A brief over view of T.H.E. Show at Newport 2013

Andre Marc

Member Sponsor
Mar 14, 2012
3,970
7
0
San Diego
www.avrev.com
Here is a brief over view of what I saw the 2013 Newport show:

I'm going to spare you the usual suspects..Wilson, YG, Audio Research, Sonus Faber, Vandy, etc.

-As Dr. Williams said, the KEF LS50 was a showstopper. Driven by modest Parasound solid state electronics to boot.

-The Magico S1/Constellation combo was very good indeed. Bass articulation, resolution, and stereo imaging were exceptional.

-The MBL room was really, really good. Playing tape did not hurt. Master tape dubs supplied by record companies. Remarkable sound.

-The Music First room was beautiful sounding. Music First passive linestage, Reel to Reel, a Music Reference tube amp, and Audio Note speakers. Not
usually a huge fan of Audio Note, but they had them set up pretty well.

-As usual, the Roger Sanders ESL's sounded excellent with his own amps and electronics.

-The Collleen Cardas room with Opera speakers/Unison Research tube electronics sounded natural and musical.

-The Gene Rubin/Fidelis room was outstanding, with Harbeth M30.1s, LFD amplification, and assorted. Played lots of vinyl.
 

Andre Marc

Member Sponsor
Mar 14, 2012
3,970
7
0
San Diego
www.avrev.com
thanks, Andre! Getting good sound in a little hotel room is not easy, but Stephen said that he really felt he nailed it with this show's set up.

Cheers,
Angela

Hi Angela. Show conditions are never easy, but the RS rooms always seem to
get it right!

They very well could be my next and last speaker when I have a room that can
accommodate them.
 

puroagave

Member Sponsor
Sep 29, 2011
1,345
45
970
-As Dr. Williams said, the KEF LS50 was a showstopper. Driven by modest Parasound solid state electronics to boot.

-The Magico S1/Constellation combo was very good indeed. Bass articulation, resolution, and stereo imaging were exceptional.

-The MBL room was really, really good. Playing tape did not hurt. Master tape dubs supplied by record companies. Remarkable sound.

-As usual, the Roger Sanders ESL's sounded excellent with his own amps and electronics.

-The Collleen Cardas room with Opera speakers/Unison Research tube electronics sounded natural and musical.

-The Gene Rubin/Fidelis room was outstanding, with Harbeth M30.1s, LFD amplification, and assorted. Played lots of vinyl.

completey agree, those were all good sounding rooms (i didnt hear the Music first suite). Peter from Venice Audio also got great sound out of the harbeth m30.1 with line magnetic tube amps/well tempered front end. re the opera/unison set-up, Colleen mentioned the entire system with analog and digital front ends (TT/cartridge & cpd) amp and speakers came in at $20k w/o cables. Considering the excellent SQ, surely it was the best bang for the buck for a comlete system.

I liked the Kef LS50 a lot but for their ying-yang character, they'll bite back with bright recordings. when they're fed a good signal they can approach SOTA.
 

Andre Marc

Member Sponsor
Mar 14, 2012
3,970
7
0
San Diego
www.avrev.com
completey agree, those were all good sounding rooms (i didnt hear the Music first suite). Peter from Venice Audio also got great sound out of the harbeth m30.1 with line magnetic tube amps/well tempered front end. re the opera/unison set-up, Colleen mentioned the entire system with analog and digital front ends (TT/cartridge & cpd) amp and speakers came in at $20k w/o cables. Considering the excellent SQ, surely it was the best bang for the buck for a comlete system.

I liked the Kef LS50 a lot but for their ying-yang character, they'll bite back with bright recordings. when they're fed a good signal they can approach SOTA.

Yes, tremendous bang for the buck in the Colleen Cardas room.

Both Marc an Colleen do a really great job with their lines and know their stuff!
 

About us

  • What’s Best Forum is THE forum for high end audio, product reviews, advice and sharing experiences on the best of everything else. This is THE place where audiophiles and audio companies discuss vintage, contemporary and new audio products, music servers, music streamers, computer audio, digital-to-analog converters, turntables, phono stages, cartridges, reel-to-reel tape machines, speakers, headphones and tube and solid-state amplification. Founded in 2010 What’s Best Forum invites intelligent and courteous people of all interests and backgrounds to describe and discuss the best of everything. From beginners to life-long hobbyists to industry professionals, we enjoy learning about new things and meeting new people, and participating in spirited debates.

Quick Navigation

User Menu

Steve Williams
Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator
Ron Resnick
Site Co-Owner | Administrator
Julian (The Fixer)
Website Build | Marketing Managersing