Home Entertainment 2005 show report; part 5 [Archive] - Audio & Video Forums

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Geoffcin
05-08-2005, 04:04 AM
With 5 minutes to go to the meeting I headed up to Aperions rooms, (they had two), and ran into one of the organizers of the show in the elevator on the way. She looked a little peaked by this time of the day (4pm) and told me that it was a late night, as all the dealers were setting up late into the night and the whole floor where she was staying was shaking like it was a dorm room party. I told her where I was going, and she seemed to know all about it, and took me directly there.

Aperion took the better part of an hour to do, and although I only got about 15 minutes of play time with the new speakers, which can be had in real wood veneer, or piano black lacquer. I can say that my first impression of them was very good.

http://gallery.audioreview.com/data/audio/504/medium/207729aperion_speakers.jpg

Aperion was one of the few dealers to bring a 5.1 setup, and I made good use of it in the time that I had with it. If you want details;

http://forums.audioreview.com/showthread.php?t=11305

By the time I was done in the Aperion rooms it was pushing 5pm, and I had not even stopped for lunch yet. So, I decided that would be enough of the upper floor dealers, and headed back down to level 3 to get one last look at the ballrooms. I stopped into the AR room to look at the neat looking Digital MediaBridge that I've some buzz about when something caught my eye. There was a rep there with a new kind of computer mouse that really intrigued me. The mouse has a built in gyro that lets you use it completely free of any surface. We played with the features
on a computer that had multimedia software installed, and it really worked well! The real thing that set the hook for me was when he demonstrated how well it worked with gaming. He had a copy of Tiger Woods golf playing and proceeded to sink a really sweet put as if he were doing it for real!

http://members.aol.com/geoffcin/mouse.mvi

Man, I gotta get me one of these!! The mouse is going to retail for $79.95, but as with most AR stuff, you'll probably be able to get it at a discount from the big box stores.

It was past 5;30 by now, and with everyone closing the doors at 6, it didn't make any sense to try to see anyone else's room, but I did make one final call on the Balanced Audio Technology room. The room was one of the larger ballrooms, and it sported seating for about 30, and the huge 80k+ Focal-JM labs Grand Utopia Be speakers. BAT makes massive no-compromise amps & components, and mated to the Grand Utopias Be this room really was like a temple to the audiophile gods.

http://members.aol.com/geoffcin/bat.mvi

I wish I could give a better description of the sound, but I only stayed long enough to take a couple of pictures, and this short video.

Walking out it was just shy of 6pm, and having arrived a few min before 10 that made almost exactly 8 hours of nonstop audio enjoyment. Not a bad way to spend a day!

Hope you enjoyed the report, and here are my PICS for "best in show"

Best Multichannel setup;

Dolby Labs/ DVD-Audio room with Piega speakers driven by Innersound amps,

http://gallery.audioreview.com/data/audio/504/medium/207729innersound_amp.jpg

and featuring the Meridian Reference Multiplayer as source.

http://gallery.audioreview.com/data/audio/504/medium/207729meridian_reference_players.jpg


I've simply never heard better multichannel music period. The engineer from AIX recordings was playing some of his DVD-A direct-to-digital recordings on the Meridian and it was as close to real as I've ever been. Actually let me qualify that; I've never been up on stage for a recording so it's as close to being up on stage with the musicians during a recording as I've ever been. The Piegas ribbon tweeter is a wonder to behold, and the speakers have a very tight life like bass. I did find it a little lean in the lower octave in that huge room, but everything else was so great it didn't matter.

http://members.aol.com/geoffcin/DVDA.MVI

2 channel Audio;

Totem Mani-2 signatures setup

http://gallery.audioreview.com/data/audio/504/medium/207729mani-2.jpg

This setup simply presented the most coherent, and appealing sense of musicality in the size room it was given. Were there more expensive setups in the show? Most of them! but the dealers weren't willing to make the volume loud enough for me to get the feel of them, or the rooms they were in just were just way too small for the speakers, like the VR9se which might of won had it been in one of the larger rooms. Even the hyper expensive Kharmas were beings played too "laid back" for my tastes. For me, the Mani-2's were "just right" in so many ways, that it made it an easy choice for my "best 2 channel sound in show"

I hope you've enjoyed my report!

ericl
05-09-2005, 10:29 AM
Wow Geoff!

Talk about excellent coverage! Looks like you had a great time. Wish I could have been there, but I think this is the next best thing!

Thanks so much for the coverage!

Eric

Buzz Roll
05-09-2005, 10:54 AM
Hey - great report.

I only heard the mani-2s for a short while, but they certainly had dynamics (a Totem trademark). I'm a sucker for their disappearing act - really fun. I didn't like the Hawks (I've heard them before) but the Rainmakers were pretty nice sounding monitors. I'd like to set them beside some of the current popular monitors, and see some comparisons. The Totem presentation was hard for me, because it's more about hi-fi wow factor than musically involving sound. But I guess in a short amount of time, you have to get people interested, and it was cool that in a lot of aspects, Totem could keep up with the big boys.

As much as I love Manley amplifiers, I could not get into the Joseph Audio room - I just will never like those speakers. I've heard them in a couple of occasions, I just find them uninvolving. Jeff Joseph did put on a personable presentation and seems like a nice enough guy.

The Lamm room - wow.

I really like the DeVore speakers - I'm going to check them out some more.

Along with Totem, one of the "humble" rooms that I liked was the Almarro room. Simple tube integrated/Arcam CD player/two-way floorstander combo. No wow factor, just very listenable, and very affordable.

With all of the talk going around, I was really interested in hearing the VR-4jr. Basically they were fun, but a little too "hi-fi" for my tastes. I don't think I could live with a pair day after day, but they did disappear nicely and had some nice mid-range resolve. On some recordings I felt a little disconnect from certain frequencies (lo-mid to mid) but that could have been the room.

Another favorite of mine was Mark Levinson's room. He concentrated on his mp3 converter and played everything through a laptop into a simple integrated/monitor. His music choices all revolved around musical performance, and his approach was aimed at the listener's involvment with the performance. A refreshing presentation. I felt a lot of the hi-end gear out there is designed by music lovers who probably never actually go out and hear live music.

I wish there was an Ohm room and a Magnepan room (two of my favs), just so I could have a little bit reference with all of this unknown gear, it' a lot to take in for one day.

Geoffcin, thanks for the photos and reviews.

Geoffcin
05-09-2005, 02:46 PM
Wow Geoff!

Talk about excellent coverage! Looks like you had a great time. Wish I could have been there, but I think this is the next best thing!

Thanks so much for the coverage!

Eric

It was a dream come true for me, and I really wanted to try to do the best job I could.

Hindesight is always 20/20, and there's about a hundred things I would have done differently if I got to do it again, especially with the pics. I took my Canon G2 digital camera because I felt it would be good enough for the job, and light, but I really should have taken my DSLR, the Canon D-10. A lot of the rooms were just too dark to shoot with the G2's 100 iso rating without flash, and moving the iso up to 400 gives too much grain with the G2. The D-10's CMOS chip shoots great at 800 iso, and even at 1600 it's still not bad. That would have made for a LOT better "glowing tube" shots, and I could have done without flash for all the pics. My note taking was pretty bad too, next time I'm using digital voice recorder so I can get a lot more info without stressing on note taking.

When's the next one?!

Geoffcin
05-09-2005, 02:56 PM
Hey - great report.

As much as I love Manley amplifiers, I could not get into the Joseph Audio room - I just will never like those speakers. I've heard them in a couple of occasions, I just find them uninvolving. Jeff Joseph did put on a personable presentation and seems like a nice enough guy.

I wish there was an Ohm room and a Magnepan room (two of my favs), just so I could have a little bit reference with all of this unknown gear, it' a lot to take in for one day.

Geoffcin, thanks for the photos and reviews.

It looks like we saw a lot of the same gear, but you've hit a few rooms that I never made it to. I really wanted to go back on Sunday to look up a few of the things I didn't get to see.

It's funny you should mention Joseph Audio;

The most unusual thing I saw in the room was that the woofers were making some pretty big excursions at a low volume. I commented on that I thought there was some rumble present, but they seemed to take no mind. I was facinated by this woofer slowly going in and out over 1/2" in travel, so I took some video for you to see;

http://members.aol.com/geoffcin/jaudio.mvi

Buzz Roll
05-10-2005, 08:54 AM
I couldn't open the movie - maybe cuz I'm on a mac?

There was a lot to see for just one day. It's definitely nice to actually hear all of the gear that everyone is talking about on these forums, and to talk to the designers. But the best part is it really made me appreciate my humble system at home.

Geoffcin
05-10-2005, 02:56 PM
I couldn't open the movie - maybe cuz I'm on a mac?

There was a lot to see for just one day. It's definitely nice to actually hear all of the gear that everyone is talking about on these forums, and to talk to the designers. But the best part is it really made me appreciate my humble system at home.

Sometimes it gives me "page not found", and other times it lets me play the file. It plays in Quicktime on my PC, so I don't think that would be a problem for you. Keep trying, it's a funny vid!

topspeed
05-11-2005, 07:11 AM
Terrific coverage Geoff! Spending an entire day listening to rare and exotic equipment must really try your patience, eh?

As you know, I'm a fan of VSA and PSA. The VSA pics show what looks to be a VAC amp and DK amp, but I don't recognize the other stuff. Could you tell what the other equipment was? Also, did you see anyone running PSA power conditioners or amps?

Again, great review! Thanks!

Geoffcin
05-11-2005, 02:36 PM
Terrific coverage Geoff! Spending an entire day listening to rare and exotic equipment must really try your patience, eh?

As you know, I'm a fan of VSA and PSA. The VSA pics show what looks to be a VAC amp and DK amp, but I don't recognize the other stuff. Could you tell what the other equipment was? Also, did you see anyone running PSA power conditioners or amps?

Again, great review! Thanks!

Yeah, it was fun, but I was exausted by the end of the day. Didn't even stop for lunch!

I really had a hard time focusing on the electronics for all the speakers I saw. I don't remember seing any PSA gear, but that doesn't mean it wasn't there. I missed LOTS of rooms too. If I get a chance to do an report again I'm going to make it a two day thing. They had a special deal to stay at the Hilton for the show, and although it was expensive, it would have made for a much easier time doing it.

JosephAudio
05-13-2005, 10:02 AM
>

It's funny you should mention Joseph Audio;

The most unusual thing I saw in the room was that the woofers were making some pretty big excursions at a low volume. I commented on that I thought there was some rumble present, but they seemed to take no mind. I was facinated by this woofer slowly going in and out over 1/2" in travel, so I took some video for you to see;

http://members.aol.com/geoffcin/jaudio.mvi[/QUOTE]

Hi!

Drivers move when they are fed energy. That's how they make sound! the reason you *see* the woofers moving is because there was some subsonic energy coming from the turntable/arm/cartridge combination (I think the record is a little warped). Subsonic frequencies are below the audible range, but the lower the frequency the farther the woofer has to move to reproduce it - and that's exactly what you saw our speaker doing-- it's reproducing what is fed into it. People used to see this quite often in the days before CD but it can seem pretty novel to those who grew up on CD's .

thanks for coming by

Jeff

Geoffcin
05-13-2005, 01:18 PM
Drivers move when they are fed energy. That's how they make sound! the reason you *see* the woofers moving is because there was some subsonic energy coming from the turntable/arm/cartridge combination (I think the record is a little warped). Subsonic frequencies are below the audible range, but the lower the frequency the farther the woofer has to move to reproduce it - and that's exactly what you saw our speaker doing-- it's reproducing what is fed into it. People used to see this quite often in the days before CD but it can seem pretty novel to those who grew up on CD's .

thanks for coming by

Jeff

I wish I had spend more time in your room at HE2005, I had a bunch of questions for you;

What were the speakers your were showing called? I wanted to call them Pearls, but the Pearls are a 2-woofer design, and this one was a one woofer speaker. Also the large center speaker, was that the Cynergy 5.1?

JosephAudio
05-13-2005, 03:31 PM
I wish I had spend more time in your room at HE2005, I had a bunch of questions for you;

What were the speakers your were showing called? I wanted to call them Pearls, but the Pearls are a 2-woofer design, and this one was a one woofer speaker. Also the large center speaker, was that the Cynergy 5.1?
Hi,

The speakers we showed were the new RM55LE's ($12,500/ pair) They have the same midrange and tweeter as our Pearls, but with a single woofer in a single cabinet. Coming this summer.
The center speaker was the Pearl center - a horizontally configured Pearl woofer with a Pearl satellite perched on top. It was only on when needed for the three channel SACD recordings we played. (and man, some of those three channel recordings are amazing!)

Jeff

Geoffcin
05-13-2005, 04:00 PM
Hi,

The speakers we showed were the new RM55LE's ($12,500/ pair) They have the same midrange and tweeter as our Pearls, but with a single woofer in a single cabinet. Coming this summer.
The center speaker was the Pearl center - a horizontally configured Pearl woofer with a Pearl satellite perched on top. It was only on when needed for the three channel SACD recordings we played. (and man, some of those three channel recordings are amazing!)

Jeff

Thanks Jeff,

I'll update the info on the pics I've taken of the Joseph Audio room. I hope you liked what you read in my report on HE2005. Yours was one of the rooms I really wish I had spent more time in.