Report

  

Venetian:   2 A B    29 A1 A2 B1 B2 C1 C2 C3   30 A1 A2 B1 B2 C1 C2   34  35  

  Alexis Park A B   St. Tropez A B C

 

 

Venetian Level 2 (B)
(Medium Resolution) CES 2008
Consumer Electronics Show
Las Vegas
January 2008

* Denotes a product carried by Audio Federation

Copyright © Audio Federation, Inc.. All rights reserved.
All pictures in this report are freely copyable and distributable
if attribution is given but may not be included in multi-room show reports without written permission.
 
     

 

 

 

STYLE
Impressive Sweet Enjoyable Emotional Sophisticated Natural Workhorse Real/Truth Magical/Spiritual
SOUND
Impressive Sweet Enjoyable Emotional Sophisticated Natural Workhorse Real/Truth Magical/Spiritual
 
This was one of only four unfamiliar rooms where I did not hear any serious problems playing unfamiliar music and wanted to come back with a few of my own test CDs. Since my hands are full of camera, next year I am hanging a couple of CDs around my neck.

I think I may be becoming prejudiced against big speakers like these that look quite heavy because I can't help thinking about the fun involved getting them up the 45 steps to our front door. But that probably just balances our lust for big sounding speakers like this - so it all probably just balances out.

The other rooms that passed the No Serious Problems Test were the big Acoustic Zen* room, the Zanden room, and the Lamm* room.
 
 
 
 
             
 

 

 

 

STYLE
Impressive Sweet Enjoyable Emotional Sophisticated Natural Workhorse Real/Truth Magical/Spiritual
SOUND
Imaging Micro-dynamics Impressive Enjoyable Workhorse
 
Totem rooms almost always seem to meet their sonic goals. Though there was too many people in this one to be sure - it sounded like this one did too. Good, entry-level speakers in exhibits with really offensive room decor for this vegetarian, and I hate to think what animal rights activists, Native Americans, and people who prefer modern interiors think.
 
                            
 

 

 

 

STYLE
Impressive Sweet   Enjoyable Emotional Sophisticated   Natural Workhorse Real/Truth   Magical/Spiritual
SOUND
Separation Integration Workhorse
 
The sound in this room was interesting. The tweeter was detailed in this macro-dynamic way, where the notes were accentuated, but not necessarily in a bad way - kind of tuneful. Overall top-to-bottom integration was a little off.
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

STYLE
Impressive Sweet   Enjoyable Emotional Sophisticated   Natural Workhorse Real/Truth   Magical/Spiritual
SOUND
Separation Imaging Micro-dynamics
 
Transparent speaker cabinets for their floorstanders and lots on on-wall capability. Otherwise very mid-fi, by which we mean that there was so much wrong sonically that one might indeed expect to hear just such a system at a typical stereo store.
 
   
 
         
 
 
 
 
 
Well, the YBA transport was interesting, but there sure is a lot of electronic equipment here for this room. I guess some drive some speakers and some the others?
 
 
So, why aren't the tabletop speakers, like this one, built with clear front panels like the floor-standers? So much here that confuses me. On to the next room.

 

 

 

STYLE
Impressive Sweet   Enjoyable Emotional Sophisticated   Natural Workhorse Real/Truth   Magical/Spiritual
SOUND
Micro-dynamics integration Speakers sound brand new
 
The sound was constipated, uneven top-to-bottom, a little etched, etc. Sounds just like un-broken-in ceramic driver speakers. Not sure if they are really new or not - they just sounded new to these ears.
 
 
                  
 
Chord front end all in black instead of their traditional silver. Argh! and what you see is the best photo I got of this component.
 
 
 
 
 
From the Danny Kaey point of view :-)
 
 
                                     
Interesting looking room treatments.
 
 
 

 

 

 

STYLE
Impressive Sweet Enjoyable Emotional Sophisticated Natural Workhorse Real/Truth Magical/Spiritual
SOUND
Analytical  Machine-like Life
 
TacT, more so that most other brands [even TAD], relies on convincing people that it has the best engineering prowess, as opposed to design philosophy or, say, sound.

I do not know who it was, but they were explaining the technical details of one of their components in this 'you are a hopeless idiot' tone of voice to this extremely interested and attentive attendee - and it was so, so, so Obnoxious Salesman in a Bad Stereo Store That I Will Go to Exactly Once.
 
 
Speaking of... looks like TAD speakers to me.
 
                                          
I have no idea what Internet Correction Services means. A quick Google revealed that there is nothing online about it. Curious that.
 
 
Musical Fidelity A1008 CD Player
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

STYLE
Impressive Sweet   Enjoyable Emotional Sophisticated   Natural Workhorse Real/Truth   Magical/Spiritual
SOUND
Small Mid-Fi Stereo
 
Not sure if these guys met their sonic goals here or not - but they aren't going for the gold here, they have a sense of humor, and the system did play music.
 

 

 

 

STYLE
Impressive Sweet Enjoyable Emotional Sophisticated Natural Workhorse Real/Truth   Magical/Spiritual
SOUND
Integration Workhorse
 
I so much want to like the systems with these speakers, and I so much expect to like systems with these speakers, but I think that there is an top-to-bottom integration problem and, no matter how efficient they are, there seems to be a reticence and struggling in the midrange that just doesn't do it for me. The amps might have promise, if I am hearing around the speakers correctly.
 
 
 
                                            
Pretty amps, but $21,800.00 seems like a lot for an amp a relatively unknown company. Isn't it? I don't know, there is that other company we all love that went out of business for several years and then they come back with their first product being a $75K amp. All I can say is that high-end audio is sure an awfully strange place.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

STYLE
Impressive Sweet Enjoyable Emotional Sophisticated Natural Workhorse Real/Truth Magical/Spiritual
SOUND
Not Heard By This Listener
 
 
This is a photo from outside the door.

A cascading series of events prevented me from hearing this room this show. First, as you can see there, they couldn't get the DCS front end to play.

Then, the room was arranged such that the rear row of chairs was in front of the door, and, although I am kind of tall and skinny, I couldn't get past the last row and into the room because of the people seated in the rear row.

Finally, a famous reviewer was there [but not famous enough for me to remember who they are. Hey, I know Josh and Danny, and Dave and Carol, Henk and Marja, and Steve. Who else is there? :-)] and they wanted a photo op with Yoav next to a speaker [how original] - and after about 2 -3 minutes of that, I decided I would try to come back.

I never made it back.
 
 

 

 

STYLE
Impressive Sweet   Enjoyable Emotional Sophisticated   Natural Workhorse Real/Truth   Magical/Spiritual
SOUND
Medium-sized Mid-Fi Stereo
 
 
 
 
This is the system I heard. I just personally do not like the lack of harmonic information, lack of note follow-through and uneven dynamics of Thiel speakers, even though their dynamics may indeed be more lifelike that many of their competitor's inefficient speakers, So shoot me.

Funny, this was one of many, MANY rooms and exhibits, even at the main conference center, that acted like they were unique and oh, so special in their approach to distribution of content.

Look, having some more or less fancy GUI, which takes content, whether ripped locally, from the internet, or a catalog like Music Giants, and distributing it to a system whether by wire or wirelessly - and decoded by some DAC or another, is what almost EVERYONE is doing. Even Microsoft, although their GUI is the worst, and seemed to look just like Windows Explorer, which, face it, is pretty darn utilitarian, but without the utility.

Well, THAT was a long sentence, and a long Venetian Meetings Rooms Level 2 report with about 230 photos. Next.... floor 35. Or was it 34? I get those so confused. I think it was 34, as I went to see the Lamm ML3's before the long walk back to the Alexis Park.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Copyright © Audio Federation, Inc.. All rights reserved.
All pictures in this report are freely copyable and distributable
if attribution is given but may not be included in multi-room show reports without written permission.

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