AXPONA last year was the reason I decided to carry the Margules line. I do wish I could carry Raidho, but at the moment, I can’t afford to take it on. The Margules U-280 SC 30th amp sounds great with my personal Borresen Z3 Cryo, ans they pair just as well (albeit with slightly lower performance) with the more affordable Scansonic MB-B speakers that I carry. The Margules I-240 integrated paired with the Scansonic MB-2.5B is a winning combination in my opinion and can fill my 18x23x18 room without a sub, and the pairing costs ~$12K.
@ecrotty @snapsc I did like the tone of the new Volti speakers, but I was less impressed by the separation and imaging compared to many of the other systems there. That said, of course the price points were more accessible than the ultra-high-end offerings others brought. Similarly, I appreciated the Leak and Wharfedale Elysian pairing that one room had (forgot which one). Great tone with nice imaging for the price, but not at the fidelity of many others.
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@snapsc I don't remember the Orchard room, but whole heartedly agree on Mofi and Volti. For $7500 that Hifi Rose and Mofi speaker combo blew me away. I went back multiple times, it was a very musical system! And those Razz speakers were amazingly detailed. I listened to some Trombone Shorty and I swear they were in the room!
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@blisshifi Those Margules/Raidho rooms always sound excellent, very open, natural, non-fatiguing sound. There seems to be nice synergy between those two brands.
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I, too, was very pleased with the small Joseph Audio Pulsar speakers paired with the Doshi electronics. The gear and setup were appropriate for the room where many other manufacturers were trying too hard with too small a space (ahem Focal Maestro Utopia with Naim Statements with less than 7’ listening distance). The body, articulation, imaging and soul of the Joseph Audio room we very moving, and I had a nice time talking with Jeff Joseph about the setup.
Some of my other favorite rooms, without going into much detail:
Margules electronics with Raidho TD 2.2 - this was the boldest, biggest, most organic, and most involving system I heard at the show. Definitely not as fast as the Borresen M1 room when it comes to the microdynamics and speed requirements of electronic music, but it excelled in everything else across all genres, and the speed and microdynamics were more than capable for even the most tasking classical and jazz.
Borresen M1 monitors with the Aavik I-880 integrated - this was uber-high-end, but the clarity, imaging and soundstage could not be beat. Of course, a more “Hifi” sound, but easily could handle anything you threw at it with grace. There were only moments where I was missing the lowest octave.
Thrax electronics with the Lanche 5.2 speakers - this room was just wonderful, an excellent blend of the sound of the two rooms above for what delivered an incredibly organic, but fast and resolving sound with an immense stage (of course the larger room helps, but few if any of the other larger rooms could replicate this magic as something in those systems was always compromising something. The proprietary plasma tweeters on the Lansche were straight out incredible, mixed with a very warm, dynamic, and inviting sound.
All of these were evaluated multiple times over multiple days from their prime listening spots. And in full disclosure, I am a Margules dealer, though I try to remain unbiased about these reviews, which is why I share where I thought there could be improvement areas.
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Not connected with any of these products in any way
But we have smart asses on all these forums 🤔
Get a life...
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I'm yet to figure out how @rick2000 gets paid for shilling all these products.
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Three great rooms irrespective of price… but even better with the price factored in…
Orchard Audio room with their GanF class d stereo ultra amp driving Soundfield Audio bookshelves… about $5500
Andrew Jones Mofi Source Point 10 speakers driven by HiFi Rose all in one integrated…. about about $7500
Volti room… Razz loudspeakers… about $7k for the speakers
All three of these rooms were very musical and provided great listening.
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All for $15k. Just add a streamer.
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Soundfield Audio had an amazing set-up using DSP to control the drivers. The speakers also had rear drivers which were controlled by the DSP. So speakers can be placed near a wall or corner or you could have a highly reflective room and the DSP can compensate. They sounded REALLY good.
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Many people liked the Joseph Audio and Large Acora rooms. For me, the Joseph's sounded bright which could have been the track selected. The large Acora's sounded amazing. I was also impressed with the large Clarisys speakers. They were in a big room and, yet, their soundstage was huge. Some also liked the large TAD speakers. They sounded good but the price tag was ridiculous. I heard better sounding speakers for much less than $180k.
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He goes from forum to forum using multiple names with the same click bait threads so draw your own conclusion as to why.
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Seems pretty fishy Rick that you have some new every week BS with the OMGs and all the emojis and explanation points. Seems like you are either getting paid, or trying to get paid by these manufacturers or just plain dramatic.
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Joseph Audio - Acora Lobby System
@jomonhifi what do you mean? Is there a report on these 2 speakers?
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Joseph Audio - Acora Lobby System
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They got these Eminent Technology 18 LS's matched with Class-D amps, I would match them with the highly raved Atma-Sphere Class-D monoblock amps to get the very best sound out of these speakers. 🤔
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They listened to the 🤑very very high priced new "around" $$$220K Acora Acoustics VRC Flagship speakers before listening to these Eminent Technology 18 LS System and they still liked the Eminent Technology System better ! 😲😲
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