unclemack Posted July 2, 2016 Posted July 2, 2016 Queuing up with the faithful. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 3
Equaliser Posted July 2, 2016 Posted July 2, 2016 Thanks for the brief impressions, I'll be making a visit tomorrow and looking forward to a few select rooms I've had my eyes on for a while.
blybo Posted July 2, 2016 Posted July 2, 2016 Queuing up with the faithful. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Serves you right for being late . I walked straight up to the service counter at 4pm yesterday. Now stuck in my shop looking for new threads but everybody is already there...
MrMojo Posted July 2, 2016 Posted July 2, 2016 I spent a couple of hours at the show yesterday. Overall, it was a good experience, getting to know some new exceptional products and also getting a chance to say hello to some fellow SNA members. I have mixed impressions about what I saw at the show, some quite impressive indeed where as others underwhelming and disappointing. The venue itself, while spacious and well organized (credit to Marc and his team), was far from ideal for careful listening. The rooms were too close to each other and I could hear the music and noise from outside and other rooms. That made it really difficult to actually judge anything being played. Also, I was rather surprised with the general lack of effort in terms of room treatment and system set up. There were a few rooms that were well set up with acoustic panels etc, but most did not have anything at all! I also felt that most of the systems were not tuned to their full potential and the choice of music didn't help this either. I wouldn't name the systems that I was not impressed with, as I do not think that their performance was a true reflection but rather was limited and hampered by the factors I mentioned above. I would like to mention the systems I really liked and were highlight of the show for me. The best by a huge margin was the Bowers and Wilkins room demonstrating the new 802 D3 with Classe amplification. Sublime sound with everything one could hope for. I may just have got a pair of speakers to dream about! And then there was the Melody room creating a concert hall level sound stage and dynamics with the mighty JBL Everest and their own rather big and beautifully crafted amplification. I had never seen valves that big ever before. Looking at the pictures of the amps, I would have never guessed their size! Grand and dynamic are the words that come to mind when I think of the sound in that room. The Wyndham Audio room was another one that was really impressive. I really liked the sound of the new BR3 speakers, very well balanced and beautiful vocals and mids. The bass too was clean and perfect despite not having the perfect room. And then there were CH2 speakers, hugely impressive as always. My sincere congratulations to the Wyndham Audio team for they have really produced remarkably great speakers for reasonable prices. Osborn Speakers demo was just one of the many that were limited by less than ideal set up and bad room. Guess the room was too small for their Grand Monuments. Though I really liked the AM audio amplification from what I could here. Interestingly, it was the other room with their smaller speakers Eclipse and with more affordable Consonance amplification that I liked better. Perhaps the room was better suited for speakers of that size. Really nice sound with hug scale and dynamics. The Consonance amplification is probably the best value for money there is. And I know that for sure as I now own a Consonance amplifier myself. If you are looking for a great tube amp for very reasonable money, you owe yourself a visit to Mr Osborn's to have a listen. 5
Hergest Posted July 2, 2016 Posted July 2, 2016 Just having a cuppa after spending ages in the Telos room. My word it is stupendously good in there whether with the Studer or the Dohlmann. Bloody Tin Pan Alley twice in other rooms. Did Stevie Ray Vaughn really only release one damn song? 2
Capone Posted July 2, 2016 Posted July 2, 2016 Tin pan alley is a great song, but yes there are plenty of other great tracks out there Dont be shy on the eye candy shots! 1
Hergest Posted July 2, 2016 Posted July 2, 2016 (edited) I've never uploaded from my phone. This might be the Dohmann tt Edited July 2, 2016 by Hergest 5
blybo Posted July 2, 2016 Posted July 2, 2016 Only photo I took yesterday. One of the nicest sounding rooms and heard a great live LP with excellent dynamics Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 10
bebop Posted July 2, 2016 Posted July 2, 2016 (edited) Audio Note room yet again for me this show. As the Thirsty Merc song goes, "Someday, someday". The Gear Box vinyl Bryan was selling are also very interesting. Bought a Mark Murphy one and it's very very nice. Edited July 2, 2016 by bebop 1
WhoRu? Posted July 2, 2016 Posted July 2, 2016 Just goes to show, horses for courses. Some rooms mentioned as best sound in this thread I found horrible and unlistenable. I personally enjoyed the music in the Audio Note room and the sound in the PMG room with the Airforce TT 3
blybo Posted July 2, 2016 Posted July 2, 2016 (edited) Just goes to show, horses for courses. Some rooms mentioned as best sound in this thread I found horrible and unlistenable. I personally enjoyed the music in the Audio Note room and the sound in the PMG room with the Airforce TT PMG room was my biggest disappointment, huge room mode issues, bass was a mess. Speakers were also a tad blingy for my tastes The Audio Note room had some boring instrumental almost ambient track on when @@Sierra and I were in there. Track was at 5 minute mark when we sat down, close to 12 minutes when I thought, bugger this, couldn't make any conclusions. Edited July 2, 2016 by blybo 2
holliswhy Posted July 2, 2016 Posted July 2, 2016 PMG room was my biggest disappointment, huge room mode issues, bass was a mess. Speakers were also a tad blingy for my tastes The Audio Note room had some boring instrumental almost ambient track on when @@Sierra and I were in there. Track was at 5 minute mark when we sat down, close to 12 minutes when I thought, bugger this, couldn't make any conclusions. The PMG room was great. Warwick did a good job. There were lovely sparkle at the top, clear mids, and soul in the music. I agree with the bass being a bit messy, but it's a small hotel room. Audio note always presents music. If the music isn't your taste, don't blame the gear.... 4
holliswhy Posted July 2, 2016 Posted July 2, 2016 Audio Note room yet again for me this show. As the Thirsty Merc song goes, "Someday, someday". The Gear Box vinyl Bryan was selling are also very interesting. Bought a Mark Murphy one and it's very very nice. Same. Some day. Someday. M3 conqueror will do me. 1
blybo Posted July 2, 2016 Posted July 2, 2016 (edited) The PMG room was great. Warwick did a good job. There were lovely sparkle at the top, clear mids, and soul in the music. I agree with the bass being a bit messy, but it's a small hotel room. Audio note always presents music. If the music isn't your taste, don't blame the gear.... I didn't blame the gear! If Arthur Rappos wasn't in the PMG room, I wouldn't have lasted very long in there, again perhaps the track listening to was the culprit, but it was the worst "room" of the show for me, I'm sure the equipment is not at fault though. We can only judge by what we hear, not how pretty or expensive the gear is Edited July 2, 2016 by blybo 2
unclemack Posted July 2, 2016 Posted July 2, 2016 (edited) @@djb in not quite his favourite spot. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Edited July 2, 2016 by unclemack 4
scuzzii Posted July 2, 2016 Posted July 2, 2016 Only photo I took yesterday. One of the nicest sounding rooms and heard a great live LP with excellent dynamics Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Awesome!!!! And great to read it was one of the nicest sounding Sent from my SM-G925I using Tapatalk 2
Saxon Hall Posted July 2, 2016 Posted July 2, 2016 I didn't blame the gear! If Arthur Rappos wasn't in the PMG room, I wouldn't have lasted very long in there, again perhaps the track listening to was the culprit, but it was the worst "room" of the show for me, I'm sure the equipment is not at fault though. We can only judge by what we hear, not how pretty or expensive the gear is I might sound like a philistine here but I actually go to look more than listen. People are yabbering away constantly, there is air conditioning noise, leakage from other rooms and so on. Sometimes the stars align and you really get a sense of the sound and that is a bonus. In the Melody room it was not only visual but I also loved the sound. It was awe inspiring. I actually congratulated one of the hosts on going to the supreme effort of setting it all up. It was a visual and sensory feast. Can't even remember whether there was much in the way of room treatment but I would not care anyway. Where else would you see all that gear in one spot? 6
Grumpy Posted July 2, 2016 Posted July 2, 2016 Instead of clicking ' like' on all the posts here l will say a big 'LIKE' for all: thank you for sharing 3
Guest JohnA Posted July 2, 2016 Posted July 2, 2016 Instead of clicking ' like' on all the posts here l will say a big 'LIKE' for all: thank you for sharing was thinking the exact same thing
blybo Posted July 2, 2016 Posted July 2, 2016 (edited) I might sound like a philistine here but I actually go to look more than listen. People are yabbering away constantly, there is air conditioning noise, leakage from other rooms and so on. Sometimes the stars align and you really get a sense of the sound and that is a bonus. In the Melody room it was not only visual but I also loved the sound. It was awe inspiring. I actually congratulated one of the hosts on going to the supreme effort of setting it all up. It was a visual and sensory feast. Can't even remember whether there was much in the way of room treatment but I would not care anyway. Where else would you see all that gear in one spot? I know where you are coming from, the Melody room was a visual treat, as were the Kharma speakers, both rooms may as well been static displays when I was in them, the show was winding down I guess. Edited July 2, 2016 by blybo
Guest Posted July 2, 2016 Posted July 2, 2016 Stop posting pictures wed hate to see more of the gear :-)
Saxon Hall Posted July 2, 2016 Posted July 2, 2016 Stop posting pictures wed hate to see more of the gear :-) There are a lot of handy snappers going today so I reckon you will be in for a visual feast soon enough. I have just bought myself a new fangled phone and the snaps I took were not up to scratch. It was not the phones fault it was mine 1
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