CES 2012 – Constellation Audio
Constellation Audio electronics driving Tidal’s Contriva speakers.
It took a little while for me to realize here that these were Tidal speakers and not Venture speakers. This allowed for an interesting mental exercise where the sound I heard was being compared in my head to the typical sound of systems with Venture speakers [e.g. laid back, etc. But see review of room with new statement Venture speakers – it appears that they may be moving Venture to a more [midi-]dynamic sound].
I thought these had much more color, more separation, more dynamics than the typical Venture sound, And when I learned they were Tidal speakers, not Venture speakers, I *still* thought they had more of this than the previous Tidal speaker-fronted systems I have heard, as well [I’ve only head about 5 to 7, I think, so still learning about these speakers].
These were one of the few rooms at the show that had any kind of musical engagement for me [along with Verity / Lamm, Kondo / Kondo, Franco Serblin/ Air Tight, Von Schweikert / Audio Power Labs, and… ]. I am in a rush always at these shows, and sometimes my attention is completed dominated by conversation, but it is not like I was in any less rush in these rooms either [except the Franco Serblin ‘Accordo’ speaker-fronted system], not that I did not enjoy several other rooms [Magico/ Luixman, Venture / Venture, and…].
Come to think of it, I’ve enjoyed several of Constellation Audio’s rooms in the past as well. Not enough to rave about them yet – but then again, raving is not really my overriding personal characteristic [if you knew me better, trust me, you would agree 🙂 makes me wonder if I would really fit in as a member of the press after all… ;-)]
Constellation amplifier and Tidal loudspeakers
Constellation ‘Centaur’ stereo amplifier
Constellation ‘Centaur’ stereo amplifier
Constellation ‘Centaur’ stereo amplifier
Tidal ‘Contriva’ loudspeaker
Tidal’s Contriva loudspeaker
Tidal’s Contriva speaker
Tidal’s Contriva speaker bottom part
Constellation’s Virgo line stage on Harmonic Resolution System’s (HRS) SXR equipment rack
Constellation’s Virgo line stage
Constellation Audio’s Cygnus Media Player
Constellation Audio’s Cygnus Media Player
Constellation Audio’s power supplies
Constellation Audio ‘Hercules’ and ‘Centaur’ amplifiers
The sound in this room was a huge disappointment. Thin and lean to the extreme. The Dan D’Agostino Momentum room was way better as was the LAMM room.
Hi Martin,
Hmmmm….
The Lamm room was definitely more full and lush. And I’d be willing to agree that the D’Agostino amps are more full and lush than the Constellation electronics [although the D’Agostino room had serious problems in tonality, dynamics, note decay, complexity, etc – not necessarily related to the amps].
But I thought the system above was pretty much in the middle of the bell curve of reasonable fullness and lushness [being the opposite of thinness and leanness].
Perhaps you heard the Constellation room early in the show?
If a person prefers very lush harmonics [which may or may not be you] then yes, they will prefer the Lamm / Verity system over the Constellation system [one of our best friends has the Verity Lohengrin speakers used in the Lamm system, with Lamm ML3 amps and Audio Aero LaSource player. He loves it]. Some people think that this is lusher than reality calls for – but most people who like this kind of sound really think most systems out there sound too thin and lean.
I personally do like a little ‘lusher than reality’ sound – but I also recognize it for what it is.
I would rate the Lamm / Verity system high, in a more general sense, even though it is indeed on the lush side of things – because it offers some people the lushness they want and doesn’t short change them on things like micro- and midi-dynamics and resolution and the things that most lush systems sacrifice in order to be lush.
Hopefully you weren’t referring to the Lamm / Wilson MAXX 3 room, which this year was indeed a little thin and lean, at least for those of us who remember the sound with the Wilson Alexandria X2 speakers last year.
Thanks for posting.
Take care,
-Mike
Hi Mike – LAMM Verity room. MAXX3 room this year less so. It was early on in the show I went in but given the level of competition one would expect more from these guys. I went in to see if the Harley review was worth a further look. I think I will wait until I hear better in Munich.
Munich!
We so, so, SO want to go to the Munich show.
Maybe we’ll actually make it this year.
Interesting to know what you think of these at that show. Feel free to [aka *please*] update us and let us know what you think – especially if we are, in the end, unable to make it ourselves.
The finish on the Tidal Speakers is beautiful. I have heard them at a couple of shows and they always sound great, no real errors to complain about. That perception may ultimately be their claim to fame.
First time hearing the Constellation, I had no real complaints but agree not on the lush side of life.