Just got back from Home Entertainment show in New York.

mantis

Ok,
so this year I was excited to see the Polk LSIW sub in it doesn't even matter what color.Low and behold no LSIW only the 44 and the 505.Cool thing was I got to see and hear the new LCi inwalls.The down side to it is that they where powered by a HK receiver.....sounded thin and lifless.I could tell the Inwalls had potential.Thats all polk had on display.

Totem showed there new rain maker bookshelves and man where they Impressive.Such bass and detail out of them it's purely amazing.

Monstercable had there new amps and speakers,they sound dynamic but not very detailed.I was actually expecting them to sound better then they did.Sexy design and very well built.Therea amps have a very enoying array of light /readouts.Cool but man after about 3 minutes of watching a movie if the amps lived in the theater room,you would want to throw it out the window.

Kimber was there with there usual lineup of awesome cables.Paird with WBT and there exciting new next gen ends.Very nice.
JVC had an awesome gun there with DILA technology.Impressive to say the least.Got me reconsidering my projector for the theater.

Moreen Jensen was there and I got to go to her HDTV training.Nicely done and upp to speed with whats going on now in HD.Not to mention she still looks great.Something sexy about a women into audio.I was going to kick her about her show a few years back called Thats Home Entertainment but I felt she had enough on her hands with what was going on.

I have a 3 day pass and I'm not going back tomarrow or Sunday.I felt I got enough of the show today.I took the day off from work and got there at 10am.I left at 6pm.

Overall I felt the show was pretty much the same of the same .Not much new this year and I was already up to speed on everything else.Still worth going and checking out.

Dan

polkatese

thanks for sharing, Dan!

curious, did you check the new Anthem D1 (Director) pre/pro/tuner? looks like it is the next generation of Anthem (one notch above AVM20). Rave review on this, and supposedly much more refined and detailed compared to the AVM20.

mantis

polkatese,
no I didn't go in there as the room was crouded all day long.I did however get to demo Outlaw and Viva speakers which I never seen before so a double treat it was.Outlaw had there new sub,which they where running 3 of them.For 600 bucks,it's not a bad sub/woofer box.It doesn't have good usuable bass under 25 hz.

The demo was a good one,loud but good.I noticed the Outlaw amp had awesome dynamic range.Plenty of reserve power to run the Viva speakers.The only thing I felt was less then my standards was it was slighty bright and forward.The center seemed to lack against the rest of the system.Same amp,same series speakers,good placement but lacked.Midrange clouded up at high volumes.Detail was lacking.

The preamp at 700 bucks is killer.Where can you goo buy a theater preamp for that kind of money and still have nice built quality and fair amount of inputs and features???I don't Know of any.

The Sub was Impressive not being boomy or directional.With 3 of them in the room properly calibrated,it made for a nice room filling pressure.Didn't reach really low,but but believeable non the less.
Outlaw thinks 2 is always needed or 3 for a larger room.they feel that it smooths out the bass and fill the room more evenly.I agree with that and at 600 bucks a sub,might be worth it.I do however think considering a better 1200 or 1800 dollar sub might yield better performance and dig deeper.

Overall I am pleased with Outlaw.I always wanted to hear there stuff but never wanted to hassle with buying first,waiting for it to come here,demo it and then send it back in 30 days if I didn't like it.If I was truely intrested in there stuff,I think this is a good way to demo it.But not really my first choice.Ultimately in home demos are where it's at.You **** and your room.But it's also nice to do A B C compare instore to figure out which is better there.Funny how sometimes it's not always the best for your system.The guy who had the golden demo of having all those receivers in his house at the same time is priceless.Sweeeet man.

Dan

pjdami

Good morning Dan. Thanks for sharing. Did you get a chance to see and hear any of Rotel's new stuff? RSP 1098?

Yeah. I've been waiting to hear Outlaw myself. It is very affordable gear even more affordable than Rotel and Outlaw can drive LSi 4 ohm loads. I know the Rotel vs. B&K sound as I have experienced it myself first hand in my house. Outlaw, I haven't but your comments confirm what other people who have owned Rotel and Outlaw have said. Outlaw is actually a little more forward sounding than Rotel. I found Rotel a little more forward than B&K in the upper midrange. More bloom. I prefer the B&K sound as I find it more warm and natural; almost tubelike but still has a good amount of detail with proper wiring. It's all good just depends on personal preference.

mantis

pjdami,
I was saddened by the fact no Rotel gear at the show.It's funny how I still long to own it.I get all warm and fuzzy feeling when I hear it at my partners house(Liv4fam has the rsp1066 and RMB1075).

I think B&K vs Rotel is very close.Winner only by personal preference or mood if you will.Sometimes I perfer the warmth of the B&K and sometimes I long for the attack of the Rotel.Right now I'm considering going back to Rotel.B&K is awesome gear,If I stay with them then the REF50 and REF200.2,REF200.5 will have to be next.I need more control over the Lsi15's for cridical music.I feel the B&K runs the Lsi9's much better then the Lsi15's.Not to take anything away from B&K but low extention I feel could be slighty better.It's it's only flaw in the Lsi15/avr307 combo for 2 channel.

My thinking is the rsp 1068 or the rsp1098.I want to hear them side by side with the rb1080 2 channel amp.My goal would be to use the rb1080 on the mains and the rmb1095 on the center and rears/surroundback.

Kimber was at the show and for the first time I got to see the KCAGt's.They are a double run of the KCAG siliver innterconnect.I haven't heard them go but cool looking they are.Hero's is what I will use all threw my system when I finally go seperates.B&K or Rotel it just doesn't matter.Kimber is the first cable I have found to sound or not sound the best in all systems I have heard them on.My system really made a difference using Kimber Products including the power cord pk10.

Since I moved into my new house last year,I haven't done much if any upgrading.We have been so busy with the house,I haven't really had the extra money to do what I wanna do.I didn't even buy a sub yeat and my system really is in bad shape without one.For theater it just sucks.Sound quality is superb but without the low support,man does it lack.

Right now I need new surround back speakers(lsi7's)once I sell the 9's which are not wall mountable.I need the Ps audio Director 4.7 surge/line conditioner(I'm using my livingroom HTS2600 which I feel sucks ****)A sub in the Rel Storm III(I keep looking at the Velodyne DD-12 and DD-15),more Hero's to complete my SACD/DVD AUDIO run(which I never use only in 2 channel anyway...funny ****)and Monocle X Left center and right speaker wires.The fron array wires I keep holding off as In the theater I want to put the gear in the side wall which I will use a Slalmander 30 and 40 to house all the gear.Where the gear goes into the wall,behind it will be the gear/software room.8 x 8 it will be.The gear will be on rollers so I can wheel it into the theater room for super easy upgrading and wiring.Even with it in the wall,there will be enorgh room to pull out even the deepest of amps.Inside this room will be all the nessary racks to hold all my software.Laserdisc I'm getting out of so more room will be for DVD and cd's.So I keep telling byself to wait for wire but damn I hate my Monster custom 14-4 bi wires I made.there sound quality isn't up to par with the rest of my system.8tc would also be a wise choice as it's a fantastic sounding speaker wire.Probably the best value in all of audio for speaker wires.teh Monocle x's are the next level of sonic purity.Not to mention down the road if I go with Dynaudio,I will not need new speaker wires again....future proof if there is such.....

I was thinking about (back to Rotel for a minute)the RB1090.For theater I feel it might overpower the RMB1095 when Dynamic range kicks in.I would have a imbalance in Dynamice due to the incredible power of the 1090.But dude I gotta tell you,everytime I sit in front of her,I just think how killer that amp could make the Lsi15's......damn I'm feeling that amp......excuse me for awhile in fantasy...Ok..Rotel doesn't have a multichannel to match it.Hince the reason for the step down to the Rb1080 which byitself will be unbelieveable driving the Lsi15's.

Man I derailed my own thead.......I have the upgrade so bad it consumes my thoughts.We have the bedrooms and bathrooms left to paint and after that we are starting on the basement(Finally).

Dan

pjdami

Dan,

You don't think the AVR 307 would be enough for you if you get the REL or Velo sub? I don't know how you would prefer to listen to your music with the sub on or off. I find that with a sub and the LSi 15 crossovered at 80 hz everything sounds great.

Sounds like to me the sub is the next logical step in your upgrades. I know you have been busy with other things and moving into a new house man the money doesn't stop flowing for at least a year until you get settled in. Seems like the house always needs something for quite a while.

Once the LSi show up at the store you work at I would love to hear your impressions of the Ref 200.2 vs. the ST125.2 on the bass for the LSi 15. I've compared the ST125.2 vs. the AVR 307 with the LSi 15 (no sub) and it sounds pretty much the same to me at the levels I listen to. Looks like the AVR 307 has the similar sized capacitors to the ST125.2. The big blue ones.

Yeah. Ref 50 and Ref amps would be sweet. A lot of money there though.

polkatese

that's cool Dan! I was just curious since there seems to be a lot of hype around the release. Now that LSis in Tweeter, I am waiting for the right time to compare it against SFGP side by side. One of these days...

pjdami

polkatese,

what's up man? Where ya been lately. Good to see you posting again. Sounds like Dan had some fun. Wish we would get stuff like that down here where I live.

PJ

polkatese

Howdy, Paul!

I've been slammed with work lately (which is a good thing, it eases up the urge to "audition" gears) I have followed your DIY Power Cord experiment closely, though! awesome quality!

Not much going on on the audio upgrade front, since I've been trying to curb spending on gears

Any new gears on your end? Hope all is well!

mantis

pjdami,
the avr307 is a wonderful piece.I love it to death.But it's not perfect or performing at the level of my tastes.I hate to admit it but I grow in my quality all the time.I long for better and better.I have been completely sadisfied with my system even without the sub.lately it has been giving it to me when I hear the same song or movie with weight.Adding the REL or Velodyne will Improve the overall experience.I just gotta pick one up.I'm killing it over here.
The St series and avr series of B&K are almost Identical.Thats why they sound the same.Dynamics and everything is right on.Seperates in one box is what the avr4307 is all about.A receiver with the sound quality of seperates.nice.

Once we get on the floor and break them in for awhile,I plan fully on a Reference demo.Evertime I did a reference seperates vs the avr307 or avr507,the seperates sounded so much fuller and more dynamic.Clarity was almost the same.Sound quality was right there as you could tell they are from the same maker.

ATCVenom,
dude whats up man??? the Rains where breath taking.I love em.You know I have always been fond of Totem.There like baby Dynaudio's.If Dynaudio made the Totem,they would be there entry line.Sound quality is close.Such killer speakers they are and damn cool names as well.I can't see a reason why I won't own a pair someday.

polkatese,
Dudely...whats up???Hey I have been waiting for this for a long time.As you might have read,I'm extremely happy we picked up polk again.I pushed for it for years and someone heard me clearly.Sweet.The shootout will take place soon.Once they are there and I get some miles on em,it's on.I truely believe the Lsi15's will do well against the Pianos.
Another thing i'm excited about is the Lsi25's.I want to compare them to the Lsi15's.If they beat out the lsi15's I will sell mine and upgrade.

Stay tuned,
Dan

joe6pak

Dan

Did they have any Dynaudio or Krell at the Show?

joe

polkatese

Dan,
great! if you get into it first, do let us know! Get your buddy on the demo floor to set 'em up side by side.

mantis

Hey Joe,
how the hell have you been????No Dynaudio's but Krall allday.Funny Krell uses Transparent for all there demos.They feel it's the best wire out there bar none.There demo was good.

polkatese,
ALLDAY

Dan

joe6pak

Dan

No Danes at the show!! Then whats all the excitement about?:)


What speakers were the Krells driving?

I been busy Dan

joe

Dr. Spec

Great write-up, Dan.

The Outlaw LFM-1 is a Hsu STF-3 wrapped in a sexier outfit. Having reviewed this sub extensively, I agree it has no useable output below 25 Hz. At 25Hz and above, it's a good sub.

Not sure which Outlaw amps you heard, but I'll agree my M200 monoblocks are a bit bright and forward, but not sibilant. I found the soundstage depth/width, and the detail to improve considerably over the 3803 amps. But maybe that isn't saying much compared to some of the best amps you have heard. At least for me it was a nice upgrade.

Doc

pjdami

Audiogon has posted some pictures from the show for any that may be interested:

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/he04.pl

And oh, BTW, some interesting comments on that 2003 show link. You'll figure out why;)