Capital AudioFest 2024

True Source Audio Distribution / Sierra Sound Debut G.I.P Laboratory 4165

Ken Micallef  |  Nov 12, 2024

True Source Audio Distributors debuted the massive G.I.P. Laboratory 4165 field coil horn-loaded loudspeakers at CAF, featuring the Japanese company’s replicas of the original Western Electric 4165 driver. The 70lb G.I.P. 4165 Radiata pine cabinets filled nearly half of the small Hilton room. G.I.P.’s TW 38 tweeter sat atop the large cabinets.

Source gear included: AMG Giro 2 Wood Turntable/9WT tonearm ($17,500), with a Benz Micro SLR Gullwing MC Cartridge ($3500), a ViV Lab Rigid Float Ha-9 tonearm ($4500), a Benz Micro ACE SL Mono Cartridge ($1000), and an AMG Viella Forte Turntable ($32,000) with a Benz Micro LP-S MC Cartridge ($5000). This vinyl goodness fed a tubed G.I.P. Preamp 1 ($39,995) into a 65Wpc Mactone MH120 Amplfier ($13,500), driving the G.I.P. 4165 loudspeakers.

The G.I.P. 4165 system—a 12” full-range driver running at 8 ohms, 105dB sensitivity—included a tubed G.I.P. Preamp I ($39,995) and 30Wpc G.I.P. 6L6 Mono Amplifiers ($48,000). A Mactone XX440 Preamplifier ($12,500) was on static display. A Box Furniture Co. Isolation Platform ($5995) was also in use.

The sound in this room delivered everything the product list promised: an incredibly fast, enveloping, and immersive experience marked by glistening transients and a warm character. Images were large and refined, bass notes plump and extended.

I loved hearing every pluck of the guitars and the massive plate echo on Johnny Cash’s vocals in Orange Blossom Special. John Patton’s Let ‘Em Roll played with superb jump and scale. Bass texture and impact were off the chain, as were scale, openness, and drive. A special experience. One of my top five rooms at CAF 2024.

COMMENTS
Surly's picture
Submitted by Surly on November 12, 2024 - 11:24pm

There's no way those speakers weigh 70 lbs. Each one is at least the weight of one Ken Micallef.

justmeagain's picture
Submitted by justmeagain on November 13, 2024 - 5:43pm

If they weigh 70 pounds including the drivers they're mostly made of cardboard.
BTW, I accept that they sound great, but they look like a high school kid made them in shop class. A talented kid, but still...

Nutty's picture
Submitted by Nutty on November 14, 2024 - 4:30am

Not sure why my comments (which were all true) on the show were taken down; I presume I crossed the line somewhere, but it would be nice to at least get an email explanation or a notice since a user cannot look at their past posts in the Account section.
I have read quite a lot in recent editions of the magazine about attracting younger audiences to this weird world of audio we enjoy so much, and as I said to the Cambridge Audio guys; "If you want young people to come to shows, maybe you could begin by playing some of the music they listen to...?"
Here's a complete list of music genres that wasn't being played:
* Anything fun!
No R&B, No Disco, No Soul, No Funk, No Rock (Apart from Pink Floyd), No Electronica.
As my wife said, "All they play is female vocal & Jazz, all the time."
What was truly outstanding was the ability of quite a few rooms to sound fantastic, given the typical hotel room acoustics.
Best 'sound' of the show was by the band playing on Friday evening, and I stood next to Gary Gill and said, "why is it so difficult & expensive to recreate 'this'? - real music being played by real musicians in front of you". I reckon they had a maximum of about $3k or so in amps, microphones and cables and the sound was fantastic (in the hotel entrance opposite the bar). He agreed and replied: "I have no idea", but it did make you think about how we perceive music and the difficulties in recreating it, particularly dynamics and the absolute pin-point accuracy of the sound stage. Maybe it requires the brain to see it as well as our ears to hear it.
Which is why we go out to experience the real thing & support the artists, because all the best systems can do is to get you closer.

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