New Audio Store in San Diego - Deja "Vu" Audio

The San Diego Music and Audio Guild arranged an open house visit Saturday to Deja "Vu" Audio which just opened a West Coast branch in La Jolla, CA.

If you want to know more about the store - here is the link
Deja Vu Audio West High End Hi Fi Audio Boutique in La Jolla California

Anyway, we were invited to hear a bunch of equipment across 4 different rooms.

Deja "Vu" is about both new units and fully restored vintage with a 'bias' to tubes (bad pun intended).

The owner, Josh, is really into jazz, but has an amazing in store collection (not for sale) of all genres from old school jazz to rock to classical.

Let me first apologize for my terrible smart phone pictures - they did not scale up like I hoped they would.

There were 4 listening rooms and I finally got to hear Harbeths, along with some Audio Note speakers.

Room 1
Room-1.jpg

Room 2
Room-2.jpg

Room 3
Room-3.jpg

Room 4
Room-4.jpg

The Harbeths (Super HL5s) were tonally rich but just a tad 'soft' up top for my tastes. I liked the bigger Audio Notes in Room 3 which were rich, full, and had that hint of sparkle I like.

Room 4 was amazing. The speakers are actually dipoles and were driven by fully restored Western Electric preamp and amps from the 1930s! Full sound with amazing micro dynamics as we listened to Mahler's 1st.

The website said they carried Proacs and I was eager to put my ears on those as well, but having only been open 1 month, Josh was still waiting on those. The only Proacs he had were a pair of the Tablette Anniversary bookshelves and they weren't hooked up.

So - he said to take them home!

I was blown away by the offer, but now have them setup at home for a couple of days for listening.

I had a great time there - stop in if you are in San Diego!

H9: If you don't trust what you are hearing, then maybe you need to be less invested in a hobby which all the pleasure comes from listening to music.

Comments

  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    So -- is it in any way affiliated with Deja Vu Audio in McLean, VA?

    http://dejavu-audio.com/index.html
  • haimoc
    haimoc Posts: 1,030
    I visited Deja Vu in McLean many times in the past. They have a large inventory of Audio Note and tube audio components. Wonder if the one in San Diego has anything to do with the McLean store.
  • Erik Tracy
    Erik Tracy Posts: 4,673
    edited February 2017
    mhardy6647 wrote: »
    So -- is it in any way affiliated with Deja Vu Audio in McLean, VA?

    http://dejavu-audio.com/index.html

    Yes - the store in SD is linked as dejavuaudiowest - it's the new West Coast store.
    http://www.dejavuaudiowest.com/

    H9: If you don't trust what you are hearing, then maybe you need to be less invested in a hobby which all the pleasure comes from listening to music.
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    Cool -- it's a dandy place (although I haven't been there in many years).
  • halo
    halo Posts: 5,616
    Erik Tracy wrote: »
    The only Proacs he had were a pair of the Tablette Anniversary bookshelves and they weren't hooked up.

    So - he said to take them home!

    I was blown away by the offer, but now have them setup at home for a couple of days for listening.

    So what are your impressions of them?

    Audio: Polk S15 * Polk S35 * Polk S10 * SVS SB-1000 Pro
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  • Viking64
    Viking64 Posts: 6,646
    I visited Deja Vu Audio and couldn't help but feel like I had been there before.
  • msg
    msg Posts: 9,308
    I feel like I've heard this before...
    I disabled signatures.
  • lightman1
    lightman1 Posts: 10,776
    I feel like I've seen this before. Paradox.
  • msg
    msg Posts: 9,308
    Cool report and heads up, Erik. What a great bunch of setups. I'd love to hear some rooms like this. Agreed, you should be flogged for those photos. The heck were you using?

    if65ji08xioh.jpg
    I disabled signatures.
  • mdaudioguy
    mdaudioguy Posts: 5,165
    The best deja vu would be to see Erik posting again...
  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,034
    Do you ever get that strange feeling of vuja de? Not deja vu, vuja de. It’s the distinct sense that somehow, something that just happened has never happened before. Nothing seems familiar. And then suddenly the feeling is gone.

    Vuja de.
    The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD

    “When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson
  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,902
    Do you ever get that strange feeling of vuja de? Not deja vu, vuja de. It’s the distinct sense that somehow, something that just happened has never happened before. Nothing seems familiar. And then suddenly the feeling is gone.

    Vuja de.

    WUT ?? John, you've been up too long with the kid, get some sleep man. lol
    HT SYSTEM-
    Sony 850c 4k
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    Cables-
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  • Emlyn
    Emlyn Posts: 4,346
    The McLean store is indirectly responsible for me getting my JM Lab speakers for cheap several years ago. The previous owner of the speakers was deeply into classical music on vinyl and set up a system of double stacked Advents, SET amps, and Audio Note gear from Deja Vu. That system sounded great but $$$$$$$.
  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,902
    I wouldn't hesitate to get my ears on anything from Audio Note.
    HT SYSTEM-
    Sony 850c 4k
    Pioneer elite vhx 21
    Sony 4k BRP
    SVS SB-2000
    Polk Sig. 20's
    Polk FX500 surrounds

    Cables-
    Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
    Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
    Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
    Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable

    Kitchen

    Sonos zp90
    Grant Fidelity tube dac
    B&k 1420
    lsi 9's
  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,034
    tonyb wrote: »
    Do you ever get that strange feeling of vuja de? Not deja vu, vuja de. It’s the distinct sense that somehow, something that just happened has never happened before. Nothing seems familiar. And then suddenly the feeling is gone.

    Vuja de.

    WUT ?? John, you've been up too long with the kid, get some sleep man. lol

    Just quoted George Carlin... I miss that guy.
    The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD

    “When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson
  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,902
    edited October 2017
    tonyb wrote: »
    Do you ever get that strange feeling of vuja de? Not deja vu, vuja de. It’s the distinct sense that somehow, something that just happened has never happened before. Nothing seems familiar. And then suddenly the feeling is gone.

    Vuja de.

    WUT ?? John, you've been up too long with the kid, get some sleep man. lol

    Just quoted George Carlin... I miss that guy.

    we all do John, he'd have endless material in todays world.

    BUT....lets not derail a thread on some darn good audio. I want to hear more about the audio note speakers.
    HT SYSTEM-
    Sony 850c 4k
    Pioneer elite vhx 21
    Sony 4k BRP
    SVS SB-2000
    Polk Sig. 20's
    Polk FX500 surrounds

    Cables-
    Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
    Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
    Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
    Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable

    Kitchen

    Sonos zp90
    Grant Fidelity tube dac
    B&k 1420
    lsi 9's
  • sucks2beme
    sucks2beme Posts: 5,556
    The Audionotes were always a favorite when they were at LSAF.
    So, after a couple of days, what's the verdict on the Proacs?
    "The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." --Thomas Jefferson