Here we see the Parsifal Monitors sitting proud atop their new matching, height-adjustable stands (price TBD). A striking combo. The Monitors were supplemented by Verity's Rocco subwoofer ($10,000), which uses two high-power, low-distortion 12" drivers…
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The trend toward smaller, less imposing systems is continued at SSI by Verity Audio, showing their gorgeous Parsifal Ovation Monitor ($9000/pair). While Simaudio and Dynaudio were showing what can be achieved at the lower end of the price scale, Verity, Nagra, and dCS put together a room-friendly system made to slay giants.
You get used to hearing expensive over-the-top systems at an audio Show, but the real delight is discovering more affordable set-ups that sound better than you expect. Such was the case when I entered the Bluebird Music room, where the Spendor A6 two-way tower speakers were being demmed with Exposure's 3010S integrated amplifier and an Exposure CD player, wired with van den Hul cable. The total system prices was $7500, and, again playing "The Mooche" from Editor's Choice, I was struck by how seamless the presentation was, with natural tonal qualities, well-defined stereo imaging, and…
I had enthused over the sound being produced by French company Focal's top-line Grande Utopia EMs ($180,000/pair) in our report from the 2008 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, so the first room I went to at the 2009 SSI was the room featuring the exact same pair of Grande Utopias. In Denver they had been driven by Boulder source and amplification components; in Montreal, amplification was all YBA—Passion 1000 monoblocks and Passion preamp—cabling was AudioQuest, and the source was the excellent sounding Esoteric P-01VU transport ($32,000) and D-01VU dual-mono D/A converter ($32,000), clocked…
In the Brosseau Audio/Video suite, Linn's Adolfo Cano provided a fascinating demonstration playing back Barb Jungr's "Beautiful Life" from a Linn Recordings sample disc.
The all-Linn system was comprised of the Majik 140 floorstanding loudspeakers ($2995/pair), Akurate DS digital streaming source ($6850), Akurate CD disc player ($3500), Majik Kontrol preamp, and Majik 2100 power amplifiers.
First, we listened to Jungr's sweet song as played through the Akurate CD player. We then compared the CD playback to an exact file of the data, but as conveyed by the Akurate DS.…
I am led by the sound of intricate rhythms and interesting textures, and I find myself in the Audio D'Occasion suite, where Radiohead's Amnesiac is ripping into a pair of Thiel CS3.7 floorstanders, sending the speaker's impressive corrugated drivers into a mad dance. I take a seat.
Nordost's Bruno de Lorimier catches me and warns: "I just want you to know we've only had the system going for about ten minutes, in case you're listening critically."
A crushing blow, this is to me, because the album sounds infinitely better than it ever has in my own home.
Bruno then…
The two Sashas of Obad Imports (l-r): Sascha Kuettel hefts the JohnBlue JB3 loudspeaker ($370/pair), while Sasha Obad struggles with the KingRex T20 amplifier ($259) and PSU power supply ($189). These units are just a little bit heavier than Michael Fremer's reference amplifiers.
I'm just kidding, ha ha. Obviously, these cute little components are extremely light (both on the wallet and on the forearms) and room-friendly.
The 20W KingRex uses a Tripath T2020-20 chip in its endeavor for tube amp sound. The company's literature demands, playfully: "Eat your valve out!"…
But the Cutest Amp of Show Award has to go to Mass Fidelity's "lil_doosey." You see? It's even cute about how it spells its name. You gotta love that.
The little thing just begs to be picked up. And when you do pick it up, you'll find that it's much heavier (and much more satisfying) to hold than you could have imagined. Made entirely in Canada, the lil_doosey (cute!) uses a linear power supply with a custom-wound toroidal transformer. It has gold-plated binding posts and offers XLR and RCA inputs. Apparent build-quality is very high. Standard finishes are gloss white and…
Meet Mass Fidelity's Benjamin Webster. Ben's lil_doosey monoblock amplifier is making its world debut here at SSI 2009.
Ben explained that he's been "obsessed" with both music and gear for as long as he can remember. That obsession led to work in sound editing and recording. Along the way, however, Ben experienced frustration with the limitations of the gear on hand. Too often, the affordable stuff was not up to task, while the good stuff was just beyond his budget. So, "out of spite," Ben decided to build his own gear—affordable gear that lacked the obvious problems…
Montreal's finest vinyl record shop (according to them, l-r): Simon, Pierre, and Tony. Aux 33 Tours has been operating for two years at its present location: 1379 Mont Royal Est, right here in beautiful Montreal. Owner Pierre Markotanyos had collected vinyl for more than 10 years before deciding to open his own shop. The store now carries approximately 80% vinyl, and has a healthy clientele.
A large and constant crowd surrounded the bins at the Aux 33 Tours booth. Men, women, and children were all diving in, happily.