Thanks for your synopsis.
Impressions of Pacific Audio Fest 2024
I’m going to go out on a limb here and make the huge assumption that PAF represented a microcosm of the audiophile market. I mean, if I’m wrong it’s not the end of the world nor would it be the first time. So let me get after it.
First, when I attended my first one back in 2022 I was impressed with the layout and organization as an attendee. Lots to see and hear and a decent location for the show. This year was really no different however it seemed to me that there were slightly fewer exhibitors. My guess is that with the surge in new regional shows, manufacturers and vendors are picking and choosing where their money and efforts go. If history is any indicator, the PNW is going to get shafted. Again. (Remember the big annual Seattle motorcycle show? No? I rest my case.) I read that PAF is going to go to a biennial event. Thus it begins. Fingers crossed for 2026!
There was a pretty big scale of fairly not-good to ’I really don’t want to leave this room’ kinds of sounds. Shows are notoriously difficult places to showcase audio wares and the Doubletree Hotel is no exception. But there were several rooms who took the time, and the available room treatments, to make a good showing. I’m going to jump in with both feet and say that the ABX-Audiophiles room was one of, if not the best, sounding rooms. Plans and drivers came from LaDolce Audio. And using their drivers, they were claiming some crazy efficiency specs and pushing them with a quoted 7-9 watts/side. Stunning sound. Not a lot of money. Wow, imagine that. Affordable audio.
One example of the flip side was Bella Sound with another really great sounding display. Then again, at $40kilobucks for a pair of Hanalei 700 watt monoblocks, $12K for a Hana power conditioner and $5K for a Kaula power cable I would certainly hope they would take the time to make a good sounding room, which they did. Good on’em.
I was a bit disappointed by the Borrensen speakers on display after hearing such good things about them here on Agon: Too booomy on the bottom. In fact there were several rooms that committed that particular sin. The Audio Note UK folks I think fell prey to their room as their otherwise nice sounding rig was simply muddy on the bottom end.
Swinging the pendulum back to the good side of things was the PureAudioProject room with Pass Labs and Silversmith Audio. Again another open baffle design that doesn’t break the bank. Nice sounds here.
I also attended a couple presentations. The first was by Tube Trap. I learned a lot in their 90 minute talk! Very little of the talk was about their products and more about acoustics and why they’re such a huge influence on our sound systems. Great stuff.
The other was the Kirmuss presentation. He’s an interesting sort who presented some fascinating information on our beloved LPs. He’s awfully convincing and I almost pulled the trigger on one of his cleaning systems. Excuse me, "restoration system". But after reading a couple reviews online while I pondered put me off somewhat at this time.
I had some nice conversations with my fellow PAF goers. A common theme was that there is a LOT of great sounding equipment out on the market: Innovative, well built, great to look at. But the cost in a lot of cases is becoming eye-wateringly prohibitive. I overheard one guy telling one of his friends that he’d just spent $30K on a pair of amplifiers that he hadn’t told his wife about yet. He joked that as long as he got her a new car she’d be fine with it. Good on him if he’s got that kind of dosh. But as a fella who’s retired, I’m going to be very, very picky about where my audio-bucks get spent.
On a personal note, I was gratified that more than a couple folks had the same opinion about the best sounding room there. Ha!
Anyways, this isn’t meant to gore anyone’s ox and are only my personal experiences and thoughts about the show. If you’re in the area it’s still open tomorrow 09/08 from 10a-4p.
Happy listening.
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The Borreson's have a lot of bass but it is very tight and fast. I certainly don't think they had boomy bass. I think the sound is very impressive but not what I would ever want to own. The extreme dynamics just seem too aggressive to me but maybe it is just the fact that they are playing in the high 90's dBC. The Zellatron room had way too much bass and I did think that was boomy but otherwise impressive. I also liked the LaDolce Audio system and thought it would be a remarkable and fairly cheap DIY project. I spent quite a bit of time talking with the owner on Friday after the show was over and love his philosophy. I felt they sounded much better than the Pure Audio Project or Caladan speakers which were also open baffle. Best system of the show if the main genre's you listen to are acoustic and vocal jazz has to be the Songer Audio room with those Whammerdyne 2A3 amps. Just magic on Boz Scaggs or Amos Lee. My guess is they don't hold up as well if you are listening to electronic, rap or rock music. Other notable rooms, but at a serious cost were the YG Acoustics Sonya 3.3s and a very similar design were the brand new Estellon SE speakers in the Scott Walker room. $115K for those babies! For me the most disappointing room was the Clayton Shaw setup. Of course, it was probably also the least expensive room in the show. This was my third year going and overall fairly disappointing. I agree that it seems to be dying a slow death after the very promising debut.
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I attended the first PAF back in 2022, and that show was absolutely awesome!!! I skipped 2023. I attended this years show, and although it was very nice, I was still somewhat disappointed, as there were quite a few less exhibitors then there was in 2022. This years show just wasn't as grand as the 2022 show, and the energy, electricity and excitement surrounding the show, just wasn't there like it was in 2022. Even the show's location in Seattle (the entire city) seems to have further declined since the last time I was there. Very disappointing. Anyway, I'll start with the Borresen room: First off, the Borresen room was way too loud. So loud, I could hardly stand to be in the room for more than a minute or two at a time. The Borresen speakers, for all their merits, always seem to fail to connect with me on an emotional level like some other speakers are able to. I thought the Genesis room was really impressive featuring a pair of more affordable and fairly large $13,000 a pair speakers. The Wells Audio room was terrific, as always. There was a room that featured a pair of Apogee like ribbon speakers by Analysis Audio that sounded incredible. Open baffle type speakers were fairly prevalent at this years show, and they all sounded really nice to me. My favorite room at this years show was the Estelon room, which had me glued to my seat. Happy listening. |
@pinwa , to clarify, my comments concerning the Borreson's and their sound had more to do with the room setup and not so much the speakers themselves. I tried moving around the room some but changing position didn't seem to help. @kennymacc , I agree as I was at that year's show as well. One thing I missed was the lack of headphone exhibitors. Although Stax was there I was hoping to sample some other manufacturers as well. I'll second your impression of the Estelons. Spectacular is the word that came to mind but at $115K, I would expect nothing less. I also agree with you about those Analysis Audio speakers. Wow those sounded great. Happy listening.
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