Welch my guess is that most of the rooms were not large and most people look for smaller more compact speakers anyway. So that somewhat means speakers might not be as large or expensive as they can be.
Whereas there is no practical limit to what might go into an amp quality wise and less space issues with amps versus large expensive speakers.
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These are the rooms I heard with sound I would like to hear more of.
Kef
classic audio/Atmasphere
martin logan
care audio
daedelus
Odyssey
rogue/Joseph audio/now listen here
benchmark
vac/gershman
berning/voxitive custom horns
Star sound
Audio note
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Saletric There were few if any CDs being played on CD players. Mostly vinyl and digital streaming. I suspect that and strides in Dac technology in recent years helped achieve better more consistent sound throughout the show. I know it has for me at home. I heard very little if any digital glare or brightness. |
One of the rooms I enjoyed most with gear I could see myself owning someday was the Vac/Gershman room. The Gershman monitors playing were perhaps my favorite new find at CAF this year.
The room running Rogue hybrid amp and Joseph Audio compact floor standers was another. I was already a Big Rogue fan but never noticed Joseph audio before. The sound was nice and hit well above the size of the speakers much like Totem. Lots of competition at that price though. |
Yes Audio Note room always seems to be one of my favorites as well. No difference this time around.
I plan to do some experimentation with corner placement of speakers in a few rooms of my house.
Classic Audio/Atmasphere was probably the best showcase for gear at the show. Last time I attended a couple years back they were in a small cramped room that cramped their style as well. This time around they were in a large ballroom with plenty of space around them, the largest vendor room at the show I think. Plenty of room to shine. The RTR tape of Beatles White Album playing when I was there was a lot of fun. The room was surprisingly empty though considering this was probably the grandest audio treat at the show.
The new Kef Muon flagship models that premiered were impressive as well when I heard them.
My time was limited so I bypassed record vendors and only briefly sampled many setups I wish I had more time to listen to.
Benchmark room was a draw for me in that I had never heard BEnchmark gear and this will likely be my next DAC perhaps sooner rather than later. |
I recall David Berning related amps in a number of rooms at the show. Very well represented and a very good showing overall.
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Darn, I think I missed Larsen as well and that was one I went in thinking I really wanted to hear.
Only had about 5 hours to spend there Saturday. A lot to digest in such a short time.
I spent a lot of time in the Benchmark room enjoying listening and chatting with the vendor reps. Theirs was a reasonably priced setup (by high end standards) that delivered big with smaller profile products that would fit nicely into many peoples homes.
The other "affordable" product there that hit really big and got my attention were the new Gershman monitors and stands for under $5K.
Overall, it would be nice if there was someway for someone to navigate through these shows based on cost. In other words have more low cost entry type systems that newbies might be more comfortable testing the waters with.
The room geared around headphones is a nice starting point.
Years ago at Tech Hifi when hifi systems were actually popular with the masses, most people still came in looking to start on a modest budget and go from there.
Nowadays at these shows, its mostly a no holds barred attempt to have the best sound in each room at any price.
That’s fine but I think if these things are actually to grow in popularity over time, an approach better suited to drawing more people in is needed.
There should be rooms featuring Bluetooth source enabled complete systems for easy entry at various price points for people with smart phones and tablets who like what they hear at the show and aspire to good sound at home. There will always be people who want good sound. The high end world need to connect with them better in order to grow IMHO.
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Darn I missed the Volti room somehow. Sounds like it was a worthwhile listen.
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Were the Studio Electric speakers in the Benchmark room the ones that show as discontinued now on teh SE web site?
That site references the Benchmark site for the newer version. Benchmark site shows their monitors, which were at the show but not playing when I was in the room. The other monitors which I think were referred to as the Studio Electric monitors were. There were no grills on the ones playing.
Benchmark was also offering a show special 10% off on their electronics which was a nice bonus for going to the show.
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I noticed many rooms streaming from laptops as a source.
I noticed at least one headphone setup streaming from a tablet.
I did not see anyone streaming from a smartphone.
I had my Iphone 6s that I run Plex app on with me. It can connect to my music server at home. I’ve used it at some dealer shops for listening to gear with very impressive results even from analog out.
I asked a couple vendors if I could connect to their system DACs and try but no takers on that. Understandable at a show environment. But I would have loved to play some of my stuff on some of those systems though.
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I really only heard the big Voxativ custom speakers briefly, enough to determine they were doing some very good and unique things and that I liked them and thought they had potential. Very cool and impressive but too big for anything I am ever likely to seriously consider owning. So given limited time I moved on quicker than I would probably have liked to as I had to do with many of the larger more "cutting edge" setups. I always like to hear what is possible to help establish what a reference standard for sound should be in my head. Then I move on trying to approach that within my means as best as possible. |
I will say the thing that impressed me most at this show, more so than any single thing I heard, was the passion of so many of the vendors there. So many of these guys seem to really put their heart and sole into realizing their visions and making the best products they possibly can all for the love of music. There were so many technological works of art. I'll take one of each please. Hats off to them all. |
Did not know that.
I heard so many really good sounding systems there. It seems to me that attention to integration and setup and personal preferences may each be bigger factors for good sound these days than most any particular product. There are so many good ones. The secret recipe seems to be how one mixes and matches and tweaks to perfection as needed. So many ways to make tasty soup. |
They were playing a vintage spoken recording of some sort when I heard the kefs. They were very impressive with that. Would have liked to heard more but had to move on.
My corner placement experiment is working out exceedingly well. A nice new trick to have up ones sleeve when needed. |
