Capital AudioFest 2019

VAC Statement 452iQ power amplifiers and Statement Line and Phono Preamps; Von Schweikert Ultra 11 Loudspeakers, Kronos Pro Turntable and Black Beauty Tonearm, Airtight Opus One Cartridge, Masterbuilt Ultra Cables, and Critical Mass Stands

Herb Reichert  |  Nov 3, 2019

Walk through the glass entrance doors, then twenty paces straight ahead, and you find yourself standing at the lip of a dizzying precipice, with a full panoramic view of the Rockville Hilton’s vast LP-filled atrium. To your right is a spectacularly lit glass wall that measures about 25’ high by 75’ wide. Above the glass is a giant banner baring the turquoise Valve Amplification Company’s logo: VAC. Standing in front of the wall are groups of urbane sophisticates: handsome men in suits, beautiful women, bright-eyed children. This envy-inspiring display is assembled by The Audio Company out of Marietta, GA; who describe themselves as “purveyors of hi-end luxury audio.”

The Audio Company’s main brands are VAC, Esoteric, Kronos, and Von Schweikert.

Many years ago, I introduced myself to Albert Von Schweikert, and two years ago I introduced myself to VAC’s Kevin Hayes. These are two smart, erudite men whose products started modestly and have evolved steadily to reach the ultra level they are at now. That is why they have this big room and these big products.

The $300,000/pair Von Schweikert Ultra 11 loudspeaker system stands very tall and features nine drivers in the front and three more in the back. The back-firing woofers are driven by a couple thousand built-in solid-state watts. The main drivers are bi-amped with two VAC Statement 452iQ stereo-mono power amplifiers that cost $75K each (four total for the system).

The Kronos Pro turntable with Black Beauty tonearm and Ultracap power supply ($51,000) was running an Airtight Opus 1 MC cartridge ($16,000), which drove the VAC Statement phono preamplifier ($80,000) and line amplifier ($80,000). The rack and amp stands were by Critical Mass, and the cables were all Masterbuilt Ultra.

So how did this big system sound? Bigger than any Wilson WAMM or giant Western Electric theatre system I have experienced. The soundstage went from heaven above and around the globe. It was clean and detailed. It was fast and beautifully toned. While I listened, I could not help but wonder: What aspect of speaker design determines the size of performers and instruments? Big horns can make ten-foot-wide guitars; and my little Harbeths make four-foot-high musicians. These Von Schweikets made Stevie Ray Vaughn seem like one of those inflatable figures along the highway. Is proper image size a room-speaker thing? Or a measure of accuracy?

I used to sell million-dollar stereos, and despite what the trolls think, in luxury audio you really do get what you pay for. This system played big, beautiful, and dramatic. It looked super-fantastic. It was designed for an architectural setting that was also big, beautiful, and fantastic. Not my little bunker, therefore.

My plan is to review the smallest Von Schweikert speakers and VAC’s littlest integrated, just to see how these companies do intimate.

COMMENTS
Ortofan's picture
Submitted by Ortofan on November 3, 2019 - 12:14pm

... do you assign to proper image size or scale?

Maybe speakers with a floor-to-ceiling array of drivers are appropriate if your listening space is the size of a ballroom and you can sit tens of feet back from the speakers.

Decades ago Bud Fried criticized the out-sized images produced by various panel type speakers.

OTOH, HP from TAS supposedly used relatively large speakers in a relatively small room. The sound quality was reportedly likened to listening to a giant set of headphones.

Herb Reichert's picture
Submitted by Herb Reichert on November 4, 2019 - 3:57pm

probably reflects (at least) two things: a) how 'big' the performer 'looked' to the microphone. In other words how near or far it was from the microphone's diaphragm-eye. And...
b) How tall are the speakers.

I am sure there is more to it than that, but that is all I can think of today.

that is why I wrote it as a question.

What do YOU think Ortofan?

herb

Ortofan's picture
Submitted by Ortofan on November 4, 2019 - 11:12pm

... your speakers to act as a point source.
Then, is your room sufficiently large to allow you to sit at a distance where the output of all the drivers becomes properly integrated?
If you need to sit relatively far away from the speakers, early room reflections may have the effect of changing the apparent image size.

For a small room, maybe you want a speaker with a coaxially mounted woofer and tweeter, such as the KEF LS50 or Von Schweikert Unifield 1 MkII.
Conversely, the Ultra 11 is described as benefiting from "mid to larger soundrooms". Perhaps Von Schweikert can advise you as to what he considers to be the optimum room size for each of his speaker designs.

Herb Reichert's picture
Submitted by Herb Reichert on November 5, 2019 - 6:20am

fully grasp this but I bet JA1 knows the answer. Meanwhile two 'factors' now come to mind: one is only a shotgun mike acts like a point source but most people's speakers do. The other is, once upon a time I had 1947 Altec VOTs about 20' apart in my large firehouse room. Between them I had a pair of WATT-puppy IIs about 8' apart. On some Decca opera recordings the VOTs would identify the microphones as slightly above the heads of the performers and throw a soundstage about 50' wide. With the WATTs, the soundstage was only between the speakers and 'looked' like an opera on a tabletop. The question is why? And which reproduction is distorted? Is 'shrinkage' a form of distortion? I think maybe it is. Is image size just speaker radiation pattern? Or is it a time domain thing? Surely the WATTS were more precise in that realm. herb

Ortofan's picture
Submitted by Ortofan on November 5, 2019 - 6:44pm

... by Dr. Floyd Toole entitled Loudspeakers and Rooms for Sound Reproduction — A Scientific Review?

Herb Reichert's picture
Submitted by Herb Reichert on November 6, 2019 - 5:14am

I don't remember Dr. Toole even mentioning the subject of imaging. What did he say?

h

Ortofan's picture
Submitted by Ortofan on November 6, 2019 - 8:33am

... jog your memory?

"Many audiophiles appear to put value in a soundstage that extends beyond the physical span of the loudspeakers, a phenomenon that can be created through deliberate or accidental binaural effects in recordings, or by lateral reflections from adjacent walls in the reproduction space.

Whether a change in image position or size is good or bad, then, is a subjective judgment. Because what was intended by the recording artists is normally not known, such judgments must be based on what appears to be plausible or personally preferable."

Bogolu Haranath's picture
Submitted by Bogolu Haranath on November 6, 2019 - 10:42am

So, how tall and wide you want Taylor Swift or Beyonce or Katy Perry to be? ......... Just kidding Ortofan :-) .......

Bogolu Haranath's picture
Submitted by Bogolu Haranath on November 5, 2019 - 7:02am

Probably, one of the best ways to figure this out is to listen to known recordings with the chosen speakers and listening room ....... Some of the recordings made by JA1 may help ....... Of course, other known recordings could also help ........ Just a suggestion :-) .......

Bogolu Haranath's picture
Submitted by Bogolu Haranath on November 5, 2019 - 9:07am

Regarding your (Ortofan's) comment about coaxial speakers ....... Some of the recording studios also use passive KEF LS-50 for near field monitoring ....... Genelec is another example of coaxial active speakers, which are used for near field monitoring :-) .......

Bogolu Haranath's picture
Submitted by Bogolu Haranath on November 3, 2019 - 1:08pm

Question is how many audiophiles want to hear 'Stevie Ray Vaughn sound like he is one of those inflatable figures we see along the highway'? :-) .........

doak's picture
Submitted by doak on November 3, 2019 - 4:06pm

the VS11 speakers pictured would present a true to life sized audio image.
No reason technically to think otherwise.

Bogolu Haranath's picture
Submitted by Bogolu Haranath on November 4, 2019 - 1:58pm

I was repeating what HR was reporting ....... What size inflatable figures are those? ....... Life size or, Michelin man's size or, those huge inflatable figures used for advertising? :-) ........

Bogolu Haranath's picture
Submitted by Bogolu Haranath on November 3, 2019 - 4:38pm

Take a look at 'Inflatable tube man' on Google, for example :-) ..........

funambulistic's picture
Submitted by funambulistic on November 4, 2019 - 5:07am

That's "Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man" for the proper Google hit! Be sure and check the video...

Bogolu Haranath's picture
Submitted by Bogolu Haranath on November 4, 2019 - 11:42am

May be he could sing 'Tin Pan Alley' :-) ........

mememe2's picture
Submitted by mememe2 on November 4, 2019 - 5:55am

Didn't Dunlavy create this type of driver arrangement 20 years ago?

Bogolu Haranath's picture
Submitted by Bogolu Haranath on November 4, 2019 - 6:46am

Yes, Duntech speakers ....... Ultra 11 are massive D'Appolito configuration type of speakers ....... Dynaudio and several others still make such D'Appolito configuration speakers in various sizes :-) .........

es347's picture
Submitted by es347 on November 6, 2019 - 1:20pm

..test

Daverich's picture
Submitted by Daverich on November 4, 2019 - 1:13pm

Every show for the last couple of years has had basically this same system. Every single show report has a review of this system. Is that really necessary?

es347's picture
Submitted by es347 on November 6, 2019 - 1:21pm

..when a system wins BOS year after year

es347's picture
Submitted by es347 on November 6, 2019 - 1:18pm
es347's picture
Submitted by es347 on November 6, 2019 - 1:18pm
es347's picture
Submitted by es347 on November 6, 2019 - 1:19pm
es347's picture
Submitted by es347 on November 6, 2019 - 1:19pm
es347's picture
Submitted by es347 on November 6, 2019 - 1:20pm
es347's picture
Submitted by es347 on November 6, 2019 - 1:23pm

..what’s with all the echo/stuttering?...geesh

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