Thoughts from THE Show, is $29k the new $10k?

I was at an ENT dr. last week due to a case of tinnitus I picked up about a month ago from a sinus infection that followed a 10-day Florida trip. Severe ringing in 1 ear for about 3 weeks until the antibiotics and steroids finally started to work.

The dr. did a number of hearing test on both my ears an said I was at about 70% recovered in the tinnitus ear so far, and that my other ear had the sensitivity of that of a 10-year old, which I took to be a pretty good thing(as in 0 hearing loss). I too am bothered by high-pitched sounds that others seem to be oblivious to. That would seem to directly contradict some of the statements above on hearing loss. I am 54 and listen to my system at least 2-3 hours per day.

Sorry to further derail this thread, but thought this input to be of some value to the above discussion.

(this is a cross post from another show thread)

The 2nd Annual T.H.E. Show Newport Beach was pretty fun. I’ve never been to a hi-end show of any kind and being that the event was being held only five miles from my house, it was an easy decision.

Here are my show favorites. -

The MBL room playing an open reel at 15ips. This was by far the best room for me as well as the friend that accompanied me. Unbelievable resolution, wonderful clean lively sound, top to bottom. We first visited the room in the morning and Hugh Masekela was playing Stimela from the album Hope. This amazingly clean, well-produced and mastered material really demonstrated the wonderfulness of the MBL 101s. I have Martin Logan Vantages and so this sound was right up my alley – I know they don’t compare, this is just for your reference. We specifically went back later that evening to hear The Talking Heads – Stop Making Sense and Pink Floyd – Darkside of the Moon. This second session really reinforced to my friend and I that the MBLs are something special. This room was an all MBL setup with the exception of the open reel. The system could be played quite loud and yet no fatigue at all. The louder it got the better it sounded. Really amazing.

I really felt the McIntosh room sounded excellent. I very much liked the floor standing speakers that were driven by a tube pre and the MC452 SS amp. They were also using the MEN220 and their power distribution component. All of these components really played nicely together. I must note that I am a McIntosh fan, though all this equipment is out of my league. This is also my first time to hear the McIntosh speakers and they were a treat. I don’t know what model they were and couldn’t find them on McIntosh’s website.

The IG room was pretty awesome as well. Really nice smooth but dynamic sound. I forget what electronics were used, but the sound was pretty stunning. It was easy to stay in that room for a bit of a rest and enjoyment.
Finally, I thought that the Empirical Audio room sounded pretty nice. Got to meet Steve and chat for a few minutes. The sign outside the door noted that the whole setup in the room retailed for $32,000. The sound was very clean and what I really focused on was the midrange and upper end because I wanted to know what the Offramp was doing. I’m not sure I heard cymbals sound any better at the show. So clear and precise, no fuzz or timing errors. Just really sounded like cymbals. It would have been nice to hear that setup in a larger room.

Like some others commented, there were many systems that were lack luster at best. Many with six-figure pricing. If the folks setting up these rooms didn’t have the skill set to get it done properly, they shouldn’t have misspent the money. For instance, I really wanted to hear several pieces including the Modwright Oppo 105. The only reason I spent anytime in that room was to look at that piece of gear up close. Also, wanted to hear the AtmaSphere tube pre/amp gear. I left that room rather fast after taking a closer look at the pre and amps as well. Just very bland non-stimulating sound. I’ve no doubt both could have performed better based on all the positive comments here on the Gon.

Overall, I thought the show was great. My friend and I are already planning to go again next year.

I was wrong (looked at the official website and had coverage for only two shows). Anyway, it was actually the third annual event.

"The MBL room playing an open reel at 15ips. This was by far the best room for me as well as the friend that accompanied me. Unbelievable resolution, wonderful clean lively sound, top to bottom. We first visited the room in the morning and Hugh Masekela was playing Stimela from the album Hope. This amazingly clean, well-produced and mastered material really demonstrated the wonderfulness of the MBL 101s."

Yes, similar mbl RTR master tape demo at United Home Audio shop near DC is still probably the best and biggest home audio sound I have heard in recent years. Standard phono and CD demos on same rig was still stellar but not to the same level of overall perfection.

Look hard for the companies offering lower cost great equipment: they are there. For speakers, start with Revel, a company that makes superlative speakers below $10k. The fact is, folks pay MUCH more attention to the expensive stuff, then the same folks cry that it's too expensive. If you happen to be into cars, do you go out of the way to see a $15k car? No, but I bet you cross the street to see a Bugatti. Same in Audio. There are lots of great value pieces. And lots of way way way overpriced pieces. But remember, there are some expensive pieces that really perform superlatively, so not all the big boys are ripoffs. Just most of them are!