I didn't attend CES, but what amazes me about these reports is how two people can listen to the same system and make completely different observations about the sound. Then again, different times of day, different levels of listening fatigue, one's mood, various recordings playing during audition, etc... can all affect what we think. A perfect example of this were the comments posted by Celtic and Nrchy about VTL i.e. extreme polar opposite opinions.
I know that i've encountered this myself in the very same room. A few years back, i listened to a system that sounded very lush, full bodied, delicate and smooth. The system was all SS, but had a very definite "TOOOOB" flavouring to it. My Brother heard it and thought much the same thing.
When bringing another friend into that room the next day, the rep's were away from the room and were letting people play their own discs and use the system as they would their own. A very nice touch. One couple put in some type of Opera ( pardon my ignorance ) and proceeded to sit front and center with their eyes closed. After a short period of time, i wanted to run from the room. The sound was ear-shattering i.e. hard & glassy sounding upper mids, treble that was brittle and breaking up i.e. very piercing and anything but "smooth, soft & airy" as i had experienced the day before. I don't know if it was the disc or if something had changed in the system, but i can bet you one thing. I'll bet that the guy that i took to hear that system had a COMPLETELY different take on it than what my Brother and i had the day before.
Having said all of that, i've heard those same components in other systems and always thought that they had a "toob" flavouring to them. As such, it had to be the disc that they were playing. If someone had walked in the room at that time though, i'm quite certain that they would have thought the components / speakers sounded shrill as can be.
I ran into another situation in a room that had Vandy 5's powered by ARC gear a few years back. On one day, the bass was somewhat flabby sounding and lacked definition. After Richard dialed the system in a little better the next day, the bass had tremendous slam and impact. Some people thought that the bass was TOO visceral, including my Brother. Needless to say, the differences were night and day. Do you think that someone hearing the system on the first day would have the same opinion as a different person hearing the system the second day? I don't think so. I know i didn't.
Just goes to show that one really can't form much of an opinion about sound with show conditions, especially during one visit that is very brief to each room. This is why i try to hit each room that may have something i'm interested in several times on different days. This allows one to form a more qualified opinion of what's going on there and even that may not be all that accurate.
As such, i'm with Nate on this one. Shows are strictly for checking things out. Then again, if they can get a system dialed in to the point where it grabs your attention under show conditions, chances are, it can be even better under more idealized normal-use conditions in your home. After all, how many folks can get a system REALLY dialed in overnight in a completely foreign room with unknown acoustics? Industry professionals or not, we should take that into account. After all, many of the "industry professionals" that attend and set up the gear at shows are simply sales rep's, not engineers or acousticians. Sean
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I know that i've encountered this myself in the very same room. A few years back, i listened to a system that sounded very lush, full bodied, delicate and smooth. The system was all SS, but had a very definite "TOOOOB" flavouring to it. My Brother heard it and thought much the same thing.
When bringing another friend into that room the next day, the rep's were away from the room and were letting people play their own discs and use the system as they would their own. A very nice touch. One couple put in some type of Opera ( pardon my ignorance ) and proceeded to sit front and center with their eyes closed. After a short period of time, i wanted to run from the room. The sound was ear-shattering i.e. hard & glassy sounding upper mids, treble that was brittle and breaking up i.e. very piercing and anything but "smooth, soft & airy" as i had experienced the day before. I don't know if it was the disc or if something had changed in the system, but i can bet you one thing. I'll bet that the guy that i took to hear that system had a COMPLETELY different take on it than what my Brother and i had the day before.
Having said all of that, i've heard those same components in other systems and always thought that they had a "toob" flavouring to them. As such, it had to be the disc that they were playing. If someone had walked in the room at that time though, i'm quite certain that they would have thought the components / speakers sounded shrill as can be.
I ran into another situation in a room that had Vandy 5's powered by ARC gear a few years back. On one day, the bass was somewhat flabby sounding and lacked definition. After Richard dialed the system in a little better the next day, the bass had tremendous slam and impact. Some people thought that the bass was TOO visceral, including my Brother. Needless to say, the differences were night and day. Do you think that someone hearing the system on the first day would have the same opinion as a different person hearing the system the second day? I don't think so. I know i didn't.
Just goes to show that one really can't form much of an opinion about sound with show conditions, especially during one visit that is very brief to each room. This is why i try to hit each room that may have something i'm interested in several times on different days. This allows one to form a more qualified opinion of what's going on there and even that may not be all that accurate.
As such, i'm with Nate on this one. Shows are strictly for checking things out. Then again, if they can get a system dialed in to the point where it grabs your attention under show conditions, chances are, it can be even better under more idealized normal-use conditions in your home. After all, how many folks can get a system REALLY dialed in overnight in a completely foreign room with unknown acoustics? Industry professionals or not, we should take that into account. After all, many of the "industry professionals" that attend and set up the gear at shows are simply sales rep's, not engineers or acousticians. Sean
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