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In the Symposium Acoustics room, Ol' Blue Eyes sang "Where Are You?" and I could almost smell the cigarette smoke.
I was walking through the lobby of the Marriott when I heard the most wonderful, realistic music. Some system was recreating the sound of a marching band rocking some really badass beats, with such immediacy and impact and such wealth of color and emotion that it was almost like the real thing. It sounded like the guys in the parking lot at Shea Stadium after a Mets victory. In fact, it was extraordinarily realistic.
Could it be?
Yes, it was.
Apparently, these guys had some affiliation with the Denver Broncos. (I think that's a football team.) To me, they…
Hosted by Luxman, Synergistic Research, and Vivid Audio, the event was billed as "a private reception of fine music, conversation, and superb wine." Gus Gus played in the background, the room was filled with smiles, and, indeed, the conversation flowed as easily as the wine. While it was great to become reacquainted with some familiar faces, I also enjoyed the opportunity to make new connections.
Brian Kyle of Xtreme Cables was happy to tell me about his newest product, the Music Gun. "It's a Tourmaline-based negative ion treatment," he said. "It looks like a blow-dryer. You…
I had the great pleasure of meeting Ann Poor. That's Ann there, two-fisting it, standing beside On A Higher Note's bow-tied Philip O'Hanlon. Audiophiles may be more familiar with Ann's husband, Balanced Audio Technology's Geoff Poor. Oh, yeah—I got to speak with Geoff, too, but Ann was way more interesting.
"Where are you from?" she asked.
"New Jersey."
"Oh, so… Jets or Giants?"
"Giants!"
"We know David Diehl."
"No way!"
"It's cool, right?"
"Yes!"
David Diehl is a starting offensive lineman for the New York…
Not every breakthrough product available through cable manufacturer Nordost costs an arm and a leg. The new Quantum Resonant Technology products distributed worldwide by Nordost Corporation are a prime example. While the QX-2 costs $1700, and the larger QX-4 costs $2500, their amazing effects on sound suggest a product I'd expect to cost far more.
In Nordost's demo system, the first Quantum QX-4 device was placed between the wall outlet and the Nordost Thor power conditioner ($3300). Three additional Quantum devices (one QX-2 and two QX-4s) were placed between the Thor and various…
The room was standing-room only, with three rows of chairs, both side walls, and the back walls filled with folks eager to hear one of the dream systems assembled by Denver retailer Audio Unlimited. Where shall we begin: the dCS Scarlatti Stack which consists of the CD/SACD transport, DAC, master clock, and upsampler/digital-to-digital converter (by my math $81,000 total, and by anyone's math a fair hunk of change); the BAT REX linestage ($20,000), BAT VK-P10SE phono stage with new Super Pak Premiere ($16,000), BAT VK-600M SE monoblocks ($26,000); Running Springs Audio Dmitri…
If there's anything I expect from Dynaudio, it's superb bass. Dynaudio's 30th-anniversary Sapphire ($16,500/pair) certainly produced copious amounts of bass. But the speaker gave me far more than sheer volume. In combination with the Wadia 781i transport/DAC ($15,000), Pass Labs XA100.5A monoblocks ($16,000/pair), Grand Priz Monaco Amplifier Stand, and XLO Signature 3 SE-1 power cords ($1100/8'), S3-2.2 balanced interconnect ($900/m), and S3-4.2 digital cable ($455/m), the system delivered some of the most well-proportioned, beautifully delineated bass I've ever heard. The opening of…
Over in the Tech Center Hyatt, Mark Schifter's AV123 corralled a huge room in which to showcase their soon-to-be-shipped flagship LS9 Focus Line Source speaker ($5999/pair). Powered by gorgeous Dodd Audio KT-88 monoblocks (approx. $40,000/pair—there was no literature on hand), the brand new Ultra Fi Music Stream USB-connectable DAC ($3499) with a proprietary analogue output stage designed by Larry Moore, a Ridge Street Audio USB cable that he waxes ecstatic about, and a laptop equipped with every kind of classical music (except what I wanted to hear), the system was creating…
Veteran speaker engineer Albert Von Schweikert wasn't in the room at the time, but his astounding VR-9SE ($90,000/pair) was making the quite a sound in his absence. The smaller sibling of the flagship VR-11SE, this 350 lb, two-module mini-behemoth was paired with VAC's brand-new Phi-200 100Wpc amplifier, Signature linestage ($14,000), and recently-released Phi Alpha D/A Converter ($7500). An older Oracle transport and what appeared to be Cardas Golden Cross cabling completed the system. Any notion that tube equipment lacks control in the bass was blown to pieces by this system's…
So new that they don't yet have a price or production facility, the Red Rock Synergy speakers did wonders with Ron Carter's double bass. On the superb Chesky CD, Entre Amigos, every single note of Carter's bass was perfectly controlled, perfectly pitched, and absolutely lifelike, with not an iota of boom. The great bossa nova singer Rosa Passos was similarly treated with the utmost respect and love. The speaker features a 15" dynamic woofer, crossed over at 600Hz; a Tractrix horn-loaded magnetic-planar midrange that crosses over at 8kHz; and a ribbon tweeter of unspecified origin.…