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RMAF 2016 was incredible. LOTS of new offerings, and - despite the inevitable challenges of adapting to constrained conference spaces - some really great sound (as well as some NOT so....). Spent the entire day Saturday onsite, visiting over 3 dozen rooms, and perception-checking my impressions from Friday (all of which held true). So, squarely in the "for what it's worth" category, here are my impressions. I'm focusing only on the displays I LIKED - as I'm not going to lavish hate on the many rooms that had bad sound (and there were many - including some "big names"): (1) in the ASTONISHINGLY GREAT SOUND category, the Nordost/BAT/Audio Physik room. They did a "gradations of power cords" demo, in which they moved from stock (crap) cord through their entry level all the way up to the Valhalla 2 - all of these JUST POWERING THE TRANSPORT. Everything else was held constant - including the same 30-second excerpt of music. The differences were NOT subtle - of the, "Hmmm, MAYBE there's a SLIGHT change in tonal balance...." NO. The differences were HUGE. Saw the same demo several times - NOT a placebo effect. And the Audio Physik Virgo 25's were simply superlative. Incredible definition of space with instrument separation; all instruments tonally accurate; powerful bass and extended highs and gorgeous midrange - the entire package. Of course, the system had $50K worth of CABLING alone, so no surprise. The whole system tied for my "Best in Show." (2) Harbeth/VAC room. Sporting the big 'beths, the sound was fantastic. Had a delightful conversation with Kevin Hayes, who was gracious, funny, and passionate about his gear. (3) The new Sonus Fabers sounded delicate and delicious, driven by Hegel gear. (4) Winner of the "most surprising disjuncture between size and sound" award was far and away the Joseph Audio Profiles, driven by Rowland. All I can say is WOW - these little babies filled the room with incredible sound and dynamic punch - including tight, rich bass. One of those "where are the REAL speakers!?" experiences. (5) Award for "most impressive new product" goes to Ono Audio Paka's. These little baffle-less babies sounded GREAT - especially on jazz and acoustic. And props to the 20-something designers, for whom this was their debut show. Good luck guys - and SO happy to see the "younger generation" striving for exceptional sound. But, overall winner for BEST IN SHOW sound goes to (6) SANDERS AUDIO. Their 'stats were simply ASTONISHING. I will never, ever, EVER forget the pipe organ demo piece they played - the bass note rattled the hotel walls and windows. I have NEVER heard such power and dynamic grunt come from a pair of stats, and their musicality was unparalleled. Even more shocking was the disclosure - in chatting with their designer and their rep - that the "front end" was a 16-bit direct digital stream (??)! I can't even wrap my head around that. Can't imagine what they would sound like with a "proper" front end upstream. Went back multiple times, to A/B their sound against the "big boys" - including the $115K Raidho array - and they pretty much beat everything else that was there. Yeah, they're $15-17K, but you're going to get sound in return that is world-class. No wonder Robert Greene declared the same thing, months ago.
NOTE: Given that AA limits photo posting to one per message, I will post my other show photos in series.
Follow Ups:
Nice pic! the analog kid.
I haven't heard the Sanders ESL since I was a (VERY BAD) rep for them. At least a decade or more ago.
Objectively, measurably they are beamy. However, subjectively Roger has made a very good point. Off-axis they are merely very good speakers. ON-AXIS they are phenomenal speakers.
The off-axis response drops off fairly smoothly, so it's not objectionable tonally at all. Imaging suffers almost immediatly off axis though, and once you've heard them dead-on you can become an addict of the sweet spot, and want a vice for your head.
While I love good imaging, I'm not really able to sit still that long.
Best,
Erik
OMG, this is so damned funny - my buddy and I were saying the EXACT same thing! (i.e., vice). We both love to have at least SOME liberty of movement in our listening spaces. You know, be able to sit sideways in the big comfy chair, or slouch to one side, or get up and move around. And yeah, basically you're left with absolute rigid positioning, as movements laterally of even a few inches are detrimental.
...got a link to REG's comments?
Maybe try paragraph breaks.
Thanks.
I don't - they were published in a flier being distributed at the show. A full review is forthcoming.
I heard the Sanders at T.H.E. Irvine (formerly newport).Likewise, best sound both years for me, and I judge on diversified classical orchestral which is the hardest to reproduce well. Not every place I could sample with that instead of easy-to-reproduce lite ""jazz"". Supposedly Martin Logan hybrids don't always integrate stat and woofer well, but I heard nothing but flowing awesome from the Sanders.
Unfortunately a very narrow sweet spot, but how sweet it is.
Almost there at top rank was Revel Ultima Salon 2, with much wider dispersion.
Edits: 10/09/16 10/09/16
Yeah, that was what surprised me the most: the seamless integration of the woofer with the 'stat panel. Hard to find disjuncture. Don't know if you heard their "pipe organ" demo song, but that's what completely and totally blew my shit. Have never heard a 'stat hybrid with such low-end grunt.
Ryan Auido's Tempus III gets my vote for best sound. I just flat out enjoyed listening to this system, more so than any other setup I heard this year.Open, transparent, but most importantly, organic and natural sounding.
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Edits: 10/09/16
This is one of THE things I love MOST about high-end: it's all perception. I caught the Ryan room yesterday afternoon, and felt that they were competent, but unimpressive. That does NOT mean that I'm right and you're wrong - just that when it comes to speakers (perhaps more than anything else), it's all a matter of perception and taste. I was raving (both online and off) about the Sanders' 'stats all afternoon, only to run into Mark Pearson (Positive Feedback) who complained about (what he perceived as) their beaminess. I didn't feel they were beamy at all, and actually went back to check off-axis listening (which I found excellent). So it goes. To each his or her own, and may we ALL find the systems that suit and please us optimally!!! :-)
Thought the Sanders room sounded excellent as well, especially in the transparency department. Just not as coherent, organic, and natural sounding to me as the Ryan setup.
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