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What do you expect from me after 20 hours of travel and only four of sleep? I'm going to bed before dinner and promise I'll actually blog about hi-fi tomorrow.
When I checked in late last night, I noticed the cribs lined up along the halls of my corridor, but all I thought was, "What a child friendly country." Nor did I think much about all the Caucasian couples I saw carrying Asian infants amidst all the audiophiles thronging the halls.
However, when I was just downstairs attempting to photograph said throngs, a red-faced man tried to grab my camera out of my hands, while screaming (I swear), "Have you no decency, sir?"
It seems GuangZhou is a destination for American families adopting Chinese babies and a just-minted grandpapa thought…
It was one of those New York days when all you want in the world is for something, anything to come down fromBetwitched or Zeus' cloud or the time space portal to Northern New Mexico and transport you like smoke to somewhere far, far away. It was also one of those days when John Atkinson and I were torturing each other with visions of our old home in Santa Fe and the steaming bowls of green chile stew we each now crave like dogs. "Hurry up, Tie off the vein, get the sopapillas ready for after…"
After we rode the elevator down at day's end and discovered to our dismay that Madison Avenue…
"Tannoy is updating its line without abandoning its strengths," the suave Tannoy rep explained to me. "Listen to this recording of Salvatore Accardo. It's an old analog recording and it may be a tad too warm, but you could listen to it for hours."
Indeed I could have. Through the $10,000 (US)/pair Glenairs, the violin was warm and lucid, with the most natural string harmonic overtones I've heard yet at this show. "All that from one 15" concentric driver?" I asked.
"No, on top we have the ST-200 super-tweeter."
The $2000 (USD) Prestige ST-200 super-tweeter has a vapor-deposited gold 25mm dome driver that has a -6dB downpoint at 54kHz (and only -18dB@100kHz). The two drop-in connectors on top establish crossover (14kHz, 16kHz, abd 18kHz) and sensitivity (89.5dB, 90.5dB, 92dB, 93.5dB, and 95dB). It integrated so seamlessly with the Glenair that I was initially convinced I was hearing only the concentric driver.
I suspect Art Dudley would kill for a Glenair/ST-200 combo—and I'm not sure but that it wouldn't be me he'd have to bludgeon to get to them.
My hotel keeps cases of Going Home Barbie (ie Barbie holding an obviously Asian baby Krissy) by the hospitality desk on each floor as departure gifts for new families with young girls.
I walked into Usher's room, where the $8000 (USD) Dancer II Beryllium held pride of place. I thought the sound was a little small and every so slightly forced, but I loved the rhythmic tautness and drive. "Not the best sound I've heard today," I thought, "but not too shabby."
"Not bad for $400," Paul Chen, Usher's export rep said.
I pointed to the floorstanding Dancer IIs and said, "Those cost $400?"
"We're playing these," he said, pointing to the two-way S-520s sitting on top of another pair of speakers.
Amazing how changing scale changes perception. The sound I found small and forced became far bigger and more open when I discovered the speakers cost one-twentieth of what I initially had thought.
At $400/pair, the Usher S-520s were pretty exciting. "The Absolute Sound reviewed the Dancer IIs," Paul Chen told me. "I'm sure we could get you a pair, too."
"But I want to review these," I whined. (Too late, Bob Reina already reviewed them.)