TRELJA in New York, 2002


Well, another Stereophile NYC HiFi Show has taken place. For the second consecutive year, I attended. Like last year, I feel obliged to share my impressions on what I saw.

Before I get to the gear, I have a few general comments about the Show. Unlike like last year, when I attended on Saturday, this year, I went on Friday. My decision was to try and garner a better insight and listening position than the mob scene that was there on Saturday last year. The crowds were still impressive, however. But, I am sure Saturday was much more hectic. I could have also attended Saturday, as I was still in the city, and had 4 Day Passes. Also, I was there with my fiance.

I do believe those two things shifted my perspective on the Show; as I had a different feeling this year. However, my thoughts are that part of this may also be the state of the high end industry. I do hope that I am wrong, but I my impressions were that high end audio has lost a good bit of its zip over the past year. Yes, I know this is the truth. The economy has had a long, drawn out malaise, and audio equipment has not sold as briskly as it did two years ago. 2000 was probably the highwater mark. Audiogon was much more vibrant then. As were sales. As was the overall energy. And, we as a society are still not what we were before the barbaric events of September 11th.

My apologies for wasting this much space so far...

On to the sound!

If I have cast a pallor over the Show, that was not my intention. Many will be surprised to hear that my thoughts on what I heard are overwhelmingly positive. True! Unlike last year, where I was able to clearly identify several rooms with bad sound, that was really not the case this time.

In fact, please allow me to give my "Worst Sound of Show" award straight away. I don't think I will have too many people chasing me with blood in their eyes this time. It's Sony. Yes, after regretting for an entire year about missing Sony's Multichannel SACD Demo, I was able to sit in this time. Tickets are required for the 30 minute event, and I am told many are not able to get them. We got our tickets, walked around for the hour before our time. Ancillary equipment in the Sony demo were Manley Retro 250 monoblocks, and the revised Eggleston Andra speakers. An Eggleston subwoofer was also in use, although it should be unnecessary. In brief, the sound was nothing to have to wait for. The demo itself it nothing to have to wait for. The whole thing creates the anticipation we will encounter the best sound ever. I did not encounter any such thing. Or, even close. Things were OK, but if this is the Great Hope to save high end, we are being told to follow a false messiah.

I do think my feelings toward this demo are a function of my take on multichannel overall. As I got the same impression from all the multichannel rooms. What I always hear from the people who trumpet multichannel is "the hall", the sound of being at the live event, etc. I don't get that impression. At all. I feel as if I in a very artificial environment. As if my perspective is that I am in the middle of the band, only the band members are all 20 feet from one another. Me in the center. The sound coming from the front of me is fine. However, sound coming from either side, or the rear is not convincing. Or, even good. Not natural, in my opinion.

The reality is that this will probably become the standard of good sound. The audio press tells everyone it is so. And, judging from the success of DVD/HT, and the people's opinions who listen to it(the average guy), this is IT. I don't fear being in the minority...

One more mention of what I hear to be bad sound. Same as last year. Atma Sphere, pairing with the horn speaker company. I should really make it a point to remember their name(Classic Sound Reproductions? Classic something). Especially, if I am going to rip them two years in a row. Now, I am a big fan of Atma Sphere. I KNOW their amps are great. I know they can sound good. I even heard a track in the room this year that was almost decent. But, the sound coming out is mostly very, very bad. The horns are horrendous. Colored, resonant, congested. Destroying all of the magic that a great OTL amp, like Atma Sphere, creates. They do play loud. But, I guess I can use the reactions of my fiance as the indicator of a normal person. Like most people, she offers a reaction within a second or two. She walked out. Immediately. With the same expression a child does after a taste of anchovies. I stayed for a little while. Trying to hear some Atma Sphere magic through the haze of these horns. One cut did it. I could hear some inkling of greatness through the fog.

I have no idea why Atma Sphere doesn't see this as well. They are hurting themselves by being at the Show.

While I am on the subject of sound that could have been better, I should mention some brands who I like, but didn't put their best foot forward at the Show. Triangle. They do not know how to show their speakers. I am convinced of it. Like last year, they sound decidely mass - fi. They really are better than this. Pairing with Cairn also makes me wonder what the story is. Is it not interesting how Sam Tellig will spend two months on a company which no one in the US has really encountered before? They then show up with Triangle, whom Sam is the ultimate cheerleader for. Stereophile has been discussed here at Audiogon over the past two months, and this is the kind of thing that everyone gets mad about. My personal opinions of European gear is well known, but I am starting to wonder why Sam Tellig shares my views. Questions should be raised about how he is conducting himself.

Musical Fidelity could have also sounded better. They didn't really mate well with the room. Or, with Monitor Audio Loudspeakers. Kevro's David Solomon proved to be a more than congenial host. I offered a personal thank you to him for pointing me in the right direction to finding my Musical Fidelity NuVista interconnects two months ago. Sadly, he informed me that MF is getting out of the cable business. Believe me, there are many a cable I can list as being inferior to the NuVista products. All of them, a heck of a lot more money.

Linn. I am not sure if they want to demonstrate their sound, or the fact that they are big into HT and/or home convenience. They moved even further away from high end audio this year, going for a more "holistic" entertainment approach. Not that their sound was bad(not great), it was better than last year. But, they seem to be moving in the direction of Sharp and Zenith.

Now, the "Best of Show". I have to really take my hat off to the Joseph Audio/Manley room. It was really very good sound. Yes, the components were expensive. Most of the components at the Show are. They managed to separate themselves from everyone else. Part of it was getting the right room for them. Part of it was the fact that the new Joseph Pearl speakers are wonderful. While I like Manley, I have to say the reason things worked so well was the Joseph speakers, and the room they coupled with. Speaker to room interaction has to be the most underrated and most important relationship in the audio chain. Bravo, EveAnna Manley and Jeff Joseph!

Now, for some companies that I REALLY thought put out good sound. Just not "Best of Show".

Roman Audio loudspeakers. Again, like last year the best kept secret in audio. Electronics were different this year, but the sound was similar. Smooth, liquid, relaxed, warm, natural. What a series crossover offers. While I am on it, recent Joseph Audio speakers(like the Pearl) are implementing some series crossover topology in with the Infinite Slope technology. I am now a very big fan of Roman, having proven their merits to me twice. In very different rooms, with different ancillary components. My only fear is that I would need to prove that the speakers are not insensitive to the components feeding them. Not that I wouldn't be happy, as this is the kind of sound I crave. But, others should be warned. Those who prefer the cool, crystalline, or analytical sound should go in another direction.

Balanced Audio Technology. Not just in one, but in TWO rooms! One room solid state, one room tube(with the AirFoil speakers - not bad at all in the small room). Again, different ancillary components, but still great sonics. Natural, grainless, effortless. This is what high end is supposed to sound like. Like music. Steve Bednarski was the most cordial host at the Show. Whereas, most people have to be approached before talking to the public, Steve went out of his way to introduce himself to everyone, share a genuine conversation, and thank them for coming. Victor Khomenko was also splendid. As their company is local to me, their products are without question, and they are great guys, I really should buy something from BAT. Recommended to ALL audiophiles!

Rogue. Much better choice in speakers this year. Last year, they paired with Audio Physic. While I am definitely in the minority with my feelings about the combination, I have to be honest. I find the sound terrible. Bringing out the worst in Rogue. Cold, bright, sterile, thin. This year, Rogue mated with Meadowlark, and things definitely improved for the better. Much warmer, more natural, and full sounding. Mark O'Brien is a great guy. And, like BAT, a local company to me. As I am in the market for a new power amp for my second system, I think it will be the Rogue 88 Magnum. In my opinion, the Rogue Magnum Series is as good as almost anything sold. At the price, it is a no brainer. A component that should not be labelled a great budget amp, but a great amp. I would feel a bit of disappointment in not picking up an Atma Sphere or BAT, but I can only buy one amp. For a second system, money comes into play a good deal, and the Rogue takes a back seat to only the finest products. Mark O'Brien offered an invitation to my fiance to pick up the amp at their place, and take a grand tour of Rogue. That assumes we buy the Magnum.

Legend. I am still flabbergasted that the Legend Starlet integrated is a Class C Component on the Stereophile Recommended list. Even when the scale was more true(before JA), this would have certainly merited a Class B rating. Today, when just about anything from Musical Fidelity is Class A, the ranking of Legend is not an insult, it is an act of treachery. Coupled with the pyramidal monitors, the sound of the Legend monoblocks was rich, real, and ideal. Every experience I have had with Legend has been nothing but positive. This is a good marque.

Wilson Audio. Yes, I am on record for speaking negatively of the WATT/Puppies, but they sounded splendid. A good room helped.

The funniest thing I saw was Roy Hall performing the ultimate tweak. Consuming whiskey(Scotch, I would think) in the Creek/Music Hall room. That will make any system sound warm, rich, and ripe. Roy is a funny guy. Would love to work with him, I bet he makes every day seem like a vacation. I am disappointed about the $249 Music Hall tuner he believes he will not be offering. His feelings are that tuners are not a good seller these days, and he would need to import a few hundred in order to make the buy. I personally would make sure he sells one. If there are any others who have enough faith in Roy Hall and want a nice tuner at a great price, perhaps we can take up the cause. We could all write him, maybe that would be enough to get him to go for it. Let me know.

Jimmie Lee Robinson gave us a serenade. About an hour before he started to play for real. They don't make them like that anymore. The weird thing is that I almost bought a CD of his last week. I guess I have to go through with the purchase now. Buying it at the Show would have had it personalized.

Special mention to a super restaurant, Churascaria Plataforma. An all you can eat Brazilian bar b que. As they say, "Meat as it was meant to be!" Not for PETA members. One of the three great meals of my life. I can still taste it. Expensive, but everyone should try it, once.

Thanks to Stereophile for another Show!
trelja
As there is a lot of misunderstanding of multichannel and why it sounds one way or another I feel ,after the past month of participating in some amazing demonstrations ,I must offer some of my opinions.As it is well known I have a strong affilation with Sanibel Sound and am very proud of the products we offer and the new technology we are bringing to the U.S.If this post is biased I hope you understand I have 25+years as a retailer and over 30 as a hobbiest and also am a performing musician with over 40+years of experience.
I find it very interesting that people will make comments about the "new" technologies when they really don't understand the real differences that exist from one to another.I personally have been a 2 channel advocate for most of my career and have not been eaisly swayed by the hype of new formats without being personally convinced they are improvements over other existing technology.As my retail customers will tell everyone we have never recommended SACD or DVD audio prior to this posting.I still don't feel SACD's all it's drummed up to be and the reasons were made clear to me over the last month with the help of Dr. Mark Waltrip Ph.D President and CEO of AIX media group.
I know this responce is long but it does get to my impressions about the sound at the Prime Media homeentertainment-expo and is about DVD-A recording and playback as I currently see it and not as nearly focused on equipment.I should mention the Dr.Waltrip is a professor at UCLA teaching digital media and recording and is ,as far as I'm concerned ,the top or around the most informed expert in this field.
We have provided, thru our retail store, some of the most sought after and highly reguarded equipment offered to the audiophile.I feel it's important to mention this as qualification for some of the statements I'm about to make.We have been in the past and always intent to be the first to push the envelope with new and important technology.Our list has included brands such DCS,Accuphase,Tenor,Kharma,Lamm,Dodson,Halcro,Audio Note Japan,Quad,Verity and numerous others and we are somewhat responsible for their visibility today.As you can see by visiting our website there are new names emerging as some of the most intriging and revolutionary now available.This is my exact point pertaining to DVD-A.
We participated in a seminar in Greensboro ,NC the week prior to the N.Y. show and used a similar system to N.Y. but with a few very important differences.Our front end was a more mid line product and the preamp was also a processor with analog pass- thru for multichannel playback.I was truly intrigued with the sound and immediatly saw the potential.This was a $10,000 processor and a $3500 player so they were not slouches.The amps were basically the same and the cables ,line treatment ,and power cords were also the same.As good as this was little did I relize that upon placing the Meridian 800,861 combo ,and replacing one amp so we had matched Aloias on all channels ,what I would hear would forever change a die hard two channel afficionado into also a die hard advocate for DVD-A playback. It must be noted that the recordings we used were native resolution discs recorded and produced by Mark and his partners and are not representive of commercial recordings and are truly labors of love.This is dramatically different as opposed to remastered discs placed into a format offering no more resolution or dynamic range than the originals.As a matter of record I must say I hear the new distortion introduced along with the old and this is one of the reasons I have balked at both new formats.Not the case on AIX and Hi-RES.These things are amazig.Never have I heard better or more interaction between players in any musical style.Whether it's vocal,classical,jazz,folk or any other type music this has to be heard to be believed.Adding much greater dynamic range,lower noise,and greater availability of spaciousness only stands to reason it will destroy lesser mediums.It does.The point I want to make here is this demo was produced as a somewhat all out attempt at "hi-end DVD-A" playback and may not be applicable to most comsumers but neither is the highest end 2 channel.I urge anyone to encourage your retailer to set-up and demonstrate this at the top level and I would be interested to see the reports.Unfortunatly we could only give a concise presentation to 20 people at a time limiting us to about 7% if the traffic was at 15,000 people as originally projected but the ones who did hear this were generally in agreement,It was awesome.
I expect to hear a lot of naysayers about this post either placing it as a market tool or a huge hornblow but this is how I now feel.In the last 2 yesrs I listened to about 100 live performances including thse National Symphony of the Netherlands doing Mahler, Keb Mo 3 times, Jackson Brown solo ,a dozen times for great Braizilan and other latin at Zink bar on Houston in N.Y.,Bela Fleck and the Flecktones,David Sanborn with full symphony etc.I do know what live music sounds like from an audience perspective and also from a performers perspective and I must agree with Mark this is the closest ever.
I have encouraged Mark to do a writing to explain in detail the differences in DSD and DVD-A and will have it available asap.Please contact us or watch for a post so you may aquire it when available.You will be suprised,as I was, at the differences and why.
To close this long post I enjoyed hearing that one of the conductors on Marks recordings for the first time was able to listen from his perspective and was really excited.I will also mention these recordings have 2 channel,Audience perspective and ,stage perspective ,and some interesting video if your so inclined.Good luck hearing this format it is truly an eye opener.If you would like a complete list of equipment and recordings please feel free to contact us by phone or web.
Steve Davis
Forgot to mention my most fun at the Show award - Gilbert Yeung of Blue Circle, with his preamp purse and 25w monoblocks in a pair of pumps. Great guy (says he's 33 but looks 18 - perhaps perspective, I'm pushing 60) and nice sound from Kirksaeter speakers, which have to be the best inexpensive speakers I've ever heard.
Flyboy9999 write: Best video product; The DLP based Infocus projector for $5k

That was my impression too. I was very surprised to find the best picture at the show from a relatively inexpensive projector together with hardware (NAD, PSB) that were quite inexpensive. I didn't look at that many video demos (only had 9 hours), but it was better than the Krell/Farouja.
Trelja,

Thanks for the report. We in the boondocks appreciate it. I also found Hififarm's comments interesting concerning DVD audio. The most telling comment was regarding the recordings being a labor of love. If more artists, producers, engineers took this approach I would be a happy man. All the new whiz-bang gizmos will never be able to fix a compromized recording session. Garbage in, garbage out.

I applaud equipment manufacturers for keepin on keepin on in spite of the lack of overall committment in the software side of our hobby.

Thanks again for the post. It's was informative and well written.

Happy listening,
Patrick
Hi Everyone!

It has been interesting reading all of your comments on the show. It seems that everyone who posted had a great time and was glad they were there. I had a ball this year and was very excited by the number of attendees, most of whom seemed to be enjoying themselves a great deal as well. I can tell you that the feeling in our room was overwhelmingly positive throughout the show.

I'd like to respond to a few posts, but before I do I would ask you to consider in contemplating what you heard at the show that the larger rooms are more difficult to tame, especially in the time allotted. Unsound wisely pointed out what a different experience he had visiting the Tact room at various times and leaving with a different impression depending on where he was seated and how many other people were in the room. Grandpad mentioned the same thing about the Merlin/Joule Electra room, with the extreme experiences of being dissappointed the first time and understanding why this is one of the most highly regarded combinations in the business the next!!! Well Grandpad, imagine taking what you experienced in their room to one of the large rooms. The extremes are even further apart. The larger rooms are more difficult to integrate the speakers into in the short set-up time allotted and the nodes and points of reflection take more time to sort out as well. We voiced our room for 3 out of 24 chairs and often had more people standing than sitting during our demonstrations. Not only does that totally change the characteristics of the room, but imagine the difference in sound experienced by someone in the sweet spot as opposed to someone 5'6 surrounded by people 5'10 in one of the back corners! I don't want to sound like I'm being defensive, just offering some food for thought.

Natalie, Roy did have the new CD player at the show, but I didn't get a chance to hear it. His MMF-25 is an incredible value, as is every other product he offers. Based on that alone I'm willing to bet it's going to be great. After I've had a chance to hear it I'll follow up with you.

Brunhilde, the Savoys were being run with only the new CAT JL-3 monos. They were bi-wired, not bi-amped. The other two amps you saw were running the center and rear channels of the video portion of the system.

Flyboy, you mentioned that you liked the sound of the CAT amps and pre, but not the Eggleston Speakers. I was wondering how you came to this conclusion?

Thank you to everyone who took the time to stop and introduce yourselves to me. It was a great pleasure to meet so many of you and to be part of such a successful event.

Regards,
Mario