Report By Rick Becker
Page 5
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Sunday
Sunday morning we reconnoitered at the press room for coffee and bagels.
Our goodbyes were tentative, not knowing if we would see each other again
later in the day, or at next year's show. The small press room,
equipped with online computers, gave us access to loved ones at home
(Linda's church burned down from lightning as I drove to NYC), and forced us
to brush elbows and enjoy camaraderie with the truly professional writers from
Stereophile. I also need to give a very warm tip of the hat to the
people who organized all this and smoothed out all the wrinkles that
inevitably occur.
Art Shapiro of Positive Feedback Online
and master bicyclist
and solver of
crossword puzzles, cum laude.
But there was still another day ahead of us, so Loren and I headed up to
the VAC & Von Schweikert room before the show opened to
avoid the line that never seemed to disappear. The “six minute”
presentation ahead of us lasted a half hour, but it was worth the wait.
The system included an Auricle CD transport, Electrocompaniet
dac, the new Valve Amplification Company (VAC) Phi Beta 110i integrated
amplifier, and the new Von Schweikert VR-4 JR loudspeaker, now finally
in production. Cabling was by Verbatim Cable, whose premium 8'
pair of bi-wire loudspeaker cable sells for about $1700. The structured
presentation opened with bells to demonstrate treble, male vocal to
demonstrate midrange, organ music to demonstrate bass, female vocal to…well,
and then a drum cut to demonstrate dynamics, and trailed off with applause and
crowd noise, which I always find especially revealing. We were then
given another moment to look at the equipment, and finally encouraged to make
room for the next group of six people. This auditioning format has its
plusses and minuses. The good news is that the room is quiet, the music
selections are in phase and revealing, and the people in the room all have a
reasonably good seat. Fortunately, I was lucky enough to grab the second
row center where the loudspeakers were toed in right at my ears.
It should be no surprise to anyone who endured the line to get in, that
this was one of the best rooms at the show. The VAC amplifier was
gorgeous and represents the new aesthetic direction of designer Kevin Hayes'
latest Phi series. It is contemporary in its use of metal, and retro
with its exposed tubes, etched logo on the glass faceplate, and beveled glass
top with circular ventilation holes…not to forget the meter in the lower
center of the faceplate. It could be proudly displayed with virtually
any décor.
The VR-4jr represents a new high water mark in design from Von Schweikert,
also. Gone are the black fabric sides, replaced by fine Chinese
cabinetry that rivals the best furniture I have seen from that country.
It is still a two box, bi-wire design with all the Ambience Retrieval and
Global Axis Integration engineering that Von Schweikert is famous for, but he
has reached a level in his career where he is able to control production and
quality of virtually every component in the loudspeaker, eliminating
compromise. Overall, the actual dimensions and satin finished cabinetry
make it appear considerably smaller than the original VR-4, which should allow
it to gain entry to far more homes. And if people buy with their ears
rather than their bank accounts, this loudspeaker will find its way into very
fine systems. At $4000/pr, it will shake up the status quo.
Of course, this opinion is based on a very short exposure to this system,
but my experience of more than half a dozen Von Schweikert loudspeaker over
the past twelve years, as well as several VAC powered systems, convinced me
that neither manufacturer was holding the other back. In the hallway I
had an opportunity to renew my acquaintance with Albert and discuss this new
phase of his career. Unfortunately, Kevin drifted away before I could
talk with him.
And as luck would have it, who should come along but my editor, Steven R. Rochlin, doing his best to blend in with the New York crowd. Shown in
the photo above (left to right) are Kevin Hayes (VAC), Albert Von Schweikert, Steven's lady
friend Dee, and Steven himself with his pet Severe Macaw parrot Billie (named after Billie Holiday) on his
shoulder. If my mother knew I was working for a pirate, she'd throw
lightning bolts at me. In fact, I think she did on my way home after the
show.
Concourse (basement)
From there, I dropped down to catch the larger demonstration rooms in the
Concourse level. Tenor Audio amplifiers are very familiar to me
from the Montreal show and here I had another opportunity to listen to the 300
Hp monoblocks ($37K), this time driving Epiphany Audio's model 12-12
loudspeaker ($14,900), supplemented by their E-Cube subwoofer (16Hz to 150Hz,
with a crossover @ 30Hz, $6400). The subwoofer is 25” cubed and
houses dual 18” drivers. The front end was the now familiar (to me)
modified Phillips CD player as transport feeding the EMM Labs
DAC/pre-amplifier. This was a big system in a big room and it sounded quite
good. The Epiphany loudspeaker were quite a hit in Las Vegas at the CES,
according to Ken Gates, and his new company should find a toe-hold if the
demand for large line source loudspeaker continues. While it is
difficult to ignore a loudspeaker this size, with its double row of drivers,
the gorgeous veneer goes a long way toward making it acceptable for the
expensive homes in which it will likely be found. The dark macasser
ebony from tree farms in Malaysia also helped to minimize the visual size.
The sound stage was tall and deep, as you would expect, and the music was very
dynamic with a 300-watt monoblock driving a loudspeaker with 95dB sensitivity.
If the room had had better acoustic treatments, it would have been one of the
best rigs at the show. Loren certainly thought it was.
JVC took another large room in the Concourse to show off a large
screen filled with their D-ILA video projector, and I have to go along with
Chris Boylan and say this was outstanding. Operating on the theory that
size matters, they chose to fill a very large screen. Personally, I
thought the presentation would have been a lot better if they had shrunk the
image to pick up more brightness. But what made this projector so
outstanding was the complete absence of grain and the excellent subtle shading
and detail in dark, shadowy scenes. I recall the price being $30K, but a
quick check on the net suggests other, more affordable D-ILA projectors are
available.
I will also mention that I did not have time to catch the Sony home
theater presentation that probably showcased their Qualia SXRD projector.
Hopefully another reviewer will be able to offer a comparison.
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High-Performance Audio Reviews
