Amir's 2023 Pacific Audio Fest Report

[AdamG]

It took me a few days and some deep searching to get the best and exact match’s to the Music/Songs listed by Amir over this three part Thread(s). I had to improvise a few tracks that I was unable to find exact matches for. I did give it my best effort. Without further ado. Here is the updated Complete Playlists for Apple Music and Tidal. The Somgs are arranged in the order they were presented in these three threads. (69 Songs)

Amir’s 2023 Pacific Audio Fest Music Selections (Apple Music)

Amir’s 2023 Pacific Audio Fest Music Selections (Tidal)

 

[pseudoid]

That class of people are more likely to be partying on a yacht off Sardinia right now, not gawking at flashy audio gear.

I think more - affluent or otherwise -people should buy such exotic audio hardware.
But not to stimulate the audio market.
Instead: To see these items again in estate sales and/or online used/2ndHand gear sites.
'nuff said!

 

[Tim Link]

Did you listen to the Dutch & Dutch 8c's there?

I would definitely take the 8c's for free! There was a lot of stuff there that I wouldn't hesitate to take for free! Some of it I'd have to turn down or sell due to lack of space or incompatibility with my preferred speaker arrangement. Fortunately I'm really happy for now with what I've got.

I'm going to say that this show has verified for me that inter-aural crosstalk sucks! It's amazing to me that in all these high investment systems not a thing is being done to address it. They go to great lengths over the tiniest nuances from things like power cables and ethernet switches but remain oblivious to the 600lb gorilla in the room.

I know people say the problem is masked by room reflections so we don't really notice it. That's definitely not my experience. Compared to other things we're measuring and testing for it's easily apparent and undesirable. It's like eating otherwise good food that's tainted with a hint of sulfurous rotting egg smell. You can learn to ignore it if you're hungry, but I'd rather not have to. (I've been through this - ground water with lots of sulfur!)
The two speaker, 60 degree triangle listening arrangement is far from ideal, and it seems kind of nutty to me to go to great efforts and expenses for that kind of setup. It makes sense when you're trying to be very practical and economical, not too concerned about ultimate sound quality.

That's my rant.

 

[pseudoid]

It took me a few days and some deep searching to get the best and exact match’s to the Music/Songs listed by Amir over this three part Thread(s). I had to improvise a few tracks that I was unable to find exact matches for. I did give it my best effort. Without further ado. Here is the updated Complete Playlists for Apple Music and Tidal. The Somgs are arranged in the order they were presented in these three threads. (69 Songs)

Amir’s 2023 Pacific Audio Fest Music Selections (Apple Music)

Amir’s 2023 Pacific Audio Fest Music Selections (Tidal)

Can you provide a list (xls/pdf)?
10q

 

[egellings]

Funny, the photos showed up okay for me initially. They still do now.

 

[beagleman]

I have been a guy into audio since literally about 1980, when I was a teen.

I now feel like I have almost nothing in common with audio/audiophiles of the last few decades, after browsing Amir's great pictures.....

 

[amirm]

I now feel like I have almost nothing in common with audio/audiophiles of the last few decades, after browsing Amir's great pictures.....

It has evolved into a universe of its own. And it even has its own laws of physics!!!

 

[MoreWatts]

The physics that we see is the physics required for HUGE MANSIONS. When I see people lament these systems, I don't think they often realize the size of room or house these systems are meant to fill with sound. The pro audio equivalent would require the new Genelec 8381s, Danley monsters, or club audio systems. Huge mansions require huge speakers which require huge amps. That is what is on display here. 'Oligarch audio' is the term. It's actually kinda nice to get a peek.

 

[Mtbf]

There is a balance. Nothing wrong with overpriced components if you see it as functional art. When you buy a car, you can pay extra for nicer paint, and in the case of Porsche, even different colored seatbelts. In all cases, the fancy paint doesn’t rust more quickly and all of the seatbelts are equally safe. You can buy ceramic brakes which offer superior performance but are unlikely to be appreciated by regular drivers, except for cleaner rims, or “sport chrono” packages which increase performance beyond already “too dangerous for streets and is track use only”. You can get a Model S Plaid or in earlier years a GT-R Nismo and get better bang for the buck, but there was a brand surcharge and then a performance surcharge. But in general any car is good.

You can even get the LFA or Ford GT which had unique “exhaust and engine” sounds and were for fans of the brand, not unlike McIntosh which is very competent but has a very high brand identity.

When it comes to audio, I think odd speakers and turntables fall into this category of not hurting anyone. When you talk about all these other tweaks, it gets into snake oil territory. Maybe you could convince me some extreme combination of factors causes cable lifters to matter.

The problem is when a cable lifter is going for $500-600 each, or you have cables that go for as much as a Porsche that you will rightfully get criticism.

View attachment 294893


It’s one thing to buy a Bugatti even though it never breaks the speed limit, or a fully loaded Land Cruiser just to go to yoga class. You can buy a Halcro amp, or a dCS audio stack or even a fully loaded Linn LP12 Klimax and it falls into the category of “awesome purchase, I am glad I can get similar performance for less — but sure, if I had your money…”

But more importantly, this also extends to the $84 cable as well. If the $84 cable isn’t meaningfully different from the $20 cable, it’s something to discuss…

This is not snake oil, this is plain theft. Despicable company.

 

[Robilo]

Hello everyone. I attended the 2023 Pacific Audio Fest (PAF) today. I was pleased with the relaxed atmosphere of the show. Just enough people were there as to there being interest but not too crowded. The show is about 20% the size of the major audio shows like AXPONA and now defunct RMAF. I managed to attend all the exhibits (sans the headphone area) in an afternoon. I may go back tomorrow to explore more.

I was sad that there were no badges so you didn't know who was there other than the exhibitors. In that regard, I didn't think anyone would recognize me but many did! This resulted in many nice conversations and heartwarming comments from members about the work we are doing at ASR. I also caught up with some industry friends after some 3 years of absence.

I usually take my DSLR to shows but it is heavy and a burden so this year I decided to use my Samsung S23 Ultra. Pictures are a bit too crispy/over sharpened for my taste. But convenience was superb as was the signal processing in the phone to take multiple pictures and merge to reduce noise. Image stabilization worked better than my DSLR! I think the do the job and convenience was amazing.

If you are new and not familiar with my reporting, my focus is on showing the pictures and sample music I heard.

Let's get started.

This is my first comment.
Nice coverage with good pictures and savvy comments. My suggestion would be for you to bring your own recordings (on various platform)s in order to evenly judge these systems. I have been to some of these events and, like in high end stores, they usually (not always) play what makes their systems sound best. So, carrying the same recording from room to room enables fairness, since you are familiar to these recordings, even though hearing does not offer the best memory.
To that effect, I noticed in these visits that they rarely play string quartets or orchestral music. What about Rosamunde by Schubert for a change? Then Pictures at an Exhibition as orchestrated by Maurice Ravel, or the Tomita recording.
Anyhow, your presentation made me discover new artists. Keep on the good work.

 

[Klonatans]

This is my first comment.
Nice coverage with good pictures and savvy comments. My suggestion would be for you to bring your own recordings (on various platform)s in order to evenly judge these systems. I have been to some of these events and, like in high end stores, they usually (not always) play what makes their systems sound best. So, carrying the same recording from room to room enables fairness, since you are familiar to these recordings, even though hearing does not offer the best memory.
To that effect, I noticed in these visits that they rarely play string quartets or orchestral music. What about Rosamunde by Schubert for a change? Then Pictures at an Exhibition as orchestrated by Maurice Ravel, or the Tomita recording.
Anyhow, your presentation made me discover new artists. Keep on the good work.

Why to bring your recordings if music is usually played in lossless quality from streaming platforms like Tidal or Qobuz available in most listening rooms?

 

[amirm]

Nice coverage with good pictures and savvy comments. My suggestion would be for you to bring your own recordings (on various platform)s in order to evenly judge these systems.

I have done this at some shows. It doesn't work very well:

For one thing, you have to wait until you can get them to play your clips. This means sitting there for quite a bit until they are done with their demo at times.

Then you wind up monopolizing the room with what you want to play as opposed to what they like to demo to make a living.

Some vendors would refuse to play anything from a thumbdrive. They complain about viruses, or not being able to do it.

The only time this has worked for me was with a friendly vendor where they gave me the remote to switch between my tracks. I then felt guilty with everyone else in the room having to sit and listen to my samples.

All in all, these shows are to have fun and get some info here and there. They are not for critical comparisons or evaluations.

 

[amirm]

To add, I have been quite annoyed when someone brings an LP or whatever and then insists that they play the same thing for 20 minutes. And then keep looking at the crowd as if to say, "check out my music, isn't great?" Meanwhile I am throwing up on their selection of music.

 

[Robilo]

Strange. I followed an attendee who had them play Spanish Harlem by Rebecca Pidgeon. It really provided some kind of reference going from room to room, but you are right, listening to the vendor choices offered a better spectrum. I liked "Le temps passé" de Michel Jonasz which I heard on Wilson Audio Watt Puppy (not in my budget). Anyhow, bought the album and it impresses my visitors on my mainly home made system. To this, I truly believe that a great production will sound good an an average system. Of course, a better system will add clarity, depth and so many factors.
But and oh but. Once you get hooked on this, you might fall into the system appreciation syndrome, instead of music appreciation. Meaning your music choices start to steer towards sound quality as your ears respond better to well produced media. I remember the Stereophile staff rejecting a Loreena McKennitt album from their annual choices because it did not sound good enough, while others considered it of great musical quality. You get the point.

 

[Robbo99999]

Strange. I followed an attendee who had them play Spanish Harlem by Rebecca Pidgeon. It really provided some kind of reference going from room to room, but you are right, listening to the vendor choices offered a better spectrum. I liked "Le temps passé" de Michel Jonasz which I heard on Wilson Audio Watt Puppy (not in my budget). Anyhow, bought the album and it impresses my visitors on my mainly home made system. To this, I truly believe that a great production will sound good an an average system. Of course, a better system will add clarity, depth and so many factors.
But and oh but. Once you get hooked on this, you might fall into the system appreciation syndrome, instead of music appreciation. Meaning your music choices start to steer towards sound quality as your ears respond better to well produced media. I remember the Stereophile staff rejecting a Loreena McKennitt album from their annual choices because it did not sound good enough, while others considered it of great musical quality. You get the point.

We're all here focussed on sound quality, and I think people who have been pursuing this long enough on ASR will have realised that recording quality of the song is a big factor - but then you just choose those well-recorded tracks as your reference tracks when comparing headphones/speakers/EQ's, and yes it can become all-consuming inasmuch that the pursuit for sound quality can start to dwarf musical enjoyment.......but I think once you get to a certain point you realise sound quality is not gonna get all that much better at which point you start enjoying the music, and that's when people start to become a bit less extreme about their "audio views/opinions" here on ASR.
EDIT: but of course those people would have already optimised their speakers/headphones as best they can at this point, and they would know this.

 

[CHenry]

I thank Amir for the insights, they are very informative, though not in a positive sense for me. It doesn't give me any incentive to buy anything. It rather depresses me what I see. Pointless opulence and kind of design kitsch imo.

"Opulence . . . I has it."