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HE 2005 Show Reports Thread

OK, I'll start it and you all can chime in with your impressions:

Here's the best rooms that I heard and some other impressions and goodies:

Big Rooms
Singer had one of the big rooms with 2 sets of VTL electronics, DCS digital and Peak speakers. The big rig (3 piece DCS and $70,000 speakers) had a buzz in the left channel and sounded a bit hi-fi to me. The smaller rig, with the new DCS one piece unit, wins my best of show vote. Definitely listen to this if you can. But I bet they'll be trying to demo the big rig mostly.

The JM Labs - Pathos room also sounds nice. I really like the sound of these medium sized JM Labs speakers with tubes driving them.

9th and 10th floor Small Rooms

ARS Aures Audio had some very fine sounding speakers poweres by a low powered SET amp. These speakers souond good, but look like a cross between Darth Vader and Alien.

MBL sounded very fine, as usual, with smaller speakers in a small room. Some boom was evident though.

Brinkman w/ Martin speakers gets my second vote. EMM digital was prevalent at the show, but the difference between the EMM and the Brinkman vinyl (recent Stereophile review by Fremer) was minimal. Very good sound.

Sonic Spirits (of NY Audio Rave fame here at the circle) sounded fine, both demoing during the show and in the after hours system for the club meeting. Good job Phil.

Von Schweikert VR4-SR and VAC electronicvs were good, as expected.

Kharma Ceramique also was well worth a visit. Funny, I didn't like these too much at the last show 2 years ago, but they were good this time round.

Butler Audio was showing off a new 100W 300B hybrid amp that they claim is very SET like. SET with 100W of power, with almost no heat thrown off and only 1 tube. Patents on this one. Nice for the techies but it didn't sound SET like to these ears. Perhaps the speakers were to blame? Who knows.

Those are the one's I liked.

ENjoy,
Bob
ptmconsulting

Showing 1 response by asilver8

asilver8
5 posts
 
Hi. My favorite sound at the show was, by far, the Lamm/Peak/Continuum/Stereovox Room on the Tenth Floor (1041). The width and nearfield depth of the soundstage, and instrument seperation were jaw-dropping. It just awed me in a non-hifi kind of way. No bells and whistles, just one of the best representations of the live musical event I've ever heard, as good as the all time, ultra-classic Joseph Pearl/Manley/Spotheim Room from a few years ago.

Best sound for dollar is a tie between the Hyperion and Almarro Rooms. Both were Awesome! The Hyperion speakers sound so good, delicately detailed while retaining the body of the entire musical presentation, you can't help but break out in a big smile and notice your hands instantaneously clapping at the end of the demo; it's not even funny.

Honorable mention for best sound is the Lamm/Damoka/Vitavox/Thorens room for its clear, deep, natural, true to life, not bigger than life, sound, and the Silverline Room w/Bolero Speakers and Silverline electronics. Thanks.
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