Pursuing the Ultimate Music Experiences

Don’t think music was playing here on this system of Unison Research ‘Giro’ turntable, Bel Canto electronics, Running Springs Audio power conditioner, Harmonic Resolution Systems SXR equipment rack, Cardas cabling, and Joseph Audio’s Pearl 2 loudspeakers.

I’ll have you all know that I had to learn how to spell ‘Joeseph’ for this post. That it should be actually spelled ‘Joseph’ came as one of those surprises in life. You know, like … “really? no way!” Kind of like that people really eat peanut butter and olive sandwiches.

Bel Canto gear on HRS SXR equipment rack

Bel Canto gear, Unison Research Giro turntable, on HRS SXR equipment rack

Joseph Audio’s Pearl 2 loudspeaker

Joseph Audio’s Pearl 2 loudspeaker

Joseph Audio’s Pearl 2 loudspeaker rear binding posts.

Unison Research Giro turntable

In a side room was another couplea systems: this one featured the Joseph Audio ‘Perspective’ loudspeakers

The Joseph Audio ‘Perspective’ loudspeaker

This other system featured the Joseph Audio Pulsar monitor loudspeaker

Joseph Audio Pulsar stand-mounted loudspeaker

Joseph Audio ‘Perspective’ loudspeaker

I think these last 2 photos are some of the coolest in the report so far. Hope these capture what the original displayed – with all the reflections of the marble parquet floor causing the speakers to kind of blend-into / sprout-up-out-of the floor.

Speaker rear.

Speaker front.

I visited this room twice, the second time with Neli.

Franco Serblin was speaker designer at Sonus Faber and is now designing his own line speakers.

The first time I heard the just the Ktema speakers. The room seating was setup very strangely [see below. one seat in the sweet spot and one couch perched sideways, usually blocking access to the area behind the sweet spot. This made seating for 3 people, 2 of which were facing sideways to the system, one of which had their view and hearing blocked], making it very hard to listen w/o standing up, usually in front of someone else. So it was crowded. I did manage to force my way into the back and take the photo below.

The Ktema speakers sounded good, but I could not decide, in the time I had there, if it was the old Sonus Faber ‘sweetness with balls’ sound, the later Sonus Faber ‘sweet and polite’ sound, or something new. So I wanted to get back there. This was about 10am on the 2nd day.

When we did get back there, the last hour or so on the last day, it was mostly empty except for some German guy from Axiss, I think, who chatted up Neli for a half-hour or so – which gave me a long time to listen – this time to the Franco Serblin ACCORDO monitor speakers.

The Accordo speakers sound quite full, and I was surprised, when I got up close to take photos, that these were playing and not the Ktema. Neli didn’t believe me so SHE had to walk to the front too. These days this shouldn’t be all that surprising – many monitor speakers are sounding more full-range these days – but compared to the old Sonus Faber Electa and Extrema [we’ve lived with both], these give one more a feeling of full-range satisfaction.

Albert Porter wandered in and when I asked him what he thought of these, I think he was surprised that it was the monitors playing too – but overall he thought he did not like this kind of harmonic presentation. I never could find out what he meant. The Air Tight sound does have somewhat dull-sounding harmonics – but the monoblocks drove the speakers well, and the harmonics were even top to bottom and in good proportion to each other. And the tonality was close-enough to real that any differences did not bother me – and I am pretty sensitive to atonal sound, though I do not have ‘perfect pitch’ or anything. When we ended up in the Robert Lighton / Audio Note room, the harmonic colors were certainly more vivid – like the difference between, say, colors on a day when it is very humid and a day where the sun is bright with no humidity [I was going to say the different between the color of flowers on a cloudy day versus a sunny day – but think that is a little too stark. It is somewhere in-between these two lousy metaphors].

I think these speakers, now, are a cross between the old ‘ballsy’ Sonus Faber and the sweet and lovely detailed Sonus Faber designs, taking the best from both. I think these walk the middle line of having a good deal of pep but at the same time being more linear and well-behaved. Some a good amount of resolution, but not really focusing on it as intensely as, say, the Guarneri is.

That said, I would love to be able to hear these on an amp that is more likely to be used with these guys. Have no idea how hard they are to drive – Sonus Faber was all over the place [the Lamm ML2 18n watt SET works great on the Stradivarius, and nothing in this galaxy can truly drive the Extremas]. I can say that this was the best I have heard Air Tight sound.

Took a lot of photos, being there twice and all. The speakers, especially the Ktema, is strangely hard to photograph and not all that photogenic while still being quite fun to look at all the same.

We see here the crazy seating here in this room.

A more quiet time.

The only two Franco Serblin speakers at this point, the Ktema and Accordo.

The Franco Serblin Ktema ‘Proscenium’ loudspeaker [most people seem to drop the ‘Proscenium’].

The Franco Serblin Ktema loudspeaker

The Franco Serblin Ktema loudspeaker

The Franco Serblin loudspeakers

The Franco Serblin loudspeakers

The Franco Serblin Ktema loudspeaker

The Franco Serblin Ktema loudspeaker bottom, spikes

The Franco Serblin Ktema loudspeaker directly from the front, easy to see what the front really looks like.

The Franco Serblin Accordo monitor loudspeaker

The Franco Serblin Accordo monitor loudspeaker

Franco Serblin’s Accordo monitor loudspeaker

Franco Serblin’s Accordo monitor loudspeaker

Franco Serblin’s Accordo monitor loudspeaker

Franco Serblin’s Accordo monitor loudspeaker. The monitor speaker is rear ported.

Franco Serblin’s Accordo monitor loudspeaker closeup. Looks like it is signed by Franco Serblin on the top there, and you can see how the ‘strings’ are threaded to make the speaker front ‘cover’.

Franco Serblin’s Accordo monitor loudspeaker

Franco Serblin’s Accordo monitor loudspeaker directly from the front, makes it easier to see the drivers.

Air Tight ATM 3011 monoblock amplifier

Air Tight ATM 3011 monoblock amplifier

Air Tight ATM 3011 monoblock amplifier

Air Tight ATM 3011 monoblock amplifier

Air Tight ATM 300 amplifier

Air Tight ATC 2 preamplifier

Air Tight ATC 2 preamplifier

Accuphase DD6000 CD player

Several Transrotor turntables were on static display. This is the Transrotor ‘Fat Bob’ Plus TMD turntable

Transrotor ‘Fat Bob’ Plus TMD turntable

Transrotor Dark Star Reference turntable

Transrotor Dark Star Reference turntable

Transrotor Zet 3 turntable

Transrotor Zet 3 turntable

Unknown Transrotor turntable

Unknown Transrotor turntable

Air Tight PC-1 Supreme cartridfge

Air Tight PC-1 Supreme cartridfge

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I had forgotten I stopped by here in the middle of the 2nd day – and shot the backs of the speakers and the particular turntable they were using.

The rear of the Franco Serblin Ktema speaker

Rear of the Franco Serblin ‘Accordo’ monitor speaker. Looks like there is a second port near the bottom of the speaker that is covered/stuffed with something.

Rears of the Ktema and Accordo loudspeakers

The TAOC equipment rack in this room [the platforms look like those from Finite Elemente but the support structure does not. See comments]

The Transrotor Fat Bob turntable being played here sometimes

The Transrotor Fat Bob turntable

The morning walk from the Flamingo to the Venetian is along the Las Vegas ‘Strip’. It is between 40 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit. The skies are always flawlessly blue.

Not many people out

Caesar’s Palace is on the other side of the street .

Not many people drinking yet (a good sign).

They make the sidewalk take a little [100 yard] loop back away from the road and through a lot of vendors and other places they hope we will spend money at.

As we exit the loop, there are a cluster of the ubiquitous palm trees on the Strip. That is the Mirage’s sign over on the left behind the trees.

McDonalds, Las Vegas Strip-style. Apparently the busiest place at around 10am on the strip (not a good sign).

And here we are at the moving walkway that takes us to the Venetian proper. That is Treasure Island over there on the left.

Exiting the Venetian at the end of the first day of the show.

Too bad the blog is in reverse order like this.

Just imagine looking through all 40 rooms or so to this point and then entering this fantasy world of light and color and partying people [although we do have to transition to the outside by traversing the casino – another world not much related to reality].

Not sure whether to port the show up to this point to the Gallery / Database now, as planned, or continue on and fish the show report here on the blog. The blog is somewhat easier for humans and search engines to find.

I also feel burnout looming… looming… and I want to make sure to get at least one full version before that happens.

As I read other reports [OK, just Stereophile’s and JV’s (boy, what a mixed up report this is this year – from Marc Michelsonish (who must be on crack and listening to things from his villa on Pluto) room reviews to somewhat distressed angst over the Magico room – haven’t read the review but did read the comments – long story…)] I feel the temptation to post some kind of summary.

Summary: nothing was fantastic but a lot was very much worth listening to and investigating – and hardly any of them were the same as those that were interesting last year.

Hmmmm, for some reason that did not satisfy the itch.

OK, the interesting [in a good way] rooms this year were YG Acoustics/Tenor, YG Acoustics/Krell, Magico/Luxman(!), Venture(!)/Venture, Ktema/Air Tight(!), Von Schweikert(!)/Audio Power Labs, Kondo/Kondo, and… to a minor degree the big Magico/mystery amps room [only because despite the extreme problems with the sound here this was the only Magico system ever, from the Magico Mini onward, that sounded RELAXED and not stifled and constipated and under-powered. Big and open Magico has until now been an oxymoron] and to a lesser extent, the big Sonus Faber/? system [usually you pay more, a lot more, and get LESS colored, but there is no rule it has to be that way, now is there?]

I do really want to post summaries at the end of the report, and not in the middle, otherwise they will just get lost.

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

The Proac room. I though the Tube Technology amps were good looking, so I snapped some photos…

A Proac loudspeaker

A Proac loudspeaker from the rear

Tube Technology amplifier

Tube Technology amplifier

Tube Technology preamplifier

This room featured Blumenhofer speakers on ASTIN Trew electronics with the Acoustic Signature ‘Ascona’ turntable as source.

I heard an album here, with the intention of trying to determine the quality level of the Acoustic Signature table. As near as I could tell it was certainly the equal of any table I have heard at a show [excepting the older Walkers. I start from the assumption that most high-end audio turntables have pretty much the same qualities, albeit slightly different flavors, and it is these flavors, along with aesthetics and usability etc. that one uses to determine which table to get. Unlike digital, few tables sound horrific.].

The Blumenhofer Genuin FS-2 speaker

The Blumenhofer Genuin FS-2 speaker

The Blumenhofer Genuin FS-2 speaker

The Blumenhofer Genuin FS-2 speaker close-up of the horn

The Blumenhofer Genuin FS-2 speaker from above

The Blumenhofer Genuin FS-2 speaker from above

ASTINtrew at3500 CD Player

Grandinote Shinai linestage

Grandinote Celio phono preamplifier

The Acoustic Signature ‘Ascona’ turntable.

Acoustic Signature’s Ascona turntable

Acoustic Signature’s Ascona turntable specifications

More of the Acoustic Signature Ascona turntable

Acoustic Signature ‘Ascona’ turntable

Acoustic Signature ‘Ascona’ turntable

The tall Acoustic Signature ‘Ascona’ turntable silhouetted against the tall buildings on the Las Vegas Strip

The specifications of the Koetsu Urushi Vermillion cartridge

Acoustic Signature ‘Ascona’ turntable with Koetsu Urushi Vermillion cartridge

Acoustic Signature ‘Ascona’ turntable with Koetsu Urushi Vermillion cartridge

On static display, several ASTIN Trew components… the Concord integrated amplifier

ASTINTrew … the Concord DAC 1

ASTINTrew at2000 integrated amplifier

Astin Trew at2000 integrated amplifier

Astin Trew at1000 preamplifier

On static display, several Acoustic Signature turntables… the Acoustic Signature Barzetti turntable

Acoustic Signature Manfred MK2 XL turntable

Acoustic Signature Challenger MK2 turntable

The Acoustic Signature Storm turntable

Acoustic Signature ‘Thunder’ turntable

This is the resolution audio room this year. Usually the Resolution Audio room does well at showing off the quite high price/performance of their gear but this year, not so much. Perhaps the Epos speakers, as much as I think they work so well in the Music Hall and Creek rooms, were not up to the task of showing off the somewhat higher fidelity Resolution Audio gear.

The components used in this room this year.

The Cantata Music Center CD player

The Resolution Audio Cantata C50 amplifier

Apple’s Airport Extreme

EPOS spealers

EPOS loudspeaker

On static display, a Resolution Audio open chassis

On static display, another Resolution Audio component with the top off