Axpona 2017 Best Of

[Mike]

You think I'm at risk of being banned? For what? Why would you make such a comment?

Agreed. You're entitled to your opinion. But I think saying you would have made other picks without being there is silly. It was best at this show in these bad rooms with crappy power, not "what would I buy?"

I would love the MBL's, but have you seen my room? It needs controlled directivity speakers not omnipolar!


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[Melbguy1]

I don't get it. The guy who wasn't there to hear the rooms would have had other picks? Ok...whatever...pick away.

Don't forget to pick the Rockports. The Gryphon too. Boulder as well.

Mike, I expressed a personal view and did not flame anyone. You then questioned my comment, and I posted a thorough reply to put my comments into context. You accepted that and said "It's all good". Now you don't get it? If you can direct me to a forum rule I have broken, I'll be the first person to offer an apology.

[Mike]

Mike, I expressed a personal view and did not flame anyone. You then questioned my comment, and kI posted a thorough reply to put my comments into context. You accepted that and said "It's all good". Now you don't get it? If you can direct me to a forum rule I have broken, I'll be the first person to offer an apology.

It's ok, let's move on. I just want you to know that at the shows, I wear my Audioshark hat for the best of's. I try really hard not to let biases get in the way, but they always do (yes, I'm a Kronos fan). But I truly haven't heard anything better and 6 years later, neither have some other people who have become fans (Danon Hong with his Kronos, AF1, CA Statement, etc). Sometimes the brands I carry will be best of shows. I listen, I like, I put my money where my mouth is. That's proof. Others may love Martin Logan sounds with Constellation and the Continuum. That's great. It's not my cup of tea.

I really tried hard to give a good listen to the TW Acoustics TT. But those Horning speakers are just not my thing. They always sound out of phase to me. So, impossible to gauge anything. I can't even get a center image. A funny story about those is that I have a friend with a pair of those speakers and everyone who hears them swore they were broken - to the point he sent them away to get "fixed". After hearing the Hornings at the show again, I guess that's how they sound. Sorry, I think the world of Jeff, but I don't dig that Horning speaker sound.

I honestly LOVED the $215k Tidal speakers with full Tidal gear, but I have to admit, I just kept staring at the diamond midrange and tweeter like a woman who got a new ring and couldn't get into the music. Talk about being distracted. That's a room I wanted to visit one more time.


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[Melbguy1]

Agreed. You're entitled to your opinion. But I think saying you would have made other picks without being there is silly. It was best at this show in these bad rooms with crappy power, not "what would I buy?"

I would love the MBL's, but have you seen my room? It needs controlled directivity speakers not omnipolar!

Mike, I just repeat I added the qualifier "would have likely been much different", not "would have been much different". It's a small, but important difference. But if you want to keep kicking a dead horse around, it's your forum.

[Mike]

Mike, I just repeat I added the qualifier "would have likely been much different", not "would have been much different". It's a small, but important difference. But if you want to keep kicking this dead horse around, it's your forum.

Sigh...see above.

I hope you can come to a show here one year. I think you would have fun. Either Axpona or RMAF are great.


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[Melbguy1]

Sigh...see above.

Again, simple explanation. When I submitted my post above your earlier post (post #53) was not visible. Yes let's move on from the conspiracy theories & get back to discussing high end audio.

[Mike]

Agreed


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[Alpinist]

I'm biting my tongue on this one. Let's just say it wasn't the speakers holding things back. The sound was very different when the TT and digital was played vs an old Sony R2R. I have some experience with old R2R's and trust me, they can sound pretty awful. A trip to John French, 6 months and a few dollars fixes that. With old R2R's, caps start to leak, electronics start to go, etc.

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Thanks Mike for the explanation. I was wondering why the room wasn't firing on all cylinders. The room did sound very good, it just wasn't great when I was in there. They were playing R2R several of the times I was in there.

Best,
Ken

[Melbguy1]

Agreed

Mike I acknowledge you've done a tremendous job posting coverage of Axpona, and I acknowledge there is no substitute for listening to rooms (preferably over the full weekend) to judge best of show. You'll have to forgive me for posting a random personal view without properly qualifying it, but I am dealing with a terminally ill mother and have other personal challenges, so I'm sorry if my comments were misplaced.

[Mike]

I understand and I've been in your shoes. Best wishes during this difficult time.


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[a.wayne]

Mike any additional thoughts on the sound of the VSA and MBL room, what about them you liked the most, type of Music heard ...

[AJ Soundfield]

Mike, thanks for the great coverage.
The fact that there were 200+ different brands there say folks have lots of different preferences!
As Mike points out, a good as the MBLs (et al) sound, a narrow room like his is not ideal for them. So on and so forth.
Folks really should try to attend at least one of these shows to get a feel for them. Exhibiting is a lot less fun .
I've always found the best person to decide what I like best...is me. YMMV.

cheers,

AJ

[Alpinist]

Mike I acknowledge you've done a tremendous job posting coverage of Axpona, and I acknowledge there is no substitute for listening to rooms (preferably over the full weekend) to judge best of show. You'll have to forgive me for posting a random personal view without properly qualifying it, but I am dealing with a terminally ill mother and have other personal challenges, so I'm sorry if my comments were misplaced.

David,

Best wishes to you and your family.

Ken

[Mr Peabody]

Disappointed I didn't get to meet any of you this weekend.

Not going to give rankings, we moved slower this year and didn't get to every room. I will say for me, where you sit in the rooms and type of music make a difference. For example I heard the $95k horns and couldn't judge as they were playing someone thrashing around on an acoustic guitar.

MBL & Tidal are always a couple of my favorite rooms.

All of my friends like the VAC & VS, I liked it but thought I detected a bit of congestion in the lower region. As I was the minority with that I chalked it up to my location in the room or just getting started after traveling several hours in a vehicle.

I agree with Mike on the GamueT. Saturday night I got to spend some time with Beno and his distributor, Beno was great to talk to.

I also have to show some love to Harmon rooms. After all one had my speakers. We got to do a comparison of the 4367 & Salons. Some might think me crazy but I wouldn't trade my 4367's. I could easily live with Salons, it's just the things I like about the 4367 I don't want to give up. I got to speak with Kevin Voeckes a bit.

I have to say the Sultanus full range electrostatic speakers at $12k not only sounded great but a crazy good price for performance ratio. The same i'd say about the new Dynaudio Contour 60.

Lampizator seemed to be used in many rooms. Also, the impact of turntables and R2R was apparent as most rooms had one, the other, or, both. I was fortunate enough to meet and hang out with Lukas at a friend's house a couple years ago, by chance ended up eating breakfast with him Sunday and sharing the shuttle.

Both Wilson rooms were set up good. Wilson sounded good but not my type of sit down and listen. I preferred them with the Doshi. To be fair to Wilson the guy I was walking around with loved them. I liked the Magico a lot, the same guy wasn't so impressed. So we all have our taste.

I also have to say the ARC with Sonus Faber sounded good. I'm not usually a big ARC fan but like to thik I call them as I hear them.

One of my favorite rooms, no one seemed to mention was the Seania driven by PS Audio. I really enjoyed my listen their. The JTR room had a stellar video set up, I'm not the best judge but the friends I was with were impressed.

A couple of things that made me say, huh? Anyone hear the Austin Audio? It sounded pretty good, in fact, the sound drew me in, maybe the next recording, but it was a Maple Shade recording, I thought I detected a bit of hardness in the uppermid & treble. My friend said he didn't pick up on it. No matter the sound, that system was $700k, the speakers alone were over $500k, what?

I went into the room with Martin Logan and Bel Canto, I heard the end of an Eagles song, I was ready to run out but waited for the next track, no, my ears were correct, time to go. Something was wrong here and needed to be fixed, just piercing. The Constellation with ML was better but the Analog Domain with Sultanus was much better than either.

My favorite horn speakers, I loved them again this year, are the Sadurni.

I also enjoyed the TAD room. Those stand mount speakers were impressive. The entire system was good but I couldn't believe the response I was hearing from a stand mount.

I did make it into the head room. Janzen was showing a prototype of a true electrostatic headphone that was my favorite based on price for performance, at a projected $995.00 they are great. All the set up were using different amps etc. so hard to say whose best. After Janzen, I'd have to say my favorite was Audeze, followed by Hifiman the Mr. Speakers. Only my opinion, the Audeze folkd were also showing Focal, they were much more efficient than Audeze but didn't sound nearly as good. Noteworthy, about Hifiman, they to me had the best sound stage, if that applies to cans, the middle was filled, a full sound field, not just like a left/right with center missing like most cans.

I've like the Bricasti DAC from day one. Brian has a new stereo amp but his room was filled when we were there and just didn't make it back to get a listen.

This is getting long so that's about it from off the top of my head.

[Mike]

Great post and comments! Thank you. Yes, sorry we didn't get a chance to meet.


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[joeinid]

My JBL 4367 rock too. I absolutely love these speakers. So happy to see that you love them too.

edit...

I also have to show some love to Harmon rooms. After all one had my speakers. We got to do a comparison of the 4367 & Salons. Some might think me crazy but I wouldn't trade my 4367's. I could easily live with Salons, it's just the things I like about the 4367 I don't want to give up. I got to speak with Kevin Voeckes a bit.


edit ...

[the professor]

Great post

[madfloyd]

I'm going to chime in my with my experiences:

I didn't get anywhere close to all the rooms. I don't how one does that unless you're truly walking in and out again. It takes some time just to get a seat let alone get acquainted with the system (granted if it's really awful or bright I do walk right back out). So I felt I had to be strategic.

Horns:
The only horns I saw were a $468,000 pair in the Austin room and the tiny Avante-guards. The former was very 'shouty' and the latter pretty dull sounding - at least with the music being played. I somehow missed the Border Patrol/Volti room and I'm very disappointed as a friend said it was his best of show.

Speaking of music, it's so hard to truly know how a room is sounding without listening to a few different pieces of music, and this takes time. I didn't go room by room, instead I circled all the rooms that held interest for me based on recognizable brand names, my tastes etc.

The best musical experience I had was in the Wilson/Doshi room listening to Scherezade and Dean Martin on tape. I couldn't believe how musical and detailed it was. I ended up purchasing the Scherezade tape and I don't even own a reel to reel!

My second favorite room was the Magico 3 with CH precision. I did not like it on Friday but Saturday it was really good. Also stopped by there Sunday to listen more and really enjoyed myself. Also got to hear the new Magicos (being announced in May) behind closed doors and while I can't say anything (sworn to secrecy) I can tell you it was amazing.

I liked the Joseph room a LOT. They were also playing tape and while the Scherezade wasn't as good (the soundstage wasn't what it needed to be), on anything else I could have listened forever. Everyone in that room was smiling and tapping their feet. It was hard to get a seat! I saw Brian in there a lot

I was blown away on Friday by the MBL room. Huge room and piano and vocals were so clean. I hated it later on the same day when I brought a friend to listen - he looked at me like I was on drugs "you thought this was good???" but they were playing different music and it was very dull and muddy.

On Friday I liked the Jadis/Vivid room a lot. They were playing a Chet Baker album that sounded very engaging. Unfortunately they lost their cartridge and I didn't get to go back over the weekend to see if they got a replacement.

I was impressed with Vinnie Rossi's room. Harbeths aren't my favorite speakers but they certainly don't offend and the sound was engaging. Vinnie has a very cool thing going with his DC power supply (one bank charges while the other powers his preamp - just like the Kronos SCPS-1 if you're familiar with that).

I was very impressed by the VAC/VSR room the first day (especially with Roger Waters) and it was definitely the best experience I've had with Lampizator. The VAC electronics sounded (and looked) very good! The VSR speakers were huge and beautiful. You had to sit in the center in the second row or it could sound too aggressive. I wasn't as impressed on Sunday when they played some classical music, a little too aggressive (and congested at times). A fun room to visit!

I wasn't blown away by the Magico S1s/CH Precision... it was detailed and engaging but too bright for my taste.

I usually love any room by GTT Audio but not so much this year. I didn't like the Kiis. The big Sonjas were full and punchy but the highs had a lot of distortion. Not sure what was responsible for that, but they were playing music I know well (and love) so I blocked it out and still enjoyed it, but I didn't go back. The smaller Carmels were fun in another room, but my memory is now hazy on what my conclusion was.

Oh btw (and before I forget to write this), I was really just kidding about the new Magicos.

I enjoyed the Ypsilon room a lot. Great clear sound that was very engaging. It was nice to finally hear their famous phono stage.

Also heard Acoustic Zen speakers. I think these speakers are really good. Not sure about the Wyred For Sound electronics driving them and would have loved to hear them with something I was more, um, familiar with, but the speaker seemed to be very good.

I only visited the Sonus Faber/ARC room on Friday but found the sound too colored for my taste and never went back, even though ARC was something I was very interested in.

Well that's all that comes to mind right now. This was my 4th and favorite show so far. Socially it was a blast and I finally got to meet a lot of people whom I've known from a 'forum' perspective along with industry folks that I really respect. I wish I got to hear more rooms though.

Hats off to Mike. I don't know how he handles all the forum updates/coverage, dinner arrangements, biz and social stuff. He's an impressive guy.

[arthurs]

I ended up in Chicago unexpectedly this weekend and went by Friday for a couple hours. The Destination Horn setup was aesthetically beautiful and sounded terrific, really enjoyed them immensely, but it left me wondering what they would be like in a larger space to let them really play. I though the Lampi/Spatial/unsure brand of amps room sounded really really good, the Modwright/Daedelus setup was super smooth and enjoyable, the AG room as noted sounded fantastic. the Voxaitv room was unlistenable to me, but may do it for others, agree on the Austin Acoustics, when we walked in Norah Jones was playing and it sounded great, then they put on a cover and it was hard upper mid and higher to me. Also, the little powered Legacy speakers fooled many people when I was in that room as they played like much larger speakers.

[Melbguy1]

I'm surprised no one mentioned the Magico S5 Mk2's which were running in two rooms I believe (incl: Synergistic)? Maybe they didn't have enough room to breath? That said, I would much prefer Vitus Signature series gear, Soulution, Pass XS series or the Vac 200IQ mono's over Constellation.

[Mike]

I'm surprised no one mentioned the Magico S5 Mk2's which were running in two rooms I believe (incl: Synergistic)? Maybe they didn't have enough room to breath? That said, I would much prefer Vitus Signature series gear, Soulution, Pass XS series or the Vac 200IQ mono's over Constellation.

I went into this room three times (it was right next to the MBL room I loved). Twice was a demo presentation from Synergistic Research and once was just listening. The room was so tiny. Probably the smallest room at the show. Hard to tell with such big speakers in such a tiny room.

I agree with you on Vitus, Soulution, Pass or VAC as best matches. I did try the little Bryston cube amp and it was darn good too.


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[Melbguy1]

I went into this room three times (it was right next to the MBL room I loved). Twice was a demo presentation from Synergistic Research and once was just listening. The room was so tiny. Probably the smallest room at the show. Hard to tell with such big speakers in such a tiny room.

I agree with you on Vitus, Soulution, Pass or VAC as best matches. I did try the little Bryston cube amp and it was darn good too.

Interesting, I thought that might be the case. Sounds like the S3 Mk2's would have been a better match in that room .

[Golum]

Mike what's your take on CH Precision?

[madfloyd]

I'm surprised no one mentioned the Magico S5 Mk2's which were running in two rooms I believe (incl: Synergistic)? Maybe they didn't have enough room to breath? That said, I would much prefer Vitus Signature series gear, Soulution, Pass XS series or the Vac 200IQ mono's over Constellation.

In the Synergistic room they were aggressive sounding. They had no treatment for 1st reflections. Not pleasant.

I went to the CAT room twice but each time I ended up in conversations and can't say that I was able to listen critically.

[Edward]

I had a lot of fun. I always find it interesting to hear different views from others. I have gone to quite a few shows and I often find myself battling expectations and biases and pre-conceived notions. My friend said it sounds good...what am I missing. Its class A, how can it sound terrible. Its $150,000, it must be me. I must be the one without the golden ears. And it goes on and on. Tubes versus solid state. Tragic cone and dome versus horn. And don't get me started on digital versus analog. I try to be objective but it can be hard. I love dynamics and punch and probably like it more lively than most. YG for example strikes me as sterile and dark and spooky. But others love it. That's part of what makes it fun. I was very impressed with quite a few rooms and very disappointed with some others. A few more categories to Mike’s list.

Best speakers under $5,000
Emerald physics at $2,000 for the pair is a steal!

Simplest System with quite good sound
Auralic with Ryan speakers

Weirdest music
MBL room. Some bell gong thing. What the heck was that?

Biggest miss
B&O

Most room treatment per square foot
Austin Acoustics. Even had traps on the floor. (PS, I thought it sounded pretty darn great)

Most played
Diana Krall. Yeah, I get it, but… (although arguably good to compare rooms to each other).

Least played
Metallica

Best cordial
Black Sambuca

Best Host
Mike Bovaird

[still-one]

Mike

Thanks for the photos in the other thread and for your Best Of Show picks here.

I would like to commend you for not staying within the Suncoast Audio sandbox when commenting on what you heard at this show or others in the past. It would be to easy to name some of the wonderful products you carry, instead you let us know which rooms appealed to you at that point in time. It might be something you carry or it might not. I really respect that.

[Mr Peabody]

I forgot but do agree with what's been said about the B&O, as always with B&O a cool factor, they did pressurize the room but fell short in overall sound and imaging.

I also found the Spacial/Lampi room to sound good.

I overlooked mentioning on the more affordable side, especially by comparison to everything else at the show, the Elac with Audio Alchemy was good. Although I was more impressed by Audio Alchemy last year driving Exposure I still feel this is incredibly good Class D.

Anyone see the Wireless LS50 demo's? I learned a bit more about the functions. LS50's sounded good but I felt the bass may have been tipped up a bit too much, probably trying to compensate for being in such a large room.

[bthomas9]

I'm going to chime in my with my experiences:

I liked the Joseph room a LOT. They were also playing tape and while the Scherezade wasn't as good (the soundstage wasn't what it needed to be), on anything else I could have listened forever. Everyone in that room was smiling and tapping their feet. It was hard to get a seat! I saw Brian in there a lot

Please note, I gave up my seat EVERYTIME the room got full!! I'll agree on the full symphony soundstage, but for a really nice second system for an alternative to the Magico sound...this system has me saving lots of pennies. A pair of Pulsars or Perspectives and a small Parasound or Jeff Roland integrated.


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[Mike]

Mike

Thanks for the photos in the other thread and for your Best Of Show picks here.

I would like to commend you for not staying within the Suncoast Audio sandbox when commenting on what you heard at this show or others in the past. It would be to easy to name some of the wonderful products you carry, instead you let us know which rooms appealed to you at that point in time. It might be something you carry or it might not. I really respect that.

Thanks Jim. It's not always easy to do that admittedly.

I only skipped one or two rooms. If I pop my head in and see a stupid little speaker thats 4 inches tall, I walk out. Hey, you have to cut corners somewhere. There was a lot of rooms to cover this year - far more than before and I have thoughts on all of them except the Raidho room. I went back 5 times and every time Lars was talking. LOL. I would stand and wait for 5 minutes, still talking, had to keep going. The Raidho's looked beautiful in orange though and the new electronics looked good. I wanted to get back to that room one more time on Sunday (6th time the charm?), but had to catch the bus back to the airport.

A few more thoughts....

The canned Wilson demo with the Alexx's was good. Lots of horse power that's for sure and great sources on hand. I heard the other Wilson's with Doshi when Andre' was there. Sounded good.

There was nothing really bad (except the B&O demo and the Paradigm demo bordered on it).

I heard the big NeoLith's playing AC/DC with Mc Amps. Impressive!

The new amps from BAT look and sounded very good. No more dark sounds? I think so.

George in the Zesto room had great sound and him and his wife are such lovely people to talk to. I love his top of the line phonostage. I think he had the Martin's in that room and it sounded great.

I was a little disappointed in the new DynAudio speakers. They had some great amps on them and just didn't do it for me. Ditto for the new Thiel speakers.

Was pleasantly surprised by the new Canton speakers. Nice sound. Beautiful sounding Class A electronics from Esoteric.

As good as the AG's sounded, I would have preferred a little tube amp on them.

The Karan/PenAudio room had real nice sound. Maybe the sleeper of the show.

The Wilson Benesch (a pet favorite of mine) were awesome. Dynamic, punchy, balanced, musical. They had the bass generator and it really helped.

The Magico S3 mk2 when playing vinyl or digital were great. When the tape was on, it cleared the room.

I really liked the ARC/SF room (I always do). The Il Cremonese sounded beautiful. The new ARC gear is terrific. REF3, REF6, etc.

Didn't get a good enough listen in the TAD room. Was very soft. Lots of talking going on.

The Professor (Jock) says to me, "oh you have to go and hear the Pass room on the 12th floor - it's definitely the least offensive I've heard all day." All excited I rushed up there to find it was a static display. A$$hole.

I loved the Soltanus Acoustics ESL Virtuoso. For $12K they were a full range ESL that sounded beautiful. From Serbia I think?

The Martin Logan ESL15's are the BEST ML's I've ever heard (third time now hearing them).

The new Continuum turntable looked neat. It was set up by Michael Trey....so...good stuff!

I wasn't digging the new F206??? Revel speakers, but the Salon 2's (12 years running) were still sounding great and it was terrific that Kevin was there. Great guy.

The skinny Carver speakers were good (with Carver amps)

The Vandy Trio's were sounding good. Tremendous value. Wish the 7's were there or maybe not, I may not have left the room.

I thought the new ELAC's they were rolling out lacked a little of the magic of the little ones.

The Piega speakers were really really good.

The Vandy 5a's sounded great.

The mega buck Austin Acoustic room didn't do it for me.

When the bass of the song wasn't too much, the Vivid G1's were beautiful sounding with the Jadis gear. In a big room, wow, I bet they would be terrific.

I'll tell you what was a REALLY good room: Nola with Manley Snappers. For not a boat load of money, that room was extremely musical.

The KEF Blade 2's (in the KEF room and Hegel room) were sounding as dynamic and musical as ever.

I teased Vinnie about the stands he had for the Harbeth's (coffee tables). This room was pleasant sounding.

The Natural Sounds room was good.

The Focal Sopra 2's with BAT was really good.

There was also an MQA demo going on and I missed that, but I've been to a bunch before.

You would have liked the show. Lots of good energy and excitement, good sounds and as always, great people.

[Audio 1]

Mike there were two rooms on the 12th floor with Sonus Faber. One was the IL Cremonese with ARC and the other was the Lillium with Pass. They both sounded very nice!
The Pass static display was across the hall in the 12th floor boardroom.

There were several demo's with the new Dynaudio Contour 60's
In my opinion the big system with all of the Simaudio gear was not that great. There was another dealer showing them with Mark Levinson electronics and I thought they sounded quite impressive. Big full range sound for a reasonably priced floorstander.

[still-one]

Mike
You are correct, I should have attended. That way I could have avoided a traffic accident Friday evening on the way to dinner. Some person decided to be the third person thru a red light when I was making a left turn. My Cayenne is in rough shape but both my wife an I were unhurt. Will get an idea tomorrow of the damages.

[Mike]

Mike
You are correct, I should have attended. That way I could have avoided a traffic accident Friday evening on the way to dinner. Some person decided to be the third person thru a red light when I was making a left turn. My Cayenne is in rough shape but both my wife an I were unhurt. Will get an idea tomorrow of the damages.

Jim - that sucks! Thank goodness you are both ok.

[the professor]

Glad you are ok.

[Alpinist]

Mike
You are correct, I should have attended. That way I could have avoided a traffic accident Friday evening on the way to dinner. Some person decided to be the third person thru a red light when I was making a left turn. My Cayenne is in rough shape but both my wife an I were unhurt. Will get an idea tomorrow of the damages.

Hi Jim,

Sorry about your accident. Glad to hear you are both ok. Hopefully we'll see you at Axpona 2018.

Best,
Ken

[Ritmo]

Jim - Glad you and your wife are ok. Cars can be fixed or replaced.

[Audio 1]

Sorry about your accident Jim, but very glad that you and Your wife are ok.
Hopefully next year you will make it to Axpona. It was a good show for sure.

[Mr Peabody]

Yeah Jim, sad to hear of the misfortune but as stated material things can be fixed or replaced where you and the family cannot. My wife pulled out last year and got our minivan clipped so I know a bit how you feel.

Hey, I can't remember if this was already discussed before hand, thoughts on Axpona moving? Probably hard to guess unless familiar with the new venue in Schaumburg.

I noticed several rooms using the Niagra power conditioner, says a lot for it.

[Frank750]

Hey, I can't remember if this was already discussed before hand, thoughts on Axpona moving? Probably hard to guess unless familiar with the new venue in Schaumburg.

15 minutes from the airport, right off the tollway. Bigger, newer hotel. Tons of parking. Lots of good restaurants 5 minutes from the hotel.

[Mr Peabody]

Hey Frank, noticed you have a HRS, I learned about those this weekend in the Wilson room, really nice.

[Alectiong]

I noticed several rooms using the Niagra power conditioner, says a lot for it.

Is it the Audioquest Niagra power conditioner?


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[Mike]

Is it the Audioquest Niagra power conditioner?


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Yes. And he's right. Lots of AQ Niagra 5000's and 7000's.


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[Alectiong]

Yes. And he's right. Lots of AQ Niagra 5000's and 7000's.


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Thanks. Read about them. Are they as good as claimed? I am looking into power conditioning.


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[Mike]

Thanks. Read about them. Are they as good as claimed? I am looking into power conditioning.


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Excellent. Shunyata Denali 6000T too.

Niagra 7000 if you have all SS
Niagra 5000 if you have SS and/or tubes
Denali 6000T/S


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[Alectiong]

Excellent. Shunyata Denali 6000T too.

Niagra 7000 if you have all SS
Niagra 5000 if you have SS and/or tubes
Denali 6000T/S


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Thanks. I am more looking for a power strip to put on the floor. Wondering about the Niagra 1000.


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[Mike]

I had the 1000 in my system at home. It measured and sounded great.


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[Melbguy1]

I had a lot of fun. I always find it interesting to hear different views from others. I have gone to quite a few shows and I often find myself battling expectations and biases and pre-conceived notions. My friend said it sounds good...what am I missing. Its class A, how can it sound terrible. Its $150,000, it must be me. I must be the one without the golden ears. And it goes on and on. Tubes versus solid state. Tragic cone and dome versus horn. And don't get me started on digital versus analog. I try to be objective but it can be hard. I love dynamics and punch and probably like it more lively than most. YG for example strikes me as sterile and dark and spooky. But others love it. That's part of what makes it fun. I was very impressed with quite a few rooms and very disappointed with some others. A few more categories to Mike’s list.

Best speakers under $5,000
Emerald physics at $2,000 for the pair is a steal!

Simplest System with quite good sound
Auralic with Ryan speakers

Weirdest music
MBL room. Some bell gong thing. What the heck was that?

Biggest miss
B&O

Most room treatment per square foot
Austin Acoustics. Even had traps on the floor. (PS, I thought it sounded pretty darn great)

Most played
Diana Krall. Yeah, I get it, but… (although arguably good to compare rooms to each other).

Least played
Metallica

Best cordial
Black Sambuca

Best Host
Mike Bovaird

You're a legend Edward!

[kzhtoo]

Thanks. I am more looking for a power strip to put on the floor. Wondering about the Niagra 1000.


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I use Niagra 1000 for my tv, cable box and appletv. Great product.

[Alpinist]

After giving it a lot of thought, I would say my pick for the room with the best overall sound was the MSB and YG Acoustics room. The MSB Universal Transport, Select DAC and Class A mono amps threesome offered a transparency and purity of timbre the likes of which I've never heard before. The system offered deeper insight into the music than I've ever experienced. I couldn't help but wonder what my Vandersteen 7 Mk2 speakers would sound like in place of the YG Hailey.

Both the incredible imaging of the MBL system and the ability of the Tidal system to give you the ambience of the recorded venue both deserve a special mention.

Best,
Ken

[Jack]

Ken

Once you got the HP-5 dialed in it should sound awesome.

[Alpinist]

Ken

Once you got the HP-5 dialed in it should sound awesome.

Hi Jack,

Sorry but I don't know what the HP-5 is.

Ken