Best of Home Entertainment 2004 NY ?

First, let me say that you can't really seriously evaluate equipment at the show because your listening in a tiny hotel room or a large meeting room. In addition, people are walking around and talking while your trying to listen. I love the people who just have to walk up and take the grills of the speakers while their doing a demo. Anyway, I'll only mention the stuff that sounded really good because it's not fair to fault somebody for a poor setup at the show.

Lets start with video. The sony true HD projector (1080P), with blue-ray dvd, was really nice. Almost makes me want to get a second mortgage to buy one. The only thing I'm going to say about the Sony audio demo is "why would somebody want to hook up NINE Wilson watt/puppies, a wilson center and sub, to a receiver?" Also, Sony's video without wires demo was impressive. A 15" wireless LCD TV($1500) that will let you watch dvd's and tivo from your home while traveling around the world. And, Sony had a new 60" rear projection LCD TV ($4400!!!)that was really impressive.

Anthem was showing a new processor and two new amps. They have new astetics and they are moving up-market - $5000 for the processor and $5000 for a 5 channel amp. Devore fidelity gibbon speakers, Focus Audio speakers, Bohlender-Graebener ribbon speakers and Almarro Speakers were sounding quit nice. I enjoyed the Wisdom Audio speakers, but the room was too small for such a large speaker.

On the low end, Epos (after they let me move the speakers), and spender were sounding good for the budget crowd. Also, Niam had a speaker that retails for about $2400 that was sounding real good. The Outlaw Audio sub was nice; A Hsu design.

Now, lets get to my opinion of best sound at the show. The way I feel, if you can get your stuff to sound incredible in a crappy room, then it should blow your socks off in a properly setup room. They Roque Audio, Clearaudio, Vanderstein 5A and Wadia demo was very impressive. They were switching back and forth between the Wadia $35000 CD player and the BIG clearaudio reference TT with two armboards. They sound was so good that you were hard pressed to tell the difference between the CD and the vinyl. Finally, vinyl done right! I think the retail on the Clearaudio was north of $75000. The Hyperion HPS-938 speakers ($4000) threw a big soundstage. Really easy to listen to. They look like the Wilson Watt/Puppy and sound damn close it it. Also, the were using their own amp and preamp which are beautifully built. The preamp uses two toroidial transformers and retails for $1300! The amp, again with two Toroidials, was also impressive and it retails for $1500! Both Innersound rooms rooms just blew me away. They were so good, my buddy wants me to get him a pair. And finally, the WHT Signiture speakers, driven by Thor tube equipment, was incredible; great bass, very smooth mids, and that oh so wonderful ribbon tweeter. You don't need a sub with this small floorstander.

Now, if I didn't mention your favorite manufacturer, it does not mean that they were not at the show. Like I said in the beginning, I'm only mentioning the demos that impressed me.

So, there's my take on the show. I got sick from a bad lunch, so that took away some enjoyment. Also, I had to ride the bus up and back which reminded me why I don't ride buses. It was a long day, and I only got to take three naps so I will be recovering today. And finally, the Crestron Breath Mints were good; I just had them for Breakfast. I'm going back to bed now.

Just a note. I didn't get to all the rooms. I missed about 6 including JMlabs and Von Schweikert. Some rooms had lines down the hallway and I just didn't have time.

JM Labs was impressive - big speakers in a big room with pronounced, defined bass. Don't try these babies in your average audiophile space.

I also thought the VR5's were very good, contrary to opinions expressed elsewhere.

The Wisdom/Halcro room is just another example that throwing big money at a system doesn't guarantee good (or even decent) sound.

SIlverline Bolero's sounded good with a brand new 805 tubed integrated - so new it was still butning off flux on Thursday.

Penaudio Charisma/Chara's sounded very fine. Too bad they look like they are made of matchsticks.

Totem was showing a mighty small speaker with a mighty big sound. Very impressed. And the room was tres cool too in a Tiki kind of theme.

Enjoy,
Bob

The best of the best, sound only, that left a lasting impression, would be:

1. Walker turntable/vacuum tube Lamm/Kharma
2. Clearaudio/Rogue/Vandersteen 5A
3. Walker turntable/solid state Lamm/Kharma
4. dSC/BAT/JM Labs
5. Oracle/VAC/VonSchweikert 4jr
6. Kimber DSD recordings (sound only, poor performances)
also: Totem and Piega Speakers (electronics unkown)

Contrary to some other posts, the Thor and big model Innersound rooms to me were uninvolving and boring. Smaller model Innersound room was better. And Hyperion sounded too "HiFi" for my taste.

Prpixel, next time bring energy bars to eat. Saves mucho time (gave me time to wait in line for the JM Labs and VonSchweikert) and no chances with NYC food!

For the friend or relative who just wants to listen to music, and have somebody else get it all together for them, I heartily recommend a look ( internet direct seller ), and a listen ( money back guarantee ) at odysseyaudio.com, the most value oriented system integrator at the Show.
Klaus Bunge manufactures, tweaks, integrates, and keeps the prices low. Also, a real gentleman, who values a customer choosing his $1500 package system just as much as the slightly higher rollers who go for his more elevated systems. He sells components separately, too.
Another gentleman, a Southerner, and I guess you could call him a legend in his own time, Lloyd Walker, showed off his best turntable, with its astronomical $27,000 price tag ( worth it, too ) and in the twinkling of an eye, returned to earth, and politely sold me his new SST Contact enhancer for a Show bargain price of $55 ( regular retail is still quite reasonable ). I am finding that this may be one of those universal tweak ideas that keeps improving a system's performance, as you apply, step by step, to power cords, interconnects, speaker cables, and, even the pins on tubes.
It actually inspires you to call up an audio buddy, to quickly come listen. And, then he wants to "borrow" your remaining supply; fair enough because he always lets me hear his best CD's.
Another impressive tweak, which was being applied on some of my interconnects from home, while I was at the Show, and to which I returned home for a thrilling listen, is offered by cableburner.com. I entrusted two pairs of recently "retired" Marigo interconnects to the burn-in gadgets of George Saubon, who delivered back to me an enhanced interconnect performance which would have been priced in the stratosphere if I had elected to purchase this IC quality from other wire vendors at the Show.
Luckily, I have a number of systems, allowing for separate evaluation of different upgrade efforts. It gets very complicated when a tweak lets an item "leapfrog" in performance over its competition. Then the competition may be able to re-gain the lead, when the same tweak is applied to it. I plan to send some more wires for burn-in, and will gladly be paying for this service that I was fortunate to first try out as an introductory free offer (yes, it was a public ad right here on Audiogon :>)
Hope this review of some inexpensive ways to get great sound, by taking advantage of ideas from conscientious vendors, may be of help to someone who values a bargain.