A Visit to AudioArts - NYC to hear CH Precision - FM Acoustics - Zellaton

gshelley

Member Sponsor
Jan 10, 2011
83
25
923
Austin, TX
Hey Ralph, CH PRecision M1?!! Wow. Great for you- I'm sure you new system is sounding awesome.
I need to make a trip up to hear it. Let me know next time you come down. Have made some changes here and am very happy with sounds going on here. Would be great to catch up.
 

jfrech

VIP/Donor
Sep 3, 2012
2,152
749
1,160
Austin
Hey Ralph, CH PRecision M1?!! Wow. Great for you- I'm sure you new system is sounding awesome.
I need to make a trip up to hear it. Let me know next time you come down. Have made some changes here and am very happy with sounds going on here. Would be great to catch up.

Gayle, maybe a road trip for us both soon !

Ralph, congratulations !
 

rsorren1

Well-Known Member
Sep 6, 2013
365
133
348
Dallas area
Gshelly and Jfrech, thanks for the note. You are both always welcome. I will let you know the next time I'm in Austin. It's been too long since I've heard your systems too. Let's do it. Take care and enjoy
 

rsorren1

Well-Known Member
Sep 6, 2013
365
133
348
Dallas area
If you are interested, Jonathan Valin and Julie Mullins blog related to their recent visit at AudioArts is up on The Absolute Sound website. They discuss the Zellaton Statement, Zellaton Legacy, Stenheim Alumine Five speakers and FM Acoustics electronics. My first post on this thread was December 2015 coinciding with my first visit to AudioArts and I've updated this thread with each subsequent visit. I've listened to many of the same tracks as JV and JM, in the same room, on the same equipment. They do a MUCH better job of describing what they heard than I have done in this thread. They are professional reviewers after all. Great read and I agree with all of their comments based on my own personal experiences. Enjoy.
 

JGlacken

Well-Known Member
Mar 4, 2011
64
20
913
Looks like Audioarts is terminating CH relationship. Selling off all. Wonder what happened after all the wonderful stories of visiting the showroom?
 

tunes

Member Sponsor
Nov 9, 2013
187
1
246
CH took on Sound by Singer as a new dealer in NYC. Two dealers within a few blocks downtown can't work so a natural business decision I suppose.
 

kinch

Well-Known Member
Jan 7, 2014
38
23
313
Guys, thanks for the JV visit to AA; pretty amazing that JV would go to visit a dealer, don't recall if he's done it before. Looking forward to the full Zellaton/FMA review as I'd trust that Gideon is making the best equipment combinations with the Zells.
 

Hyperion

Well-Known Member
Oct 3, 2011
441
231
950
Stockholm/Sweden
We have the Zellaton Stage for permanent demonstration in our showroom in Stockholm, Sweden since a couple of weeks back. They've been a revelation so far, being the most true to the source speakers that I've ever experienced without ever sounding overly analytical, unnatural or fatiguing. Feel free to ask if there's anything in particular you'd like to know.

/ Marcus
 

rsorren1

Well-Known Member
Sep 6, 2013
365
133
348
Dallas area
Ralph,
Congrats on the Stage's. How are they sounding?
Both Valin and Harley included them in their MOC best in show lists.
http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/the-2017-munich-high-end-show/

Tunes, thanks again. The Stage are sounding great. As Hyperion points out below, they are a revelation; so open in the mid-range and treble. Very life-like on vocals. Piano pieces are astonishing. I've been experimenting with small adjustments to their placement in my room from where they were originally set-up as I continue to learn more about how the Stage interact with my room. I visited AudioArts in early May and heard the Zellaton Emotion playing in the big listening room. Gideon had them set-up way into the room with the tweeters pointed at the listener's shoulders from the listening seat about 9' away. The depth and image placement were phenomenal for a speaker of this size in a room that is quite large. When I got home, I moved the Stage 10" further out from my front wall into the room. They now sit 60" from the front wall to the front baffle of the speaker. I also reduced toe-in angle by about 1/2". My listening seat is about 9' from the speakers. The images now seem to come from a much deeper place in my room and the speakers disappear even more so than before.
 

tunes

Member Sponsor
Nov 9, 2013
187
1
246
I've uploaded a video of an electronic music track that I brought with me to demo when I had a visit to NYC earlier this Spring.
It's 7 minutes and recorded on my crappy iPhone. Sounded off the wall incredible in the room. Sorry bout the first 10 seconds of talking.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDQXf5UOHdY
 

rsorren1

Well-Known Member
Sep 6, 2013
365
133
348
Dallas area
Jonathan Valin is reviewing Zellaton Reference II. Some of his initial thoughts are listed here:
http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/zellaton-reference-mkii-loudspeaker/

I've never heard the Reference II. I've heard the Emotion, Legacy, Stage (purchased in Mar '17), and Statement. Mr Valin captures much of the magic of the Zellaton line in his comments. I eagerly await his full review.
 

tunes

Member Sponsor
Nov 9, 2013
187
1
246
Ralph,
Like you, I have also not heard the zell ref 2 but have heard several other speakers in thr lineup and have loved their performance, the statements were spectacular. I will be interested to read Valin's full review of what he experienced.
 

rsorren1

Well-Known Member
Sep 6, 2013
365
133
348
Dallas area
All, back in mid September I had the opportunity to visit AudioArts to hear a system that included: FM Acoustics 266 pre-amp, 223 phono, 108 mono amps, Zellaton Statement speakers, Brinkman turntable, Fuuga cartridge, and Brinkman DAC. Here are some pictures of the system from that night
C08063CC-97FA-46F3-9A63-12A9BAD5CA27.jpg FD0EA909-EC0E-4BDF-A8EF-4ED1939E0EFB.jpg 0CDE76C6-233A-454B-97B0-12170368D903.jpg DF0F3DFC-C7D2-45D2-ABCF-C10AE56E6ECF.jpg 0CE1BF51-ABB9-447D-8B9F-AA3546CEC37E.jpg
The FM108 mono amps are small! However, they drove the Statements with no problems and quite loud if desired. The overall characteristics of the system when playing vinyl were: excellent tonal balance and a mid-range to die for, three dimensional imagery, soundstage focus and definition, excellent dynamics, extremely low noise floor, proper scale of performers or instruments meaning that vocalists, for example, did not appear to be larger than in real life. Piano music was reproduced beautifully. One of the highlights was listening to the Peggy Lee, “Dream Street”, album. It’s mono and I believe it is an original pressing from the 50s. It’s in great shape and when I heard Peggy Lee’s voice I was shocked at the details that were reproduced. She has a rather unique vocal style on some of these cuts and it was “fool you real”. The Nina Simone, “Little Girl Blue”, LP was also an original pressing from the late 50s; also mono. It would likely be rated “good” using the standards for rating on Discogs. There were scratches and pops present on the first few cuts. Gideon then demonstrated the de-click/de-crackle feature of the FM223. We replayed the first few cuts with these circuits engaged. The scratches, clicks, pops, were attenuated to a very low level where they did not interfere with the enjoyment of the music. Even more remarkable is that I could not detect the rest of the musical presentation being altered. Can’t understand how FM Acoustics does this but it is very effective and unique in my experience. If you are a buyer of used vinyl like I am, this feature can be used to playback a recording that was not treated well during it’s life. The other day I was in a used record store and found a Julie London, “Her name is Julie”, first pressing. When I looked at it, the surface showed signs of wear. I decided to not buy it because I thought the surface noise and scratches would be too great. If one owned the FM123 or 223 the de-crackle/de-click would likely make this record very enjoyable again. When we played digital sources these same characteristics of the system were present although I really enjoyed the vinyl presentation more than the digital. I think this was driven more by the selections than the format. The Brinkman DAC sounded very good playing back local files or files from Tidal. Gideon is carrying a new DAC since then, Le Son. I may get a chance to hear this new piece soon and I will report back if/when I do.

FM Acoustics / Brinkman / Fuuga through Zellaton Statement sounded like music. Another unforgettable and enjoyable audio experience with a truly state of the art system.
 

MJB

Well-Known Member
Mar 10, 2013
136
29
333
Ralph - Thanks for sharing your experience. Great looking system.

Thx!
Mike
 

mullard88

Well-Known Member
Jun 5, 2010
948
62
1,588
The FM 223 phono stage is really something else. It presents the sound and music so naturally and the de-cackle and de-click are not audible to my ears at all.
 

About us

  • What’s Best Forum is THE forum for high end audio, product reviews, advice and sharing experiences on the best of everything else. This is THE place where audiophiles and audio companies discuss vintage, contemporary and new audio products, music servers, music streamers, computer audio, digital-to-analog converters, turntables, phono stages, cartridges, reel-to-reel tape machines, speakers, headphones and tube and solid-state amplification. Founded in 2010 What’s Best Forum invites intelligent and courteous people of all interests and backgrounds to describe and discuss the best of everything. From beginners to life-long hobbyists to industry professionals, we enjoy learning about new things and meeting new people, and participating in spirited debates.

Quick Navigation

User Menu

Steve Williams
Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator
Ron Resnick
Site Co-Owner | Administrator
Julian (The Fixer)
Website Build | Marketing Managersing