Los Angeles Audio Show 2017 Report
LAAS 2017 Show Report Part 2

  One of my fave sounding rooms at HIGH END 2017 in Munich has come to LAAS 2017! VAC once again teams up with Von Schweikert and the results are stunning! But first, here's what they had at LAAS 2017 in the Room 214.

Kronos Pro – Turntable – Kronos Audio - $38,000
SCPS-1 – Power Supply – Kronos Audio - $13,500
Black Beauty – Tonearm – Andre Theriault- $8,500
Ultimate 4D – Cartridge – ZYX Audio- $4,400
Rebuilt Technics 1520 – Reel to Reel – J-Corder - $14,000
N10 – Music Server – Aurender - $8,000
Golden Gate – Digital Audio Converter – Lampizator - $20,000
Statement – Phono Stage – VAC - $80,000
Statement – Line Stage – VAC - $75,000
Statement 450 iQ – Monoblock Power Amplifiers – VAC - $120,000/pr.
ULTRA 11 – Loudspeaker – Von Schweikert Audio - $295,000/pr.
Shockwave V12 – Subwoofer – Von Schweikert Audio - $11,500/ea.
Ultra Line – Interconnects, Power Cords and Speaker Cables – MasterBuilt Audio
ASC - TubeTrap – Room Conditioning – Acoustic Sciences Corp
(IsoThermal TubeTraps 13x4 - $757 ea./ 20x4 - $854 ea.)
Exoteryc – 4-shelf Rack – Artesania Audio - $7,000
Exoteryc – 3+3 tandem Rack – Artesania Audio - $10,000
Exoteryc – Turntable Platform – Artesania Audio - $3,400
Aire Platform – Monoblock Platforms – Artesania Audio - $3,700/ea.

Of course you want to know how the system sounded, and here i can report it was truly extraordinary! All music, all the time, and loved it! Clean, smooth, very musical with glorious accuracy as you'd expect from Kronos / VAC / Von Schweikert. Once again, as in Munich, it was one of my fave rooms and yes indeed, that means Best Sound At LAAS 2017.

Walking from great sound to jaw-dropping sound, both being equal so don't overly analyze things dear reader, is the GTT Audio, Kubala-Sosna and YG Acoustics room. First up, here's the listing of gear:

YG Acoustics Sonja 1.2 Speakers - $72,800/pair
Audionet PRE-G2 Preamp - $23,350 
Audionet MAX Monoblock Amplifiers - $30,500/pair
Audionet PAM G2 Phono Stage - $10,100
Audionet EPX Power Supply - $10,100
Audionet Planck CD Player - $18,800
Audionet Ampere Power Supply - $11,200
Kronos Pro Turntable - $38,000
Kronos Black Beauty Tonearm - $10,000
Kronos SCPS-1 Power Supply - $13,500
Air Tight Opus 1 Cartridge - $15,000
Kubala-Sosna Realization Speaker Cables - $10,000 1st 
meter/$1,800 each add'l meter
Kubala-Sosna Realization Interconnects - $10,000 1st 
meter/$1,800 each add'l meter
Kubala-Sosna Realization Power Cables - $2,800 1st 
meter/$600 each add'l meter

As for the sound, OMG YG Acoustics have done it again with their Sonja 1.2 speakers! You'd expect this given the care and time they take with each and every component. From custom drivers to well-designed crossovers, YG Acoustics keeps producing would-class speakers. Driven by Audionet front-end gear and cabling by world-class Kubala-Sosna, they spared no expense to achieve exceedingly exceptional sound at LAAS 2017. Without a doubt one of the Best Sounding Rooms at LAAS 2017. Bravo gentlemen! 

And who do we have here? Is it an intergalactic alien working on repairing the Mother Ship? Perhaps a new life form that caters to audiophiles? Maybe a mix of both as Josh was at LAAS 2017 handcrafting Kimber Kable's Monoclear XL speaker cables ($1700 for 8 foot pair). While the geek in me loved the parts bin, i also noticed that WBT and other super high quality parts were on offer as Josh crafted some of the best cables within the industry. Of note is that i personally use Kimber Kables within both home systems and my car as well to achieve the best in Hi-Res Audio. And before you laugh about my car, i custom installed Focal speakers, redid the wiring, added Dynamat to the door/car surfaces, and yes a special powered subwoofer too. While some audiophiles might poo-poo car audio, once you hear a great car audio sound system, wired by Kimber Kables, you'll start wondering how you ever drove without terrific tunes. Of course home audio is our playground, and Kimber Kables work wonders there too. Kimber Kables was chosen by none other than powerhouse Sony for their top-line Hi-Res Audio portable audio players. Love it! 

---> Onward to part 3 of our LAAS 2017 show report.

---> Back to LAAS 2017 show report homepage.