IsoTech had
a Titan power conditioner on silent display $4400 CN that looked like a
miniature bank vault. In an 115V circuit it is good for 1840 watts, nominal,
2300 watts continuous, and 11,500 watts for 10 millisecond transients.
Out of a room featuring JVC’s xrcd24 recorded CDs,
among other audiophile recording companies, I believe, came a young man I’ve
met a previous shows. He presented us with a couple of FIM (First
Impression Music) CD’s to audition, courtesy of Mr. Ma, whom I’ve also
had the pleasure of meeting in the past. FIM is a USA label associated with
the Japanese label LIM (Lasting Impression Music), so I guess
they get us both coming and going. The recordings are certainly first rate as
I listened to them on my reference rig at home. But what really intrigued me
was their use of the blue AVM (anti-vibration-magic) that was professionally
sprayed on the top of the CD. This gift has put a huge guilt trip on me for
not reviewing the bottles of AVM that I was given for testing at least two
years ago in Montreal. That Mr. Ma has gone to the trouble and expense to
apply this formulation to these already high-quality recordings strongly
suggests this is serious goop. I assured the young man I would bring the AVM
up to the front burner in my audio kitchen. In checking the bottle, which has
been sitting in front of me at my workstation, the blue goop seems to have a
good long shelf life, as it is still liquid. I hereby resolve…stay tuned for
a major review on vibration control and transparency in the summer issues of Enjoy
the Music.com.
Arcam electronics were making
very nice music with SA loudspeakers in a real world rig. Arcam, I
believe, is one of the British manufacturers that use the Sound Dead Steel
in their chassis construction on certain models. The Nordost Heimdall
cabling used is a more affordable version of their unobtainium models. Some
audiophiles go to extreme lengths to keep their cabling neatly arranged,
crossing only at right angles. This was not the case here.
It
has been a few years since I’ve heard a system with Gamut electronics
from Denmark. Since that time they have developed their own loudspeakers.
Walking into the Salon Lamartine was a sonic déjà vu of my own reference
system, in spite of the fact that I have different loudspeakers and my
amplifiers have tubes. The simple system here included the Gamut CD player and
their new DI 150 integrated amplifier ($9900 US), which puts out 180 wpc,
doubles down to 360 wpc into 4 ohms, and will control speaker loads down to
1.5 ohms. A smaller integrated amplifier is due out in two months and will
price out at $5500. Their loudspeaker was the L-7 three-way ($15K US) in
rosewood with 11 layers of hand polished high-gloss lacquer. The tweeter is a
1.5” ring radiator with stainless steel phase plug. The 60kHz upper limit of
this driver gives these loudspeakers a very open top end. In addition to the
smaller L-5 model ($11K, not shown), they have a more affordable Phi Series
with an interesting architecture designed to appeal to a younger audience. The
Phi 3 two-way small monitor ($2K) looked very attractive with its dual
concentric ring radiator, but was not playing. Gamut had been going
through some internal transitions in the past, but from what I heard and saw
in this room, they are certainly on track now. I’m looking forward to
hearing them in New York. This was yet another of the Best Rooms.
There
was no problem finding Audioville in Salon 3 on Level 2 this year. KEF
supplied them with a floor-to-ceiling billboard just outside the door to grab
the attention of the crowd. And the crowd came in. The room was packed with
people eager to hear the new flagship KEF 207 loudspeakers powered,
once again by the powerful Chord 750-watt monoblocks. But rather than
go with an all-Chord electronics system, the retailer mixed it up, creating an
All-Star cast. C.E.C. provided the digital transport. Chord, again,
supplied the DAC. The preamplifier was the conrad-johnson CT-5, big
brother of the sonically outstanding CT-6 I reviewed last year (click here).
And of course, the $24K CN KEFs were superb. Without even having to take down
the glass covered pictures on the front wall behind the loudspeakers, Steve
Nicola and the guys from Audioville got it really right this year.
Whether it was the more powerful Chord monoblocks, the new KEF loudspeakers,
or possibly the simple folded screen cutting the back wave behind the
loudspeakers, who knows? This will be a tough act to follow next year, as it
easily ranks high among the Best Rooms at the show.
The Coupdefoudre room was spilling out into the lobby
with very high-end loudspeakers including the Wilson Audio Duette
monitors and Watchdog subwoofer. The press on this monitor, which was designed
to play well up against a wall or on a bookshelf, had led me to believe these
were relatively small loudspeakers. And relative to the other loudspeakers in
the Wilson line, they are. But compared to most other stand mounted monitors,
they are actually quite large. Also in the hallway was a pair of Wilson
Sophia, Series 2, and the much larger Maxx, Series 2. So much for littering in
the hallway! Inside was the Wilson Watt Puppy 8 playing music like no other
Watt Puppy I’ve ever heard. Those who have been around a while remember when
the Watt Puppy came home from the dog pound for a mere four figures. Those
days are long gone with the loudspeaker now going for $34K CN, and the Watt
Puppy is a strong contender for Best of Show at Westminster. Putting humor
aside, Graeme Humfrey takes his business very seriously, and this system was
tweaked to the nines. While there was only a single leather chair in the sweet
spot, the stereo imagery and soundstage remained largely intact as I stood up
and walked around in a ten-foot diameter circle. (This was quite a large room,
btw). Sitting in that chair was not a prerequisite for recognizing the
outstanding quality of the rig and enjoying the music. Precious few systems
I’ve heard over the years have pulled this trick off so successfully. A lot
has to do with the quality of the components, for sure, and Graeme raved about
the superiority of the T+A CD player which he felt was better than
other highly regarded digital front ends which he unabashedly rattled off. He
was less forthcoming about the forest of reflective/absorptive columns placed
throughout the space behind the Watt Puppy 8 loudspeakers. I’ve seen this
approach used before, albeit with different materials or structured wood
baffles. These pillars worked better than anything I can remember, though they
will obviously require a dedicated listening room. Between the $13K CD player
and the loudspeakers were a VTL 7.5 preamplifier and VTL MB-450 Signature
monoblocks. A Brinkman Balance turntable with a Benz LP
cartridge played vinyl aided by the VTL 6.5 phonostage that is still
under development according to Graeme. Transparent cables were used in
at least part of the system, if not throughout. The system was meticulously
arranged, and the music absolutely transcended the equipment making this an
obvious pick for the Best Rooms. The room also took the award for the Best
Flower Arrangement of the show this year, but I must have been transfixed
on the music as I forgot to take a still photo of it.
Coupdefoudre also sells
equipment for those of even modest means and there were lots of examples on
the tables around the perimeter of this room. Not inexpensive was this
Pathos CD player, but someone whispered that a new model about half its size
would be released in a couple of months. I also admired the simple
architecture of the red Morel loudspeakers with the white round subwoofer.
Vidikron, Adam, and D-Box collaborated
to present what they billed as the ultimate home theater, and drew a
sufficiently long line to deter me from experiencing it. Paradigm and I
believe Anthem had a more accessible home theater demonstration. Totem
alternated a home theater demonstration with a stereo/mono music presentation
in their tent.
Continuing
with the color theme, we came across these pink ASW loudspeakers from
Germany that sounded crisp and clear, but really clashed with paint on the
wall in the lobby. A pair of pink stand mounted monitors we heard in the room
would be much easier to decorate with. Choose your color carefully. Although
these loudspeakers were all driven by solid-state equipment at the show, they
boast an efficiency of 90dB/W/m or greater, suggesting an interesting possibility
with tube amplification.
There were actually three separate systems playing in
the long, thin ASW room and much to our surprise, they were all playing the
same song — in perfect sync, no less!
To find out what was going on, we asked the Bard man.
Looking like a 1-gig flash drive sticking out of the side of a laptop computer
was a Bard USB transmitter beaming a digital music signal to each of
the three stereo rigs without using any compression. The digital
receiver for the first system was the Bard Rug Rat which is a little
box that contains a digital amplifier. The Rug Rat plugs into the wall for
electricity, and speaker cables plug into the Rug Rat, allowing it to power
the system and drive the music.
The
second rig utilized the Bard One, a circular pod powered by a wall
wart. It receives the digital signal and converts it to a line level analog
signal that is fed into the preamplifier or stereo receiver in your rig. Your
rig then takes over with its own amplifier and controls to play the music. The
third rig in the room had an identical system connection. There is also a Bard
Three, which is a digital receiver and a power amplifier that plugs
directly into your wall outlet and then connects directly into your
loudspeakers. I reported on this system as shown a year or two ago, but the
layout and demonstration at this show in Montreal made the whole thing much
more comprehensible. If you’re still confused, you might check out the
Sonneteer UK website. The obvious missing link is to have an iPod docking
station with a USB port for the Bard USB transmitter. If MSB can crack the
iPod code, perhaps the Bard can too. Then you could have the convenience and
control of your iPod at your fingertips and transmit your selected music to
any rig (room) in the house. To hell with whole-house wiring and the wanton
waste of our natural resources! This wireless gear is very cool! My
dad, who used to transmit digital Ham radio signals around the world via
satellite, would have loved it, too.
Also in the Bard/ASW room was evidence of Sonneteer’s
SedleyUSB phonostage that is powered by your computer. It allows you to
back-up your vinyl collection to your computer, as well as play back the music
files (or internet radio, or movie sound tracks) through your stereo rig. It
is a plug n play unit, complete with USB cable and recording software. At
$1900 CN, it is not cheap, but it certainly has a valid purpose.
Gutwire was set up on a table
displaying their wares where I had the pleasure of meeting Herbert Wong who
just happens to be a graduate of the University of Rochester. He showed me
their B-12 AC cable used in some of their power cords, but also available in
bulk for in-wall custom installation at $30/foot. The only other certified
in-wall ac cable specifically designed for high-end audio that I know of is
the JPS Labs cable which is heavier gage and more expensive. My
experience with the JPS cable suggests that if the run from your breaker box
is not outrageously long, this is a great idea for your dedicated line.
Target is well known for their
very reasonably priced speaker stands and wall mounted turntable shelf, but
this wall mount for bookshelf size loudspeakers raises a question. With all
the surround sound loudspeakers on the market today, has anyone examined the
importance of the contact between the loudspeaker and the wall itself? This
Target shelf offers the possibility of using two surfaces for the isolation of
vibration from the loudspeaker to the wall, and the wall to the loudspeaker.
It looks like a good test bench to me!
Also interesting were a variety of LCD wall mounts from Vantage
Point, a Canadian company that makes wall and ceiling mounts for flat
panel TVs, speaker stands, audio and video stands, component wall shelf
systems and wire covers.
In
an important related field, I came across what was a very rare presentation at
an audio show. The demonstration unit in the photo is only about a foot long,
but it easily grabbed my attention. Wilrep Ltd. has become a specialist
in sound control for buildings, whether it is new construction, building
upgrades or renovations. They had a sample of their AcoustiGuard tongue
and groove factory made sub-floor panels, as well as information on Green
Glue, a high damping compound for layering sheetrock on walls and ceilings
that offers superior low frequency sound isolation. The little demonstration
unit showed a variety of construction techniques that when used together,
result in dramatic improvements in sound isolation. They are based in
Mississauga, outside Toronto, and I’m not sure if their business card reads
“Have glue gun — will travel”. E-mail: info@wilrep.com This
information could be your salvation. As some people say, the room is the most
important component.
With a gentle rain beginning, evidence of the impending
nor’easter, I made a final sweep through the upper floors to review some of
the rooms that impressed me on Saturday. Stopping once again to the KR
Audio/Escalante Designs room I had the pleasant surprise of finding the Renaissance
Audio Electronics Opus 2 stereo amplifier inserted into the system. A
brief listening revealed the Opus 2 to be a superior sounding amplifier to the
similarly priced ($25K, US) Kronzilla DX monoblocks I had heard the previous
day. Tighter base, more open treble, better focus across the board. It is one
of the very first examples of an amplifier specifically designed to take
advantage of the new KR T-100 power tube, using two per channel. The
T-100 is one of several new tubes developed by KR that are among the very few
new tubes developed since the golden age of tube amplifiers before the
introduction of the transistor. The Opus 2 is a very sophisticated design
utilizing microprocessor controls to continuously regulate tube bias and
optimize performance. Rated at 60 wpc, pure Class A, the frequency range is
17Hz to 115kHz (+/-1dB) with less than 1 percent distortion. These are pretty
phenomenal claims for a tube amplifier, and the choice of 4, 8 and 16-Ohm
output impedance should allow you to optimize performance with a wide variety
of loudspeakers. It is a fully balanced, pure triode design with no local or
global feedback. Unfortunately, Renaissance has not yet ramped up for
production of this amplifier, but my initial exposure here suggests it is a
very high quality product. Although the designers have deep roots in the
automotive industry, don’t expect to see this amplifier as an option on
anything with wheels. As you can tell from the photo, it is massive, which
kept me from running away with it (for review purposes, of course).
We
left an hour earlier this year, hoping to keep ahead of the impending storm. I
crossed over to New York State at Cornwall for cheaper gas and to get out of
the fast traffic on the 401 as the rain began to turn to sleet. We stayed
ahead of really dreadful weather, awakening in the morning to find only an
inch of heavy white stuff. We have lived to attend another show. Accept my
apologies for missing anyone’s great equipment. See you in New York. Safe
journey.
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