02-06-09: Hdm
I'm curious with respect to the Ayre prototype table; I know that Ayre has a
very strong committment to balanced operation in their electronics. Did the
table/tonearm lead happen to utilize a balanced configuration?
It never occurred to me to ask that. I did find out
that the proto was running an Ayre-modified RB300 with different damping
and (I think) internal wiring. It was fitted with a Lyra Skala. Ayre's two main
contributions to the turntable are the arm modification and integration, and a
really nice outboard power supply and speed control. The entire electronic
chain from there including the phono stage was Ayre.
02-06-09: Tvad
Playback quality is more dependent on recording quality than it is playback
medium.
Generally I agree. On this particular night,
however, the system setups were heavily slanted toward digital. There were 6
demo rooms and only one had a turntable, and that was a prototype, and
nothing as impressive as what the store carries (SME 30, for example). The
digital demos all had very high quality recordings, some dubbed from master
tapes and several that were bit-for-bit server-based 24/96 renditions of live
recordings. These were stunning and dynamic in many ways, and as I said,
the 24/88 and 24/96 recordings were more realistic and musically involving
(to me) than the redbook. I heard redbook CDs played by the top offerings
from Audio Research and Ayre. I didn't hear the Linn room, but I'd heard
SACDs on a Linn just 2 years ago at the same store.
OTOH, the LPs we heard were almost desultory by comparison. No direct-to-
discs, no MoFi LPs, several recordings from the '50s. One was just a $10
Original Jazz Classics reissue of Miles Davis'
"Workin'."
02-06-09: Tketcham
So how were the presentations? Anything new and interesting?
Oh, yeah! Magnepan had a prototype speaker setup
that just slayed! They have a small floor-standing woofer that uses the 20.1
bass technology. It only goes down to about 40 Hz, but the quality is very
high and has great slam and clarity. The amazing thing is that the panel has a
response up to around 7kHz, so integration with the satellites is very natural
and fairly simple. The satellites were about 10"x12" panels that
were like miniature 3.6's. With an iTunes-based server feeding a Peachtree
Audio integrated/DAC pushing several external amps, this rig produced the
most realistic-sounding drums I've ever heard on an audio system. I'm a
drummer. In fact, I'm sitting 5 feet from my vintage Slingerland/Avedis
Zildjian drum set as I type this.
Ayre had the turntable I already mentioned, and I heard the Wilson MAXX 3's,
which sounded wonderful pushed by big ARC amps, and come much closer to
the Alexandria series 2 than the previous version.
02-06-09: Musicslug
I was also at that event but came away with a different conclusion. I'm all
about LPs, but the digital playback was pretty amazing - even the non hi-rez.
granted, all the gear was cost-no-object, but both the Ayre and Linn digital
gear (the kind that you run off a hard drive) were orders of magnitude better
than any digital I've ever heard.
I agree with your
digital assessment--it's the best-sounding digital I've probably ever heard,
especially the server-based 24/88 and 24/96 sources feeding the
ARC/Wilson and Ayre/Magnepan/JL systems. But when all was said and done,
as good as digital has gotten (and its ability to retrieve ambience and
resonance ) I still felt more at ease and enjoyed the music more when the LPs
were playing.
02-07-09: Shadorne
Yawn. Sure. Hang on ...let me grab some popcorn. Repeat everyone all
together
now the mantra.... "Analog is good, no matter how cheap. Digital, no
matter
how expensive, is always bad."
Never said that,
never meant to imply that. Audio reproduction is always imperfect and people
will invariably prefer digital or analog depending on what are the most
subjectively significant factors in sound quality. I don't want to like LPs more.
I listened to digital exclusively for 20 years. LPs are a hassle in so many ways.
But if I'm honest with myself about how I feel when I listen to music, I prefer
the sound of LP playback.
There will come a time when digital equals or exceeds analog in every way,
but for me it's not quite there yet. I'm wondering if it'll take 30 bits to satisfy
me, or maybe 26. 26 would be a four-fold increase in amplitude resolution
over 24-bit.
