Keith_W
Major Contributor
I was the unofficial and self-appointed reporter for ASR at the StereoNet Australia (SNA) audio show today. Obviously, at the show I am unable to take measurements, so I will provide subjective listening impressions only, along with some points of discussion. I took this attitude to the show: (1) I was forgiving of boomy bass because of show conditions and limitations of where I was able to listen. I was not forgiving of lack of bass, because I was able to move around enough to ensure I was not in a null zone, so it meant that the speaker was not producing it; (2) I listened first and asked questions later to avoid colouring my judgement, but this was not possible with all products because I already knew some of them by reputation and even seen the measurements; (3) I was there to enjoy myself and socialize and not on a special mission from ASR so this report isn't as detailed as it should be.
Sound Gallery is a premium hi-fi dealer in Melbourne. They had one of the larger rooms and had the Wilson Audio Sasha and Linn loudspeakers on display. They were driven by D'Agostino and Gryphon electronics. When I went in, the Wilsons were playing and the place was absolutely packed. Wilsons sound like Wilsons - what I liked was the tactility of the bass, it feels like a punch to the chest. What I did not like was the overly bright top end. The room had enough people in it to act as living bass absorbers so it had fewer issues than some of the other rooms. It was a good demonstration of Wilson's capabilities ... if you like Wilson. I don't. I did not have a chance to hear the Linns.
I did not get the name of the speaker, I think it was Klipsch Heritage. It was easily the worst system in the show. It sounded like a PA system, all smeared together with poor stereo separation and with its only redeeming quality being able to go loud. The room was one of the larger rooms in the show, and it was empty - thus proving that everyone else thought the same.
This is Kim Ryrie from DEQX giving an explanation of the new Pre-8 active crossover / room correction / DSP-in-a-box (similar to MiniDSP). This is definitely a product that will be of interest to members of ASR, so I will post a separate thread. The system was belonged to Alan Langford (Alan and Kim are the founders / engineers of DEQX) and consisted of his own 3-way DIY speakers, a pair of subwoofers, and Purifi Class D amps which he DIY'ed, stuffed into spare DEQX boxes and will not bring to market. Every year there are at least a couple of DEQX based systems in the show (given that DEQX is an Australian company), but this year only DEQX themselves were exhibiting the product. The sound was superb, as you would expect from an engineer who knows what he is doing.
This is Bill McLean (a well known local dealer) showing off Magnepan speakers driven by Sanders Magtech amps and REL subwoofers. He was using DBX digital room correction (you can see the mic in the corner). A pleasant surprise was that more and more exhibitors were using DRC to overcome the limitations of the rooms. The Magnepans were not as directional as I thought they would be, and they still sounded balanced even when I deliberately moved around the room. I visited quite a few times, they did an excellent job with the demo with seamless integration with the sub. I don't know how much of an objectivist Bill is, but he certainly talks like one, e.g. "DBX is used by pros for correcting bass in concerts, we should be using it more at home". The glowing cable is decoration, not speaker cable.
This was another pretty empty room ("empty room" is my euphemism for "everyone thought it sounded awful") featuring Microphase speakers, an Australian hi-fi brand. I didn't like them, I thought they badly needed a subwoofer and there was an obvious tilt towards the treble.
Sonus Faber and McIntosh are quite popular here in Australia and there was absolutely nothing wrong with this demo. It was mostly free of room issues, and sounded lovely. Every room like this (these were identical hotel rooms) had an audibly boomy bass around 100Hz or so and this room was no exception, but this room was less boomy than others. It was probably because of the huge gaggle of people in that room - I walked in and claimed the sweet spot since the room was half full and I was lucky to see it vacated just as I walked in. When the track I requested started playing, I turned around and the room was packed.
I did not get the model numbers of these Martin-Logan speakers driven by Anthem and also featuring digital room correction. I was amazed by the sound of the little bookshelf, and even more amazed to learn of its price - AUD$3500. They were able to convincingly project scale and do low bass very well.
Sound Gallery is a premium hi-fi dealer in Melbourne. They had one of the larger rooms and had the Wilson Audio Sasha and Linn loudspeakers on display. They were driven by D'Agostino and Gryphon electronics. When I went in, the Wilsons were playing and the place was absolutely packed. Wilsons sound like Wilsons - what I liked was the tactility of the bass, it feels like a punch to the chest. What I did not like was the overly bright top end. The room had enough people in it to act as living bass absorbers so it had fewer issues than some of the other rooms. It was a good demonstration of Wilson's capabilities ... if you like Wilson. I don't. I did not have a chance to hear the Linns.
I did not get the name of the speaker, I think it was Klipsch Heritage. It was easily the worst system in the show. It sounded like a PA system, all smeared together with poor stereo separation and with its only redeeming quality being able to go loud. The room was one of the larger rooms in the show, and it was empty - thus proving that everyone else thought the same.
This is Kim Ryrie from DEQX giving an explanation of the new Pre-8 active crossover / room correction / DSP-in-a-box (similar to MiniDSP). This is definitely a product that will be of interest to members of ASR, so I will post a separate thread. The system was belonged to Alan Langford (Alan and Kim are the founders / engineers of DEQX) and consisted of his own 3-way DIY speakers, a pair of subwoofers, and Purifi Class D amps which he DIY'ed, stuffed into spare DEQX boxes and will not bring to market. Every year there are at least a couple of DEQX based systems in the show (given that DEQX is an Australian company), but this year only DEQX themselves were exhibiting the product. The sound was superb, as you would expect from an engineer who knows what he is doing.
This is Bill McLean (a well known local dealer) showing off Magnepan speakers driven by Sanders Magtech amps and REL subwoofers. He was using DBX digital room correction (you can see the mic in the corner). A pleasant surprise was that more and more exhibitors were using DRC to overcome the limitations of the rooms. The Magnepans were not as directional as I thought they would be, and they still sounded balanced even when I deliberately moved around the room. I visited quite a few times, they did an excellent job with the demo with seamless integration with the sub. I don't know how much of an objectivist Bill is, but he certainly talks like one, e.g. "DBX is used by pros for correcting bass in concerts, we should be using it more at home". The glowing cable is decoration, not speaker cable.
This was another pretty empty room ("empty room" is my euphemism for "everyone thought it sounded awful") featuring Microphase speakers, an Australian hi-fi brand. I didn't like them, I thought they badly needed a subwoofer and there was an obvious tilt towards the treble.
Sonus Faber and McIntosh are quite popular here in Australia and there was absolutely nothing wrong with this demo. It was mostly free of room issues, and sounded lovely. Every room like this (these were identical hotel rooms) had an audibly boomy bass around 100Hz or so and this room was no exception, but this room was less boomy than others. It was probably because of the huge gaggle of people in that room - I walked in and claimed the sweet spot since the room was half full and I was lucky to see it vacated just as I walked in. When the track I requested started playing, I turned around and the room was packed.
I did not get the model numbers of these Martin-Logan speakers driven by Anthem and also featuring digital room correction. I was amazed by the sound of the little bookshelf, and even more amazed to learn of its price - AUD$3500. They were able to convincingly project scale and do low bass very well.
