WC,
Again, I wanted to say what a joy it was visiting the show with you on Friday and it was a a pleasure meeting your lovely wife. You asked me to check out the GT Audio Works and I have been struggling to put it into words how I felt about them. Firstly, I was not able to seriously listen to the Martin Logan room as it was so packed that I could not get in. This says something on it's own merit...
IMHO, the GT Audio was in fact the best sounding room as far as panel speakers went that I was able to seriously audition. I did not have them shut off the subwoofers so can't comment on that distinction but what I heard was very, very good. Anyone considering this type of speaker would be seriously remiss in not auditioning.
This being said, I have the same general feeling about the GT speakers that I have experienced with all speakers in this category that I have been fortunate enough to hear. They sound very good but I don't love listening to them. They have ever failed to move me. I say this at risk of igniting a fire storm because of the many strong opinions on this thread but I would like to relay and elaborate on some of what we discussed on Friday...
Focusing only on or even emphasizing, "clarity" or "sparkle" or in fact on any other single facet of the pallet of the sonic spectrum is limited and limiting. Warmth and tonality, perhaps a result of lower, inner harmonic details are far more important to me than a very detailed presentation. Sense of weight and body including the extension, authority and control of bass are something that we share a common love of but for our mutual friend out west, this is not as important. I could continue to name other areas: sense of pace, rhythm, soundstage, height, depth, dynamic range, etc. all need to work together in presenting an aural picture of the recording that conveys all aspects of the sonic spectrum. How each of us perceives and relatively values this pallet is a personal choice and is not one that I feel should be imposed upon any one else. There is not a right and wrong answer to what a person likes. There is not one answer to what is great or best. People voicing their opinions of equipment would do well to always remember this. Which flavors more appeal to one person in no way invalidates the flavors someone else likes and this respect should be overt.
We visited several dozens of rooms together. I have to say that I couldn't agree more with WESC's assessments. Though I know you (WC) didn't' like the choice of music in the Von Schweikert room you appreciated the system but would never choose that system. I found it to be absolutely stunning. You and I were both blown away by the Focal Grande's but neither of us would spend that kind of money on that system--though I can say to the one person who voiced his opinion and "bet" on the result about how the Focal's compared to other speakers resoundingly looses his bet. These were one of the fastest, most detailed speakers I have ever heard of any type of design and this speed and detail was still full of the rich harmonic textures. But these speakers imposed themselves on a room in a way that they look like they belong in a club or a studio (I feel the same way about the big Wilsons). The Von Schweikerts could absolutely fit into the decor of a living room. I had fun listening to the Magico's with the subwoofers but they were not anything I would spend hard earned money on... You and I both loved the Sonus Faber Aida. As I have previously commented on your thread, I have heard that speaker on both SimAudio and Audio Research reference equipment (rather than the parent company--"politic'ed"--McIntosh) and this speaker is even better than we were able to hear it at the show. It just goes to illustrate... all of these systems were great, some just ticked our personal boxes more than others.
There were a couple of takeaways from the show that I thought should be mentioned. A number of the rooms that we went to (big Wilsons, YG in GTT Audio, SimAudio/Sonus Faber) on Friday afternoon that I revisited on Saturday and the sound was markedly improved. I found out that GTT was using "out of the package" Kubala Sosna cables... it showed! All of these rooms were an order of magnitude, improved after a full day of cooking! I didn't make it back to the Block Audio room, but I fear that it would not have dramatically improved. I expect that they will have learned much from this experience. The Friday-Saturday changes really illustrates how important it is that exhibitors fully break in their equipment before bringing it to the exhibition. In fact, I guess that everything should be set up by Wednesday and played for at least 36 hours before the doors open. I don't know if this is practical, but it sure seems necessary.
Secondly, I took a friend who was a complete hi-fi novice to the show on Saturday. Prior, he had only heard one "high end" system in his life, one time--mine (assuming that I might even carry the label of a "high end" as my system is significantly less than $100K). He was excited and blown away at the quality of sound at most of the rooms. At the end of the day, he was unequivocal: his 2 favorite rooms were: Nordost (using around a $10K KEF, Hegel, mac book air combination (and around $30,000 of Nordost products which is just insane!) and the room with $30,000 Sonus Fabers (I can't remember the model, perhaps Amadi) partnered with SimAudio at an estimated system cost of well under $150,000. I raise this point to say that you can achieve a very good system that can convey performance, emotion and a great experience without needing to remortgage your house (and sometimes a few of your friends' houses!). We had heard numerous $200+K systems and they didn't move him as much as something far less expensive. I suspect that if Nordost had used "only" $10,000 in cables and treatments, that "humble" $20,000 system would have still sounded great. Well designed equipment partnered with other complimentary equipment intelligently set up with the right accessories makes for a great system, not just dumping money on top of money.
Around a month ago, I strongly encouraged you to come to this show. I hope that you found it to be a valuable and positive experience. I certainly enjoyed getting to meet you and your wife and many other people. At the end of the day, we are a small community of hobbyists with a shared interest in hearing great music in our homes. To be able to spend 3 days with people sharing this common goal was just great! Thanks for coming to Chicago to participate!
