Lamm Announces Gear To Be Used For CES 2011

[mauidan]

Mahalo for the Neodio links. Still don't know if it can drive amps directly.

This new DAC looks a lot more interesting for less tha half the price:

http://www.aesthetix.net/introducing.php

 

[KeithR]

this system is at the point of silliness. totally agree with ES.

and I'm a wall street guy.

re: cables---i remember when Valhalla came out everyone was in disbelief at the cost of 3200/meter. but it was the cable that sounded like "it wasn't there"

now 3200 is the norm for these cable manufacturers and audiophools support this racket. go buy some Supras on the cheap and forget about cables.

 

[Steve Williams]

this system is at the point of silliness. totally agree with ES.

and I'm a wall street guy.

re: cables---i remember when Valhalla came out everyone was in disbelief at the cost of 3200/meter. but it was the cable that sounded like "it wasn't there"

now 3200 is the norm for these cable manufacturers and audiophools support this racket. go buy some Supras on the cheap and forget about cables.

FWIW Keith, the room is being subsidized by all of the vendors so they are just strutting their stuff. Vladimir asked ertain mfrs if they wanted to go in on the cost of the room and that is how it shook out.

 

[amirm]

Steve, I think we all understand that. I am sure we all also understand that the cost to make those cable is a fraction of what it costs them to manufacture it .

My issue with it is that of marketing. What was the sense of pricing it out in their announcement? Open a boating magazine. The price for anything > 40 feet & $1M is "available on request." In this day and age of tight economy, I just think they are doing themselves a disservice by putting the cost there in advance of showing the stuff performing. Let people come and be impressed and then answer the question of "how much it costs?" Of course, this is their business not ours so maybe they know what they are doing and we don't .

 

[Steve Williams]

I agree but if you look at all of the other rooms at CES most have all prices of components listed so IMO it seems somewhat disingenuous to single out one room rather than making a global statement for all of the rooms

 

[amirm]

I for one, am equal opportunity abuser. Tell us about the other rooms and we will complain just the same .

 

[Steve Williams]

I for one, am equal opportunity abuser

I know

 

[JackD201]

We must remember that unlike RMAF, CES is a trade show. The primary purpose is to expand distribution networks and not make individual sales. The prices are thus important.

 

[KeithR]

FWIW Keith, the room is being subsidized by all of the vendors so they are just strutting their stuff. Vladimir asked ertain mfrs if they wanted to go in on the cost of the room and that is how it shook out.

i hear that Steve. and cost no object systems are more common at CES.

but K/S and the cable industry just keep on doubling prices despite what we all know is joke of a cost structure. when K/S has 40k speaker cables in two years that kill the Elations, i'm sure we can refer to my post.

i'm more interested in new gear than cables as you know

 

[Steve Williams]

so am I Keith

 

[Ron Party]

i'm more interested in new gear than cables as you know

Smart man!

 

[mauidan]

Here you go Doc:

 

[Steve Williams]

Here you go Doc:

I feel like I am looking at my system

 

[JackD201]

I know!

Do you see Elations in your future Steve? Jim and I are smitten as are Marty and Brian I believe. The CMS stands make a difference too. You might also consider giving them an in home trial. I'm fairly confident you could get the show units (the cables and stands) on loan.

 

[Steve Williams]

I'm quite happy with my Zoethecus Stands and Valhalla cables

 

[marty]

Steve, you're not going to like this but I might as well say it. The Lamm exhibit at the Venetian was one of the most disappointing sound demonstrations of the entire CES. First, your prices are not quite right. The total system price as posted in Room 307 was $667,164. I won't go into every detail but basics are
1) Critical Mass System $92,800
2) Lamm electronics $197,160
3) Wilson A-II $158,000
4) NeoDio CD/DAC $25,300
5) da Vinci table $109,204
6) Kubala Sosna Elation cabling $84,700

The sound was a conundrum. It was lovely; beautiful in fact. It had definition, good frequency response, good imaging, and was low in distortion. There was one overwhelming problem however. The music was LIFELESS. Absolutely uninvolving, sterile and lifeless. And this was the common opinion of many listeners and reviewers we met in the hallways. Unfortunately, I can't think of a better example of the absurdity of Hi end audio than this singular demo. This was brought to stunning relief when we went into the KEF room and heard a mind-blowing 5.1 system driven by an Onkyo receiver that cost a grand total of $2K (less receiver). That's right, a $2K speaker system and for my money, it blew away the Lamm demo in musical vibrancy. Of course it was not nearly as refined and "audiophile-like" (whatever that means today). But it left me shaking my head at just how foolish we have become as audiophiles. We saw examples of other fine audiophile products that were just as costly as many in the Lamm system, and for each one, I kept thinking, give me the KEF system and the cash difference each time, except for one. Can you spell M-A-G-N-E-P-L-A-N-A-R? See my other posts.

By the way, I should probably mention that to give Vladimir the benefit of the doubt, The Venetian imposed the use of strict devices that the manufacturers had to use and plug into for AV power. Some demos actually caused the room lights to dim. But the Lamms as you know don't draw that much current so I'm not inclined to say the AC power was the main reason for the flat sound. I'll tell you, if it was my room, I'd get rid of the ridiculous 92K amp and equipment stands and put the amps right on the floor and the preamp on a cardboard box to see if they would sound better. Again, for my money, it couldn't sound worse, and at least I'd have 92K in cash in my pocket!

 

[Steve Williams]

Thanks Marty

Hope to see you tonight

 

[c1ferrari]

How About

We need a thread on where the poor people need to go to hear some audio .

Le Duc Des Lombards and Sunside Jazz Clubs

 

[microstrip]

It was lovely; beautiful in fact. It had definition, good frequency response, good imaging, and was low in distortion. There was one overwhelming problem however. The music was LIFELESS. Absolutely uninvolving, sterile and lifeless.

Marty,

High end systems at hifi-shows are similar to small children in restaurants - most of the time they should be seen not heard.

The sound quality of extreme quality at shows is a lottery - these systems need fine tuning and any detail can compromise the whole system, I had this feeling you refer with 99% of the demos - only sometimes one of them, using a particular track sounds like music. Sometimes they sound is very poor one day and next day it is completely different.

The distributors are faced with unknown acoustics and, due to trade terms, can not change their choice of ancillaries at show time. And sometimes a small change of power supply cables would be enough ...

We have this experience - going from nice sound to music is not an fast job.It is why when we want to improve we can not change just one part - the high end hobby is also living with metastability.

 

[Steve Williams]

I can assure you that Marty of all people understands the nature of your post. Heck, in fact I had to cancel a weekend trip to visit him in Dallas several years ago because he wasn't happy with how his system sounded and felt it needed tweaking. I am betting Marty meant something else when he said lifeless. Now for me lifeless can sometimes be representative of the choice of music.