First impressions at California audio Show

[tube fan]

I've just spent several hours playing the same vinyl on my home system that I played at the show. The Adgio d'Albinoni sounded better on my system than on any at the show (I played it at Magico, Teresonic, and Lotus rooms, and at a few others). The double bass and pipe organ are a tough test of a system. You have to FEEL the organ (and the lowest notes of the double bass). However, on this stupendous record you also should feel the power and beauty of Karr's playing in your heart. It's not a matter of frequency response. Karr sounds like he is playing for the gods. A lot of it has to do with flow and momentum and tiny subtle details. The Chet vinyl (with an all-star group of Chet Baker, Herbie Mann, Pepper Adams, Bill Evans, Kenny Burrell, Paul Chambers, Connie Kay, and Philly Joe Jones) also sounded better through my Fulton Js than through any of the rooms I played it at (almost all with a tt). Ditto for the great Muddy Waters folk singer vinyl recording. I played this in the JBL room, and several people thanked me for suppling some real music. The sound of the John Coltrane and Jonny Hartman vinyl was matched at the Lotus room (for, what, $400,000?). Here I got to play it at the proper volume. They were going to play the same cut on their record, but the record was defective, so I offered my copy. Perhaps this was why they allowed me to turn up the volume.
The moral of this is: don't believe that the best older equipment cannot match, and often, surpass what is considered the current best. For example, I have yet to hear an electrostatic speaker that matches the KLH 9 or the Quad ESL 57 (with the possible exception of the new King electrostatic). Unfortunately, the turntable in the King room was giving off too much flutter for the super sensitive King, so I had to listen to CDs. The sound was quite good, and nothing like the CD sound in the Audio Note room. The strenghts of each system matched the weaknesses of the other: super detail vs tonal saturation; deep bass vs limitless highs. The King sounded like an almost full range version of the Quad 57, and that is saying a lot. The King seems to be quite hard on other equipment, but, at $8,000, they are a steal. Still, I prefered the Audio Notes, especially driven by the outstanding Jinro.

[frenchmon]

I've just spent several hours playing the same vinyl on my home system that I played at the show. The Adgio d'Albinoni sounded better on my system than on any at the show (I played it at Magico, Teresonic, and Lotus rooms, and at a few others). The double bass and pipe organ are a tough test of a system. You have to FEEL the organ (and the lowest notes of the double bass). However, on this stupendous record you also should feel the power and beauty of Karr's playing in your heart. It's not a matter of frequency response. Karr sounds like he is playing for the gods. A lot of it has to do with flow and momentum and tiny subtle details. The Chet vinyl (with an all-star group of Chet Baker, Herbie Mann, Pepper Adams, Bill Evans, Kenny Burrell, Paul Chambers, Connie Kay, and Philly Joe Jones) also sounded better through my Fulton Js than through any of the rooms I played it at (almost all with a tt). Ditto for the great Muddy Waters folk singer vinyl recording. I played this in the JBL room, and several people thanked me for suppling some real music. The sound of the John Coltrane and Jonny Hartman vinyl was matched at the Lotus room (for, what, $400,000?). Here I got to play it at the proper volume. They were going to play the same cut on their record, but the record was defective, so I offered my copy. Perhaps this was why they allowed me to turn up the volume.
The moral of this is: don't believe that the best older equipment cannot match, and often, surpass what is considered the current best. For example, I have yet to hear an electrostatic speaker that matches the KLH 9 or the Quad ESL 57 (with the possible exception of the new King electrostatic). Unfortunately, the turntable in the King room was giving off too much flutter for the super sensitive King, so I had to listen to CDs. The sound was quite good, and nothing like the CD sound in the Audio Note room. The strenghts of each system matched the weaknesses of the other: super detail vs tonal saturation; deep bass vs limitless highs. The King sounded like an almost full range version of the Quad 57, and that is saying a lot. The King seems to be quite hard on other equipment, but, at $8,000, they are a steal. Still, I prefered the Audio Notes, especially driven by the outstanding Jinro.

Send me the Chet Vinyl....I want to see if it sounds better on my system as well.