Yes, you will (ahem -- well... yes, you should...). Enquiring (and/or inquiring) minds want to know.The last of my lowlights was a big, wide horn speaker with double woofers next to each other. I'll have to look up the model and room number later since my family is waiting for me.
That's a bummer. They had a really nice setup when I attended a couple years ago. Their current speakers are nothing like the ones from 25 years ago, when I purchased my VR3s. The current ones are far more massive, and they went in a completely different direction on the cabinet construction. The entry point for a floorstander was around $10k if I remember correctly.Now for some lowlights:
The most disappointing room for me was the Von Schweikert room. I heard the Ultra 11s a couple years ago, and I thought they sounded awesome. At that time, the only real issue they had was excessive bass. Other than that everything was really dialed in. This time the sound was piercing and female vocals sounded very harsh. I made a note that something was probably set up incorrectly, and I should come back. I went back later and they weren't playing anything. Maybe they were fixing something... I'm not sure. What they played when I was there never should have been played for the public. I truly hope they got everything sorted, because I do believe the Ultra 11s are a very capable speaker, and the company is capable of some extraordinary sound. It would have been interesting to be able to compare the 11s to the perlistens and BMR towers if they managed the sound I know they are capable of. I know I'm not the only one who assessed the room poorly. Does anyone know if they got things sorted out?
Apparently the speaker was the JBL Everest Horn-Loaded loudspeaker. I'm not sure what room it was in. It wasn't one I had planned on checking out since I know I don't typically like the sound of horn speakers.Yes, you will (ahem -- well... yes, you should...). Enquiring (and/or inquiring) minds want to know.
Heard these today and the female vocal in a duet was indeed harsh. I did not like them at all. Weirdly, it was very difficult to find a place in the center where it didnt seem like all the volume was coming from one Ultra. I kept moving around and finally at least got them balanced in terms of volume, but never a stable image. It was very distracting to the point where I can't recall the tracks that were played. I heard the 55s earlier in the day and they seemed very pleasant and had a nice tonal quality. They were playing Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker.Does anyone know if they got things sorted out?
I think a lot of such reactions are influenced by visual bias.Perlistens - As @BenB pointed out, the tweeter is in the middle and low. I got down to ear height and it was even better. Problem is that was not a normal sitting position for me. I don't own chairs to get me that low and I'm short
How did the magicos stack up? I've heard good things about that brandHighlights from today: I spent more time listening to the Salk BePur 2. At least that was the name today after being unnamed Friday. Satori Beryllium tweeter and dual purifi drivers, clever eh? Well, they are fantastic and had a handwritten price of $6295 for the pair. Available on the website in the next week or so. Clarity and no distortion; no issues whatsoever. I clearly liked them more than the Perlistens today ( more on that later). Leaving the room I asked Jim Salk if he did the crossover in-house and he told me Dennis Murphy did it. That shouldn't surprise me since Dennis' BMR towers were my favorite of the show! I also got to listen to the Salk 9.5s this afternoon. Really impressed with those as well. They play big and warm/full whereas the BePurs disappeared. Bonus that I happened to listen to the same SRV track Couldn't Stand the Weather to compare the BePur2 to the 9.5
Perlistens - As @BenB pointed out, the tweeter is in the middle and low. I got down to ear height and it was even better. Problem is that was not a normal sitting position for me. I don't own chairs to get me that low and I'm short. Still, they were excellent and if you want THX SPL they're your huckleberry.
A surprise for me today was Joseph Audio. I heard the graphene bookshelves on Friday and they were unremarkable and sounded recessed. Today I heard them in a different room in a different orientation and was impressed. Set up wide and shallow today vs. Long orientation on Friday (seems a couple different dealers showcasing them). I also listened to the larger 20/20s in one of the big rooms early this morning and at the end and I liked them both times. I like my speakers flatter (or brighter) than many folks so I'm wondering if they measure that way. Also wonder if the midwoofers are point source drivers. In any event they look the part of a high end speaker with their finish. Props to set-up s and track choices that showed them at their best. The Joseph's would be speakers that I'd personally want to audition for a long time because I suspect they could be fatiguing being they're attention getters. Be fun to find out though but who am I kidding, they're crazy expensive.
not a highlight but I gave the NOLAs another chance today and they were pleasant easy listeners if you don't like bass. Music selections avoided it (Paul Simon) but sounded good in room that was tough (only a half a room sidewise oriented to the left in a huge room). Small drivers can only do so much in a floorstander but I can see why chanteuse loving audiophiles might like them.
Lowlights: unfortunately a lot. The big TAD room was horrendous, an echoey, boomy mess as bad as an empty basketball court. The TADs in the small hotel room were underwhelming and boomy too. Giant Borresons were way too forward and shouty. I tried both days and had to get out of there quickly each time. Larsen to me was unlistenable - probably have to be set up just so and I still don't think I'd like them. Audio NEC sounded like they were broken and the room was unoccupied every time I passed by. Spatial was dull today too (dull piano on Friday), and the music selection seemed to always have one instrument per track only. The B&Ws again were too bright and unpleasant for me from the get-go making me think they were poorly set up, but I clearly don't enjoy them.
This was my first Audio show and I really enjoyed it and learned a lot. Evidently I'm a big fan of Dennis Murphy. If I had to rank the top I'd say BMR Tower, Salk BePur, Salk 9.5, Perlisten S7, BMR monitor ,Joseph towers and then bookshelves.
I just started my own DIY designs and the well implemented towers have spurred me to rethink my approach, which is a good thing. Just great to be out and able to listen to some great and not so great designs. Thanks to the organizers and exhibitors for pressing forward.
Salk Sound has now listed the BePur 2s. https://salksound.com/model.php?model=BePure+2I was unfortunately only about to make it for a couple hours on one of the days, but my highlights were:
- Salk room - those purifi speakers sounded so clean! Jim is a great guy to talk to, too
- Philharmonic Audio room - glad to see both Dennis and alexis there, oh and the speakers sounded good too. Lots of "omg how can I buy this right now" reactions from people in the room
- The headamp corner was like a mini canjam - lots of super nice headphones to sample there, including the Dan Clark Audio Stealth that's been so discussed here
Lowlights:
- Snake oil cables everywhere and people drooling over them and using words like "transient response" lol
- Hideously expensive speakers that either sounded terrible or were really bright to give them that "audio show tingle"
Spotted at the show: Michael Fremer and zeos
Just a small clarification. The StreamPlayer is a Core i7 device (may be Core i9 soon). The Raspberry Pi reference was to the small 7" screen that displayed album art and information about the track being played. While it was capable of starting and stopping playback, it was simply monitoring the output of the StreamPlayer and was not connected to the audio stream.Just about even with the Perlisten were some yet to be named towers by Jim Salk in room 512. Dual purifis with a Beryllium tweeter (don't know which one) and a 4 inch rear port. Jim said they are working on a slot port design too, and he's thinking these will retail for about $6K (a pair I believe). Right off the bat I just really enjoyed the tonality and how they sounded natural without struggling, plus went surprisingly low. I know how the Purifis measure but it's like a magician doing a trick. I didn't get as much time as I would have liked with them to hear more challenging tracks (thought I heard a resonance in one but not sure, could have been the recording), which I hope to do Sunday. Jim also had a pair of 9.5s on the side of the room that I hope he showcases on Sunday. Points for Salk: after a bunch of woo woo rooms I visited he was playing tracks with the Salk Streamer that he was quick to tell someone who asked that it is Raspberry Pi 3(+?).
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Thanks for correcting my mistake. Didn't mean to lead folks astray. And thanks again for a great room and experience at CAF.Just a small clarification. The StreamPlayer is a Core i7 device (may be Core i9 soon). The Raspberry Pi reference was to the small 7" screen that displayed album art and information about the track being played. While it was capable of starting and stopping playback, it was simply monitoring the output of the StreamPlayer and was not connected to the audio stream.
- Jim