by Michael

Acoustic Zen Crescendo Mk. II Speakers on Triode Corp electronics

It is funny [or not] when I read the better show reports and how they report on these rooms setup by Acoustic Zen and Triode Corp at all these shows. They point out something like that they heard a slight issue with the sound of a part of one of the tracks they played here. Ah, then this, they imply, can’t be best of show then.

What this really says to the perceptive reader who reads a lot of these things and thinks to themselves a little bit is that, hey, these rooms are such reliable performers, and it is so boring to keep awarding them the accolades they deserve, that they will dig deep down and find something [anything!] wrong so they do not have to put them somewhere on the BOS list yet again. The Lamm rooms experience this same thing.

Show reporters get so bored with seeing the same things each show [most of the gear, the setups, the people… it is all 98% the same from show to show] that they need to mix it up once in awhile and pick someone else as BOS, someone else to talk and rave about. And heaven forbid that they bore the readers [equals less traffic equals less ad revenue] by talking about the same old boring rooms that sound good, that perform well, each show after show after show.

And the speakers are only $18K? And the electronics are actually fairly reasonably priced?? BO-ring. Can’t get any more boring than this. Show reports got to be exciting wiiiild stuff, man…

They played music here. It sounded like music. It did nothing egregiously wrong and got a lot just right. It was immensely enjoyable. Like freaking always.

Well, I guess [and after all I am kind of a show reporter too…] I am also a wee tiny bit bored :-).

Yah, you know, each show it is the same… I can’t ever afford to spend a lot of time here [and this is what sucks about being a show reporter who actually goes to all the rooms (otherwise you have prejudged the show before you even arrive! Having decided what is best by the choice of what rooms you omit even visiting)]. You know I have to go and check out all those other rooms…

*sigh*

[This is a excerpt of a post made during CES 2014. We are doing some of these in order to modernize the website a little].

in Acoustic Zen / Featured / Featured Acoustic Zen Posts 0 comments
 by Michael

Newport Beach 2014. Acoustic Zen and Questyle


Acoustic Zen Crescendo II speakers ($18K) driven by Questyle R200 wireless amplifiers and Raysonic CD player.

This was the first room I visited as I started touring the show with my big honking canon camera instead of my nice little light phone camera.

Acoustic Zen usually shows with Triode Corp electronics, but they are ‘taking a break’ in order to show that each sounds quite good without the other [we have photos of the Triode Corp room as well].

One of the more modest systems at the show, the total being in the low $20K’s.

The speakers were bi-amped with two Questyle R200 amps per speaker, each amp costing about $800.

The Questyle amplifiers were connected to the Raysonic CD player, not with cables but by the Questyle wireless transmitter.

The sound was quite good and dynamic, and only rarely and at high volumes could you tell that this was a solidstate system, and a very inexpensive one at that.

This system had exceptional imaging and I think we can say it was the best at the show in this regard [I think I can safely say this because it is rare that I get ‘startled’ by the imaging – but in this room I was. It is not for very note and every instrument, but often enough that it is frequent and noticeable]. Someone I respect heard this system the day after the show at the factory in San Diego, and unprompted said the same thing about the imaging… so if you are ever in San Diego…you can hear for yourself.


Here you see the Crescendo II speaker and the two Questyle amps.


The amps are cinched down because the power cords weigh more than they do and would otherwise tip the amps and pull them off the platform.


As you can see, no interconnect connecting the amps to the CD player, because it is wireless.


The CD player and the Questyle transmitter


The Raysonic CD player


The Questyle T2 Transmitter sending the CD player signal to the amps.


Static display of more Questyle gear.

in Acoustic Zen / High-end Audio HiFi and Stereo / Newport 2014 / Show Reports 0 comments
 by Michael

Lamm LP2.1 versus LP1 Signature phono preamplifiers – the mini shootout

predicatably
At CES 2014 in the larger Lamm Industries room, Vladimir switched between their new LP2.1 phono preamplifier and their also relatively new LP1 Signature preamplifier. The system was the Lamm ML3 amplifiers on the Verity Lohengrin speakers.


The source was the TechDAS turntable.


This is the main chassis of three [the other two being power supplies] of the Lamm LP1 Signature phono preamplifier


This is the new one box Lamm LP2.1 phono preamplifier

This is the transcript of what I write earlier in the CES 2013 show report:

“Vladimir Lamm swapped back and forth between the LP2.1 phono stage (which debuted this show. photos on the inside of the chassis are posted below and will also be posted on Ultimist) and the more expensive LP1 Signature phono stage, several times by using the two tonearms on the TechDAS at the same time [say what? this was fun]. With two very slightly different cartridges it was a little bit of a Fuji apples to Braeburn apples comparison, but the short and quick is that if you didn’t hear them back to back (the more expensive LP1 being smoother, less grainy, and just more of that good old analog wonderfulness) you would think you were already listening to the LP1 when it was in fact the less expensive LP2.1 all along (the original LP2 has been a giant killer among phono stages here at the Fed, at least until you get up into the $20-$30K range of the competition)”

As I have continued to reflect on what we heard, the LP2.1 still seems like an amazing value, albeit the LP1 Signature an obvious choice if you have the money to spend.

As most of the multifarious competition continues to charge more and more outrageous prices for mediocre performance, new high value phono preamplifiers take their place. And all the while, the predictably high value Lamm LP2, now LP2.1, from a well-known, well-reviewed brand, just keeps on providing excellent music for your audiophile dollar, with the LP1 Signature continuing this tradition up into the stratosphere of phono preamplifier performance space.

Below are some photos of the static display of the open chassis LP2.1. As usual, I couldn’t decide which was best, so I included several.

in CES 2014 / High-end Audio HiFi and Stereo / Lamm 0 comments