OK , It was a long day but it was fun. George, (Kach22i) and I met at 10:00 am and started our day. The show was situated between the 3rd and 4rth floor. We both started in the Harbeth room. Listening to their new 3 way . It was smooth and had a great image. It was a good box speaker. One of my favorites. George and I both agreed that it was good!
After a listen there we decided to split up and get to our choice rooms first as to get the most time if needed. I stopped at the Marantz room and listend briefly to their stuff it was as George puts it a "stereo sound" Not musical and engorging.
I was drawn to the McIntosh room by near concert levels sound from their big Line Arrays . They had enough power to light up New York. It still sounded bad. They were loud with no real definition. There were more Blue lights than a Kmart convention!
I then walked out to the next room which were another line Array design. by Ken Haig. They were better but still had that sound of tall stereo with no preciseness.
Finally I fond another good sounding set up. The Jolida MBL room. They were very good at many things and had a huge stage and depth. I think the room may have been hampering them a bit, but they were good.
The Audio by Van Alstine room and the Salk Speakers room. were loaded with some beautiful looking speakers and such. The sound was good but there was a lot of people in the room so I didn't get the sweet spot. They needed a larger room. They had another room right next door that was not as crowded. It had a set of free air type that sounded good. They had a good image with a detailed sound. Them being dipole helped. The Van Alstine Amplifiers were decent sounding but at their asking price I would go with something else.
The Tyler room was a real surprise. It had a set of 2 way horns that were finished in Natural cedar. They were driven by a 2 to 3 watt tube amp and sounded good at background volume but really suffered when pushed. The thing they had was the nicest amp stands that I have ever seen. They were made by Ultrasonics. They were 2 inch thick Lexan with the heaviest duty spiked feet I have ever seen. Their cool factor was a Blue Led light that lit them up with a cool glow. Rumor has it they start at 1K and go up.
Another room I found interesting was a Members room with homeade tube amps and pre amps with a set of older Polk monitors. They sounded good for the age ! I was again surprised. I think the blending of the amplifiers and such to this older equipment hgelps them bring out their best.
The last room that I liked on the third floor was the Fried McCormack room. They had a set of 2 way monitors that had a damn good stage with deep bass. The Towers were even better. They sounded very detailed with a warm sound , especially powered by the SS McCormack amps. They did lack the best build but sounded well. The Monitors for $1700 a pair were a good buy. The $7K towers should have a bit better workmanship. They did sound well though !
I finally met George at, of all places a home made horn room. This guy had a complete 3 way horn system that looked like it was right out of a Harley Garage. Black and bare. He ran them with his own amps and pre amps. They did sound live with a real bright sound. There was some semblance of a image but they were , ..........well Horns. If I was going to listen to live recordings I guess they may be the ones , just not mine ! We headed up to the 4th floor.
The 4th Floor proved to be a better floor for me. Hawthorne Audio, was the first room I went into. It had the familiar smell of warm cookies. I knew I would like this room. They had the best easy bake oatmeal raisin cookies I have had in a while. The sound I heard was dreamy and drawing me in. I was amazed at what I was hearing. It was a 3 way in a sense dipole cone system. It was a 15 inch Coaxial driver with a tweeter in the magnet structure with what the owner called his "auggi" driver, all packed into the sexiest shape baffle you have ever seen. It was a very form fallows function set up. Sexy and sleek with a great sound. It was powered by a 1.5 watt tube amp and a Dynaco tube CD player. Needless to say it was magical. I was really impressed with this set up. Not only was it cone but big ugly cones sounding good. The Auggi was actually powered by a 250watt plate amp. Now you are all prolly saying this reeks of Homebrew and it cant sound good. WELL IT DID ! REAL GOOD> More on that later !
I made it a thing to stop into the Quad room. It was good and had great potential at a price of $12k but the room was way to small for them to really shine. They were good with deep mid bass. The sound has a typical planer static type image with a detailed center . They have a clasic finish that is to die for it was not displayed but is in their catalog. I will stop and listen to them at the dealer near me. They were built well with a great rear support and top shelf finish. These may be a CLX sideways step at a big discount.
I then stopped into the Manley room, I was feeling a bit of arrogance from the atmosphere. They had the big Snapper amps pushing the Shrimp pre amp into a Bel Canto CD player. It was harsh and bright and the music was bad . I left fast and happy.
The next favorite Cone speaker was the Audio note room. I don't know if it was the synergy of their gear and their speakers but they did sound good. Even in a cramped room. That being said I don't know if it was the room or the speakers they had a 1 inch sweet spot but man was it sweet. Dianna Krall was at her best. When I was off to the side they were terrible with the image all being localized to that side. May bee it was the room or thats cones. They were good in the hot seat though.
I then met DAN (COSMOS) here and sat and listened to his system which were a older out of production limited edition of a pair of JBL Trapezoid black lacquered set. They were powered by Rouge tube amps and a smallish tube pre amp. They were damn good for a big manufactured cone speaker. Actually I was quite surprised. He was a friendly man with some great ideas for STATS. He didnt get his custom set finished for the show.
The last room I found entertaining was the Classic Audio Reproductions room. Funny thing is that is where I ran into George at. I was ear tired and weary but this was a good horn system. The best Horn system I have ever heard. Granted they were the size of refrigerators with enough rosewood veneer to cover a house. They had detail and bass that was big. The stage was not to bright. they were being driven by tubes and a good LP turntable. It may have been the vintage coming out of me, but I did enjoy them .
Now George and I were about to leave , I suggested he try the Hawthorne room and have a cookie before he leaves. He said he was there and thought they were a easy listen. Nothing harsh but something you could listen to all day. We both went in and I told him that these were a kit form and that they were cone dipole design. He was not aware of that and commented that is probably why they are so easy on the ears . Especially with a 1 .5 watt tube amp.
Now, here is the cool part. I sat and listened until 7:30 PM., with no one else in the room. The show was over at 5:00.(Oh and I ate more cookies). I then got a Chance to switch to a single ended Pentode Integrated tube amp that he also has available. This was even better than the amp he had first. I was amazed at the 2 to 3 watts and the sound I was getting. I talked to the owner about the details of this design and the drivers and who makes them for him. They are of top quality. They are made for him by Eminence(ML used them in a lot of their speakers) and he has the rights to it. The Auggies as he calls them are a special design that he has the rights to also. Its a great sound with tight bass and detailed mids and highs. The staging is very good with a Electrostatic type image. I played around with the placement and decided that this was the deal of the show and one of the best sounds too. I will be building a set for a comparison at my next get together. We also will be swapping a few ideas with design and build. This is a area I really enjoy about Audio. The best part about the deal is I took home 3 dozen of those homemade cookies his wife made.
Overall it was a fun time and a chance to listen to a lot of different systems and get a good idea of whats out the the high end world. I found that the Harbeths fallowed by Audio Note and then the Frieds were the best cone sound. The Audio Notes had a great sound but it was a vice like sit to get it out of them. The Harbeths were smooth but had a softer side to them. May be I didn't eat my tea and crumpets for the day ! The Frieds monitors were a good sound for the $$$. The Joy was the Hawthorne Audio room . OH THOSE COOKIES! They had that sweet sound , it wasn't perfect but you could listen all day with no fatigue. The MBL were impressive but they would need a bigger room. They almost give a false sense of image and stage like I was listening to my old Carver Sonic Holography . The big Horns from Classic Audio were well,,, nostalgic and sounded good to me and George for horns. The Quads have good potential but needed a bigger room Your chair was 4 feet away against a back wall. They have a great build and had a decent sound for what they were in. I will re listen to these at a deals room. I like the looks of them and the build. The price is good for what your getting
Here are some pics in no order.
