The best show report yet!

Peter Breuninger

[Industry Expert] Member Sponsor
Jul 20, 2010
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This is the best show report we have ever done. It's done in the style of the FOX football broadcasters, Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long, Michael Strahan, and Jimmy Johnson (for you US football fans). Herb was late so we started without him. He comes in at 13 minutes and does a fine job and adds a good deal of humanity to the discussions. It's almost an hour long and many topics are covered. I hope you enjoy it!


 

Joe Whip

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Feb 8, 2014
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Wayne, PA
Peter, I must say that I was very disappointed with this show. if the sound this year was better than last, it must have been very bad last year. Yes, there were a couple of really good rooms. The room with the smaller of the Voice rooms from Newtown Square was very nice as an example. Too many of the rooms were way too bright, to the point that I along with the two friends who attended with me would simply walk in and walk out. I will not subject my hearing to sound that is that bright and that loud to boot. I have read reviews of the show on Stereophile and the partime audiophile and must say that it felt reading those that we were at two very different shows. The Modwright stuff did nothing for me. The reel to reel sounded no better than high rez downloads, if that good. The vinyl sound was mediocre for the most part with digital sourced from laptops the clear winner. I thought that the room with the Apogees sounded good although a bit too rolled off at the top. I loved the Vanatoo room and will be getting a pair of those speakers for my musician son's apartment. Great bass and overall sound that is perfect for small spaces and computer based audio. I also liked what I head of the neat.co.uk speakers which would be superb for a flat in London where space is at a premium. I also liked what I heard of the Zu speakers in the small room there were in rather than at that meeting room. Hopefully I will hear better sound in NY in Sepetember.
 

Peter Breuninger

[Industry Expert] Member Sponsor
Jul 20, 2010
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Joe, I suggest you listen to Kevin's remark about the difficulties of exhibiting. I never once walked into a room and felt the need to walk out. But then, I am a seasoned reviewer and have attended more recent shows than anyone. I did not hear bright over aggressive sound in any room. I agree that the Apogees were a little soft on the top and I would simply add a super tweeter to extend it out. I reviewed the Stages with the subs, back in the day, and found them to be soft on top as well. Still, this is a lust after product for the fit and finish and for the sound. I also agree the little Tidals were very good.

You should tag along when I shoot some rooms in Brooklyn when I am playing our reference vinyl. You may change your mind. Also IIRC, you do not have a vinyl rig and this may perhaps cloud your vision.
 

Joe Whip

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Feb 8, 2014
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Peter, I wasn't the only one that walked in and then walked out of several rooms. There were other PAAG members there that did the same thing. Not just me. Way too bright. As for vinyl, I have a very nice set up, a VPI Mark IV table, Kuzma Stogi tonearm and a Clearaudio cartidge and I have about 500 LPs and 700 CDs and now quite a few high rez downloads. I just think with the new DACS and computer based audio that digital just siunds better. At 55 I have had my hearing tested and can still here out over 17khz. Not too bad for an old guy! The worst sound for me was probably room 510. The sound was so bright and loud that my fillings were beginning to hurt. No exaggeration. I have been going to so many live events, many of them totally acoustic in small venues both here and abroad and I really dislike overly bright systems. One great find at the show was the Maple room where they played a CD rip of Elvis singing "Fever". Now that was great sound. I need to find that disc. I hope to being going to the NY show if I am in the area and hope to here better sound in many more rooms that I heard in DC. .
 

puroagave

Member Sponsor
Sep 29, 2011
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970
thanks Peter and its good to see Herb back in action. besides Art Dudley's Listener magazine, Herb's Sound Practices was one of the best little audio journals there ever was - if only for the SET/horn-centric enthusiast.

Did you shoot video of Live Sound Designs and Robin Wyatt's rooms? I'm looking forward to it.
 

Peter Breuninger

[Industry Expert] Member Sponsor
Jul 20, 2010
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thanks Peter and its good to see Herb back in action. besides Art Dudley's Listener magazine, Herb's Sound Practices was one of the best little audio journals there ever was - if only for the SET/horn-centric enthusiast.

Did you shoot video of Live Sound Designs and Robin Wyatt's rooms? I'm looking forward to it.

Yes, really good video of all three rooms (two rooms for the Quads). What's the Acronym of Live Sound Designs ? Hmmm.
 

Mosin

[Industry Expert]
Mar 11, 2012
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930
Herb should have asked me to play that 78. 78's are way cool. By the way, Joe Buzzard would be proud of him for bringing it! ;)

Peter,
Great show report, and thanks for the kind words about Jorge Sadurni and Merrill Wettasinghe's room. I was proud to be a part of it. They are great guys with an unassuming attitude about audio that should serve as an example to all of us.
 

asindc

Well-Known Member
Sep 27, 2012
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I thought the show was much better this year than last. The rooms generally seemed to be set up better and the better sound systems seemed to have more room to breathe than last year. The large Tidal room was hands down the Best in Show. I would put those Tidal speakers up against Magico and Wilson any day. I couldn't get a feel for the UHA/MBL room, as Greg was playing music with which I am not familiar. Apart for last year (really bad room for the MBLs), his room is usually one of my favorites.
 

Robin Hood

Well-Known Member
Mar 21, 2011
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0
311
I wouldn’t say that this year’s audio show was better than any of the previous years. Each year brings it share of rooms that sound from bad to great and that’s true of all audio shows. The fun is finding those audio gems and enjoying the audio comraderies.

I particularly enjoyed Tom Perazella seminar on voicing speakers and listening to Mark Waldrep’s AIX albums through headphones connected to the Smyth Realiser for realistic surround sound. I also enjoyed listening to the BG Radia speakers from Sound Insight, the Apogee speakers modified by Music Technology, the Surreal speakers and the floor standing speakers from Odyssey Audio.
 

LL21

Well-Known Member
Dec 26, 2010
14,376
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...Each year brings it share of rooms that sound from bad to great and that’s true of all audio shows. The fun is finding those audio gems and enjoying the audio comraderies...
...I also enjoyed listening to the BG Radia speakers from Sound Insight, the Apogee speakers modified by Music Technology, the Surreal speakers and the floor standing speakers from Odyssey Audio.

Very curious...always liked Apogees. Which Apogees did you hear? Can you tell us more about them, what was modified and how they sounded?

I very nearly bought a 2nd hand pair of Apogee Stages when I was in grad school because they were so deeply discounted. A penny saved is a penny earned however, I left them. Relative to many great cone speakers today, they do not have such an obvious edge in transients and speed...but they did have a magic I still remember.

Thanks for any feedback on what you heard.
 

Peter Breuninger

[Industry Expert] Member Sponsor
Jul 20, 2010
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Very curious...always liked Apogees. Which Apogees did you hear? Can you tell us more about them, what was modified and how they sounded?

I very nearly bought a 2nd hand pair of Apogee Stages when I was in grad school because they were so deeply discounted. A penny saved is a penny earned however, I left them. Relative to many great cone speakers today, they do not have such an obvious edge in transients and speed...but they did have a magic I still remember.

Thanks for any feedback on what you heard.

Here they are... totally restored Apogee Calipers by Music Technology. They were gorgeous with speckled automotive high gloss paint and silvery drivers. The sound was a little soft on top but the midrange was holographic. I'm still thinking about buying them they were (are) that good. They would make a great retro system with the Krell KMA 400s. The sound was the opposite of modern day speakers.

ca;ipers.jpg
 

Johnny Vinyl

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
May 16, 2010
8,570
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Calgary, AB
Here they are... totally restored Apogee Calipers by Music Technology. They were gorgeous with speckled automotive high gloss paint and silvery drivers. The sound was a little soft on top but the midrange was holographic. I'm still thinking about buying them they were (are) that good. They would make a great retro system with the Krell KMA 400s. The sound was the opposite of modern day speakers.

View attachment 16709

Confused by this Peter. Can you elaborate?
 

Peter Breuninger

[Industry Expert] Member Sponsor
Jul 20, 2010
1,231
4
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Confused by this Peter. Can you elaborate?

Today's speakers feature ruler flat frequency responses (the Magico S5 was the best measured loudspeaker at the NRC, by Soundstage), very high tolerance parts, CNC machining, CAD designing, etc., etc.

Modern day designs are so accurate that we hear exactly what was recorded, be it the good, the bad or the ugly. When I reviewed the YG Sonia, my great recordings were simply stunning, my harsh recordings were hard to listen to. We all know the story. Nothing confusing about this. The Music Technology Apogees were somewhat limited at the frequency extremes but they excelled in the midrange. They are not reviewer's tools, hence the opposite of modern day designs. I would buy them for fun and use them in ancillary systems.
 

Joe Whip

Well-Known Member
Feb 8, 2014
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Having heard this demo, I can say that you could listen to these speakers all day long with not even the hint of listener fatigue. My speakers are from the 90's too and I can listen to them all night although they aren't rolled off on the top as these Apogees are and have more bass. I find too many high end speakers today go for the nth degree of detail and sparkle at the expense of overall brightness and listenability. Music technology did a great job at reconditioning these speakers, which i was told looked like a car ran over them when he got them. A remarkable job.
 

Johnny Vinyl

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
May 16, 2010
8,570
51
38
Calgary, AB
Today's speakers feature ruler flat frequency responses (the Magico S5 was the best measured loudspeaker at the NRC, by Soundstage), very high tolerance parts, CNC machining, CAD designing, etc., etc.

Modern day designs are so accurate that we hear exactly what was recorded, be it the good, the bad or the ugly. When I reviewed the YG Sonia, my great recordings were simply stunning, my harsh recordings were hard to listen to. We all know the story. Nothing confusing about this. The Music Technology Apogees were somewhat limited at the frequency extremes but they excelled in the midrange. They are not reviewer's tools, hence the opposite of modern day designs. I would buy them for fun and use them in ancillary systems.

Thank you Peter, I appreciate the feedback.
 

LL21

Well-Known Member
Dec 26, 2010
14,376
2,497
1,398
Here they are... totally restored Apogee Calipers by Music Technology. They were gorgeous with speckled automotive high gloss paint and silvery drivers. The sound was a little soft on top but the midrange was holographic. I'm still thinking about buying them they were (are) that good. They would make a great retro system with the Krell KMA 400s. The sound was the opposite of modern day speakers.

View attachment 16709

Thanks, Peter, and great feedback as well. Much appreciated.
 

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