www.theabsolutesound.comI was there Saturday - my 2nd time attending. Good fun but as most note - very difficult to hear something, much less properly in a well set up room. And, not much time as I was trying to see/hear a fair amount. So, take with a grain of salt or two.
A few of my more significant impressions:
The Auralic room was indeed out of this world because of the speakers - how in the world could anyone live with something that gargantuan? Regardless, I found the massive horns “cupped” sounding so not my cup of tea.
The T+A room at the time were driving their mid level speakers with the new R2500 receiver. I was impressed. And, I was able to speak with some of the reps at length which was a goal for me as i own their gear.
The dartzeel room? I couldn’t believe how bright sounding it was. They dropped the needle on stairway to heaven and I shocked at how tipped up it was. Oh well.
QLN audio - I thought their new speakers quite good sounding (Vinnie Rossi integrated amp) and had a nice chat with James from Choice audio. For me - one of the better sounding rooms. A little brighter than neutral overall, but open and spacious sounding soundstage.
Same with ATC - also good showing.
MBL? I was blown away last year. This year, not as good. I still want them, but the bass seemed a bit bloated and lacking some pitch definition.
TAD - very disappointing on the track I hear. But the room was crowded and hot and i didn’t have the patience to hear another track. But not a great showing for what I suspect is a pretty good speaker.
Atmosphere: I couldn’t tell enough because of the track being played, but I do think his Class D amps might be the ticket for a small secondary system. Really smooth and easy to listen to.
Magnepan - shocking how good a $1k speaker (and their top model) can sound. (Yeah, add subs). You need room, but they truly are an audiophile bargain.
WADAX/Goebel. Given all the windows, sounded pretty good. Certainly resolving and smooth. Considering the cost of the system overall, it should be. Even if I could afford the WADAX stuff, I couldn’t live with it (or house it in my rack). If it’s the best in the world - which I I suspect it is - it needs a better setup (dedicated room - not a show) to reveal it.
