2015 TAVES ( Toronto Audio Video Entertainment Show )
- Thread starter Paul
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Paul
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- Thread Author
- #42
After I listened the Raidho now I totally understand how some owners having an issue with bass. They have this wonderful sweet ribbon tweeter however in my opinion the Raidho try to pushed beyond what this small drivers can do and just showing their limit.
For me Tannoy, Tenor with Kronos was superb and congrats to Mark Jones ( Tone Audio's favourite room of the show so far ) and the Estelon with Ayre was excellent with nice interior as well also the Grant Fidelity was showing very exciting open baffle speakers with very low price.I would purchase that over Spatial IMHO.
Mr Ernie Fisher ( Inner Ear Magazine ) with Tannoy
I will report back more after sunday.
Paul - Thanks for the feedback, show thoughts and great pics!!
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annapolis Raider
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- Dec 14, 2013
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- 386
Big +1
Yamaki
New member
Thanks so much for taking the time and making the effort to post all these pictures, Paul. I really enjoyed looking at all the different gear!
veindoc
Member
thnx Paul-all pictures were of really good quality and the rooms were nicely set up. How was the Naim statement room?
Nick
Nick
KeithR
Active member
Thanks Paul- how were the big Ref 3as?
Mark Jones
Member
I didn't hear them, but I believe both Paul (AS) and David from Tenor were both impressed with the sound.
Keith im heading out tomorrow to my allnic dealers place to setup and listen to the ref 3a nefes and the monitors also(not sure of the name). the nefes being a little more efficient and supposedly low watt friendly. ill let you know what i think. i personally think they are all ugly, lol. but if they sound good is all i care about.
I heard them. They were fine. I kept thinking "are all those drivers really necessary?" and I'm sorry, but I couldn't get over all those rivet holes and that industrial looking finish. Sonically though, they were fine.
What's their MSRP?
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What's their MSRP?
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my guess is the big ones with the load of drivers is the sema zen? and i believe around $20k. im not hearing those as i dont like speakers with all those drivers either.lol. the nefes are $10k msrp
Should be interesting Steve. 92db. I know you're looking for even better efficiency....but worth a listen.
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Adrian Low
New member
Mike did you make it to the show? I'm sorry I missed you if so. Great to see you Paul. We finally finished unloading back at the store about midnight. Dead tired but working today...
I spent the day yesterday covering TAVES. I'll upload my pictures later and I'll have more thoughts as I go back through my notes.
TAVES is much smaller than RMAF, but what was there was of high quality.
As for overall best room, let's just say Audio by Mark Jones was clearly the best room both sonically and visually. Mark and his team (including DJ Paul), did a terrific job with lighting and room layout. The room was constantly packed and I observed comments in the hallway - all positive.
My favorite speakers were the Focal Scala V2's. Even driven by modestly priced NAD, they once again showed such seamless integration between the drivers and an overall musicality. I first heard the V2's at RMAF 2013 with Aesthetix gear and was very impressed. I would venture to say that the Scala V2's might be the most complete speaker in the entire Focal line.
On the flip side, I was disappointed in the NAD Statement amps paired with Focal Utopias. Was a hard room to stomach.
Speaking of hard to stomach, what is the deal with these Audionote speakers? They keep dragging them to shows and they just suck. Might as well bring a Bose radio. It WILL sound better.
The chi-Fi Spatials DID sound better than the Spatials, but their build quality leaves a lot to be desired. VERY DIY looking with the crossover bolted to a piece of wood supporting the frame, but for $3999, they sounded great and could have sold dozens of pairs. People kept asking to buy the demo pair (which sold quickly on the first day).
I still have a soft spot for TIDAL speakers and the Estelon's. Although both rooms weren't ideal and I have no idea what brand of electronics was shown with the Tidal's, I still feel both have lots of potential.
A real dark horse surprise for me was how impressed I was with the JBL K2 S9900's. I've never heard Hugh Masakela sound that good!
Adrian also did a great job with the Sasha2/Dag room. Always packed and sounded great.
The Karma DB9's were so boomy. Would love to hear those properly setup.
James & Bryston Co. once again showed just what is possible in high end for not-so-stupid money. The Model T's sound much much better than their price tag would lead you to believe. With the BDP-3 coming down the pipe, there are lots of exciting things happening at Bryston.
The bass issues in all rooms leads me to ask - why don't exhibitors at least consider DSP? Yes, yes, yes, DSP is like Kryptonite to audiophiles - but at least consider some higher quality DSP solutions. When you're given a hostile environment, why not use all the tools available. I would personally recommend that DSP brand DEQX from Australia.
Overall, a fun show that can be enjoyed in a day. Great seeing old friends and meeting new ones.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
TAVES is much smaller than RMAF, but what was there was of high quality.
As for overall best room, let's just say Audio by Mark Jones was clearly the best room both sonically and visually. Mark and his team (including DJ Paul), did a terrific job with lighting and room layout. The room was constantly packed and I observed comments in the hallway - all positive.
My favorite speakers were the Focal Scala V2's. Even driven by modestly priced NAD, they once again showed such seamless integration between the drivers and an overall musicality. I first heard the V2's at RMAF 2013 with Aesthetix gear and was very impressed. I would venture to say that the Scala V2's might be the most complete speaker in the entire Focal line.
On the flip side, I was disappointed in the NAD Statement amps paired with Focal Utopias. Was a hard room to stomach.
Speaking of hard to stomach, what is the deal with these Audionote speakers? They keep dragging them to shows and they just suck. Might as well bring a Bose radio. It WILL sound better.
The chi-Fi Spatials DID sound better than the Spatials, but their build quality leaves a lot to be desired. VERY DIY looking with the crossover bolted to a piece of wood supporting the frame, but for $3999, they sounded great and could have sold dozens of pairs. People kept asking to buy the demo pair (which sold quickly on the first day).
I still have a soft spot for TIDAL speakers and the Estelon's. Although both rooms weren't ideal and I have no idea what brand of electronics was shown with the Tidal's, I still feel both have lots of potential.
A real dark horse surprise for me was how impressed I was with the JBL K2 S9900's. I've never heard Hugh Masakela sound that good!
Adrian also did a great job with the Sasha2/Dag room. Always packed and sounded great.
The Karma DB9's were so boomy. Would love to hear those properly setup.
James & Bryston Co. once again showed just what is possible in high end for not-so-stupid money. The Model T's sound much much better than their price tag would lead you to believe. With the BDP-3 coming down the pipe, there are lots of exciting things happening at Bryston.
The bass issues in all rooms leads me to ask - why don't exhibitors at least consider DSP? Yes, yes, yes, DSP is like Kryptonite to audiophiles - but at least consider some higher quality DSP solutions. When you're given a hostile environment, why not use all the tools available. I would personally recommend that DSP brand DEQX from Australia.
Overall, a fun show that can be enjoyed in a day. Great seeing old friends and meeting new ones.
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KeithR
Active member
I've heard the Grand Veenas on Concert Fidelity at shows before and the sound was quite good and coherent (as it should be considering the design)- let me know if you can push the volume at your demos. enjoy.
can't say i'm a fan of the new "look" for R3A either.
the sounds was ok but I thought the room was too small for the speakers thoughPaul, Thanks for all the great pics of the show. Wondering if you heard the Airtight gear.
Looks like Angie had several rooms of gear there under different business names. Curious about the Sutherland/Bergman combo.
Mark, did you end up bringing the Thorens 124 ? didn't see any pics so far of it.
Chris
Looks like Angie had several rooms of gear there under different business names. Curious about the Sutherland/Bergman combo.
Mark, did you end up bringing the Thorens 124 ? didn't see any pics so far of it.
Chris
Mark Jones
Member
Hi Chris,
Yes, I brought both the Thorens and the Technics. I put an old Grace F9e on the Thorens for added nostalgia. Both were static only. My buddy David McCallum, brought his 401/12" Triplanar/ DV-1s. We used that with the Nagra phono-stage and the Allnic headphone amp to drive the Audeze's. The combo sounded fantastic.
Click onto my Facebook page below, there should be some photos there.
Cheers, Mark.
Paul
Senior Member
- Thread Author
- #60
I did hear the ATM 4 int amp with Harbeth SHL5.
One thing about the Harbeth is no matter what amp you choose they have a strong signature sounds so its kind of hard to tell.
But the built quality was top notch and voice color was excellent. only thing concern me is bass department after audition same speakers with Accuphase int amp with 100 watts.