AKFest 2010

[poppachubby]

Well, it was a great day today! Firstly I got to meet my buddy 02audionoob and hang for the day. Awesome fun and of course, he's a stand up guy. He even bought me Taco Bell. He took alot of pics too, which I'm sure he'll be adding along with his thoughts.



So the scene was set for some good times. AKFest was held at a Sheraton hotel. They booked floors 2 and 3 with some minor action on the main floor. Each manufacturer had a guest room to set up in.

I didn't know what to expect, but I would start by saying it seemed very slow. I mean in the low attendance way. This of course was a good thing as rooms were very accessible with no rush to leave. Also, the technicians were also handy to help or answer questions.



After reading Rich's reviews about CES I didn't bother to bring any music. Murphy's Law...I think every room we walked into asked if we had something to play.

I thought for a bit about how I wanted to make this thread. I don't want to bore anyone, but I want to include some relevant info also. I guess I'll give my overall impressions and if anyone has questions, fire away.



I really thought that I was going to be overwhelmed with all the product we were set to see. My wife had prepared herself to see me come home, self loathing and all. I always get antsy after seeing a nice set up, particularily if it kills mine! I could only imagine what a day of nice set ups would do for the audio libido.

Surprisingly, no actually shockingly, there was no large amounts of envy to be had. I was in disbelief at just how many rooms sounded bad. Let me define bad for you. Excellent detail, excellent frequency reproduction, excellent seperation, excellent imaging and excellent soundstaging.

Confusing indeed. What made them bad is what they didn't have...a spark, immediacy, ability to engage...they had nothing. Elevator ready if you ask me. I don't know how many rooms we sat in that had this issue, at least a good 7 or 8. Total nap time. It didn't seem to matter what the gear was or how nice it was either.



The picture you just looked at was of the Audio Note room. We auditioned a CD4.1x into a Jinro 211SE using the Lexus Signature speakers. Roughly 50 grand in gear. I was SOOOO excited that they were there. I know Rich is gonna kill me for saying this, but they had one of the most boring sounds of all. No life whatsoever. I was so dissapointed...



...it wasn't until about half way through the day, that I started to feel pretty good. The more bland and blahzay we encountered, the more I thought about my meager little system back at home. Sure, I was beat at things like detail and response, but I was a clear winner for something I realised that is important to me, immediacy.

So onto the best stuff of the day.

Unfortunately audionoob took the VanAlstine photos, so he will have to post them. AVA was using Salk speakers and a pretty humble looking HK CDP. I asked the guys to hook up a beautiful pair of Salk open baffle. We put in Simon's Graceland, and the results were bad. I thought a dynamic album like that would have shined through, but it didn't. We quickly switched to Mangione's greatest hits and bang!! We had a winner. Literally as the first blast of his horn came out, my attention was caught. The AVA and Salk tag teamed in a great way bringing out the best of this jazz recording. The highs were so incredibly smooth, truly effortless for the Salks. The bass was also extremely dynamic as the Salks have a giant rear port which clearly helped the cause.





The next room featured Harbeth speakers with Rogue Audio monoblocks. A Bel Canto transport and Macbook rounded it out.



Upon first walking in, it had the same feel many of the dud rooms had. I wasn't expecting much. What was great is that the tech allowed us control of the volume and Macbook. Once that was fixed up, we had a listen and this system could perform nicely. I couldn't put my finger on what was unique, but it truly had an engaging quality.



Vocals were bold and imaged nicely but seemed thin, lacking depth to the pitch. Clearly where the vocals suffered is where this set up found its magic for instruments. The Harbeth gave wonderful clarity and tone to even the most subtle of sounds. They were also excellent at imaging, from low volumes to high, the speakers stayed true to each instrument's involvement, never exaggerating or dissapearing.



I was super excited to visit Grant and hear the LP 6.1. It was there all right, and sounding lovely.



I must admit, with such a busy room I was distracted and didn't get the best listen to this. Aside from this, Grant truly does have wonderful gear. We had them input the 6.1 into the P-307. Just a magical sound.




OK, you guys want to know what i think the best room was?!? Drum Roll Please!!

It was the Marantz room. That's right, you heard me.



We heard the SM and SC-11S1 with SA-11S2 SACDP into a pair of ParadigmSignature S8 Reference.

Pure magic is all I can say. noob and i wondered what it could have been like if they had stepped up the speakers. The 'digms performed wonderfully however, and didn't sound like they needed to play catch up.



The dynamics were unreal. Full, bodied and textured. I was literally on the edge of my seat. The Marantz combo imaged better than anything else today. If one could say that a set up can be emotional, this is it.

The guitar solo we were listening to had so much range in regards to volume and presence. The Marantz voiced that guitar perfectly and you could feel the passion of the artist playing it.

On that note, the bass was exceptional. Lively and tight, but somehow never overwhelming. Again, there seemed to be dynamic range with this system that nothing else had today.

Anyhow, it was alot of fun and I certainly learned a thing or two. I think I'd like to try and make it for CES next year.