I was at the show but somehow missed the Singer rooms. One I tried to go in was locked. I wanted to hear the Stenheim speakers as I’ve heard one their speakers sound good.
I think the Vinnie Rossi room sounded great- not necessarily because of the speakers but I feel it was the hybrid electronics and the careful setup of speakers 1/3rd out onto the room.
I am a huge fan of Mark Porzilli’s previous speakers, the Sceana. He was behind pipedream as well, and obviously knows his way around a line source speaker. His new ultra thin speakers in the Laufer room did some things incredibly well. They disappeared so well and threw a huge stage. I feel they would do better not being driven quite so full range to 200 hz and with a woofer section rather than just subs. Interestingly they are heated internally. I did feel some resonance in the aluminum (I believe) enclosures as it was playing and there was something a bit steely in the high end, but I think these show incredible promise from a tiny bit tall column of titanium drivers.
The 2 speakers in the Blink Audio room was great as well. The class A monoblock amps were a shocking $96k retail. When they replaced the those electronics with class AB/D (which I’ve never heard of) integrated from the same manufacturer, there was a huge loss of quality.
I wasn’t impressed by the massive $500k horn system (or its smaller version) playing in the large suites. Yes it could play loudly and was one of the few systems that could really reproduce an orchestra at full scale (actually larger because they were playing them so loudly). They were playing fantastic open reel recordings from Tape Project, but I somehow didn’t connect with presentation.
There were 2 different Martin Logan based systems. The larger (mono or Neolith) exhibited the usual compression and break up I hear in every ML show demo I’ve ever heard. The smaller speakers in another room actually sounded good.
I’m not sure what to think of the Orinda acoustics room. I have heard Sunny’s previous designs in one unnamed reviewer’s room sound utterly stunning, and an audio experience I will never forget. However I’m afraid the extremely nice Sunny Lo is victim of his own perceptions.
Year after year he uses a probably 15 year old CD player as a source (perhaps customized) in his demo room, failing to recognize that digital playback has evolved significantly. If I had to guess the electronics he uses are the reason the speakers he brings in never seem to sound good. I’d love someone else to take over his marketing of speakers and find a combination that do them justice.
I think the Vinnie Rossi room sounded great- not necessarily because of the speakers but I feel it was the hybrid electronics and the careful setup of speakers 1/3rd out onto the room.
I am a huge fan of Mark Porzilli’s previous speakers, the Sceana. He was behind pipedream as well, and obviously knows his way around a line source speaker. His new ultra thin speakers in the Laufer room did some things incredibly well. They disappeared so well and threw a huge stage. I feel they would do better not being driven quite so full range to 200 hz and with a woofer section rather than just subs. Interestingly they are heated internally. I did feel some resonance in the aluminum (I believe) enclosures as it was playing and there was something a bit steely in the high end, but I think these show incredible promise from a tiny bit tall column of titanium drivers.
The 2 speakers in the Blink Audio room was great as well. The class A monoblock amps were a shocking $96k retail. When they replaced the those electronics with class AB/D (which I’ve never heard of) integrated from the same manufacturer, there was a huge loss of quality.
I wasn’t impressed by the massive $500k horn system (or its smaller version) playing in the large suites. Yes it could play loudly and was one of the few systems that could really reproduce an orchestra at full scale (actually larger because they were playing them so loudly). They were playing fantastic open reel recordings from Tape Project, but I somehow didn’t connect with presentation.
There were 2 different Martin Logan based systems. The larger (mono or Neolith) exhibited the usual compression and break up I hear in every ML show demo I’ve ever heard. The smaller speakers in another room actually sounded good.
I’m not sure what to think of the Orinda acoustics room. I have heard Sunny’s previous designs in one unnamed reviewer’s room sound utterly stunning, and an audio experience I will never forget. However I’m afraid the extremely nice Sunny Lo is victim of his own perceptions.
Year after year he uses a probably 15 year old CD player as a source (perhaps customized) in his demo room, failing to recognize that digital playback has evolved significantly. If I had to guess the electronics he uses are the reason the speakers he brings in never seem to sound good. I’d love someone else to take over his marketing of speakers and find a combination that do them justice.