Axpona 2019 Schaumburg IL
Comments
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It's been a week, but I am still having AXPONA withdrawals. Already looking forward to next year.
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Next year it will have to be all 3 days for me saw a lot though. I might be making a trip to Saturday Audio Exchange in a while to trade some idle gear in for either the NAD C 658 blu OS streamer preamp, as I kind of liked that one or perhaps that Brooklyn Mytec one. All in all it's a good time. Yes Skips room was that good put most of the others to shame. Good times I got a few goodies in yesterday that I bought at Axopona nothing major but I will be occupied this weekend.Home Theater
Parasound Halo A 31 OnkyoTX-NR838 Sony XBR55X850B 55" 4K RtiA9 Fronts CsiA6 Center RtiA3 Rears FxiA6 Side Surrounds Dual Psw 111's Oppo 105D Signal Ultra Speaker Cables & IC's Signal Magic Power Cable Technics SL Q300 Panamax MR4300 Audioquest Chocolate HDMI Cables Audioquest Forest USB Cable
2 Channel
Adcom 555II Vincent SA-T1 Marantz SA 15S2 Denon DR-M11 Clearaudio Bluemotion SDA 2.3tl's (Z) edition MIT Terminator II Speaker Cables & IC's Adcom 545II Adcom Gtp-450 Marantz CD5004 Technics M245X SDA 2B's, SDA CRS+
Stuff for the Head
JD LABS C5 Headphone Amplifier, Sennheiser HD 598, Polk Audio Buckle, Polk Audio Hinge, Velodyne vPulse, Bose IE2, Sennheiser CX 200 Street II, Sennheiser MX 365
Shower & Off the beaten path Rigs
Polk Audio Boom Swimmer, Polk Audio Urchin
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Outside of sounding great, skips room also looked better then 95% out there i think.Klipsch The Nines, Audioquest Thunderbird Interconnect, Innuos Zen MK3 W4S recovery, Revolution Audio Labs USB & Ethernet, Border Patrol SE-I, Audioquest Niagara 5000 & Thunder, Cullen Crossover II PC's.
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Outside of sounding great, skips room also looked better then 95% out there i think.
I agree. Excellent sounding room. Nice job Skip!_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Ethernet Filter: GigaFOILv4 with Keces P3 LPS
Source: Roon via ethernet to DAC interface
DAC: Bricasti M1SE
Pre/Pro: Marantz AV8805
Tube Preamp Buffer: Tortuga TPB.V1
Amp1: Nord One NC1200DM Signature, Amp2: W4S MC-5, AMP3: W4S MMC-7
Front: Salk SoundScape 8's, Center: Salk SoundScape C7
Surround: Polk FXIA6, Surround Back: Polk RTIA9, Atmos: Polk 70-RT
Subs: 2 - Rythmik F25's
IC & Speaker Cables: Acoustic Zen, Wireworld, Signal Cable
Power Cables: Acoustic Zen, Wireworld, PS Audio
Room Treatments: GIK Acoustics -
So by far the best system I heard (for overall performance) was the VS and VAC combo as I mentioned earlier. Both times I went into that room they were playing this
Both of my girls have been in ballet so it is music I am very familiar with. But these recordings (especially on that setup) were sounding like they were brand new to me. I had to get this record.
It wasn’t cheap, but on my goodness what a record set. The recordings are sublime and the soundstage is like no other symphony on vinyl I have owned. Just thought I would share because I was able to bring a little of the best parts of the show home with me. If you like classical I highly recommend. -
One more bonus from the show. Having a great chat with Dan Marks (VP if operations) with SVS and how I am very happy with the SB16, we started to chat about securing the sub to my sub floor (on crawl space) and he not only suggested I get the SVS isolation feet, he sent me a set for free!! Thank You SVS for one of the best customer satisfaction ratings in the industry. And Thank You for the new feet!!
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joecoulson wrote: »we started to chat about securing the sub to my sub floor (on crawl space) and he not only suggested I get the SVS isolation feet, he sent me a set for free!! Thank You SVS for one of the best customer satisfaction ratings in the industry. And Thank You for the new feet!!
NICE!
I see their strategy is . . . to decouple?
I'm very interested in your thoughts on SQ after implementation
btw, I'm on a crawl, tooAC Regenerator PS Audio PerfectWave Power Plant 10
Source Lumin U1 Mini into Lampizator Baltic 4 DAC
Pre Cary SLP-05
Power Rogue M180 Dark monos
Mains Salk HT2-TL
Rythmik F12 -
Glenn the sub does an amazing job as it stands but can easily overpower in any situation. With the crawl space, the tendency to feel like the sub is boomy can be present in higher volume and also movies.
I listened to both today to test the sub after installing the feet.
On movies, the impact was more powerful as a sound and somehow created more pressurization. Not sure how feet can do that, but on Avengers Infinity war, some of the end scenes like Thor holding upen the star, it was epic.
On music, the feet have helped me dial in a smoother transition between the towers and sub. On some of the electronic music I listen to, this sub wants to be “boomy” with the crawl space. It’s has not all but disappeared. I tried all kinds of coupling and decoupling but this really works great. The sub almost floats on these things as I can move it around loosely. Quite happy with this pro Bono tweak from SVS!! -
I just paged through all the photos I posted and re-read the discussion, now that I'm back on my desktop computer. I'm happy that my photos were so well received, thank you for all the positive feedback about them.
I'm still debating if I will write some room reviews, or maybe an article about my top three rooms. -
Please write some memories down for us.
Tell about the GoldenEar Room with Sandy Gross experience.
They ( GoldenEar) print all these accolades in magazines but...your experience was different.
Maybe somebody else went into that room and has something to add.Most people just listen to music and watch movies. I EXPERIENCE them. -
Oh yeah, maybe it would be easier to first write about some of the forgettable or downright unpleasant experiences, before getting to the positive experiences.
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Oh yeah, maybe it would be easier to first write about some of the forgettable or downright unpleasant experiences, before getting to the positive experiences.
Well Russ wasn't there this year, so the stench around the venue must have been greatly reduced, if not eliminated. I don't know how the hotel managed to get rid of all the lice, bed-bugs and fleas though.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 -
Oh, there were plenty of unwashed audiophiles there with gnarly B.O. and nasty stank-breath, trust me.
The actual hotel room cleanliness was above average, although I still noticed that the base sheet on my bed was "questionable" - a few black hairs present, and some staining. And we found a random toenail on the carpet when we were setting up Skip's room. So, there's room for improvement. -
Oh, there were plenty of unwashed audiophiles there with gnarly B.O. and nasty stank-breath, trust me.
The actual hotel room cleanliness was above average, although I still noticed that the base sheet on my bed was "questionable" - a few black hairs present, and some staining. And we found a random toenail on the carpet when we were setting up Skip's room. So, there's room for improvement.
You can always tell where Russ has been...
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 -
Oh, there were plenty of unwashed audiophiles there with gnarly B.O. and nasty stank-breath, trust me.
The actual hotel room cleanliness was above average, although I still noticed that the base sheet on my bed was "questionable" - a few black hairs present, and some staining. And we found a random toenail on the carpet when we were setting up Skip's room. So, there's room for improvement.
Agreed. Please folks. Floss and deodorant -
I very much enjoy your reviews. you think I don't, but I do! I forgot to make a "polite sound" emoji, but if I had made one, I would have posted it [here]. I had set out to write a review of the two-channel system that I've been building. I tried. I gave up. I can't put into words what I hear, other than "it sounds musical". That would have made for a very short review.I'm still debating if I will write some room reviews, or maybe an article about my top three rooms.
Edit:
Post edited by Hermitism on -
Please write some memories down for us.
Tell about the GoldenEar Room with Sandy Gross experience.
They ( GoldenEar) print all these accolades in magazines but...your experience was different.
Maybe somebody else went into that room and has something to add.
Sandy was easy to talk to. Unfortunately, the speakers were not! I am not sure if they weren't setup right or what but I went into that room 3 times on 3 different days. All 3 times there was different music playing. All 3 times I walked out with the same impression. Very bright and at points painful due to the brightness. I really wanted to like them but in that room or the way they had them set, it was not my taste at all.Klipsch The Nines, Audioquest Thunderbird Interconnect, Innuos Zen MK3 W4S recovery, Revolution Audio Labs USB & Ethernet, Border Patrol SE-I, Audioquest Niagara 5000 & Thunder, Cullen Crossover II PC's. -
I just paged through all the photos I posted and re-read the discussion, now that I'm back on my desktop computer. I'm happy that my photos were so well received, thank you for all the positive feedback about them.
I'm still debating if I will write some room reviews, or maybe an article about my top three rooms.
Go for it!Klipsch The Nines, Audioquest Thunderbird Interconnect, Innuos Zen MK3 W4S recovery, Revolution Audio Labs USB & Ethernet, Border Patrol SE-I, Audioquest Niagara 5000 & Thunder, Cullen Crossover II PC's. -
Please write some memories down for us.
Tell about the GoldenEar Room with Sandy Gross experience.
They ( GoldenEar) print all these accolades in magazines but...your experience was different.
Maybe somebody else went into that room and has something to add.
Sandy was easy to talk to. Unfortunately, the speakers were not! I am not sure if they weren't setup right or what but I went into that room 3 times on 3 different days. All 3 times there was different music playing. All 3 times I walked out with the same impression. Very bright and at points painful due to the brightness. I really wanted to like them but in that room or the way they had them set, it was not my taste at all.
Thank you for that.
Do you by chance remember which Triton model/s he was poorly demoing?Most people just listen to music and watch movies. I EXPERIENCE them. -
Please write some memories down for us.
Tell about the GoldenEar Room with Sandy Gross experience.
They ( GoldenEar) print all these accolades in magazines but...your experience was different.
Maybe somebody else went into that room and has something to add.
Sandy was easy to talk to. Unfortunately, the speakers were not! I am not sure if they weren't setup right or what but I went into that room 3 times on 3 different days. All 3 times there was different music playing. All 3 times I walked out with the same impression. Very bright and at points painful due to the brightness. I really wanted to like them but in that room or the way they had them set, it was not my taste at all.
Thank you for that.
Do you by chance remember which Triton model/s he was poorly demoing?
I believe the new reference ones -
I think it's worth pointing out that we should be careful when ripping apart someone's product based off very limited time at a show. As mentioned by a reviewer in one thread, maybe this one, that he watched Skip work hard to get his sound right only reinforces the difficulties faced by vendors at shows. The rooms are usually concrete floors, often concrete ceilings and sometimes a side wall of concrete. Throw in metal studs as well. Many times the room dimensions are less than ideal, often times being uneven. All this and you only have a couple of days to get it right with whatever you brought with you.
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Yes and to further comment on Kerry's point, the second visits to some rooms provided a completely different experience than the first. Song choice, volume, ambient noise also played their parts.
Although, I did go into the Golden Ear room and it just sounded bad. But I have heard the model 1's before and they were glorious so I am sure it was many other factors. -
Please, write reviews, there are still several things that can be gained about products, and from those that rep them, at these venues.
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I will do my best - I do not want o flippantly do them as I feel its not doing anyone a service if hurried. There were a few rooms (with affordable gear) that really grabbed my attention. I don't want to double review so I'll get with @Clipdat and see which ones he remembers more vividly.
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Sandy was easy to talk to. Unfortunately, the speakers were not! I am not sure if they weren't setup right or what but I went into that room 3 times on 3 different days. All 3 times there was different music playing. All 3 times I walked out with the same impression. Very bright and at points painful due to the brightness. I really wanted to like them but in that room or the way they had them set, it was not my taste at all.
I just didn't understand why he was playing them so loud, to the point that the treble was painful. This actually happened to me several times on Saturday in various rooms.
But with the Golden Ear room when Sandy was personally sitting there, you'd think he wouldn't be blasting the highs like that.
The room was larger than the regular hotel rooms, and when I evaluated the room size, layout, and speaker placement, I expected it to perform well. I actually really wanted to like the room, but like Brian, I gave it several tries and each time walked out disappointed.
Could it perhaps have been a synergy issue with the speakers not playing nice with the PrimaLuna tube amps? -
The one time i was in Sandy's room no one was there but he and I. He was not in a good mood, I tried striking up a conversation but he just answered in terse one word answers. I told him to try and have a better day and thanks for bringing to audio world some fantastic speakers not once but 3 times and he just stared at me.
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Yikes. Maybe he didn't like how the room was sounding either, or perhaps some type of personal/medical issue he was dealing with.
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joecoulson wrote: »I will do my best - I do not want o flippantly do them as I feel its not doing anyone a service if hurried. There were a few rooms (with affordable gear) that really grabbed my attention. I don't want to double review so I'll get with @Clipdat and see which ones he remembers more vividly.
We'll align soon and determine how to proceed.
I'm currently getting my **** kicked by a cold, so I haven't been in a writing mood. -
Yikes. Maybe he didn't like how the room was sounding either, or perhaps some type of personal/medical issue he was dealing with.
Possible I've had in depth conversations with him last year at Axpona and the year before at RMAF. -
so guys.... tell me about Bob Carvers speakers...... How'd they sound again
"....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
