Show Reports

February 5, 2012 by Michael

THE Show 2012 (at CES) – Lotus Group, Audio Power Labs, WAVAC, Pranawire

This room featured the Lotus Group’s Granada loudspeakers being bi-amped with the big Audio Power Labs TNT-833 amps and the smaller WAVAC MD-805m amps. The larger WAVAC amps that were originally planned for this system developed some kind of issue during shipping, I think.

I was happy to see the Audio Power Labs here, having just come from the room that featured them on the smaller Tidal ‘piano’ speakers. I really was anxious to hear the Granada speakers pushed closer to their audiophile limits than I had previously heard them – those being systems with the speakers driven by the Pass Labs amps and later the Musical Fidelity amps.

Unfortunately something was not quite right here.

The sound was dull, notes kind of slurring together; atonal, notes not ringing free [which these speakers can do really well] and the color was more pastelish than vivid [which these speakers can also do well]; and dynamically compressed, specifically in the midi-dynamic region, with micro-dynamics not really happening either.

I only heard the system driven by the CD player, even tho I came back here a few times – but Neli heard it later with the Hanss turntable and said it sounded much better. They may have made other changes to the front end as well.

Trying to capture the glow of the vacuum tubes of the Wavac and Audio Power Labs.

Lotus Group ‘Granada’ loudspeaker

Lotus Group ‘Granada’ loudspeaker rear drivers

Audio Power Labs ‘TNT-833’ amplifier

Audio Power Labs ‘TNT-833’ amplifier from above

Audio Power Labs ‘TNT-833’ amplifier rear

The WAVAC MD-805m amplifier from above

The whole system from behind. Lots of Pranawire cables!

Some unidentified stuff in these Pranawire power cords and Acoustic Revive power distributor

More Paranawire power cables, Oyaide and Furutech plugs, and Acoustic Revive power distributor

The Hanss T-60 turntable

The Lyra Olympos cartridge

EAR Acute CD player

WAVAC LCR-X2 phono equalizer preamplifier

WAVAC PR-T1 line preamplifier

Loricraft PRC4 record cleaner

February 5, 2012 by Michael

THE Show 2012 (at CES) – Audio Power Labs

This room featured the smallish Tidal ‘Piano’ speakers on the Audio Power Labs TVT-833 amplifiers with the Nova Physics ‘Memory Player’ as source.

I thought this room was pretty good, and for my money it was the best sounding room at THE Show part of CES.

It had good dynamics up and down the frequency spectrum, good harmonics, good separation, notes weren’t mushed together during complex passages – everything you are supposed to have if you want to start sounding like music. There wasn’t a ton of subtle detail, so no drug like aspects here – and of course we could wish for a larger speaker in a room this size. But still, pretty good. This was one of 3 rooms that used Audio Power Labs amps at these shows – this and another of which,with the Von Schweikert speakers I thought were in the top 10.

The Tidal ‘Piano’ loudspeaker