AXPONA 2024 - what to do and see?

[AudioJester]

Yeah...
Its interesting...
You can buy the driver... but the Seas drivers work well.

I did a quick spreadsheet on what it would cost to build this...
Roughly $4800.00 for the speakers and the ASP Signal processor.
You would then need 2 5 channel amps to drive it.

So that's around $9,800.00 So lets say 10K.
You could replace the Signal processor and your own amps w 2 boxes from Linkwitz ( 3K Euro each) or ~$3200 USD each... plus shipping.
So its roughly 10.5K vs 23,000

Now that's a Birch Ply flat pack.
There's an Aussie who has some videos of the HDF baffle failing.
I don't think you can just buy the AL/Panz/AL baffle on its own.

Here in the states, I'd consider doing a Richlite/AL/Richlite baffle or AL/Rich/AL since its easier to get.
But like Panzerholtz... its expensive.


I think if you can get the CNC files as part of the plans... you could do your own flat pack.
If you can get a blank AL case or want to make your own case... (which is possible... ) you could go w Purify or Hypex cards and make your own amp but I don't know how it would compare to buying a Buckeye or something similar.

Anyone hear the mini without the subs?

Just use your pc with a motu/focusrite/topping/okto 8 channel dac. You only need 4 amp channels per side - 8 channels in total. Only the bass modules need grunt, the other drivers are very easy to drive.

 

[Emphyrio]

Yeah...
Its interesting...
You can buy the driver... but the Seas drivers work well.

I did a quick spreadsheet on what it would cost to build this...
Roughly $4800.00 for the speakers and the ASP Signal processor.
You would then need 2 5 channel amps to drive it.

So that's around $9,800.00 So lets say 10K.
You could replace the Signal processor and your own amps w 2 boxes from Linkwitz ( 3K Euro each) or ~$3200 USD each... plus shipping.
So its roughly 10.5K vs 23,000

Now that's a Birch Ply flat pack.
There's an Aussie who has some videos of the HDF baffle failing.
I don't think you can just buy the AL/Panz/AL baffle on its own.

Here in the states, I'd consider doing a Richlite/AL/Richlite baffle or AL/Rich/AL since its easier to get.
But like Panzerholtz... its expensive.


I think if you can get the CNC files as part of the plans... you could do your own flat pack.
If you can get a blank AL case or want to make your own case... (which is possible... ) you could go w Purify or Hypex cards and make your own amp but I don't know how it would compare to buying a Buckeye or something similar.

Anyone hear the mini without the subs?

Just want to make a few comments:

I built the first generation LX521 speakers using a Madisound flat pack. A friend of mine is still using it.

I was the second Linkwitz Lounge location in the US. In the lounge, I had a turnkey LX521 system (speakers, PowerBoxes, cables) from Linkwitz Audio, which was excellent.

When it was introduced, I purchased the upgraded lower midrange drivers and traded in my PowerBoxes for the current generation. I opted to do this because I did not want to wait for my PowerBoxes crossover circuitry to be modified to accommodate the upgraded lower midrange driver. The improvement realized by the LX521 speakers with the upgraded lower midrange driver was not subtle. It is also a SEAS driver built to meet Linkwitz Audio specifications. The point I want to make is that you could save a few bucks by going with the LX521 kit and drivers from Madisound; however, the upgraded lower midrange driver transforms the speaker to the next level. Also, the Linkwitz Audio LX521 kit has internal wiring, which makes the final product more refined.

As a member of the Houston Audiophile Society, I have had the opportunity to listen to many much more expensive speaker systems with very expensive amplification, cabling, and source equipment. I myself had two high-dollar speaker systems in my current listening room that preceded the LX521 speakers: Genesis 350SE and German Physiks Carbon speakers. Compared to these more expensive offerings, the LX521 speakers with the upgraded lower midrange and PowerBoxes have never left me wanting. I am unsure if a standalone ASP compatible with the upgraded lower midrange is available.

Don Naples is a former neighbor and close friend of S. Linkwitz. I am pretty sure Don has a pair of LX521 with the upgraded lower midrange drivers. Don uses Pass Lab amplification, so he must have an ASP compatible with the upgraded lower midrange drivers.

 

[jhaider]

I didn't realize that I lived ~2 miles from the Cambridge Audio US office here in Chicago. (Or that they owned by the same company as Arcam...)

I didn't think Cambridge Audio was owned by Samsung. Could be though. At any rate, yeah their US HQ is in the same building as Soul & Smoke BBQ. I think that's Soul & Smoke's OG location, though now they have one in the West Loop too. Good stuff!

I was blown away by the Linkwitz. I mean at one point I was the only one talking to the guy and was listening to them.

Agreed, the Linkwitz room sounded great. I liked this LX521 demo a lot better than the Orion demo I heard when Axpona was in Atlanta. They were also doing different seminars on the hour. I have zero interest in reel-to-reel tape but Jamie Howarth was really engaging in showing how he uses digital correction to restore artist's intent lost through multiple analog copies, and doing A/B demos of the results. Fremer came in for that one too. [EDIT - incorrect information and speculation derived therefrom removed. Appreciate the correction @magicLX!]

Unfortunately I didn't have a lot of time at Axpona so most of my auditions were super abbreviated and I had to cut a lot of stuff. Among the rooms I had on my list that but could not make: Audio Physic, Bayz Audio, Creative Sound Solutions, Dayton Audio, ELAC, Grimm Audio (though I don't know if they had speakers or just other crap), Revel, JBL, Hsu, KEF, Madisound, MartinLogan (assuming they had stats; no interest in their other lines), Parts Express, SB Acoustics, Vivid, VPE, YG Acoustics.

Also I was reminded generally about how much 2.0 channel bass sucks. There seemed to be little attempt to correct for room problems. A few were decent. I thought the Lyngdorf room sounded quite good. Their new speakers were impressive, and of course they were also using RoomPerfect.

A few other capsules.

TAD - the Evolution 1's looked great, and sounded pretty good too. Maybe a touch aggressive on top in this room. Room was pretty empty.

PMC - they were playing Eric Clapton's "Before You Accuse Me" Unplugged, and on some giant speakers, and honestly sounded anemic. Not impressed.

Lyngdorf - great setup. I know they're expensive and just 2-ways but they were good. Attractive, too.

Amphion- another one of my favorites. They had their big cardioid towers. They were a little midrange forward in their presentation, but the low end was really smooth. I suspect these would be standouts with some EQ. One interesting this I noticed other exhibitors were cycling in and out of this room. Didn't see that anywhere else.

Perlisten - didn't overwhelm me. The aesthetic just doesn't do it for me - the Textreme woofer cones look like portholes in that cabinet design. IMO nobody would put Perlisten towers in black next to Salon2 and think they were similar class speakers by the eye test. Also I don't think I would ever be able to visually get past the low height of the tweeter array. The towers didn't sound any more impressive than the standmounts IMO.

Philharmonic - really beautiful cabinetry. Did not stay long because people kept their seats and needed to move on. They sounded a little dull while standing - long ribbon - but I suspect seated they were a lot better.

Legacy - walked in and walked out. I was a little taken aback by the veneer work on the center channel on display - there were gaps at every facet. Maybe they need to try Ken/Dennis's cabinet shop?

MoFi 888 - very pleasant sounding. I don't know that they'd win any resolution contests if A/B'ed against Neumann et al., but I also didn't hear anything that would cause offense. They were a little shorter than I expected, but looked good in white. In person they reminded me even more of the old Tannoy Definition series (the D500 pictured below was the 8" model) with the trapezoidal cabinets. I suspect these will be a hit.

Also, for @MattHooper, I heard the Josephs, but I don't think the setup did them huge favors. The room was enormous. The sidewalls were too far away to add much spaciousness. The gear powering them was cartoonish - a turntable that had a platter a foot thick, some tweako amps, and obviously dumbass wires. One thing they did very well was dynamic shading. They were also exquisitely finished.

Lastly, the speaker designer talk was a little disappointing. Little substance. Also, the moderator took an unnecessary IMO dig at Andrew Jones - Jones was telling his usual story about introducing someone to Dr. Richard Small, and the moderator kind of sneered "you're still telling that one?" But it was great to run into Erin and @quattro98 there.

 

[im_gumby]

I didn't think Cambridge Audio was owned by Samsung. Could be though. At any rate, yeah their US HQ is in the same building as Soul & Smoke BBQ. I think that's Soul & Smoke's OG location, though now they have one in the West Loop too. Good stuff!



Agreed, the Linkwitz room sounded great. I liked this LX521 demo a lot better than the Orion demo I heard when Axpona was in Atlanta. They were also doing different seminars on the hour. I have zero interest in reel-to-reel tape but Jamie Howarth was really engaging in showing how he uses digital correction to restore artist's intent lost through multiple analog copies, and doing A/B demos of the results. Fremer came in for that one too. OTOH, I didn't think there was material difference between the regular ones and the magnesium ones, though I guess the magnesium cone room was also larded up with "audiophile" equipment and the regular cone room had normal "good" equipment (MacBook Pro, RME ADI-2 or Topping DAC) so the magnesium cone ones were at a disadvantage. Still, based on this audition I see no reason to spring for the fancier drivers.

Unfortunately I didn't have a lot of time at Axpona so most of my auditions were super abbreviated and I had to cut a lot of stuff. Among the rooms I had on my list that but could not make: Audio Physic, Bayz Audio, Creative Sound Solutions, Dayton Audio, ELAC, Grimm Audio (though I don't know if they had speakers or just other crap), Revel, JBL, Hsu, KEF, Madisound, MartinLogan (assuming they had stats; no interest in their other lines), Parts Express, SB Acoustics, Vivid, VPE, YG Acoustics.

Also I was reminded generally about how much 2.0 channel bass sucks. There seemed to be little attempt to correct for room problems. A few were decent. I thought the Lyngdorf room sounded quite good. Their new speakers were impressive, and of course they were also using RoomPerfect.

A few other capsules.

TAD - the Evolution 1's looked great, and sounded pretty good too. Maybe a touch aggressive on top in this room. Room was pretty empty.

PMC - they were playing Eric Clapton's "Before You Accuse Me" Unplugged, and on some giant speakers, and honestly sounded anemic. Not impressed.

Lyngdorf - great setup. I know they're expensive and just 2-ways but they were good. Attractive, too.

Amphion- another one of my favorites. They had their big cardioid towers. They were a little midrange forward in their presentation, but the low end was really smooth. I suspect these would be standouts with some EQ. One interesting this I noticed other exhibitors were cycling in and out of this room. Didn't see that anywhere else.

Perlisten - didn't overwhelm me. The aesthetic just doesn't do it for me - the Textreme woofer cones look like portholes in that cabinet design. IMO nobody would put Perlisten towers in black next to Salon2 and think they were similar class speakers by the eye test. Also I don't think I would ever be able to visually get past the low height of the tweeter array. The towers didn't sound any more impressive than the standmounts IMO.

Philharmonic - really beautiful cabinetry. Did not stay long because people kept their seats and needed to move on. They sounded a little dull while standing - long ribbon - but I suspect seated they were a lot better.

Legacy - walked in and walked out. I was a little taken aback by the veneer work on the center channel on display - there were gaps at every facet. Maybe they need to try Ken/Dennis's cabinet shop?

MoFi 888 - very pleasant sounding. I don't know that they'd win any resolution contests if A/B'ed against Neumann et al., but I also didn't hear anything that would cause offense. They were a little shorter than I expected, but looked good in white. In person they reminded me even more of the old Tannoy Definition series (the D500 pictured below was the 8" model) with the trapezoidal cabinets. I suspect these will be a hit.



Also, for @MattHooper, I heard the Josephs, but I don't think the setup did them huge favors. The room was enormous. The sidewalls were too far away to add much spaciousness. The gear powering them was cartoonish - a turntable that had a platter a foot thick, some tweako amps, and obviously dumbass wires. One thing they did very well was dynamic shading. They were also exquisitely finished.

Lastly, the speaker designer talk was a little disappointing. Little substance. Also, the moderator took an unnecessary IMO dig at Andrew Jones - Jones was telling his usual story about introducing someone to Dr. Richard Small, and the moderator kind of sneered "you're still telling that one?" But it was great to run into Erin and @quattro98 there.

Thanks for bringing this thread back. (Although I would like to start a second thread on the Linkwitz...)

I agree that the rooms had a lot of impact on the sound... which was why I was impressed w the Linkwitz. Unlike a lot here, I'm not an audiophile. My journey started where I wanted to upgrade my speakers and maybe add new stereo to my living room / dining room so my wife didn't use the TV and Soundbar to listen to Pandora or Spotify. So I'm going to be on a bit of a budget. If I had to spend 20K on stereo equipment or computer equipment, its going to be on computer equipment for my home office.

But I digress.

Unlike some/most here, I don't have a dedicated listening room. ( I live in a condo so space is tight.) So room imperfections are the norm. Same w speaker placement. So if a speaker sounds great in a bad hotel room set up ... its something to consider.

Now I've never heard OB speakers and the LX521s blew me away. Even in that room. I mean I just was walking around about 2ft away from them... the imaging was amazing.
Not just sitting in a sweet spot at ear level, but how we'd be listening.


I agree with a lot of what you said. I was limited to 1 day and I didn't have a lot of time to sit thru demos unless I happened to walk in on them while they were going.
To be honest, I had more fun talking to the guys while most everyone was doing lunch. Was able to sit in the sweet spot and also walk around... so you can hear the off axis sound. (Again, many here would never listen off axis.) Not to mention most were looking to sample music other than what most audiophiles were requesting. (Otyken or some of the Japanese electronic Yakuza Yaroku type stuff... or even heavy rock.) [No offense to Diana Krall or Girl from Ipanema...]

The CSS room was packed when I stopped by, but was able to talk to them. While I listened to the Typhons (would have plugged the ports for that room) I didn't get to hear the TDX-3s (new product). I was impressed w the Madisound room. The kits that they were demoing sound great for what they were.

I saw someone had put up a video on that 4M speaker set... I wasn't impressed w the sound. Not for 4M... and I'm not into the huge horn look.
I also wasn't impressed on the Legacy. Or that room that had the stone speakers that lit up... not into gymics.
On the Philharmonics I agree. I did get the chance to hear them on and off axis. Sounded good off axis. Great on axis.

Overall, it was interesting.

On Friday I did get to see a bunch of the YouTubers running around filming.
Its going to be interesting to see what they say.

BTW if you like the Tannoy, the Fynes might be of interest.
I'm not into their 'old school' cabinetry but did get to see the 701s in person although not hooked up.

 

[im_gumby]

Just use your pc with a motu/focusrite/topping/okto 8 channel dac. You only need 4 amp channels per side - 8 channels in total. Only the bass modules need grunt, the other drivers are very easy to drive.

If you look at the diagram its actually 5 amps per channel.
That's part of it although I think the miniDSP is 4 channels so that may be why... yet the Linkwitz box is 5 channels.

I saw the price of the kits from the store. Really not bad, although in one of the videos an Aussie got an HDF baffle that was defective.

If you go on YouTube, a guy built a bit of an up scaled version of the mini, where he 3D printed parts and then used Aluminum legs. Built his own DAC/Amp from parts.
(2 channels no bass) For a small room, looked kinda neat, but I think he spent ~$1500 on everything. (He did some prototyping.) Of course he had a room full of tools to do it right.

Still as one reviewer put it... even at 20-30K it punches above its weight class.

Will have to set up a separate thread. Even though AXPONA is now over.

 

[magicLX]

OTOH, I didn't think there was material difference between the regular ones and the magnesium ones, though I guess the magnesium cone room was also larded up with "audiophile" equipment and the regular cone room had normal "good" equipment

Both (!) rooms showed the magnesium drivers L22MG as lo-mids in LX521. There was just a different color of the driver cones, grey vs black. Otherwise technically identical.

 

[jhaider]

Both (!) rooms showed the magnesium drivers L22MG as lo-mids in LX521. There was just a different color of the driver cones, grey vs black. Otherwise technically identical.

Thank you for the correction. Blame sitting in the back coupled with high gain eyesight correction for assuming a woven pattern on the black lower midrange cone.

I have removed the incorrect material, as well as speculation stemming from it.

 

[AudioJester]

If you look at the diagram its actually 5 amps per channel.
That's part of it although I think the miniDSP is 4 channels so that may be why... yet the Linkwitz box is 5 channels.

I saw the price of the kits from the store. Really not bad, although in one of the videos an Aussie got an HDF baffle that was defective.

If you go on YouTube, a guy built a bit of an up scaled version of the mini, where he 3D printed parts and then used Aluminum legs. Built his own DAC/Amp from parts.
(2 channels no bass) For a small room, looked kinda neat, but I think he spent ~$1500 on everything. (He did some prototyping.) Of course he had a room full of tools to do it right.

Still as one reviewer put it... even at 20-30K it punches above its weight class.

Will have to set up a separate thread. Even though AXPONA is now over.

Cost me in total about AU$7k for Lx521 including multichannel dac and amps.
Iam not sure why you would need 5 amp channels per side.
Can get away with 3 if you use SL's original passive network between the mids - that setup had textbook perfect midrange measurements.

Curious what/how the new mid improves things?

 

[im_gumby]

Cost me in total about AU$7k for Lx521 including multichannel dac and amps.
Iam not sure why you would need 5 amp channels per side.
Can get away with 3 if you use SL's original passive network between the mids - that setup had textbook perfect midrange measurements.

Curious what/how the new mid improves things?

[Edited to make this cleaner...]
Hi,
There are 3 options. All prices USD (Tax and shipping extra)

1) Buy the speaker already to go 23,900 - 26,900 depending on upgraded baffle.
2) Buy the Linkwitz.store kit. ~4,770 ( HDF w upgraded speakers.)
3) But the Madisound store kit ~3,460 (Baltic Birch made in US)

Now options

1) Madisound has ASP.4 for ~1K but you need to source your amp.
2) Buy the power kit from Linkwitz.store ~3200 per speaker or 6,400 total

This will work for either speaker, but it would mean some mods ...

So that's it. So for 9.8K for Madisound (plus finish mods) vs 11K w powerkit still 36-46% of built speakers.

Can you build 2 5 channel amps for 2200? ( And to keep it fair... hypex ncore amps)

 

[jhaider]

Unlike some/most here, I don't have a dedicated listening room. ( I live in a condo so space is tight.) So room imperfections are the norm. Same w speaker placement. So if a speaker sounds great in a bad hotel room set up ... its something to consider.

I think you might be making an unwarranted assumption here. I suspect most participants here (present company included) don't have dedicated spaces. As an aside I've noticed a lot of people who build dedicated spaces tend to regret it to some extent, as they find the space doesn't get the use they were expecting.

Now I've never heard OB speakers and the LX521s blew me away. Even in that room. I mean I just was walking around about 2ft away from them... the imaging was amazing.
Not just sitting in a sweet spot at ear level, but how we'd be listening.

Given that you're local you should also look up Perry Marshall. He has several really nice OB designs. https://perrymarshall.info/speakers/. I had a chance to hear his "Bitches Brew" at his home last year, and was quite impressed with them.

One thing to consider that makes OB speakers kind of niche is that they're not very room friendly. You can't have them hug the walls. They have to consume an outsized amount of space by being way out in the room. Unlike a box speaker where you have some bass bloat that can be fixed with EQ, that doesn't really work with OB.*

*Gradient offers a rotatable OB bass bin over a cardioid coax that they claim can be used close to walls. I've heard the older model Revolution - it was IMO one of the best speakers of its day - but not in that kind of placement.

BTW if you like the Tannoy, the Fynes might be of interest.
I'm not into their 'old school' cabinetry but did get to see the 701s in person although not hooked up.

Some backstory there. While I had three of Tannoy's marvelous Revolution XT 8F for review MUSIC Group (colloquially, Behringer) bought Tannoy's parent company (also included pro amp maker lab.gruppen and other audio companies). As often happens in such situations, several people including my engineering contact, Dr. Paul Mills, subsequently left the company. Some of them (including Dr. Mills) ended up forming Fyne. I've yet to hear a Fyne speaker, so no comments about them. Unfortunately they seem to do a lot of the retro crap Tannoy does. Tannoy made some great speakers, especially in the mid-late 1990s when Mark Dodd (who later picked KEF up off the mat after their "lost" period following the departures of Laurie Fincham and Andrew Jones) was there. However, their "heritage" lines have rarely if ever been included in that roster.

 

[im_gumby]

I think you might be making an unwarranted assumption here. I suspect most participants here (present company included) don't have dedicated spaces. As an aside I've noticed a lot of people who build dedicated spaces tend to regret it to some extent, as they find the space doesn't get the use they were expecting.

Sorry, I wasn't making any real assumptions other than a bit of self deprecation. I was trying to say that I don't have the ability to create a central listening space
And then there's the wife factor... just put speakers into the ceiling and hide them. (I had a pain just getting her approval to get a sound bar hung underneath the TV. )
Nor do we really sit down and listen. Its more background music while we putter around the house or when I'm reading.

Given that you're local you should also look up Perry Marshall. He has several really nice OB designs. https://perrymarshall.info/speakers/. I had a chance to hear his "Bitches Brew" at his home last year, and was quite impressed with them.

I was really surprised by how much was here in the Chicagoland area. Yes he is 'local' and will have to connect.

One thing to consider that makes OB speakers kind of niche is that they're not very room friendly. You can't have them hug the walls. They have to consume an outsized amount of space by being way out in the room. Unlike a box speaker where you have some bass bloat that can be fixed with EQ, that doesn't really work with OB.*

*Gradient offers a rotatable OB bass bin over a cardioid coax that they claim can be used close to walls. I've heard the older model Revolution - it was IMO one of the best speakers of its day - but not in that kind of placement.

That'was the one thing that bothered me about OB and why I never really listened to them or considered them.
Distance is relative. I have one spot where if I did OBs the front baffle would be 2.5' in the room. In another space, the LX Minis would fit, no subs.
(It would sound better than the sound bar...)

But that's why I'm looking at alternatives and getting wife's approval. [Note: The OB sound from the 521s was wow. The focal towers were a wow, but out of my price rage by a couple of orders of magnitude. and not approved by wife.]

Some backstory there. While I had three of Tannoy's marvelous Revolution XT 8F for review MUSIC Group (colloquially, Behringer) bought Tannoy's parent company (also included pro amp maker lab.gruppen and other audio companies). As often happens in such situations, several people including my engineering contact, Dr. Paul Mills, subsequently left the company. Some of them (including Dr. Mills) ended up forming Fyne. I've yet to hear a Fyne speaker, so no comments about them. Unfortunately they seem to do a lot of the retro crap Tannoy does. Tannoy made some great speakers, especially in the mid-late 1990s when Mark Dodd (who later picked KEF up off the mat after their "lost" period following the departures of Laurie Fincham and Andrew Jones) was there. However, their "heritage" lines have rarely if ever been included in that roster.

I was familiar w the backstory.
I spoke w Dr. Mills at the show... I had spent 9 months in Stirling and loved my time in Scotland. (My nephew was in Edinburgh at Uni at the time)
I would love to hear one of the F series... love the design, although some have been critical of the baffle and its a Co-ax.
The 701s aren't retro but a lower cost point to their F series. The retro seems to be based on market demand. Like they are trying to fill the market and compete against Tannoy which moved production overseas. I don't get it either.

 

[MattHooper]

Nice report! I wish I could attend these shows!

Unfortunately I didn't have a lot of time at Axpona so most of my auditions were super abbreviated and I had to cut a lot of stuff. Among the rooms I had on my list that but could not make: Audio Physic, Bayz Audio, Creative Sound Solutions, Dayton Audio, ELAC, Grimm Audio (though I don't know if they had speakers or just other crap), Revel, JBL, Hsu, KEF, Madisound, MartinLogan (assuming they had stats; no interest in their other lines), Parts Express, SB Acoustics, Vivid, VPE, YG Acoustics.

Dang, that's a lot of interesting stuff to miss out on. Still..

PMC - they were playing Eric Clapton's "Before You Accuse Me" Unplugged, and on some giant speakers, and honestly sounded anemic. Not impressed.

I've yet to hear a PMC speaker that didn't sound that way. The consumer models all seem to have a similar warmth region scoop out, I think to create a "punchy, vivid and detailed" perception.

Lyngdorf - great setup. I know they're expensive and just 2-ways but they were good. Attractive, too.

I've been intrigued by the Lyngdorf speakers for a little while. Waaay beyond anything I could afford or would purchase, but intriguing. I enjoyed this review of one of their more expensive offerings. It's an entertainment oriented review site, though still serious and usually provide room measurements:

Perlisten - didn't overwhelm me. The aesthetic just doesn't do it for me - the Textreme woofer cones look like portholes in that cabinet design. IMO nobody would put Perlisten towers in black next to Salon2 and think they were similar class speakers by the eye test. Also I don't think I would ever be able to visually get past the low height of the tweeter array. The towers didn't sound any more impressive than the standmounts IMO.

Yeah, it would be hard for me to get past the aesthetics.

Also, for @MattHooper, I heard the Josephs, but I don't think the setup did them huge favors. The room was enormous. The sidewalls were too far away to add much spaciousness. The gear powering them was cartoonish - a turntable that had a platter a foot thick, some tweako amps, and obviously dumbass wires. One thing they did very well was dynamic shading. They were also exquisitely finished.

Understandable. I never get tired of the exquisite finish of my Joseph speakers. Also, I enjoy the "tweako" tube amps (one reason I bought the Josephs was that they work well with my tube amps), and I'm a sucker for some of the crazy looking turntables too. Not the dumbass wires though...

 

[im_gumby]

Jay Iyagi just dropped a video on a set of Starke bookshelf speakers the Beta 7. Priced around 700 and under 1K w stands.
Totally wasn't on my radar. Anyone familiar w Starke's products?
Did anyone stop by their room?

 

[jhaider]

Dang, that's a lot of interesting stuff to miss out on. Still..

The plight of a parent of young kids, flying solo for the week...

I've been intrigued by the Lyngdorf speakers for a little while. Waaay beyond anything I could afford or would purchase, but intriguing.

They were showing their new "Cue 100" model, which is quite a bit smaller and less expensive (and simpler) than your Joseph Audio speakers. IMO it sounded great and looked sharp in person, too. It looks better in person than in pictures, IMO.

I haven't heard the open baffle Steinways, but I really want to. Even though I'm pretty sure the only Steinway anything that will ever enter our home is our humble old Model 45 upright!

Yeah, it would be hard for me to get past the aesthetics.

IMO Perlisten show better in pictures than in person, too...

Jay Iyagi just dropped a video on a set of Starke bookshelf speakers the Beta 7. Priced around 700 and under 1K w stands.
Totally wasn't on my radar. Anyone familiar w Starke's products?
Did anyone stop by their room?

There was a controversy about one of their amps here IIRC. (Apologies if I'm remembering wrong.)

Dan Wiggins, their head designer, knows his stuff. @Chris Brunhaver may be able to elaborate.

Not sure why such talents would be wasted on a 7" 2-way with a flat waveguide, though.

 

[Wolf]

Nobody has yet mentioned the Stero Integrity 24" sub and new towers yet? The sub is still a monster, the towers? Unknown because the sub drowned them out.

I have not collected my thoughts yet, but will post more later...

 

[Chris Brunhaver]

The plight of a parent of young kids, flying solo for the week...



They were showing their new "Cue 100" model, which is quite a bit smaller and less expensive (and simpler) than your Joseph Audio speakers. IMO it sounded great and looked sharp in person, too. It looks better in person than in pictures, IMO.

I haven't heard the open baffle Steinways, but I really want to. Even though I'm pretty sure the only Steinway anything that will ever enter our home is our humble old Model 45 upright!



IMO Perlisten show better in pictures than in person, too...



There was a controversy about one of their amps here IIRC. (Apologies if I'm remembering wrong.)

Dan Wiggins, their head designer, knows his stuff. @Chris Brunhaver may be able to elaborate.

Not sure why such talents would be wasted on a 7" 2-way with a flat waveguide, though.

Yeah, I worked for Dan as my first "real" audio job at Adire Audio, a company that he was the cofounder of.

Dan has been a hired gun for a bunch of high-end speaker and headphone products and is a very good (and creative) engineer.

 

[MattHooper]

I just saw the Absolute Sound report on the show. Apparently at one point the Joseph Audio room had 3 jazz musicians play to entertain people. They recorded the performance and then played it back through the system featuring the Joseph Pearl flagship speakers. Apparently the sound was "surprising in it's verisimilitude."

That's the kind of demos I love!

 

[thewas]

Fun old marketing tricks:

Why Live-versus-Recorded Listening Tests Don't Work

Figure 1: Singer Frieda Hempel conducting a Tone Test at Edison Studios, NYC in 1918. Note that many of the listeners' ears are covered by t...

seanolive.blogspot.com

 

[MattHooper]

Fun old marketing tricks:

Why Live-versus-Recorded Listening Tests Don't Work

Figure 1: Singer Frieda Hempel conducting a Tone Test at Edison Studios, NYC in 1918. Note that many of the listeners' ears are covered by t...

seanolive.blogspot.com

Good article. Though I think it can sometimes be a case of letting perfect become the enemy of the good. While not scientific, I think doing comparisons between live and reproduced can give some indications of the general differences, the "gestalt" as it where. I've been doing it in mostly casual ways for many years. Not too long ago I was at an audiophile friend's place and we were playing a well recorded male vocal that was just locked in to place between the speakers and sounded very vivid. But just for fun I had my buddy stand in between and behind the speakers about where the phantom voice seemed to be coming from, and had him speak and vocalize, it it really elucidated the difference between the reproduced sound and a real human voice. (The reproduced vocal just sounded more artificial, electronic, gossamer and less dense, but most of all less subtle, rich and organic than the real voice).

I'd love to have heard the Joseph demo! Though hardly definitive I'm sure it would be interesting and enlightening to some degree.

 

[DanielT]

MoFi 888 - very pleasant sounding. I don't know that they'd win any resolution contests if A/B'ed against Neumann et al., but I also didn't hear anything that would cause offense. They were a little shorter than I expected, but looked good in white. In person they reminded me even more of the old Tannoy Definition series (the D500 pictured below was the 8" model) with the trapezoidal cabinets. I suspect these will be a hit.

Also, for @MattHooper, I heard the Josephs, but I don't think the setup did them huge favors. The room was enormous. The sidewalls were too far away to add much spaciousness. The gear powering them was cartoonish - a turntable that had a platter a foot thick, some tweako amps, and obviously dumbass wires. One thing they did very well was dynamic shading. They were also exquisitely finished.

Lastly, the speaker designer talk was a little disappointing. Little substance. Also, the moderator took an unnecessary IMO dig at Andrew Jones - Jones was telling his usual story about introducing someone to Dr. Richard Small, and the moderator kind of sneered "you're still telling that one?" But it was great to run into Erin and @quattro98 there.

MoFi 888.Melinda Murphy was also impressed with them. 18:15 into the video: