2020 FLORIDA AUDIO EXPO WHICH ROOMS would YOU VISIT?


Hello everyone,
OK. You made the trip and or really wanted to, are ready to see everything on your short list.

HERE’S THE LIST OF WHO’S WHO IN WHICH ROOM.
https://floridaaudioexpo.com/exhibitors-2020/

aside from those who will or want to do it all, what rooms would you put on your short list to check out foremost?

last year I had few preffs on what to see. I wanted to see it all going in but that changed given logistics, waiting times, and then locating the particular gear to check out. this year I’ll use a different approach and check out just those items I’m really interested in, and if time permits, see some other rooms

so, what is your standard Audio Show plan?
BTW, I got the bit on wearing comfy shoes!

or, what is it in this show you defintely want to hear?

I missed a couple of the big room heavy hitters  last year like MBsL and VAC/VSA. and interestingly enough stumbled into the MurAudio/Merrill Audio demo simply was sheer audio Heaven as was the Classic Audio/Atmas/PAD in the big room called the Pavillion.
  
hopefully there will be another unexpected setup that has the same hair rasing effect on the senses this year. I wonder who it will be?

thanks

blindjim

in a nut shell:
the corvos lower end could not be overlooked. the room/setup combo seemed to be adding to its bloom or presence. mids and aboe were seemingly on point. nothing inordinate or annoying there. overall a tuneful, pleasant, insightful and detailed sans any descernable harshness or too much leading edge on the notes. very nice.

true. only how well the sound is being reproduced or speaker performance can be the take away from hearing a system for the first time.


that said, the raven Corvos towers do a fine job. indeed with but 125wpc of glass powered monos. 


incidentally, another pr of similarly priced loudsepakers,  the Gershman towers 2.5 way units had a  more involving, natural rendering with a cleaner more organic top end which possessed more sparkle.


the question then is would the Corvos emmulate the Gershmans were they in the VAC setup?


or would the Gershmans out run the Corvos .if raven sillouette were pushing them?


most of the time I spent in the Raven demo was getting to know what and who raven is, and their ideas on doing business, practicality, support, options, etc.


the larger towers were running as we entered. as the discussion grew the reference products were muted then the entry level affair lit up.


first impressions of the Corvos? Very nice. I’d like to say inpressive but I had just left a room displaying speakers costing three times as much and regretably though quite honestly, the Corvos presentation lacked by contrast in image specificity and tonal clarity.


that said as time passed the former room’s impact waning the Corvos towers became more interesting. I noted the price was comparible to another room just visited by myself and my friend Eevie, Gershman acoustics fueled by   VAC statement pre and a pr of VAC statement 450s monos which in all could not be an apples to apples comp given the costs of the power train alone.


my point here being, given just the impressions of sonics alone, the raven room Corvos and Sillouette power line up were very very close across the bandwidth with the VAC & Gershman coming out on top with more clarity and top end distinction, but weaker in the lower octaves.


on the bottom end the Corvos were as expected tighter and maybe even more tuneful and certainly more robust in impact. the rooms of all three demos were very close in cuvic ft. size


the corvos system made me feel comfortatble with its lower registers and I do dig an outfit with great bass.


above the bottom end, I felt here was a speaker system worth its asking price unquestionably.


for the money I felt the Raven room Corvos and Sillouettes power train was where the value or bang for the buck lived. i told my friend eevie I could live with that setup very easily, though I’d give more thought to the source device being replaced or not in the  equation at all. although I could find no fault with the MYDAc unit I feel stepping up the ladder there would be where the performance would be more easily improved.. that’s all.


the Cellest and raven’s 20wpc INT was where I became stunned. knowing nothing of what that outfit was using and knowing only a shift to a lesser cost speaker was in play, hearing the smaller sibling was one of my first big smiles at the show. hearing what all was in play the smile grew. in fact I said to my friend that outfit is a keeper for $7K (show price). no question about it. very impressive.


VAC & Gershman was triple the price or more in power train but about the same in speaker costs. 


so it could come down to a choice in esthetics or avilability between the Ger’ and Cors.  

if Raven offers in home demos, tthat might be worth the cost  to secure. regardless the outcome.


I left that show with Raven now on my radar as it was never previously on it. so yeah, I feel its worth further investigation if speakers under 14K are the target and the power train pushing them is not in the lots o’ watts or six figures camp which is a real attraction for me…


good luck. hope that adds to the confusion. lol


for another viewpoint check out this link:

https://www.stereophile.com/content/raven-audio-celest-and-corvus-speakers-osprey-mk3-integrated-amplifier-and-silhouette-mk2


 
Had a chance to listen to the Corvus towers for a few moments... smooth but detailed, nice low end, big soundstage.  +1 overall and a “bargain” by show standards. 

one after thought....the Corvos is a two piece affair. as I undestood it, a Cellest on top of a powered bass unit. if this is correct one could simply get the cellest and later on add a pr ofr the powered bass cabinets as a way to defray the initial expense.
 

as Ozzy62 said, "Anyone who attends should visit room 605 and check out Clayton's new M3 Sapphires 
Ozzy is onto something. especially if esthetics are not a big deal for you. at $5K retail, these were alarmingly nice sounding units. albeit I did feel a bit bass heavy or oriented, but they came awfully close to the Corvos in overall performance .

I regret not taking a bit more time to check out the Pure Audio's latest itteration coming in at $9K retail. I think they were running with Pass. can't recall exactly. sorry.

also Voltee's recent upgrade of the rivals could have been just as interesting but at double the cost or $18K.

Lou Hinkley's Apollo's on display with top tier VAC INT  were also $18K and I was informed took top billing and a blue ribbon for esthetics with contrasting woods and inlays! 
Actually....I think it was the CeLest I heard at the show priced at $4k...which does not have a subwoofer...and they sounded good and looked good...the switch to the Corvus system with the sub just made the sound bigger with a deeper low end...but tonally unchanged

+1 on the Celeste. both models were set up in the living room section of the suite facing away from the opening to it. this made things quite intimate. roughly a 12 x 12 section give or take some either way.

given how they ran off a reputed 20wpc $2K or so hollow state INT amp… these came off as a no brainer selection as mains for various rigs… secondary rig, office, bedroom and as the ‘go to’ system if a stricter budget prevails.

i saw at Raven’s website where they afford a 30 day trial, so there’s that.

I regret not spending more time there.