New Genesis Products at CES2014

[jazdoc]

Will do. I told him back in October I had infected a few Northwest left-cost fellas recently in addition to some RMAF 2013 attendees.

Dre

Now if only I can get you hooked on The Dead Kenny G's and Crack Sabbath ;-))

 

[garylkoh]

Now if only I can get you hooked on The Dead Kenny G's and Crack Sabbath ;-))

LOL. I'll pass

 

[mep]

Now if only I can get you hooked on The Dead Kenny G's and Crack Sabbath ;-))

Are those real bands like the Dead Kennedys and the Butt Hole Surfers?

 

[jazdoc]

Are those real bands like the Dead Kennedys and the Butt Hole Surfers?

They are but a few of Skerik's many collaborations:

http://www.thedeadkennygs.com/

https://www.facebook.com/OmahaDiner?ref=ts&fref=ts

http://www.garageatrois.net/

I've seen him in concert maybe 10 times in the past couple of years...

 

[garylkoh]

The Calm before the Storm

Thanks, Steve for taking this picture.

This shows the suite from the perspective of the left loudspeaker. We like a nice, open,uncluttered room. It allows for two rows of seating - some like a more nearfield listening position, others further away. This year, we had a second system sync'ed to the main system using the G-Source.

 

[garylkoh]

This year, the Genesis Candy Index was about 30% down from last year. By the morning of the last day of the show, we still had two un-opened bags of candy.

Here's a link to last year's Index: http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showt...ional-CES-2013&p=164772&viewfull=1#post164772

 

[garylkoh]

Some press coverage about the room:

Jon Iverson, Stereophile, on digital
http://www.stereophile.com/content/genesis-muse-music-source-g-source

Jason Victor Serinus took some time to cover the whole system, and I'm honored that he liked what he heard.
http://www.stereophile.com/content/genesis-class-d-equals-color-0

 

[Johnny Vinyl]

CNET has a pic of your setup....no commentary though.

http://reviews.cnet.com/2300-3022_7-10019429-12.html

 

[Peter Breuninger]

Ghirardelli Squares? All I saw were Resses Cups and Hersheys. They must have been hiding or went first!

 

[garylkoh]

Ghirardelli Squares? All I saw were Resses Cups and Hersheys. They must have been hiding or went first!

Yeah - we give away the good stuff too. You'll have to dig deeper in the bowl

The first to go are the Lindt Lindor truffles, but we usually only put out a few every couple of hours or so.

 

[SMcAudio]

Hello Friends,

Gary Koh kindly invited me to join him and his sister Carolyn for this year's CES and it was a pleasure to do so – thanks again! Here are some observations about CES and the Genesis exhibit. To those members who came by to say hello, it was good to see you (Hi Peter & Myles!). I hope you enjoyed the show as much as we did.

Every show throws a new set of challenges at you, and CES 2014 was no different. Murphy's Law was definitely in effect, proving once again that the best-laid plans are often kicked in the shins by a capricious and fickle universe. This year the air was extremely dry and static was more of an issue than I recall it having been previously. After a day of getting seriously zapped and having static blasts temporarily stun several pieces of gear, Gary wisely brought in a humidifier. It looked like our personal fog-effects machine but it really did the trick, not only eliminating the static problem but making the room more comfortable in general. Then a prototype USB DAC scrambled the brain of Gary's new Muse Music Server when it was plugged-in, and deleted his entire play list - delightful! Oh, well - in the words of a mystic sage, it's always something. Gary and I put in some late hours on setup day and got everything working properly and sounding excellent.

Gary's new G4 (or G-Force) speakers are a real treat – they are beautiful to behold and sound incredible. I think Gary has outdone himself with this new design. The G4s have a powered woofer section making amplifier matching considerably easier than it might be otherwise. Driven by Gary's own GRA1440 monoblocks (1400W each into 4 ohms) the sound was seductively smooth, coherent, beautifully detailed, and dynamic as all get-out. These speakers create a big 3-D soundfield with all instruments and voices clearly defined and localized. As Gary demos them he is fond of showing listeners that his standing between them and one of the speakers does not upset the image stability or tonality – and it's true! I'll leave it to Gary to explain how this works but it is a fascinating aspect of their performance. Of course I have to add that some part of the magically musical ambience these speakers delivered sprang, no doubt, from the mystic alien hieroglyphic runes Gary had added to the cabinets (in high-molecular-weight acrylic gold paint, no less). You may have to pay a bit extra to have yours treated this way but I'd say it's definitely worth it.

Source material was delivered by the new “Muse” Music Server and Gary's own Roksan TT, arm, and cartridge. A couple of years back I worked with Gary to develop a new Genesis preamplifier called the SMc-1, and Gary has since developed a built-in phono stage for it. The complete package is close to being ready for production and it sounds great. We spun a lot of excellent vinyl via the SMc-1, and digital files sounded great from the Muse server which delivered beautiful music throughout much of the show. The Muse is a “black box” design in a handsome but otherwise unassuming chassis. Control is via an iOS or Andriod device (many control apps to choose from) and all of the information you need is displayed there. Gary has turned literal decades of experience into an outstanding music server that will please discerning audiophiles and music lovers. He is hard at work getting it ready for the market and it should be out fairly soon.

My own VRE-1C preamp ran the system for much of the show and looked great (if I do say so myself) sitting on Gary's custom black-and-clear equipment rack. The new display was easy to read from across the room and I've managed to get the brightness adjusted to a nice, unobtrusive level. I recently added a new feature that lets you turn-off the display and panel lights while listening if you prefer a blacked-out listening experience. How does it sound? Well, it sounds like...music! If you are in the market for a preamp to last a lifetime, check it out.

All connections were via the latest Absolute Fidelity cables, including the AC power cords. Did I mention that Gary Koh is a real Renaissance Man? That's right – the Absolute Fidelity Cables are yet another of Gary's inventions. I swear the man can do anything he puts his mind to, and he gets into a lot of stuff! The AF cable line was already excellent but he has managed to deliver a few improvements, including a very handsome new jacketing material. Maybe he will post some photos of the new look here...

One of the things I enjoy most about showing with Gary is discovering new music. Gary is a true music lover and always has a great collection to show with, and it's a treat to find new gems as we demo the system. What starts-out as an equipment demo often winds-up with a discussion of the music involved, along with details of the musicians careers, their various albums, and which versions and pressings are the best. This year I found a few new albums I really enjoyed, including “Delta Time” with Hans Theessink, Terry Evans and Ry Cooder, Jeff Beck's “Who Else?”, and “Vicious Delicious” by Infected Mushroom to name but a few. Evenings might find us relaxing with some classics from Dean Martin (The Capitol Years) or rocking hard with Massive Attack – serious fun!

Which brings me to a final point about this Genesis system and the new G4 speakers: it was always engaging and musical, and a genuine pleasure to listen to. It's easy to say that you would *expect* a high-end system to deliver this level of performance – certainly at this price level and arguably at *any* price point – but it is surprising to me how many elaborate and expensive systems do not attain this basic goal. One more thing... As we closed the show Friday afternoon we got a little carried away and played some dance / electronica REALLY LOUD!! This is good fun when you're in the mood, and we were definitely in that mood. The point is this – the G4 speakers did not sound strained or taxed in the slightest. We were playing at some extreme level but the music sounded great - no hardness, no glare or irritation, and no dynamic compression - like a “bigger” version of what we normally listen to. Not many speakers can do this (assuming they have an amplifier that can deliver the goods in the first place) and hearing this feat from the relatively modest-sized G4 was very impressive, indeed. Congratulations, Gary – nice job!

Next up is T.H.E. Show Newport at the end of May - please come by and say hello, and I will look forward to seeing you there.

Steve McCormack
SMc Audio

 

[puroagave]

Another guitar album - this one is probably the best I have where it sounds like two friends jamming with each other rather than a "studio session". The liner notes called it "ebulliently relaxed" and I couldn't agree more. It's an album to play through - so I don't know if it will make good demo music, but it certainly makes great music to spend time with.

One of Chet Atkin's heros who shaped his playing style was Les Paul. Chet's older brother Jim worked on a trio with Les Paul, and Chet would listen to them on an old two-tube battery-powered radio he built (an early audiophile!!). Jim would come home, and show Chet some of the Les Paul fingering. Fast forward to the early '70s and it happened that Chet was in New York for a tour with Arthur Fiedler. Les Paul was also in the city, and Les and Chet spent a long afternoon of music in a room at the Hotel Warwick. So good and fulfilling a time was had that Chet persuaded Les to come out of retirement and make an album together. This is album is the result, studio banter and all, plus a few mistakes included. As Les Paul said, "What the hell, it sounds good, so let's keep it."

View attachment 13108

Since you like Chester & Lester you need Standard Brands with Lenny Breau, it was also recorded at Chet's studio and the sound is lush...its harder to find, a clean copy will cost you.

 

[garylkoh]

Since you like Chester & Lester you need Standard Brands with Lenny Breau, it was also recorded at Chet's studio and the sound is lush...its harder to find, a clean copy will cost you.

Thanks, Rob. I'll hunt it down

Another great guitar album is Atkins and Travis.

 

[garylkoh]

Giving away my secrets again.......

Watch me here as I explain the intricacies behind my latest design - the Genesis 4 loudspeaker during CES to Peter. We call this new speaker the G-Force because for a modest sized speaker, it can go REALLY LOUD!! It's because of the 5-way design that distributes the sound across many drivers - including a ribbon tweeter as well as a ribbon midrange. Despite it being a 5-way crossover, it's extremely coherent and seamless across the whole sonic fabric. AND it casts a huge sweet spot - which is the characteristics of all my designs.

This is good fun when you're in the mood. The G4 speakers do not sound strained or taxed in the slightest even playing at some extreme level but the music just sounds great - no hardness, no glare or irritation, and no dynamic compression - like a “bigger” version of what we normally listen to. Not many speakers can do this (assuming they have an amplifier that can deliver the goods in the first place) and hearing this feat from the relatively modest-sized G4 was very impressive, indeed.

My buddy Steve McCormack is also featured!!

 

[garylkoh]

Here's another impression of the G4 that I was pointed to today.....

Have to honest here, that personal biases, even when known and admitted can still be an influence on one's opinions. Over the past many years, I've avoided offers to hear Genesis speakers, as for years, even dating back to the old Infinity days, I just never liked the sound of any of the speakers under Arnie Nudell's reign. But, knowing Genesis has been under the direction of President /CEO Gary Koh for a while now, I thought it was time to check them out. I am glad I did. The new Genesis 4 ($45,000) was plain brilliant. Delicate, powerful, detailed, musical, and just plain fun to listen to.

http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue71/ces20147.htm