T.H.E. Show in Newport Beach California

[RUR]

I hope you got to hear the Scaena speakers. I had an extended late night session with them at Axpona in Atlanta and to me they are quite special.

Larry, I couldn't find the Scaenas anywhere. :-(

Big MBL's were astonishing, as usual. The "little" TADs (big ones not set up yesterday) were also impressive. Biggest surprise for me were the Vandersteen VLR bookshelves, which were remarkably good.

 

[DaveyF]

I also looked for the Scaena's, don't think they were there. The Focal Grande Utopia EM were, BUT in a room that was IMO way too small for them and connected to Burmeister gear, which didn't seem like a good match. The sound was not happening and I quickly left that room.
Forgot to mention, that JTinn's room was also a highlight. Demo'ing with tape and with his new turntable ( which was VERY impressive) although, I couldn't get the name; he was getting some of the best sounds at the show. This time I thought the small Evolution Acoustics MM Micro One's sounded better than the time I had heard them before

 

[Steve Williams]

I also looked for the Scaena's, don't think they were there. The Focal Grande Utopia EM were, BUT in a room that was IMO way too small for them and connected to Burmeister gear, which didn't seem like a good match. The sound was not happening and I quickly left that room.
Forgot to mention, that JTinn's room was also a highlight. Demo'ing with tape and with his new turntable ( which was VERY impressive) although, I couldn't get the name; he was getting some of the best sounds at the show. This time I thought the small Evolution Acoustics MM Micro One's sounded better than the time I had heard them before

Wave Kinetics is the name of JT's TT

 

[DaveyF]

Thanks, Steve. The Wave Kinetics is apparently a DD TT and while it wasn't quite up to the standard of the R To R deck, it was interesting to note that it was superior, IMO, to the digital set up and close to the R to R. In this room, the digital was good but the analog was better.
One attendees comment to me that seemed appropriate was regarding the R to R...."how can you get much better than the master tape" which does seem to be a good point.

BTW, Steve, did you go to the show?

 

[Steve Williams]

Thanks, Steve. The Wave Kinetics is apparently a DD TT and while it wasn't quite up to the standard of the R To R deck, it was interesting to note that it was superior, IMO, to the digital set up and close to the R to R. In this room, the digital was good but the analog was better.
One attendees comment to me that seemed appropriate was regarding the R to R...."how can you get much better than the master tape" which does seem to be a good point.

BTW, Steve, did you go to the show?

Unfortunately not. I had several appts locally yesterday

 

[DaveyF]

 

[Bruce B]

One attendees comment to me that seemed appropriate was regarding the R to R...."how can you get much better than the master tape" which does seem to be a good point.:

Those are our master tapes he's playing. I wanted so bad to get down to this show. Anything about the cars, wine tasting...etc??

 

[DaveyF]

Bruce, those are some great tapes

I didn't get to see the car show or do any wine tasting, so much to see with the gear that I
didn't even see all the rooms in one day. Would have liked to stay for today, but not an
option
I would imagine that some of the other members are still there or going today and tomorrow,
maybe they can tell you about the car show and the other attractions.

 

[repman]

Larry, I couldn't find the Scaenas anywhere. :-(

Big MBL's were astonishing, as usual. The "little" TADs (big ones not set up yesterday) were also impressive. Biggest surprise for me were the Vandersteen VLR bookshelves, which were remarkably good.

Ken that's to bad the Scaena's were not there they show to be exhibitors in the list I saw for T.H.E. Show ? Those big MBL's are really good. have a great rest of the weekend.

 

[c1ferrari]

Impressions/Observations

Scaenas had no presence, sadly :-(

Top 4 Rooms:

• DartZeel / Evolution Acoustics
• E.A.R / Marten
• Y.G. Acoustics / Tenor
• TAD

Haven't visited all the rooms I wanted to hear, yet...arrived Fri morning and leaving Mon...agree with remarks re: parking...got lucky and was
able to park on the property . List offered in no specific order...more when I can access my laptop at home.

 

[jtinn]

I'm the guy in the wheelchair, so pretty easy to spot these days. hope to meet some of you guys---JTinn, will def stop by.

Please do.

 

[garylkoh]

jtinn's room with the MM Micros sounded to me like best in show. For two little monitors, they cast an astonishing soundfield. From what I understand, it's a serial crossover design - NOT easy to do, and looks like Evolution Acoustic has nailed it. Designer Kevin Malmgren was kind enough to play a couple of tracks off the ACDC vinyl he had there for me!!

One of the highlights to me - not mentioned here - is the Magic Bus out in the cars section. A fully kitted out Mercedes Sprinter van that sounds awesome. It was quite a revelation what car audio can do!!

For excitement, just past midnight on Friday, the police was called because some despicable cad assaulted the talented, beautiful, courageous, selfless Elaine Miles (who was the vocalist for the Friday night concert). She was protecting a young lady who was being accosted by said cad. He was cuffed, but Ms Miles didn't press charges so was released.

One more day of music.

 

[c1ferrari]

Those are our master tapes he's playing.

Bruce,

Can you clarify whether the the Jobim reel was AAA...no digital processing in the chain or transfer somewhere back? Thanks.

 

[Bruce B]

Bruce,

Can you clarify whether the the Jobim reel was AAA...no digital processing in the chain or transfer somewhere back? Thanks.

Everything we sent down there except 1 track (Joni Mitchell) was AAA.

 

[c1ferrari]

Excellent...

Everything we sent down there except 1 track (Joni Mitchell) was AAA.

Thanks, Bruce.

 

[c1ferrari]

Impressions...non-abridged version


My spouse and I attended Friday through Sunday. T.H.E. Show was a wonderous event, which augurs well for our obsession -- uh, diversion

It was delightful to observe the diversity of age, singles/couples/families, gender, and ethnicity.

The exhibitors were excellent and accommodated our request to hear one, two, or more tracks from our demo discs. The Los Angeles/Orange County Audio Society deserves accolades for the event!

Acknowledging the context of "show conditions", there were a substantial number of systems/rooms, which acquitted themselves well and, of those, would recognize the following for sonic distinction...

Blue Light Audio & Evolution Acoustics
TAD
E.A.R./Marten
YG Acoustics/Kubala-Sosna/Tenor
Veloce Audio
MBL

Serendipity also had a place at the event. As my spouse and I directed ourselves down a corridor, we heard Rage Against the Machine. We determined any room that was playing them warranted investigation and that is how we discovered…E.A.R./Marten

Similarly, serendipity, aka Jonathan Tinn, afforded us an opportunity to hear “The Girl from Ipanema” in four different formats -- two analog and two digital. The two analog formats were 15 ips, quarter inch, 2-track tape (AAA according to Bruce Brown who supplied the tape) and vinyl (unknown, at the time of this writing, whether this signal had ever been digitized at some point). The two digital formats were a high-resolution file (DSD/DXD?) of the AAA tape supplied by Bruce and redbook CD – Verve, Getz/Gilberto.

What an edifying experience and illustrative of the differences between high quality analog tape, high quality vinyl, high-resolution digital, and redbook digital. It would seem axiomatic and bears repeating – The Source is the Thing! – of course, supported by a system/room that has the wherewithal to render it.

 

[MylesBAstor]

My spouse and I attended Friday through Sunday. T.H.E. Show was a wonderous event, which augurs well for our obsession -- uh, diversion

It was delightful to observe the diversity of age, singles/couples/families, gender, and ethnicity.

The exhibitors were excellent and accommodated our request to hear one, two, or more tracks from our demo discs. The Los Angeles/Orange County Audio Society deserves accolades for the event!

Acknowledging the context of "show conditions", there were a substantial number of systems/rooms, which acquitted themselves well and, of those, would recognize the following for sonic distinction...

Blue Light Audio & Evolution Acoustics
TAD
E.A.R./Marten
YG Acoustics/Kubala-Sosna/Tenor
Veloce Audio
MBL

Serendipity also had a place at the event. As my spouse and I directed ourselves down a corridor, we heard Rage Against the Machine. We determined any room that was playing them warranted investigation and that is how we discovered…E.A.R./Marten

Similarly, serendipity, aka Jonathan Tinn, afforded us an opportunity to hear “The Girl from Ipanema” in four different formats -- two analog and two digital. The two analog formats were 15 ips, quarter inch, 2-track tape (AAA according to Bruce Brown who supplied the tape) and vinyl (unknown, at the time of this writing, whether this signal had ever been digitized at some point). The two digital formats were a high-resolution file (DSD/DXD?) of the AAA tape supplied by Bruce and redbook CD – Verve, Getz/Gilberto.

What an edifying experience and illustrative of the differences between high quality analog tape, high quality vinyl, high-resolution digital, and redbook digital. It would seem axiomatic and bears repeating – The Source is the Thing! – of course, supported by a system/room that has the wherewithal to render it.

That's basically been my experience. If you hear the tape, the LP is second and digital a poor and distant third. OTOH, to Bruce's credit, the new high rez formats, like the Muddy Waters I heard back in January, didn't sound like the typical washed out, hard, flat digital sound heard everywhere else at the show and the PD is among the best digital players I've heard.

 

[c1ferrari]

That's basically been my experience. If you hear the tape, the LP is second and digital a poor and distant third. OTOH, to Bruce's credit, the new high rez formats, like the Muddy Waters I heard back in January, didn't sound like the typical washed out, hard, flat digital sound...the PD is among the best digital players I've heard.

Hi Myles,

The high-res transfer was VERY good, yet it remained a facsimile of analog. Curiously enough, following THE Show, while I was cleaning/dusting my gear and rack, I considered the benefits of consolidating my digital playback chain from 3 boxes (transport, dedicated power supply, and DAC) and attendant cabling to a single box. Playback Designs is on the executive short list as a solution

 

[SysOp]

Nice to see this thread- Was at T.H.E. Show on that Saturday. For me, the "highlight" was the VMPS demo suite. Did anyone else here listen to their $3500 (retail per pair) RM30 (Ribbon Monitor 30M) speakers? OMG.. They produced some truly incredible sound for their paltry price point- And LineArrays no less.. Plus the footprint and deep black gloss finish was quite aesthetically pleasing / very expensive looking.

http://www.vmpsaudio.com/RM30.htm - scroll towards bottom of page to see the ribbon version. I would just love to hear their flagship RM50's if the 30's sounded that good.

 

[c1ferrari]

Hi SysOp

Nice to see this thread- Was at T.H.E. Show on that Saturday. For me, the "highlight" was the VMPS demo suite. Did anyone else here listen to their $3500 (retail per pair) RM30 (Ribbon Monitor 30M) speakers? OMG..

Yes, we visited and heard the system...very nice sounding, indeed I was going through the program, which by the way is quite attractive, and wasn't able to determine what electronics were partnered with VMPS...do you recall

Regards,
Sam