Melbourne's Int'l Hi Fi show

Jono

Well-Known Member
Oct 27, 2017
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Well I attended and heard some excellent gear and rooms.
Fortunately I do not suffer from any particular bias against any type of speaker and have owned just about every type.They all have their strengths and weaknesses.If anything I have moved on from panel speakers but still enjoy them despite hearing their compromises.Especially the sound of flapping/stretching mylar which seems to afflict every electrostat I have heard and the Halcros were no worse for that than most of the others.
The Osborn and Hulgich speakers were the standout for me.Both Australian made and terrific value.
 

XV-1

Well-Known Member
May 24, 2010
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Well I attended and heard some excellent gear and rooms.
Fortunately I do not suffer from any particular bias against any type of speaker and have owned just about every type.They all have their strengths and weaknesses.If anything I have moved on from panel speakers but still enjoy them despite hearing their compromises.Especially the sound of flapping/stretching mylar which seems to afflict every electrostat I have heard and the Halcros were no worse for that than most of the others.
The Osborn and Hulgich speakers were the standout for me.Both Australian made and terrific value.

nice to hear a balanced view of the show
 

bonzo75

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Feb 26, 2014
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nice to hear a balanced view of the show

Balanced because in show set ups panels can sound as bad as cones :)
 

Big Dog RJ

Well-Known Member
Feb 2, 2012
1,242
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Melbourne
unwanted noise

Balanced because in show set ups panels can sound as bad as cones :)

good observation Bonz
yes, infact I wout refer that to unwanted noise. panel vibration, box coloration, horn glare and so on...

This is the normal affect with any speaker but when something costs equivalent to a cottage, like a Wilson or Magico, there are no flaws, simply because these are very expensive high quality, so to find any flaws in such systems is a no go...

I think at the end of the day, if there is something that only your ears prefer and fits within your budget, that's really all that matters. There is no point in trying to like something just because someone else thinks highly of it. You are the ultimate judge! and it is your money no one else's.

I came to this realization when I just happened to hear the Apogee Studio Ribbon Array's. I must say marvelous in certain areas and not so in others. again not for me at this stage, I am very pleased with what I have at the moment.
I will be posting a note on this later on in the Apogee vs stats post started by Gian.
have a good one mate, RJ
 

bonzo75

Member Sponsor
Feb 26, 2014
22,443
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good observation Bonz
yes, infact I wout refer that to unwanted noise. panel vibration, box coloration, horn glare and so on...

This is the normal affect with any speaker but when something costs equivalent to a cottage, like a Wilson or Magico, there are no flaws, simply because these are very expensive high quality, so to find any flaws in such systems is a no go...

I think at the end of the day, if there is something that only your ears prefer and fits within your budget, that's really all that matters. There is no point in trying to like something just because someone else thinks highly of it. You are the ultimate judge! and it is your money no one else's.

I came to this realization when I just happened to hear the Apogee Studio Ribbon Array's. I must say marvelous in certain areas and not so in others. again not for me at this stage, I am very pleased with what I have at the moment.
I will be posting a note on this later on in the Apogee vs stats post started by Gian.
have a good one mate, RJ

Just so long as you know these have nothing to do with the restored duetta, diva, full range. Or were they restored?
 

Big Dog RJ

Well-Known Member
Feb 2, 2012
1,242
463
1,155
Melbourne
Well I attended and heard some excellent gear and rooms.
Fortunately I do not suffer from any particular bias against any type of speaker and have owned just about every type.They all have their strengths and weaknesses.If anything I have moved on from panel speakers but still enjoy them despite hearing their compromises.Especially the sound of flapping/stretching mylar which seems to afflict every electrostat I have heard and the Halcros were no worse for that than most of the others.
The Osborn and Hulgich speakers were the standout for me.Both Australian made and terrific value.

hey Jono,
good to hear that you liked the Huglich room. I did spend some time in there but I felt it wasn't enough. Also I stood way at the back towards the back end of the wall. that seemed to be a better listening point, although I felt these speakers could easily fill a large room nicely.

just curious, what speakers are you using at the moment? since you mentioned that you've moved on from panels...
RJ
 

Big Dog RJ

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Feb 2, 2012
1,242
463
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Melbourne
yes, Bonz these were not only restored but re-built from top to bottom with KSL caps & Hovlands both for the speakers and amps to match the synergy, so he claims. This chap knows what he's doing and advised me as well, hence my decision not to proceed with Apogee's is also based on his feedback.
more about this later mate.
RJ
 

Jono

Well-Known Member
Oct 27, 2017
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123
hey Jono,
good to hear that you liked the Huglich room. I did spend some time in there but I felt it wasn't enough. Also I stood way at the back towards the back end of the wall. that seemed to be a better listening point, although I felt these speakers could easily fill a large room nicely.

just curious, what speakers are you using at the moment? since you mentioned that you've moved on from panels...
RJ

I now use Bose 901s.
 

Jono

Well-Known Member
Oct 27, 2017
61
30
123
Hello from the other side...

I was chatting today with Whatmore (Trevor) who was kind enough to tell me straight up that according to some of the statements made by my initial post on the Melb HI Fi show, I have upset/offended quite a lot of members. Therefore, this is my second post that I had replied on Stereonet and also wanted to clear up any drama/issues that I may have caused without intention.

dear fellow members, I write this note to everyone with my sincere apologies.
I was just talking with whatmore ( Trev) and according to him, my opening statements ref to the show were quite damaging and offensive and has made many upset. Therefore, I just wanted to say sorry for upsetting anyone, that was certainly not my intention...

I am a very passionate person when it comes to audio and I'm overly passionate towards stats & ribbons. hence perhaps the reason why I went slightly off the rails, sorry for that.
sometimes I do tend to go off like this, even the good wife has commented on my high end manners.... I need to work on that.

on a lighter side of things, being a Melbournian and having lived here for nearly 15 years, the show was well organized. parking & accessibility are very crucial to such venues and free parking on Sun certainly helps. Most of the rooms were obviously not ideal... but the gear on display were outstanding indeed. I was very disappointed though with the Halcro set up being a panel lover I was expecting more since they also had the ideal space for stats.

rooms being smelly or congested is obviously because of the rooms! if this was based in a large convention center then things would be more airy. apart from that, I feel sorry for the exhibitors after all they're the ones who spend the entire 3 days in bloody congested environments, it's a wonder that none of them fainted, let alone put up with us public...

Overall, I think there was a lot of effort and energy put into this show, and I should be proud to have a show like this in our very own backyard! so well done to the organization committee and all exhibitors. I certainly learned a lot from that Sun and especially the time spent with Cameron at AG and Mac & SF speakers. again I'm terribly sorry if I have offended or upset anyone here and caused unnecessary drama, I will be more considerate the next time I post something. Thanks Trev for pointing that out, I do appreciate your honest feedback.

cheers to all and a big woof!

So with that said gentlemen & any ladies out there, next time I will be more thoughtful and not so frustrated, and try my best to make the statements more diplomatic/kind.
Cheers to all, RJ

Yes your comments were grossly out of line and insensitive to all those involved .It is almost like you are trying to get this show to fail through using ridiculous,unfair and distorted information to denigrate it.Indeed it could be seen as malicious damage.
If you really want to make amends you should delete your negative comments and let the moderators clean up the threads accordingly.Both here and on Steronet.
 

Big Dog RJ

Well-Known Member
Feb 2, 2012
1,242
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Melbourne
Yes your comments were grossly out of line and insensitive to all those involved .It is almost like you are trying to get this show to fail through using ridiculous,unfair and distorted information to denigrate it.Indeed it could be seen as malicious damage.
If you really want to make amends you should delete your negative comments and let the moderators clean up the threads accordingly.Both here and on Steronet.

ok no worries at all.

To all moderators on this forum: Steve and Ron and others who are responsible for content, could you kindly delete the initial post I have made at the beginning, including the "apology post", which Jono here seems to admit is not good enough...

Therefore, please delete all posts I have made, perhaps that may suit better, I don't know.

Jono; I was thinking if you want me to delete the original post, might as well delete the apology statements also, since others may get confused as to "why" I'm apologizing...

If you have a better suggestion, please advise.

Cheers and enjoy the rest of your time here.
RJ
 

Big Dog RJ

Well-Known Member
Feb 2, 2012
1,242
463
1,155
Melbourne
Yes your comments were grossly out of line and insensitive to all those involved .It is almost like you are trying to get this show to fail through using ridiculous,unfair and distorted information to denigrate it.Indeed it could be seen as malicious damage.
If you really want to make amends you should delete your negative comments and let the moderators clean up the threads accordingly.Both here and on Steronet.

G'day Jono,

I had immediately posted a reply on Stereonet, asking for the Admin person to delete my post and follow your instructions: Here was Marc's reply-

I don't know Jono (or if he's a member here), and any comments made on another website are not really an issue for me/StereoNET.
I believe you're entitled to your opinion, positive or negative.

Personally, I felt it was very unbalanced, at least initially, but isn't discussion and debate what forums are for?
I'm happy leave it as is, and have no interest in what goes on on other forums.

Well it seems that he really doesn't know you... any advise mate?
RJ
 

Big Dog RJ

Well-Known Member
Feb 2, 2012
1,242
463
1,155
Melbourne
ATTN: Steve & Ron

G'day gentlemen;

as noted above, I have followed Jono's request and tried to make "amends"... but they seem futile simply as stated as the site Admin/moderator on Stereonet, Marc will not be amending anything.

Therefore, please do whatever you both feel would be appropriate, as it seems that my statement of apology wasn't adequate to make amends... therefore I respect whatever you and Ron may decide as a final decision, if you need to delete my posts, please do so.

Thanks for all the help and support, cheers and have a good one.
RJ
 

Jono

Well-Known Member
Oct 27, 2017
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30
123
Well you can just edit out what you have posted using the edit button at the bottom of every post and enter something like -content edited.
Then the moderators will have to tidy up the replies too-which is what they have to do quite often anyway.
We have all said some things we regret later so do not fret about it too much but I think editing yourself it is usually the best approach.
 

Big Dog RJ

Well-Known Member
Feb 2, 2012
1,242
463
1,155
Melbourne
Well you can just edit out what you have posted using the edit button at the bottom of every post and enter something like -content edited.
Then the moderators will have to tidy up the replies too-which is what they have to do quite often anyway.
We have all said some things we regret later so do not fret about it too much but I think editing yourself it is usually the best approach.

Jono,

Sorry mate I won't be doing that. As noted by Marc, I respect his final decision/s

I also respect Steve and Ron's decisions, as I have been a member on this forum for many years... I will stand by what they decide, hence they haven't replied to me as yet.

"Regret" ? why should I regret anything... those statements were made in pure honesty and transparency. Like I said for the hundredth time, I "admit" some of my statements were harsh to those who are sensitive about the show and sensitive in general....

If anything it should be Marc who I should be having this chat to, not you! You do you think you are mate?

As respect, I accepted you and Trevor's feedback, and so I made a SINCERE apology in writing! If that isn't good enough, then perhaps forums like these aren't good enough for you mate.

I don't have time to be editing, I have an actual life! As I said before, I will only respect what Steve and Ron decided to do.
Enough of this, I certainly tried...

Take it easy, there are people in other parts of the world who are going through some very very hardships- Syria, Yemen, Rohinga Refugee's etc. My father of 84, just went across to the Northern parts of these areas to help out with a Unesco project, and I have also donated some humble amount to a very valuable cause...

Editing some silly remarks I made, seriously mate, wake up and move on!
RJ
 

Jono

Well-Known Member
Oct 27, 2017
61
30
123
Jono,

Sorry mate I won't be doing that. As noted by Marc, I respect his final decision/s

I also respect Steve and Ron's decisions, as I have been a member on this forum for many years... I will stand by what they decide, hence they haven't replied to me as yet.

"Regret" ? why should I regret anything... those statements were made in pure honesty and transparency. Like I said for the hundredth time, I "admit" some of my statements were harsh to those who are sensitive about the show and sensitive in general....

If anything it should be Marc who I should be having this chat to, not you! You do you think you are mate?

As respect, I accepted you and Trevor's feedback, and so I made a SINCERE apology in writing! If that isn't good enough, then perhaps forums like these aren't good enough for you mate.

I don't have time to be editing, I have an actual life! As I said before, I will only respect what Steve and Ron decided to do.
Enough of this, I certainly tried...

Take it easy, there are people in other parts of the world who are going through some very very hardships- Syria, Yemen, Rohinga Refugee's etc. My father of 84, just went across to the Northern parts of these areas to help out with a Unesco project, and I have also donated some humble amount to a very valuable cause...

Editing some silly remarks I made, seriously mate, wake up and move on!
RJ

I am sorry you feel like that.
Marc from Stereonet is not likely to remove your comments because he also runs the hi fi show and doing so could be seen as censorship.
We went for many years with no hi fi shows in Australia so I feel we should do what we can to encourage and support them rather than denigrate them.
Some of us flew all the way from the west coast to support this show.One even from Broome via Perth.
I also feel for the people who spent all that effort and money on exhibiting and who,when Googling for feedback,will be greeted by your very negative post.Do not be surprised then when many resolve not to make that effort again.Which places the whole show at risk of failing.
 

Big Dog RJ

Well-Known Member
Feb 2, 2012
1,242
463
1,155
Melbourne
ok fair enough, you have a point and I now understand.

I will still respect any final decisions from the Admin team- Steve, Ron & Marc.

with regard to good hi fi and Australia, if people were wanting to seek good gear, they will find a way... also I did mention very clearly some rooms/gear that I did like. The Avant Garde room and Sonus Faber & McIntosh room... Therefore , I feel anyone reading my post will get an idea.
I have also apologized in subsequent messages, therefore anyone reading further can opt to view these or not.

at the end of the day, I definitely will not be the only one here with negative comments. Although I have made positive comments as well.

The next time I will make it a point to be more aware and post more thoughtfully, ok?
have a good one mate.

I only got this one day off, I am going to spend the rest of the day with my daughter, who just returned from school. Then I will cook a nice dinner for wifey when she gets home and I will be listening to my music later towards the night.

once again terribly sorry for my unwanted remarks and upsetting those who care. I have moved on and I am sure others had... or least I thought so...
take care, RJ
 

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