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Some Axpona thoughts

Went on Friday. Always try to find great sounding speakers that are not TOO expensive. Ones that impressed me- Vapor Cirrus Black(4K),Kef Ls50($1500), Rega RS5($1500),Joseph Pulsar(not cheap at 7K but a special speaker),Sonus Faber Veneer 3.0(bargain at $3500), Legacy Aeris(12k), Acoustic Zen Crescendo(16K) and lots more. Two others intrigued me. 1)Newform Research line array.(10K) 84" Tall with about 12 drivers and about 3 feet of ribbons drivers mounted directly in front of the other drivers. It looks odd and you wouldn't think it would work,but it sounded totally transparent and with 4 subs and a cross-over thrown into the package- it wasn't a bad deal. The star of the show had to be the Tad Reference One. It was worth the price of admission alone. At 70K, totally unaffordable for me, but what a treat to listen to. They played a Master Tape on a reel-to-reel of a jazz recording. It was literally like the sax player was inside the speaker. The most accurate reproduction of an instrument and music I've ever heard. That's what cool about these shows. I would like to hear other people thoughts if they were there-especially on the Newform Research(am I crazy?) and the TAD(I can't be crazy).
jackmonster

Showing 3 responses by csmgolf

csmgolf
902 posts
 
There were quite a few rooms with good sound in them. I liked both of the Volti rooms. The Sony's were very good. All of the MBL's sounded great. I heard a demo of the large ones with a master reel to reel tape and it was absolutely stunning. I've never heard anything like it. As usual, Audio Note sounded good. Others included in no particular order, but not limited to, Scaena, YG Carmel, Dynaudio C1, Joseph Audio Pulsar, the new model from Tyler (I liked them better than any of his previous speakers I've heard/owned), Vapor Audio Cirrus and Stiff Breeze (Stiff Breeze are an awesome speaker at <$1900 a pair), everything I heard in the Selah and Salk rooms, and the speakers from Waterfall Audio. The Seaton Sound room was good as well and are a fine value considering that they are triamped using onboard amps.

I have to disagree about the Legacy Aeris. I have owned probably ten pairs of Legacy speakers over the years and still own a set. I went to that room on four different occasions expecting to be wowed and was disappointed every time. The tweeters were hot and there was a resonance in the lower midrange. Those issues should have been able to be resolved with the room correction processor they use. I wanted very much to like them and quite honestly, didn't. Also, they are 17k, not 12k.

I am not a huge fan of panel speakers, but thought the King Sound King (12k)were outstanding, amongst the very best of the show irrespective of price. I am sure there are others I have missed, but overall most of the sound was pretty decent considering the circumstances.
csmgolf
902 posts
 
Tobb, here is my list.

1. Original Focus
2. Silverscreen II
3. Mist
4. Original Whisper
5. Original Marquis
6. LF Xtreme
7. Original Studio
8. Mini monitor (still have)
9. Victoria LE
10. Gallery
11. Escort
12. Classic HD
13. Focus SE
14. Empire (still own)

Looks like ten was an underestimation! :-) The number in my first post was just a guess without really taking the time to count them all.

My trips to there room were not flash and dash. I really, really wanted to be blown away and was not. I am just stating what I heard. To my ears, the Whisper XD was much better. Believe me, I don't want to bash them as they have been nothing but great to me over the years. My impression was very good, but not the game changer I've come to expect from them.

I am not sure which 12k comment you are talking about. The OP quoted the price of the Aeris as 12k when they are actually 17k. My original post may have been confusing in this regard. The Kingsound King 3 list at 12k. Those were the 12k speakers I was referring to.
csmgolf
902 posts
 
I responded to this a day and a half ago and the post never showed up for whatever reason, so here it goes again. Tobb, here is the list of Legacy speakers I have owned over the years:

1. Original Focus
2. Silverscreen II
3. Mist
4. Original Whisper
5. Original Marquis
6. Gallery
7. Escort (Still own- in my work shop)
8. Original Studio
9. LF Xtreme
10. Victoria LE
11. Mini monitor (still own)
12. Classic HD
13. Focus SE
14. Empire (still own)

The number 10 was just a guess without really counting all I've owned. I guess it was an underestimation. :-)
I am not here to bash Legacy, they have treated me great and I have really enjoyed their products. My trips to their room were not duck and dash. I spent more time in that room than any other over the weekend. I never said they sounded bad, in fact they did many things very well. I was however expecting to be blown away and was not. I heard what I heard and reported it. I went back multiple times to see if the issues were resolved and they were not. The Whisper XD sounded much more coherent to me. I found the Aeris treble to be out of balance with the midrange and occasionally calling too much attention to itself. As I said in my first post, the lower midrange problem was likely a room issue and could be corrected with the processor. I would be willing to give them another listen, but could not bring myself to spend that kind of money on them based on what I heard in Chicago. I really don't feel like I need to be "set straight" about that. I trust my own ears.

As far as the 12k comments go, the OP stated that the Aeris retailed for 12k. The Aeris in fact sell for 17k as I stated. The Kingsound King III retail for 12k and they were the 12k speaker I was referring to. IMO the Kings sounded better and were 5k less to boot. This is coming from a person that has never been a big fan of panel speakers. Just remember that all of these observations were under show conditions. YMMV
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