What a throw back in time. I was the " demo guy " at the ’96 Stereophile show at the Waldorf, for Jadis. My good friend and his partner were the US reps ( NorthStar Leading The Way ) for Jadis at that time. Personally, I had a blast....but several times, hotel management came to our room during those 3 days and threatened to close us down. The Eurythmie designer was out of control and had overtaken the volume, when I played tracks 4 and 5 of The Pros And Cons of Hitch Hiking, by Roger Waters. My best, MrD.
The Hidden Gem at Capital Audio Fest (CAF) 2023!
Good Morning Fellow Audiophiles!
I just spent two "action packed days" at Capital Audio Fest (CAF) 2023.
I heard a number of very find sounding systems, including amazing musical reproduction from such well known names as Borresen, Acora, and Kharma. Also in the "price no object" category, the Cessaro Wagners were absolutely stunning, and earned my "Best of Show Award".
However, while I truly enjoyed all of the great sound, THE HIGHLIGHT of the show for me was a name you probably DON'T know, designed by a very nice young man who I think just might have a very bright future
The product was the Endow Audio Bravura 7.2, and at $6,900 it offered a glimpse of what I heard with the $65K Cessaros at 10% of the price. What's more it did so while driven by very modest electronics from Black ice. I'm not an engineer, but the unique design, with 9 x 1.5" midrange drivers arranged in an arc at the rear of the 3D printed horn sitting atop the otherwise conventional appearing bookshelf cabinet conferred an amazing immediacy, truth and penetration of timbre and tonal color, and nothing short of stunning image solidity and soundstage size.
The company offers a 30 day in home trial risk free. t took photos and will also try to post them.
www.EndowAudio.com To clarify, I have NO RELATIONSHIP WHATSOEVER with any aspect of Endow Audio.
BH
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Bouncehit I have to agree with you they had a very engaging room. My favorite thing to do at this event is to walk into each room for a short snippet of listen and figure out which room I want to go back and hear. I went back to Endows Audio's 7.2 room three times. I always go back to the rooms that sound good to relaxe and listen. I also went to their other room with the floor standing speaker but it was not a match for that room, I'm sure they worked hard to get the room to sound right, especially if they set up the 7.2 room. I was impressed with the direction they are taking, you were able to get a very nice sound without sitting in the sweet spot. Hope they come back next year. |
Not getting their just due the Perlisten R7, and S7 Loudspeakers they are very good on many levels , my Dealer Perrotta Consultants Has them and the R7 can be bought with discount under $9k best many much more expensive speakers and measure excellent and very natural sounding , theS7 a bit more accurate and go lower but 2x the retail price. |
I was just asking myself the same question two days ago! Everyone offers interest free financing on their stuff, cars, furniture, even jewelry. When it occurred to me, I looked up Audio Advisor and Crutchfield, and no, no talk of financing, interest free or otherwise. Does anyone else find this strange? |
Another thing I wonder is any of the vendors ever offer zero interest loans or if anyone would even do that? I had to buy a new TV recently and if I can’t pay cash I usually shoot for an interest free loan I can make payments on and not be charged interest if paid in time. Most high ticket price mainstream vendors these days seem to offer that. Why not high end audio vendors? Just a thought. In most cases people are better off not buying luxury items they cannot pay for up front. |
@ozzy62 well you got me beat. I heard and bought a Chord Mojo portable DAC that I still use a few years back. Got a fair discount. I heard Vanatoo speakers at CAF and bought a pair on Amazon not too long after. I used my Amazon card and got something back on that. I bought a $20 45 RPM adaptor for my turntable once and I almost always come back with some new records or CDs. I always hear lots of nice sounding and looking stuff some of which I would consider buying if the need comes up.
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I might not qualify since it was less than 10k. But after hearing the Von Schweikert VR4 Silvers at HiFi 96 in NYC I ordered a pair. I had already auditioned them at a dealer but hearing the Silver version at the show pushed me over the edge. I did not receive a “show discount”. As a matter of fact, I paid the full retail price of 4450.00. Not expensive, but not cheap for almost 30 yrs ago. |
Which leads to the question: how many here have actually committed and bought products say in excess of $10K at one of these shows? Was a show special discount offered? I will fess up, personally I have never spent more than $1k at these shows, though I usually do end up with a handful of things I hear added to my would-consider buying list.
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Zu has yet to become my cup of tea at demos but they can be fun and do offer a somewhat esoteric and relatively affordable option for folks at these shows who actually might be there to buy speakers. I suspect if a show results in even one or two sales for the most uber expensive vendors, that is enough. Whereas the vendors showing more affordable options who put on a decent showing like Zu probably produce more actual buyers. |
Been to many Zu rooms over teh years and they are always well attended. Techically, I am not financially in want to be able to afford very nice toys if I truly felt compelled to want to own them, and I already own a fair number of very nice ones, but I know when I go to these often over-the-top shows, I am desperate to find things that offer clear value that I might want to own. Especially when the variations of most things on display are just newer re-creations of products more or less available 50 years ago.
Were was the Future-Fi at this show? Do vendors selling the products that most people are already buying really even have any need to show up? It would be interesting to hear more less extravagant gear at these shows alongside the more boutique-like, more blingy products typically offered.
I like nice things as much as the next guy, but having grown up in Amish country, and seeing how hard it is for so many in this world to even make ends meet, I truly cannot bring myself to seriously consider buying things that are extremely over the top. But that’s just me. My mantra is "to each their own".
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@bluorion There were two Zu Audio/Black Ice Audio rooms on the 7th floor. They were both packed if that was any indication as to how popular they were. |
@larryi I heard the Trios with the Voxativ field coil module a few years back at the New York audio show, they were fantastic. Driven by a low powered Pass integrated amp their sonic bliss was much as you so aptly described, lively yet non aggressive with great presence. I've heard them at a few other shows with different center drivers (although I'm not sure I've heard the coax driver you heard at CAF) however the field coil drivers were by far the best IMHO. The cost increases dramatically although I believe they are still competitive given their performance. I think you would be even more smitten with the field coil driver Trios than you already are with the coax version.
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For me, the system in the Pure Audio Project room was the hidden gem at the show. The prices of components were not unreasonable and the performance level was extremely high. But, because they did not hit you with big bass slam, and the exhibitors did not play the system at extremely high levels, it was not so much an attention-getting display. The system quietly went about playing music in an utterly natural, relaxed and engaging way with quite good micro-dynamics and a lively, yet not aggressive presentation. I was shocked that the speakers--Trio model (open baffle with twin 15" woofers and a midrange/tweeter between the woofers)--cost something like $8,450. They were also suited to being coupled with low-powered amps (the kind of amps I like), If I had to give up my current system, I could easily live with these speakers, and that cost is less than a third of the price of the midrange drivers in my system. Because these speakers have different modules for bass and midrange/tweeter, they can be upgraded. I would probably opt for their Voxativ field coil midrange/tweeter module. |
Your post was fine! You simply expressed your appreciation and listening impressions of a speaker that caught your attention. Truly an understandably subjective occurrence. That’s what these audio forums are for. Product price/value/affordability is also subjective.7K dollars for some is quite a financial reach, for others it’s chump change. The range of disposable income I imagine is very broad amongst members here. Utterly an individual call as it always is. Charles |
In my original post I outlined the virtues of the speakers as I perceived them personally. I am from a middle-class family, and certainly don’t take $7000 lightly! However, in a world where systems can cost $1 million, and lesser sounding systems cost multiples of this one, I thought it was noteworthy. As always, I would encourage folks to have a listen and decide for themselves. But, my enthusiasm, and the enthusiasm of my good friend and long time Audiophile co-traveler David, were very real!! (And we both own systems many would consider at or near the state of the art, so possess a valid, relevant reference). I am sure there are other things as good or better at the price point, but in these contexts they were real standouts!! |
I realize many praised speakers at the show cost a lot more but $7k is still towards the pricey end for speakers that size. So they might sound very good and seem like a bargain within the context of the show, but are they really? If so based on what exactly? In what way are they clearly as good or better than the overall competition at that price or higher? |
@bouncehit , I heard the Endow Audio speakers at the Tampa Audio Show in February and thought they sounded extremely good. I think they had the big ones playing though. They sounded so good that I did think hard about the smaller ones, but it would have involved me switching out my amp to accommodate them. They are definitely on my list of speakers to consider trying. |
@2psyop LOL! I love it. Personally, I prefer the sounds of analog & tube measurements over digital & solid state. |
I thought that they were interesting also. Lots of very nice sound; maybe the years of previous experience are allowing dealers to address room issues here better. The Goldenear 66’s were my surprise favorite for inexpensive speakers, they were impressive. I really enjoyed the ModWright room with the small Acoras, I preferred the sound to most of the bigger systems. |