Destination Audio Vista Loudspeaker

[Ron Resnick]

This horn loudspeaker -- four feet wide and six feet tall -- looks very interesting!

Has anyone auditioned this speaker?

Speakers — DESTINATION AUDIO

www.destinationaudiousa.com

 

[tima]

It is interesting that they put what looks like Japanese writing on their amplifiers - transformer covers, maybe capacitor covers? They are an American company in Glouceste, Mass a town with a British given name (1642), part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony which I'guessing was a private investment company in the New World !? Naming in the audio world is funky.

I vaguely recall seeing real or quasi-Japanese names and lettering on non-Japanese products. Is this a new cach? for marketing, a harken to design provenance, or ...? Some companies are still proud of their native origins, for example American Sound though few use 'American' in there names. Pardon the thread swerve - that's a big ass horn!

 

[pdubya]

I believe company is Polish — MA is main US showroom.

Wonder what’s in the Charlotte show space?

 

[PeterA]

View attachment 92374

This horn loudspeaker -- four feet wide and six feet tall -- looks very interesting!

Has anyone auditioned this speaker?

Speakers — DESTINATION AUDIO

www.destinationaudiousa.com

Fred Crane invited me up to his loft in Gloucester. He’s about an hour north of me. I enjoyed meeting Fred and his friends who were at this open house on a Sunday evening. We had some great wine and audio chat. I heard a pair of Destination horns, and I think this was the pair but I can’t remember precisely. It might’ve been a different model. I brought some of my own records which we played and had a great relaxing time enjoying the music and atmosphere.

Correction: I think I heard the model down which is called the Nika horn.

 

[bazelio]

I think this is the Destination Audio horn that I heard in their room at CAS 2019. The room won Best In Show.

 

[Ron Resnick]

I think this speaker looks like a great partner for Lamm ML2 or ML3.

 

[Tango]

How much are they?
$174,500?

 

[bonzo75]

$174,500?

Less 79,500

 

[bonzo75]

I heard these at the Lampi factory when I visited in April 2017. They might have changed since then and will need a bigger room.

Lampi Factory Visit – Zero Distortion

zero-distortion.org

 

[bonzo75]

I compared the 45 amp to Mayer 45. The DA amp was better. I preferred the Mayer preamp.

SET amp owners thread

www.whatsbestforum.com

 

[Sampajanna]

They sure are pretty!

 

[Argonaut]

I heard these at the Lampi factory when I visited in April 2017

What were your impressions of the horns Kedar ? They look most purposeful.

 

[bonzo75]

What were your impressions of the horns Kedar ? They look most purposefu.

It wasn't the right set up I would like to hear them again, especially with the DA 45s. That was more like a proto

 

[Argonaut]

 

[Argonaut]

 

[Argonaut]

 

[Argonaut]

 

[Fred Crane]

It is interesting that they put what looks like Japanese writing on their amplifiers - transformer covers, maybe capacitor covers? They are an American company in Glouceste, Mass a town with a British given name (1642), part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony which I'guessing was a private investment company in the New World !? Naming in the audio world is funky.-Tima

Hello All,

Thanks Ron for posting the beautiful picture of the Destination Audio Vistas.

You'll forgive my colleague, Tima, for what was obviously a guess disguised as information. Happens to the best of us... To clarify, the Japanese writing is an homage to circuit designers that influenced Sam's work. It can be loosely translated as 'Destination'. Sam Wisniewski founded Destination Audio in Warsaw, Poland in 2011. It remains in Warsaw.

We do have a large format showroom in Gloucester, MA. USA Peter A. came for a vinyl night with a number of other locals and a good time was had by all, despite the system being compromised due to what we had on hand that day. We listened to the Nika's with a Trafomatic Experience 1 MK2 Amplfiier...2a3 tubes fed by the 6SN7, a Grandinote Celio phono stage and a home brew table with a Transfiguration Proteus cart.

Quite a bit has changed with that set up. There's now the Destination Audio GM70 Integrated, (

)the Destination Phono Stage and a Semper Sonus Table, (better photos to follow)

with a few different arms and a few different carts...Dava FC Cart, A Goldenberg Cart and an old Decca Ref. (when I phoned last month, Decca said they are no longer making cartridges...I hope that set-back is temporary.) . We'll be having more vinyl nights in June. There are always a few audiophiles, but also musicians, folks who love music, pro industry people, a luthier or two...anyone who wants to bring a record and have a listen over something different than their kit at home. I've been told they serve wine and malt and rum.

Quite a bit has changed with Destination during the pandemic. Now, there are field coil options for all of their speakers. There are some real advantages to the field coil speakers. For one, the sensitivity of the Nika's goes to 107 from 100, making the 45 tube an option for driving them. The same is true of the smallest horn, the Ruby. The Vistas have gained bass output and sensitivity with their newest iterations. They now play down to 23hz with the field coil drivers. Upon first hearing, the thing that drew me to these designs was their harmonic richness and their coherence. It's rare to find a horn that you can listen to in the near field or far field with equal enjoyment. Likewise, Sam's electronics are a natural extension of his work with loudspeakers. The GM70 integrated is everything I was hoping for,

the Phonostage is phenomenal...there's also a DAC, that plays native DSD and PCM and outputs with transformer coupled ecc40 tubes. Here's a pic of the DAC

The Reference Preamp has seen some circuit advances as well.

We have a few adjunct listening rooms for those who want to get a listen, but are not in the Greater Boston area. In Laughlin, Nevada at Audio Limits, one can hear the Nika's run with the Kondo Ongaku...a superb combination. There's a fantastic listening room in Denton, Tx with the full Destination Reference set up featuring the Vistas that Ron posted, along with the Destination Audio Subwoofers. Charlotte will soon have the field coil Nika's and the new Destination Audio Reference 45 integrated, and we're in the final stages of a full reference system in the greater Toronto area.

We're working on representation in Spain and France. In March, Prana Distribution took on world wide sales and distribution for Destination Audio. A position, we can only hope to justify in the wake of these great systems. We are still seeking partners in the UK, Asia and much of Europe.

For any interested party who wants to get a listen, please message me and I'll happily arrange a listen at the location most convenient for you.

 

[Zeotrope]

It is interesting that they put what looks like Japanese writing on their amplifiers - transformer covers, maybe capacitor covers? They are an American company in Glouceste, Mass a town with a British given name (1642), part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony which I'guessing was a private investment company in the New World !? Naming in the audio world is funky.

I vaguely recall seeing real or quasi-Japanese names and lettering on non-Japanese products. Is this a new cach? for marketing, a harken to design provenance, or ...? Some companies are still proud of their native origins, for example American Sound though few use 'American' in there names. Pardon the thread swerve - that's a big ass horn!

I agree. Furthermore, having studied Japanese, you can immediately tell that the Kanji (character) was written by a non-Japanese speaker... an odd choice for sure.
Otherwise, the speakers look great and it’s nice to see that companies like this still exist!

 

[Fred Crane]

I agree. Furthermore, having studied Japanese, you can immediately tell that the Kanji (character) was written by a non-Japanese speaker... an odd choice for sure.
Otherwise, the speakers look great and it’s nice to see that companies like this still exist!

Hi Surge1, Thank you for the kind words. Just to correct the quote from Tima. Destination Audio was founded in Warsaw, Poland and remains in Warsaw, Poland. It's worldwide head of sales, Fred Crane, has a large format showroom in Gloucester, MA. The Kanji on the transformer tops is an homage to some of the great circuit designers of Japan that influenced the sound and approach of Sam Wisniewski, the top engineer and owner at Destination Audio. The name of the company, is Destination Audio which one can see nicely written on the front of each piece. This doesn't seem like a funky name to me, but rather a description of what this gear is for many an audiophile. For many whom have been on the merry-go-round of 'what's next or new' in audio, Destination offers a system that for many is an end point. It truly does sate the desires that one might feel are missing from many systems in general. It is entirely non-fatiguing while being a portal to many of the traits of a live performance. Of course, words pale in comparison to actually hearing the system. I hope you have the opportunity to have a listen. We'll be announcing a new partner in France and Spain very soon. We have demo rooms in Gloucester, Charlotte and Toronto and a dealership, Audio Limits, in Laughlin, NV.

Throughout the month of June, we'll be hosting vinyl nights featuring Destination Audio in Gloucester...a great summer Destination. Those events will be posted on WBF for any and all who would like to attend.