TRELJA almost In New York, 2006

I wasn't really going to write up the VTV Show. It isn't the annual HE Show, sponsored by Stereophile that I usually have too much to say about. But, VTV is the big shindig for us East Coasters this year. A few friends requested I put my feelings out there as to what I thought of VTV. After considering it, I figured, hey, what the heck?

First, as always, endless thanks to my compadres. The folks who make the show even more fun than it could ever be otherwise. Navigating, and offering way too much encouragement in relation to what this particular fool deserves, along with stimulating conversation, is my main man, Dennis (Badboss429). The ride up in the MINI felt like a few short minutes, and it was because of you, my friend. Likewise, the entire day melted away into what felt like it was less than an hour. And, the ride back with the top down on a perfect spring day was marvelous. After that, it seemed as if it was more or less a meeting of our Philadelphia Area Audio Group (PAAG), with members Tom C, Earl, Bob Z, Andy, Barry and the elder K, Joe P., Allen E., my good friend Jiang and his lovely wife as well as a few of us who were showing ala Vytas, Steve Monte, and Vinh Vu. Didn't catch Art Dudley, though I was kind of hoping I would. But, interestingly enough, I ran into Sam Tellig. Sam was far less of a horse's rear end than I anticipated. In fact, he was downright gracious and nice. He's historically been Stereophile's best writer, though give me Art Dudely. Sam's buddy buddy personality probably comes across loudly and clearly in his reviews, to the detriment of the reader. Still, it was nice to finally cross paths.

I was more than disappointed by the paucity of vendors in the room housing the old and interesting stuff for sale. Personally, I bought both cash and credit cards along, hoping to pick up a few different tubes. Just looking to give my money away. I ended up buying nothing. Being a VTV show, I figured the odds against that happening were pretty high indeed.

Briefly, the sonics at the show were good overall. Not great, and for the most part, not bad. Of course, the rooms, which were definitively not audio friendly, had a large say in why things were not great. I was happy with the sound of most of the gear showed today, though felt there wasn't anything I saw or heard that left me feeling I wanted to make a purchase right away. There was gear I'd buy were I to do things over again or had a lot more money, but again, nothing really that left me lusting.

One obvious trend at the show, which we all see and discuss in these threads is the arrival en masse of Chinese audio componentry. Statements on all sides of the argument have been made by many. What I'll put forth here is that no matter what people think, the quality of these products has really come a long way in the past decade. A long way. To the point where I am left flat out impressed by an awful lot of it. Metalwork, casing, fit and finish, and heft were for the most part to the level where I would personally feel a certain pride of ownership in having a lot of these products. Yes, were I in the market, I could buy Chinese without issue. It's more surprising now to see poor build quality today.

Now, for those who feel otherwise, those who don't care, those who are nostalgic, and those who are looking for a legacy product, Dynakit has been resurrected!!! Yes, you heard right. It's made in the USA, from the bottom up, and all in kit form. To put it bluntly, I was floored by their products. But, I was floored times 10 by their pricing. How about a brand spanking new Stereo 70 amplifier for $625?!? No reason to pay almost as much from some guy on ebay with 3 negative feedbacks, hoping it will be more or less working on a wing and a prayer. BUY A NEW ONE! And, 40 wpc monos for $425 each? Can you believe this? I mean this the beauty and build quality of this gear was awe inspiring. Oh, and the stainless steel chassis will never elicit worries over rust. This stuff was the one brand of the day that I'd order today. The EL84 based amplifier, driven by a Dynaco variable tube output CDP, and mated with Omega loudspeakers sounded really, really sweet. I could buy and/or recommend this stuff without hesitation. And, a word about the guys from the company - THE BEST. Straight A's all around for the new Dynakit.

The aforementioned Stephen Monte, owner of audio store Quest For Sound, along with Bob Z manned their Consonance room. I happen to like the Forbidden City line and their 211 mono amps. And, the Droplet CDP speaks for itself. I was less enthralled with the new M15 horn speakers that some of my friends are nuts over. Now, I have to say that this was definitely not the right room for these speakers on many levels. The room was too small, and listening position was a lot closer than one should probably be. Still, I heard more mid/treble forwardness and not as much coherence through the frequency spectrum than I consider acceptable. I'll give them another listen in different environs, but maybe I'm just not a horn guy? Yes, they do a lot of things better than other speakers, and they also do some other things worse. But, if it's your flavor, don't worry about what I think, just go with it.

I'm not sure how much I can say about my good friend Vytas Viesulas without my credibility coming into question, but I'm not sure I care, either. What his Rex speakers are is unique. 300 wpc powered 6.5" woofers, 2 4.5" bamboo cone midwoofers in a truncated transmission line stuffed with real honest to pete wool, crossed over at a sky - high 8 KHz, using a simple series crossover to a German dome tweeter, all in a round enclosure, dressed in a virtually indestructible finish (it's used as truck bed liners). Vytas has systematically attacked so many of the normal problems loudspeakers face that it's no wonder he ended up with something that doesn't look like anything else in audio. Driven by a 22 wpc 300B based Consonance integrated, if you want something apart from the same old, same old, you may want to give these a look. As an aside, anyone looking for the ultimate computer or iPod speaker may want to look into his other product offering, it's a real winner as well.

Ars Audes speakers were a beautifully finished product, sporting a true ScanSpeak Revelator (only one I saw all day?) in an MTM arrangement, in large concave rear walled cabinet. The speakers were driven by the Art Audio monos that I am like a lot. Nice sound down to a certain frequency, at which point, things got discombobulated. Worth a serious look, though.

Art Audio, this time with their Jota integrated drove the German FJ speakers, of which I must apologize for not knowing the model. Wasn't a fan of the sound in this room. Probably was the speakers that didn't light my fire.

While a Lowther fan and owner, I didn't like the AER based horns, either. Do I rename this issue the AER Shout? Liked the partnering amplification a lot, though. You can run a wide array of the SET tubes in them, simply by dialing up the switch on the backs of the power amp. The guy was actually doing this on the fly, pulling out tubes, setting the control, and putting the other tubes in, all without turning off the amps or stopping the music. Don't try this at home, kids. Special mention to the linear tracking Technics early 1980s turntable. Along with this guy, I've heard from a few people that it'll embarrass many a modern audiophile turntable. He pounded the desk the TT was sitting on with his fist pretty good, and the music never skipped a beat.

Cheer Audio is a company I've never, ever heard of. But, the demonstrators, including Ms. Zhou, were more than gracious. They brought along three integrateds; one based on the 300B tube, another runing EL34, and the third with KT88. We didn't hear the KT88 amp. The mids produced by the 300B based amp finally made me understand why people love this tube so much. Simply put, they were incredible. The EL34 based amp added a lot of slam on the bottom, if it wasn't able to match the 300B in the mids. At $599 for the 300B version and $499 for the EL34 (should have asked about the KT88 version), you simply can't beat the pricing. I don't want to ever hear that this is a rich man's hobby when products like this are available from such nice people.

Again, maybe I'm not a horn guy, but I didn't care for the vintage aluminum horns, though they did do certain things well. I did heare them on someone else's speakers last weekend, and they were most impressive in that application. You want to talk corner horns, those speakers I heard last week were corner horns.

I don't mean to get on a negative roll, but that seems to be the case... The North Creek ribbon kits sounded thin, bright, and lacking body in the mids and lower treble to me. Such a surprise, as I'm such a North Creek fan. Just that I need a bit more voluptuousness and romance in my music. I was pretty sure about the way they sounded to me, but my two friends Barry and Joe were so adamant about them being "Best Of Show" that we had to return for a second try. Nope, my initial ruling stuck. You can see the vanilla and chocolate thing coming through - maybe you'd love them. The newly introduced monitors featuring more conventional drivers sounded much more to my liking. I'm not sure the solid state gear was the way to go in this room, but what do I know?

OK, here I go kicking the sacred cows. Is it me or do I just not get the Acoustic Zen/Red Dragon combination that people went gaga over at CES? Not bad, but nothing to write home about, either. At their price point, they're very competitive. Very competitive. I was expecting a lot more because of all the hype.

My friend Vinh Vu, of Gingko Audio is making a lot of noise in the audio world with his unique and creative products. Vinh featured a new version of the Tubulous, that showed me some undeniable improvements in the lower frequencies when things get bumpy over the former iteration. The finish on the bases looked quite beautiful.

I was surprised McIntosh was in attendance. Not really in step with today's audiophile. Is that a good thing? The look is timeless, and the sound is the sound. Whether it's your cup of tea or not is your call. I'm kind of on the fence about the stuff, which is most out of character for me. Would like to hear the MC275, which they had sitting in a coner. If I ever bought a Mac, and I'm not sure I would want to, I'd bet it'd be the MC275.

Cayin is fast becoming one of the more talked about, and controversial, brands in audio. A real comer, they're making some noise in the industry. Cayin is typical of what I went into early in this thread about the products coming out of China. Surprisingly well built and finished, what was being played today was clearly even better than what I had seen from them two years ago from a build and finished product standpoint. North American and European companies who've spent far too long resting on their laurels (are you reading this, CJ?) ought to take a long, sober look at the Cayin products. Unfortunately, the Aurum Cantus speakers they were driving in one of the rooms did them no justice.

How can I say this? I'm a huge fan of Audio Note. Plain and simple. In the three rooms they had at the show, I heard the kind of lively, engaging sound that made me happy about listening to music. And, isn't that what we want from the stuff we are looking to own? No, it's not cheap, but when you factor in that you can possibly buy these products, sit down and listen, and be happy for a pretty long time into the equation, one begins to see the true value of Audio Note gear. Before I move on, the efficient speakers they produce should be a consideration of anyone who has a low power tube amp that needs a sympathetic speaker.

OK, now it's time for me to slobber all over myself... I don't like the Horning speakers. I LOVE the Horning speakers. Yes, Art Dudley didn't give them 1/10th the positive review I would. And, yes, for a Lowther purist they must be utter blasphemy. But, the end result, and that is the ONLY thing I'm about, is that this is perhaps the most natural sounding speaker I can think of on the market today. They simply sound like music, and I can think of no higher praise, audiowise. Oh, and you can run them on low power - they're Lowthers at heart, after all. Factor in that Jeff Catalano is one of the best people I've encountered in the business, and I can't think of a reason why one would need to spend any more money for a speaker that doesn't sound as good as the Hornings. That's the surprising thing; I've heard a lot of speakers that cost more. I don't think I'd take any of them over these. Remember above, when I said there wasn't anything I really was left wanting for after the show. Well, I think I have possibly lied. I'd love to buy these speakers.

As if that weren't enough, I'll show myself to be an ever bigger fool. I really messed up the name of Michael Allen, owner of Joliday, pretty badly. I'm not sure anyone is a bigger fan of Jolida than I, which is funny because I don't own any of their products right now. But, Jolida was the first on the block, and offered more affordable tube based audio products that delivered far more performance from their amplifiers than anyone will ever give them credit for. Roll the tubes, and you end up with something that even a non - audiophile wouldn't balk at spending that nudges right up near the reference level products of this hobby. It was the thrill of a lifetime to meet Michael, and discuss the trials and tribulations of Jolida. He was a super nice, down to earth, modest individual. Here's hoping Jolida continues to stay strong and point us towards where we're going. Oh, and the sound from the Apogee looking Analysis Audio/Jolida Music Envoy combination was probably as good as things got today.

The Zu Druids were on display, and Sean and Adam were their normal fun selves. I try to stay out of a lot of the Zu discussions, as it's simply the most polarizing topic I can think of in audio. You're pretty much a Zu hater or a Zu supporter. Where do I fall in? I'm a Zu supporter. Yes, the Druids have their issues, and they do a lot wrong. A lot wrong. But, let's not forget they cost $2800. Now, take a step back, and think about it. Let's talk about $2800 speakers that you'd rather own. Hmm, we can point out a lot of things that they do wrong, too, can't we? The Zu speakers. Druids or Definitions, aren't my flavor. But, I give them their due. At their pricepoints, they appeal to a fair number of audiophiles as being the best option on the market.

I already mentioned Sam Tellig, and would anyone know the Opera Loudspeakers were it not for Sam? Most probably, not. I've been seriously itching to give these babies a listen, and here was my chance. They weren't the model I was most interested in - the $8K job. These were the step up, both in size and price. Much bigger, and twice the price. From the upper bass all the way up to the top, these were fine, fine loudspeakers. Imaging was great, and the speakers had a lively, energetic, but not tipped up sound. But, the bass and mid bass was simply sloppy and loose, taking away from an otherwise exciting product. I still want to hear the next model down. Seems to be probably where I fit in best, but you never know until you hear them. Oh, and if you're into cosmetics, the wood on the Opera Loudspeakers, from the most affordable models on up is truly beautiful.

Well, that's about it for me. Yes, it's a long and opinionated report. They always are. Feel free to disagree, as I always say, "That's why they make vanilla AND chocolate." One could also say, and strawberry...

Thank you,
Joe