Usher had one of the larger rooms this year, as we make our way to the end of the 300 wing on floor 29.

These speakers are quite large. I may be able to fit inside one, and I am quite confident that Neli could fit inside one of these monsters.

Sorry I didn’t snapshot the electronics. This was the last room I covered on the first day, and I was running much later than expected [so I subsequently just changed my expectations to more accurately fit the observed amount of time it was taking me to do one of these wings]. The electronics no doubt were Usher’s own.

The sound here – a bigger and fuller version of Usher’s already big and full ‘house sound’. Usher always provides quite high price/performance sound: big, open, decent harmonics and a little loosy goosy. They are firmly in the ‘Enjoyable’ camp.

The Usher Be-20 Diamond loudspeakers

The Usher Be-20 Diamond loudspeaker

The Usher Be-20 Diamond loudspeaker side view

The Usher Be-20 Diamond loudspeaker plate at the bottom of the speaker. Do not see many speakers that can be filled with lead shot…

On static display, at least while I was here, the Usher Dancer Mini Two Diamond loudspeakers

The Usher Reference 1.5 amplifier

Usher loudspeakers and drivers on static display.

The large view of the Gamut room. I did not spend time here listening this year.

The closeup view of the Gamut system this year.

The Gamut MinenT M5 loudspeakers

The Gamut MinenT M5 loudspeakers

The Gamut MinenT M5 loudspeakers

The Gamut CD3 CD player

The Gamut Di150 integrated amplifier

The Gamut CD3 CD player on static display

Over on the landing a smaller? Gamut system

The Gamut MinenT M7 speakers

The Gamut MinenT M7 speakers

The Gamut D3i preamplifier

The Gamut PHi LCR center channel speaker

The Gamut D200i amplifier

The Robert Lighton room was featuring their speakers on all all Audio Note system [excepting the Benz cartridge].

The speakers, the $20K RL10 are high-efficiency two-way speakers and invite comparison to Audio Note speakers. They are designed to have more bass than ANUK speakers when placed further away from a wall and, indeed, they seem to do that. They are very slightly more harmonically rich than the comparably-priced newer hemp-driver ANUK speakers, but less dynamic and quite a bit more uneven with respect to frequency response and dynamics top-to-bottom.

The ANUK harmonics here were kind of startling after spending quite some time with the new Ktema monitor speakers [which we both liked very much]. To some degree we humans just all get used to a more threadbare harmonic presentation [of the Air Tight amps driving the Ktema, in that case], much more easily than we of the refined tastes [aka audiophiles] might like to think .

Robert Lighton RL10 speaker and external crossover

Robert Lighton RL10 loudspeaker and outboard crossover

Robert Lighton RL10 loudspeaker external crossover

Audio Note U.K. TT3 half reference turntable, Meishu integrated, M3RIAA phono stage and CD4.1x CD player

Audio Note U.K. TT3 half reference turntable

Audio Note U.K. TT3 half reference turntable

Audio Note U.K. TT3 half reference turntable and Benz Ebony cartridge

Audio Note U.K. TT3 half reference turntable and Benz ‘Ebony’ cartridge

Audio Note U.K. TT3 half reference turntable control box

Audio Note U.K. Meishu Phono Silver Signature integrated amplifier

Audio Note U.K. M3RIAA phono stage

Audio Note U.K. CD4.1x CD player

Audio Note U.K. Meishu Phono Silver Signature integrated amplifier

Audio Note U.K. Meishu Phono Silver Signature integrated amplifier open chassis

On static display, two Robert Lighton RL10 loudspeaker enclosures

On static display, a Robert Lighton RL10 loudspeaker enclosure

Close-up of the tweeter used by the Robert Lighton RL10 loudspeaker