Capital Audiofest!!!!!!!!!!!

[richidoo]

Mixed bag #2 has Music First in top picture, 2nd and 3rd pics is stereodesk,  Audio Note UK in the last 2 pics.

[richidoo]

Mixed bag #1 is Monitor Audio Gold GX300 speakers with McIntosh electronics.

Then two shots of the Command AV room with Raidho speakers.

I don't remember and can't find who is the bottom two. I walked in there but didn't stay long.

Thanks for the pics Bill!

[StereoNut]

Thanks for the help with I.D.'ing the "mixed bag" photos, Rich.  It was great to see you and Henry again this year.

I know I took more photos, but don't know "where they went" !?!?!

I have to double-check my camera and see if I didn't off-load them all to my computer the first go-'round.  Hopefully, I didn't delete them!

SN

[machinehead]

Bill nice work.. Thanks!
How did those SVS speakers sound. SVS makes a great sub I hear.

How did the Rhaidos sound? Those Germans are sick!!!
And the Merril Amps...  good?

[rollo]

  For me going to dinner with Richidoo and Rob S was priceless. Meeting lots of AN and AC members is always cool. Thanks to all for coming by. We had a great time and a great show.
  Liked the Volti room DIY DC club room was cooking as well. Dave Slagles' strain gauge cart was sounding quite good . The components by Beau were awesome in that room.
   Thanks to all for stopping by hope you enjoyed the sound.


charles

[StereoNut]

Bill nice work.. Thanks!
How did those SVS speakers sound. SVS makes a great sub I hear.

How did the Rhaidos sound? Those Germans are sick!!!
And the Merril Amps...  good?

Thanks, Mike!  I hope to post my overall "reviews" soon, but to answer your questions... I thought the SVS speakers sounded really good.  I heard both the stand mounted monitors and the floorstanders - both were two of the best "bang for the buck" speakers at the show.  I have to be honest, I don't remember what electronics they were running in there, but I think better electronics (tube?) may serve their speakers better.  Either that or they just were playing things a bit too loud and it sometimes sounded a bit "Hi-Fi'ish". At the same time, they played clean and had dynamics up the wazoo!  You'd be very hard pressed to find a pair of floorstanders to beat what they have for under $2,000.00 ($995.00 each!)

The Raihdos sounded good, but I can't think of anything special about them. (Maybe just too many things to remember everything on my part?)

I liked the speakers in the Merrill room, but the Merrill amps sounded a bit hard/harsh at times.  I don't know if they are digital or ice amps, but I'm not completely "sold" on any of that amp technology.

More TK.

SN

[richidoo]

I agree with Bill on SVS. They were playing rock videos in 5.1. It was either compressed audio or receiver quality amp, or... the speakers' best feature is the price. I don't know which it is. We stayed a while only because my son likes rock and he'd never seen a rock video in HD. It was very loud, as it should be for rock video, but that prevented any critical judgement of the overall speaker performance. I saw a sub, their claim to fame, but I didn't think that the bass was particularly strong or clean sounding, but that doesn't mean they can't make great bass when setup well in a house.  

I remember going into Merrill room, thinking ooh, Merrill, this should be good. I remember seeing the big panels and then leaving very shortly after that without any conscious impression besides "what's next?" I remember ogling the cutaway amp they had last year, but this year I didn't even notice the electronics. Something drove me out quickly, maybe it was just the type or loudness of the music.

I did feel surprised at a few points during the weekend that so many exhibitors were leaving loose strings untied. There were obvious things they could do to make their tradeshow marketing effort more successful and have a more positive impact on potential customers.  One even admitted to me that they never finished the setup because it got busy. I had already asked if he was up late partying the night before and he said no, went to bed early. Why not fix the demo from 6-10pm? Considering the cost to be there, it was baffling to me that so many demos were so half-assed. And there were some complex demos that were done well, the effort they made was obvious, so the excuse of shows are hard and setup takes time, blablabla it's just excuses. Planning and caring are free and priceless. I would say that demonstrating a caring attitude toward potential customers is the most important trait they remember from the experience.

The Triode/Rollo/GT room was run by people who care about their visitors and it made their room the funnest place to be. That makes buying gear fun and translates into sales. IMO there were a couple rooms in which I marginally preferred the sound, but they were not as much fun. Vendors forget this is a hobby. Maybe it's because the Rollo room is all newcomers to the audio industry and they haven't yet been worn down and become grizzly old farts that nobody wants to be around except to hear their gear.  I avoided rooms like that, ones that I have visited at previous shows that make me feel bad being in there. The Kharma importer, Van Alstine/Salk, Bryston, McIntosh, the huge metro audio dealers with 5 rooms, ICKKKKY! I need a shower after those rooms. Last year I tried to talk to the Classic Audio guy, asking him questions about the speakers. It's like he doesn't like to talk. Just place an order and then we'll talk is the feeling I get. The speakers are beautiful, the room is great appearance, decorated, great quality equipment and consistently good sound, good music, vinyl, jazz, OTL tubes, but there is no love in there. I felt no desire to go back again. All that effort and expense, but no connection. Greg Volti can connect, I went there 3 times, even though I could hear sonic flaws and hated some of music there. Social skills, people!! Sorry for the rant.   

[StereoNut]

I know I took a lot more pix than what I posted so far, but I went back to my camera and there's nothing on the memory card.  I guess I deleted everything after the first download I did without realizing I didn't get all of my shots off the camera!

Anyway... in "floor to floor" order, here's my not so short & sweet CAF show review. Of course, these are MY opinions, so no hate mail please!

1st. floor:
• Tidal speakers - Ridiculously priced ($154,000.00) and weren't very impressive.  Maybe if they moved the decimal point to the left one place they be a consideration.

• Daedalus speakers - Not cheap (I think $12K for the pair?) but they sounded wonderful.  Very musical & relaxed.  Probably the least Hi-Fi sounding speakers at the show.

• Kanso Audio Furniture - Absolutely beautiful stuff.  Unbelievably "inert" design for vibration and noise control.  Very, very expensive.

4th. Floor:
• Volti Audio - A lot of people have posted that they loved this room.  I came away rather unimpressed.  A lotta $$$ for nothing special to me.

• SVS Sound - As I already commented in my reply above to Machinehead, I was impressed by the amount of good, clean, dynamic sound in this room. Great "bang for the buck" (they're a direct sell company) and offer in-home auditions for 30 (maybe 45?) days.  And, they'll pay the shipping back and forth if you don't like them!

5th. Floor:
• VPI & Joseph Audio - As expected, very good sound here.  Maybe they'll come a time when I can upgrade my vinyl rig to a VPI set-up... Hey Matt, are you listening???

• Border Patrol & Living Voice speakers - Good sound, but not great value in my opinion. A bit too pricey $$$ compared to other stuff.

• Sonic Hemisphere: Fidelity Loudspeakers, ATS, Anti-cables, Clayton & Music First Audio - Wow!  I was very impressed by these speakers (edit: Fidelity Loudspeakers) out of Chicago. Beautiful floorstanders with  "Avalonesque" angled cabinetry, but with a much broader stance to them. They played anything you "threw at them" with equal ease. Very refined and engaging, but they could definitely "rock" when they needed to. Not cheap at $4,900.00 for the pair, but I think they were a GREAT value if you can afford them.  (I certainly rather have 31 pairs of these, than one pair of those Tidals at $154,000.00!!!   )

• Robyatt Audio - Great sounding room that stood out by being different than most others. I was surprised at how much "oomph" the Quads came up with.  Some of the vintage equipment there was also really neat.

6th. Floor:
• Mapleshade - No comment!

• Hi-Fi Logic & Music First - Nice, but nothing special.

• Miracle Audio - Mark makes some great equipment (especially his phono stage and sub-woofer system) but I didn't think this years system sounded as good as last year.

• Janzen speakers - Were OK, but very listener position dependent.

• Van Alstine Audio - Nice sounding room with value priced gear. Frank gives you a lot of music for very reasonable dollars.

7th. Floor:
• Odyssey Audio - Another really nice sounding room with a great "bang for the buck" factor.  Klaus had a complete system set-up for $5,700.00 (actually, to be fair, one piece had un-listed upgrades for an addition $500.00) - so $6,200.00 total.  Considering some cables cost that, it's an unbelievable value for a much better than entry level high end system.

• Audio Note UK - Very nice sounding room, but I think they're too pricey. (At least for me.)

8th. Floor:
• DC DIY Audio - Had a really, really surprising sounding single driver, open baffle set up (complete with cobwebs in the back) that were a lot of fun to listen to.  Our buddy Les had his Line array stand mount monitors in there as well.  They sounded good, but you had to SIT to really hear them.  Obviously, not a broad "sweet spot" vertically!

• Woo Audio & Headphone "heaven" - Always great sounding stuff, but again (for me at least) too expensive for my wallet!

• ProAc, Synthesis & Deja Vu Audio - Really nice set up with the ProAc "anniversary" tablets.  Unbelievable sound out of such small boxes, but not cheap at $2,200.00 for the pair.  There's a lot of competition at that price point.

• GT Audio Works, Triode Wire Labs & Rollo (formally Swap Meet) Audio - Yes, I'm a bit biased here, 'cause these are my buddies, but...

"Small Room" - Greg had his new "baby brother" speakers in this room.  Sounded really good (especially supplemented by the BG subwoofers) but certainly no slouch by themselves. Pete's TWL power cords, the debut of his speaker cables and good supporting electronics added to the overall sound.  Much to Pete's dismay, the Dodd battery powered preamp with four 12B4A tubes didn't need a TWL power cord!

"Big Room" - Greg had his newest version of his original hybrid speakers in this room.  Again, really good sound here (especially with the vinyl front end) but the room was a bit of a problem.  There was a bass boom is certain listening spots and depending on source and recording, the top end sometimes could lean a little "hot". The amount of people in the room actually made a difference.  I think the room sounded better with more people in it - they acted like extra room treatment!

Kuzma TT was great. Like the other room, there were TWL power cords and speaker cables here. Supporting electronics were the Arion mono-blocks, Qol, Plinius CD player and Dodd battery powered 6H30 (?) tube pre-amp.  Naturally, this room sounded sooooo good because the Dodd was powered by MY battery and embillical cord!  

Lastly, I really don't know why Greg's GT Audio Works speakers don't get the recognition they deserve...???  Both models sound really, really good.  There's something special about planars that conventional driver speakers can't do by themselves and Greg gets the best of both worlds by designing his as hybrids to get better than normal bottom end to go with all of that space and imagining up top. Are Greg's speakers "perfect", of course not (nothing is) but I feel his products deserve better respect!

Needless to say, I had a GREAT time this weekend!

SN
 

[Emil]

How did the Rhaidos sound? Those Germans are sick!!! Smile

I believe they're made in Denmark.

Those Denmarkians are sick!!!

[Emil]

6th. Floor:
• Mapleshade - No comment!


Now Im curious. Spill it out, Bill

[machinehead]

lol.... Denmarkians are practically Germans...

Great insight Richidoo... there should be some kind of personality, friendliness and fun to the room. You are definitely putting a face to your company and for the most part its the initial contact with customers and you want to make a good impression.
At the NY show the Rhados blew me away powered by the Merril amps. Maybe it was a bad setup...

[StereoNut]

6th. Floor:
• Mapleshade - No comment!


Now Im curious. Spill it out, Bill

OK, Emil - I'll spill my guts!    Mapleshades' recordings are way better sounding than the system(s) they have put together for any audio show I have been to.  Again, it's just my opinion, but their equipment/cabling/etc... seems to be way too "hot" on the top end and thin sounding to me.

My 2¢

SN

[BobM]

Maybe it's because the Rollo room is all newcomers to the audio industry and they haven't yet been worn down and become grizzly old farts that nobody wants to be around except to hear their gear.  

I take exception to this! Those guys definitely are grizzled old farts, like me (but they still happen to be fun). 

[topround]

Bill, what Volti speakers were you hearing?
The Vittoras were amazing if you ask me, very musical with amazing soundstage. Sitting in the center seat made for a huge improvement.
I think I may have seen maybe half the rooms at the show but of the half I saw the Volti room was the most fun

I don't get Audio Note, there room was nice and pleasant, great background for a conversation. All the hype and the expense for what?
And the Robert Lighton room was unlistenable IMO.

De Ja Vue had by far the worst sound at the show when I was in there listening to Dark Side of the Moon on their music server, it was awful by even my wifes standards. Hopefully they were playing something better  when Art Dudley was in there or he should get an ear exam!

DC DIY had a really nice sound going on when I was in there with a small line array.

I think when it comes to shows, if you get a good sound consider yourself lucky because the odds are against you.

[StereoNut]

Bill, what Volti speakers were you hearing?
The Vittoras were amazing if you ask me, very musical with amazing soundstage. Sitting in the center seat made for a huge improvement.
I think I may have seen maybe half the rooms at the show but of the half I saw the Volti room was the most fun

The Volti room was playing a pair of "Klipschorn-like" speakers with similar dual sub-woofers. (I honestly don't remember the model name.)  I prefaced my comment with saying I know a lot of people thought differently (like yourself) about this room, but it just didn't "do it" for me. (Especially for the $$$ involved.) Maybe it was the tracks being played when I was in there or adjustments from one day to the next, maybe I was just too busy thinking about lunch!  

I don't get Audio Note, there room was nice and pleasant, great background for a conversation. All the hype and the expense for what?  I agree 100%
And the Robert Lighton room was unlistenable IMO.

De Ja Vue had by far the worst sound at the show when I was in there listening to Dark Side of the Moon on their music server, it was awful by even my wifes standards. Hopefully they were playing something better  when Art Dudley was in there or he should get an ear exam!  Deja Vu was in three different rooms, so maybe we're comparing "apples to oranges"...???   I thought those little ProAc's really rocked for such small boxes.  To each his own.  That's what this hobby is all about.

DC DIY had a really nice sound going on when I was in there with a small line array.  I liked Les' line arrays too. When I first walked in and listened standing up, I couldn't appreciate them. When I sat down (which we normally do when we listen anyway) they were much better.

I think when it comes to shows, if you get a good sound consider yourself lucky because the odds are against you. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, Mike!  From one day to the next a room can sound different. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse!