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Some Axpona thoughts

Went on Friday. Always try to find great sounding speakers that are not TOO expensive. Ones that impressed me- Vapor Cirrus Black(4K),Kef Ls50($1500), Rega RS5($1500),Joseph Pulsar(not cheap at 7K but a special speaker),Sonus Faber Veneer 3.0(bargain at $3500), Legacy Aeris(12k), Acoustic Zen Crescendo(16K) and lots more. Two others intrigued me. 1)Newform Research line array.(10K) 84" Tall with about 12 drivers and about 3 feet of ribbons drivers mounted directly in front of the other drivers. It looks odd and you wouldn't think it would work,but it sounded totally transparent and with 4 subs and a cross-over thrown into the package- it wasn't a bad deal. The star of the show had to be the Tad Reference One. It was worth the price of admission alone. At 70K, totally unaffordable for me, but what a treat to listen to. They played a Master Tape on a reel-to-reel of a jazz recording. It was literally like the sax player was inside the speaker. The most accurate reproduction of an instrument and music I've ever heard. That's what cool about these shows. I would like to hear other people thoughts if they were there-especially on the Newform Research(am I crazy?) and the TAD(I can't be crazy).
jackmonster
phaelon's avatar
phaelon
1,038 posts
 
To me, perhaps the greatest challenge of an audio system, is trying to emulate the level of musical effortlessness and complete lack of strain one enjoys at a live event. In that regard, I was very impressed by the Volti Audio Vittora. This is a speaker I could listen to in extended sessions.
mt10425
1,138 posts
 
Phaelon, I agree with your description of these, very intimate for such large boxes.
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,249 posts
 
Phaelon,
Three questions concerning the Volti
How's the tonality?
It's a large speaker, do they disappear or is the speaker location obvious?
What amplifier was driving it?
Regards,
ltodd
14 posts
 
It was my first audio show, and I had a fantastic time. A lot of beautiful sounding and gorgeous looking systems. Here's a photo record I made of the event for anyone interested on Flickr: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjEjGUnQ.
raks
468 posts
 
After reading all the reviews on the YG Carmel’s, I expected to be blown away by them at the Chicago show. I wasn’t which really disappoints me because based on the reviews, the Carmel’s were on my short list for new speakers.

The Absolute Sound’s show coverage on the Carmel’s said “wonderful tone color, seemingly unrestricted dynamics (which wasn’t always the case with smaller YGs), super resolution (a house specialty), a thoroughgoing disappearing act, and an impression of deep-going bass that belied their size and form factor”... and Mt10425 (above) says “The best soundstage I heard was in the YG Acoustics (small) room.” Looking at the Enjoy the Music’s show coverage I was surprised to find that their picture of the GTT room showed a silver pair of Carmel’s versus the black pair that were in the room on Friday when I was there.

Is it possible that there was something wrong with the black pair?
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