Amir's 2023 Pacific Audio Fest Report Continued

[GXAlan]

My thought is that at some point we want to have our own show with proper seminars, tutorials, and of course, exhibitors that believe in audio science/engineering.

What would be great is to invite everyone. Maybe D&M/B&W/Definitive, Paradigm, PS Audio (speakers), Klipsch/Onkyo/Pioneer, and B&W would consider showcasing their products even though D&M has regressed a bit from the DAC standpoint, Paradigm and B&W don’t shoot for classic neutrality, and PS Audio is polarizing with their non-transparent electronics, but good ergonomics but a very engineering focused speaker setup.

 

[MacClintock]

There are some decent products, but I really wonder how you stand all the snake-oil ond grossly overpriced gear, that supposedly even measures badly, @amirm ?

 

[Midwest Blade]

My thought is that at some point we want to have our own show with proper seminars, tutorials, and of course, exhibitors that believe in audio science/engineering.

Do you think it could be tied into a major show like Axpona, a day before or a day after?

 

[Spocko]

There are some decent products, but I really wonder how you stand all the snake-oil ond grossly overpriced gear, that supposedly even measures badly, @amirm ?

When a product is only "decent" but costs over $10,000, it's painful to see

 

[Verig]

Nice to see Songer Audio going top modern dac/streamer and then... something else. I think this is actually a very real use case. Not everyone after tubes and that aesthetic can be bothered with vinyl or more esoteric digital. I'd love to hear that set.

 

[DanielT]

Thank you Amir for your report.

As usual from this type of HiFi events a lot of damn expensive tube amps and record players. Nice to look at in and of itself. Affordable based on sound criteria alone? I'm doubtful.

 

[MacClintock]

When a product is only "decent" but costs over $10,000, it's painful to see

True, but as an exeption, the Andrew Jones MoFi and PureAudio speakers should be quite good for under $10,000, actually.

 

[Plan9]

Many (most) high end speakers are very bright. It is a selling point so the old guys with buckets of cash can hear the highs and then wants to buy. Their target market is not people in their 20's. So, you pay an extra $40,000 to get the sound that a $10,000 set up would do and just EQ the highs to where you like it. Different methods to get to the same place. Also, in high end there are many quite ugly speakers. I am amazed that Amir still has the raw courage and guts to attend a snake oil show. Amir goes where others fear to tread. A man's man! He takes the mental assault on your senses, eyes. hearing and financial so that we do not have to do it. A selfless hero in my book. Move over Chuck Norris, Amir is your replacement!

Amir's real, Chuck Norris an actor...see attached, read to bottom line..just having fun...

 

[DanielT]

True, but as an exeption, the Andrew Jones MoFi and PureAudio speakers should be quite good for under $10,000, actually.

Cocky demo with a receiver that only has a 10 in damping factor. I think this is the one that was used in that demo room:

Sansui 9090 AM/FM Stereo Receiver Manual | HiFi Engine

www.hifiengine.com

 

[amirm]

What would be great is to invite everyone. Maybe D&M/B&W/Definitive, Paradigm, PS Audio (speakers), Klipsch/Onkyo/Pioneer, and B&W would consider showcasing their products even though D&M has regressed a bit from the DAC standpoint, Paradigm and B&W don’t shoot for classic neutrality, and PS Audio is polarizing with their non-transparent electronics, but good ergonomics but a very engineering focused speaker setup.

We could make it a requirement that every booth post measurements of their gear!!!

 

[amirm]

There are some decent products, but I really wonder how you stand all the snake-oil ond grossly overpriced gear, that supposedly even measures badly, @amirm ?

I blend in. I enjoy the music they play. And interact with designers, company reps, audience, etc. I also admire extreme engineering as far as material choices, components, etc. So not bad at all. The pain is then capturing every suite and reporting on it here.

 

[amirm]

As usual from this type of HiFi events a lot of damn expensive tube amps and record players.

Expensive turntables are a fixture at high-end suites to be sure. Tubes though, seem to be more popular at this show than I remembered.

 

[dasdoing]

it almost seams like in this specific market not offering expensive cables as a company would be foolish as all you'll do is leave the money for the competition lol.

 

[spigot]

They should include a robot with 20-20K hearing that listens along with you and periodically makes approving comments (and nods) to reassure you it's money well spent.

 

[fordiebianco]

JR Sure is the name of the man and speakers! Said he was designing speakers in 1950s and back at it now. It uses an array of small drivers running full range with a long pipe going through the very think box and shooting out the top:

Look close... what do you see? Yes, Topping and Hypex amplifier! I asked him how he learned about them. He said "on some site they were showing very good measurements of them!" Told him who I was and we then had a very nice conversation. He wanted people to buy the whole system and get done.

Miles Davis - Freddie Freeloader (Official Audio)​

I thought it sounded good!

Does the man have a website?

 

[Cadguy]

Amir did you speak to Miller Carbon, he heavily promotes Tekton on Audiogon forums and I wonder what your impression of him is.
I would love to see measurements of the Tekton and the Spatial Audio speakers.

 

[sq225917]

Thanks for the write up Amir, the inclusion of music has me buying several new albums.

 

[ta240]

When a product is only "decent" but costs over $10,000, it's painful to see

I get what you are saying but what pains me more are the $500 items that do nothing. People with loads of money dropping tens of thousands of dollars on 'art' doesn't bug me as much as hardworking people spending decent chunks on worthless junk.
Watching car shows where they highlight the super high end I realize that a lot of rich people buy things to own them, not to use them. Hundreds of thousands on super cars that don't shift well, have suspension issues, brake issues or just plain issues. Figure into it that some of these people are the ones with music at ear damaging levels in their cars and I have very little sympathy for them.

 

[Slayer]

Daedalus suite whose founder is also that of Pacific Audio Fest.

Fancy woodworking but I am not sure the end result is very attractive. The drivers also clash a lot with the woodwork.

My 1st thought, honest to god, was this had to be a contest. Let's make the ugliest speaker we can, throw in some BS marketing, and see how much we can squeeze from these suckers. Seriously, this thing makes a lot of pro audio stuff look elegant.

Anyhow, thanks for all the hard work and photos @amirm.

 

[GXAlan]

We could make it a requirement that every booth post measurements of their gear!!!

Or submit to stereo blind test. Where they can pick the music and the competing speaker (or you can provide a default choice for that year’s reference speaker) if they choose not to provide the competitor.

The “show” runs the level matching and blinding.

I think that would be really fun for the ones that don’t want to get into measurements but appreciate the value of science. Mono speakers won’t lets speakers like the Polk show off their SDA type algorithms.

If they pick a really dumb speaker for comparison, they will win but also their marketing impact is diminished. Or they can choose the default speaker that you have chosen which might be a _____ which they outclass (but still be a way to be friendly to the esoteric brands).

I wouldn’t go, but I would pay for a virtual pass to sponsor these types of blind tests and I think many of the speaker companies would be willing to undergo a blind test when they know who they are competing against.