Dream 360 makes interesting-looking speakers.

This was a weird room – the guy on the left there wouldn’t move his arm either time as I had to squeeze by to take close-up photos and then to leave. Kind of creepy.

They weren’t playing music loud enough to really hear what the speakers sounded like.

The Dream 360 Reference speakers

A Dream 360 Reference loudspeaker

A Dream 360 Reference loudspeaker

A Dream 360 Reference loudspeaker

A Dream 360 Reference loudspeaker

A Dream 360 Reference speaker from below

Desktop Dream 360 speakers

A small Dream 360 desktop speaker

[Finished with floor 29 of the Venetian… now onward and upward, to floor 30!]

Venture brought their ‘Grand Ultimate’ speakers this year and put them on Venture amplification.

This was by far the best I’ve heard the Venture sound. Much more midi-dynamics and separation than their traditional laid back and kind of euphonic yet muddy sound.

I attributed it to the use of the Venture amps.

However, I talked to a Venture dealer about this and they thought it was the new design of these speakers that made them perform like this.

But then I looked at the website, and these have been around for a few years, so…. a mystery.

I didn’t stay long enough to evaluate more deeply the other aspects of the sound and ascertain the system’s true quality – I was just happy that Venture had apparently joined the ‘game’.

The Venture Grand Ultimate speakers and Venture amps

The Venture ‘Grand Ultimate’ loudspeakers

The Venture ‘Grand Ultimate’ loudspeakers

The Venture ‘Grand Ultimate’ loudspeakers

The Venture ‘Grand Ultimate’ loudspeakers. Yes they ARE deep. And about 6+ feet tall.

The Venture V100A+ Reference amplifier

The Venture V100A+ Reference amplifier. 100 watts class A – work, look and, I bet, feel like the old Levinson 20.5 and 20.6

The Venture VP100 Reference preamp and Weiss digital

The rear of the electronics, and Venture’s own branded cables

This system was a more downscale, affordable version of the system last year; the AMG turntable instead of a big Clearaudio, the Vandersteen Treo speaker instead of their ‘7’, the HRS RXR rack instead of their ‘SXR’ – although the Aesthetix components seem to still be on the relatively expensive side.

The sound was pleasant and, the way Vandersteen-fronted systems often do, scratches the surface of several different types of sound (Enjoyable, Impressive, Sophisticated, Sweet, Real, Emotional) without actually really being any one of them.

The Vandersteen ‘Treo’ speaker

The AMG (formerly Benz AMG) turntable (see more photos of this table previously in this report in the Musical Surroundings rooms)

The AMG (formerly Benz AMG) turntable

The AMG (formerly Benz AMG) turntable

The dark version of the AMG turntable, Aesthetix gear all on the prototype HRS ‘RXR’ equipment rack

Stopping the LP on the top of the Harmonic Resolution System’s RXR equipment rack

Another look at the stack of equipment on the HRS RXR rack.

The Aesthetix ‘Janus’ tube preamp and phono stage [i.e. it is a preamp not a linestage]

The Aesthetix ‘Romulus’ CD player and USB DAC

The Aesthetix ‘Atlas’ power amp