Managed to get to CAS 2017 yesterday Friday. I really like this show. It is LOCAL, I managed to get there about 9:40AM and stayed to about 3PM and left before traffic got horrible.
The show is “bite size” and intimate. The heavy, swinging testicles of Wilson, Magico, YG Acoustics, Ypsilon, MBL and the usual critics' hi end darlings were mostly missing, which may have actually improved enjoyability factor. There was one “edifice” system by Von Shweikert/VAC tastefully presented in a large room. I like going to an audio show once in a while because there is always something there that totally surprises and completely defeats my stale prejudices/expectations, and this show was no exception.
I will get to more later as I get some energy, but for now CJFRBW’s “Best Sound” to get that out of the way:
Yup, a 4 watt 2A3 amplifier called a "Whammerdyne" of all things and IKEA like open baffle speaker system, where you order the parts and assemble it at home.
I am not averse to giving the big systems their due with sound quality, either pro or con, and my previous best sounds have been variously Wilson Maxx/Spectral, Ypsilon/YG Acoustics.
However, this "little" system played loud, huge, and limpidly transparent/gorgeous in an about 18' by 25' room with the full array of directly heated triode beauty. It completely disposed of any expectations I may have had from actually looking at the system. Dipole, check, good stuff. 2A3, check, good stuff, maybe it would play some pretty, small music, but NO, the thing was as wonderful sounding as anything I have ever heard with everything you wanted to hear in the signal and nothing you didn't, see around the corners transparency, no bloat or vestiges, and loud, with deep tonality revelation in a very large sound stage.
The only caveat as usual is that I didn't hear it with heavy rock, complex big band, or full orchestra, which may have stretched it beyond it's limits, but up to moderate size ensembles and pop, it performed flawlessly.
I think the speakers are about 94db efficiency, and the speaker/amp combo check in at about 18k full retail. Wow!
I came back later and they had a larger speaker version with a horn midrange playing with some kind of cube class D amp on the opposite side of the room, and the magic wasn't there like with the Whammerdyne at the other side of the room with the smaller speaker.
It was funny, because while listening to the Whammerdyne, the speaker vendor came up and spoke about his speakers. While he was talking, he picked up one of the speakers and even twirled it around on a corner. It came as kind of a disconnect, and makes one wonder why anybody even bothers with cabinets. You could set this up with your main system, and just carry the speakers over when you wanted to listen to them as a "second system" with the Whammerdyne.
The show is “bite size” and intimate. The heavy, swinging testicles of Wilson, Magico, YG Acoustics, Ypsilon, MBL and the usual critics' hi end darlings were mostly missing, which may have actually improved enjoyability factor. There was one “edifice” system by Von Shweikert/VAC tastefully presented in a large room. I like going to an audio show once in a while because there is always something there that totally surprises and completely defeats my stale prejudices/expectations, and this show was no exception.
I will get to more later as I get some energy, but for now CJFRBW’s “Best Sound” to get that out of the way:
Yup, a 4 watt 2A3 amplifier called a "Whammerdyne" of all things and IKEA like open baffle speaker system, where you order the parts and assemble it at home.
I am not averse to giving the big systems their due with sound quality, either pro or con, and my previous best sounds have been variously Wilson Maxx/Spectral, Ypsilon/YG Acoustics.
However, this "little" system played loud, huge, and limpidly transparent/gorgeous in an about 18' by 25' room with the full array of directly heated triode beauty. It completely disposed of any expectations I may have had from actually looking at the system. Dipole, check, good stuff. 2A3, check, good stuff, maybe it would play some pretty, small music, but NO, the thing was as wonderful sounding as anything I have ever heard with everything you wanted to hear in the signal and nothing you didn't, see around the corners transparency, no bloat or vestiges, and loud, with deep tonality revelation in a very large sound stage.
The only caveat as usual is that I didn't hear it with heavy rock, complex big band, or full orchestra, which may have stretched it beyond it's limits, but up to moderate size ensembles and pop, it performed flawlessly.
I think the speakers are about 94db efficiency, and the speaker/amp combo check in at about 18k full retail. Wow!
I came back later and they had a larger speaker version with a horn midrange playing with some kind of cube class D amp on the opposite side of the room, and the magic wasn't there like with the Whammerdyne at the other side of the room with the smaller speaker.
It was funny, because while listening to the Whammerdyne, the speaker vendor came up and spoke about his speakers. While he was talking, he picked up one of the speakers and even twirled it around on a corner. It came as kind of a disconnect, and makes one wonder why anybody even bothers with cabinets. You could set this up with your main system, and just carry the speakers over when you wanted to listen to them as a "second system" with the Whammerdyne.
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