Best of he 2005 expo home entertainment show nyc


We all enjoy seeing the best stereo equipment in the world under one roof, let's vote on what was tops. I found the mbl's 116 to be the best and these at second : bosendorfer, kharma (both 3.2's and exquisites), innersound, gini, merlins, horning hybrid agathon, gershman acoustics, almarro,von schweikert vr-9 se, empress, vandys 5a, jm labs alto utopia, bravo (prototype),von schweikert vr4-jr, egglseton fontaine II, gini, apogees (just kidding).
pedrillo
With different electronics and sources, hard to say, but the sound I liked best (music + system) were in the Horning, bosendorfer, merlin, and von schweikert 4 sr rooms. Best bang for buck (full range) was Hyperion. Not sure how to evaluate very large, full range speakers like mbl and von schw 9s in such a small room. Also I am not a fan of opera, so mbl demo left me cold.
The Merlin room blew me away. Incredibly natural and musical.
For me, they captured life and timbre like no other room.
The rooms that I like the best were, Von Schweikert VR4 Sr. room and the Sound by Singer integrated DCS CD Player setup with VTL gear.
Another vote for the Merlin - outstanding. I did not want to leave the room, but there was so much more to see. The MBLs also sounded very good, even though they were played way too loud.
Merlin, Peak Consult (larger, didn't hear smaller ones), Aural Acoustics (incredibly good and best value), Von Schweikert VR4SR, Butler Audio, and smaller Kharmas.