So I found out high end audio places are amazing!

BaggedLancer

Took a field trip today with Cathy(cfrizz) to Goodwins High End in Waltham, MA and all I have to say is:

WOW


Everything from the employees, the selection of equipment, the listening rooms, was just perfect. Finally got to hear my SS/Tube comparison using the same speakers(Dynaudio Focus) and I really prefer the tube. On the other hand, it wasn't 200wpc so it didn't make the cut with Cathy(kidding! )

There was this one pair at the end of gigantic bubbly looking speakers, that we were told were over 500 pounds each......wow, talk about a conversation piece. They were being powered by Boulder 2000 series amps(each more than the cost of my car)......

All in all, fantastic experience and if you are ever in the Waltham MA area you gotta go check that place out. A top notch business for sure!

Mark

Forgot to mention, they used Nordost Blue Heaven flat cables for everything they hooked up, no upgraded power cables(except for 2 I saw), and everything was plugged into regular surge strips.....which I found interesting because of how people push towards power conditioners, etc.

phipiper10

Yeah, Awesome place. Will there be a forthcoming review of those Dynaudios with and without tubes?

Anybody make a purchase? Good stuff!

bikezappa

Sounds like the place has changed. I visited Goodwins when it was in Harvard Sq in the late 70s. I wanted to replace the arm on my Thorens turntable with a SME. The salesman who was English told me that arm was a POS and told not to buy it. He had one in a box that was partly assemblied and showed me all the faults in 10 seconds and then tossed it back in the box and I'm sure he caused damage. Made me feel like a stupid ****. Never went back.

BaggedLancer

phipiper10 wrote: »

Yeah, Awesome place. Will there be a forthcoming review of those Dynaudios with and without tubes?

Anybody make a purchase? Good stuff!

No purchases for me or Cathy. Unfortunately I probably couldn't even afford one of the gold plated connectors they use on the ends of the speaker cables at the moment but figured I'd go anyway and check it out.

I guess you could say Cathy and I had different preferences with the Dynaudio Focus, with hers being the only one that matters since she was the initial one interested in the purchase.

My statement:

For a 39 pound tower they sounded amazing on both the SS and Tube amp. The SS was a 250wpc Simaudio Moon W-8($11,750) and the tube was a 50wpc Audio Research VSi55 integrated($3,495).

In the end, I actual found the tube significantly easier to listen to. The instruments I felt were easier to listen to and everything had a well rounded feel to it. I didn't find myself desiring to reach for the volume knob toward the end of live recordings when the clapping and other sounds came like I did with the SS.

I really am not qualified to write a review on equipment of this caliber, just stating what I felt when I sat in the chair listening.

shadowofnight

Sounded like fun...we have ( http://www.centurystereo.com/equipment/equipment-audio.html ) a place like that in San Jose back when I lived there. I was a kid at the time, and like you couldnt even afford the speaker connectors. Funny thing is , now that I can afford that stuff I havent gone back ( Order off the internet mostly ) ....I may have to make a trip there now

P.S. You forgot the MOST important thing about your trip...you are supposed to say how nice Cathy looked for her " Field trip "

BaggedLancer

I really didn't want to leave the place, the rooms were amazing and there was hundreds of thousands in equipment to play with and listen to.

But toward the end I got a day ruining phone call.....that I am trying to deal with at the moment.

cfrizz

First off I want to give HUGE thank you to Mark for bringing me out to Goodwin's Highend in Waltham! Terrific guy with a very nice car!:D

Well Mark did a very good job of describing all the equipment that we listened to.

I was very impressed with the Focus 220's. The fit & finish is excellent & it is a weight that I can handle all by myself (which is critical) The fellow that set everything up for us just picked it up & walked into the room with it.

Most important factor is with my test cd with my favorite music on it..the tweeters sounded wonderful! nice & clear, & most importantly no sibilance.

The bass was also very good & present without a sub to back it up.

After which, I asked the fellow to hook up the Tube integrated. We both could tell the difference in the sound. For me the sound was a little too laid back, the backup singers were a little too recessed. I guess no matter what speakers you have you don't have to worry about any sibilance at all when you use tubes in the system.

As Mark stated he didn't feel like he had to go reaching for the volume knob when the applause started up to turn it down. I felt and it sounded as if the audience was just applauding to be polite not that they really liked the performance. In a live performance cd, I want to feel & hear a 'you are there' sound no matter where the volume knob is at.

Well I now have another speaker company to fall back on & be very happy with if I am unable to replace my current speakers with another pair of Polks.

Mark thanks again for the field trip. It was a whole lot of fun, & I really appreciate your generosity in taking me out there! Good luck with rescuing your school project!:eek:

Cathy

BaggedLancer

cfrizz wrote: »

First off I want to give HUGE thank you to Mark for bringing me out to Goodwin's Highend in Waltham! Terrific guy with a very nice car!:D

Well Mark did a very good job of describing all the equipment that we listened to.

I was very impressed with the Focus 220's. The fit & finish is excellent & it is a weight that I can handle all by myself (which is critical) The fellow that set everything up for us just picked it up & walked into the room with it.

Most important factor is with my test cd with my favorite music on it..the tweeters sounded wonderful! nice & clear, & most importantly no sibilance.

The bass was also very good & present without a sub to back it up.

After which, I asked the fellow to hook up the Tube integrated. We both could tell the difference in the sound. For me the sound was a little too laid back, the backup singers were a little too recessed. I guess no matter what speakers you have you don't have to worry about any sibilance at all when you use tubes in the system.

As Mark stated he didn't feel like he had to go reaching for the volume knob when the applause started up to turn it down. I felt and it sounded as if the audience was just applauding to be polite not that they really liked the performance. In a live performance cd, I want to feel & hear a 'you are there' sound no matter where the volume knob is at.

Well I now have another speaker company to fall back on & be very happy with if I am unable to replace my current speakers with another pair of Polks.

Mark thanks again for the field trip. It was a whole lot of fun, & I really appreciate your generosity in taking me out there! Good luck with rescuing your school project!:eek:

Cathy

Not a problem, was a pleasure going for the ride.


As for the school project, it's tanked, the final document we had got hosed when she converted it from .docx to .doc and now our project is nothing but a nice page of letters and symbols......trying to figure out what to do.

cfrizz

OMG! That's horrible. I hope you can get something worked out.

ben62670

I wish there was something in FT Lauderdale like that place. All the money, and mega yachts around here, and I have not found anything like that.

BaggedLancer

All is well Cathy, project is recovered and submitted safely.

beardog03

I remember my High End Audio Adventure..

Man It was fun to hear stuff that cost as much as a house and car


matter of fact the tubes I got there are for sale ...at a huge loss...

Glad you kids had fun !

cfrizz

Outstanding!!!! All's well that ends well! I'm happy for you Mark.

Thanks again!:)

BaggedLancer wrote: »

All is well Cathy, project is recovered and submitted safely.

beardog03

Ms. Frizz...WOW

I was just reading your sig !

You got serious girl !!


Sunfire 405wpc.....:eek:

cfrizz

I'm sorry you have to sell some of your tubes Robert I know you like them.

One thing both Mark & I appreciated is that I told the fellow who helped us up front that this was a future planning, contingency planning trip. (I wasn't planning on buying anything.) It didn't make the slightest bit of difference. He was helpful, polite, & very informative. No pressure to buy anything, just a very nice relaxing fun afternoon listening to a pair of speakers.

beardog03 wrote: »

I remember my High End Audio Adventure..

Man It was fun to hear stuff that cost as much as a house and car


matter of fact the tubes I got there are for sale ...at a huge loss...

Glad you kids had fun !

cfrizz

LOL! It was all timing, & luck Robert! Another member here was selling his Sunfire amp. I was just looking for a 200wpc 5 channel amp whose weight I could handle. When he told me how much it weighed I told him SOLD! The extra 200 watts is just a bonus.

It didn't make my speakers sound any better since the specs rate them only up to 250wpc.

It's just nice to know that my speakers have all the power they need to perform to their full ability now & in the future.

That is why I always recommend 200wpc for tower speakers. As far as I'm concerned I'm future proofed as far as power & speakers go.:D

beardog03 wrote: »

Ms. Frizz...WOW

I was just reading your sig !

You got serious girl !!


Sunfire 405wpc.....:eek:

beardog03

Jesse and I saw some speaks that were the best sounding 30k speaks I have ever heard !!

cfrizz

Here is a link the the speaker we listened to. Ours was in cherry.

http://www.dynaudio.de/eng/systems/lines/focus/focus220.php?sid=430f2e4e47441

http://www.dynaudio.de/eng/systems/lines/lines/focus.php

beardog03

ooooh !

me likey !!

BaggedLancer

Cathy, I just finished looking up that last system we listened to although I couldnt find the speakers but I'm guessing well over the $80,000-$100,000 range

$33,000 - dCS Scarlatti CD/SACD upscaling transport
$41,500 - Boulder 2010 preamp
$79,000/pair - Boulder 2050 monoblocks
same Nordost Blue Heaven cable as every other setup

cfrizz

OMG! where is a fainting icon when you need one?:eek:

BaggedLancer

cfrizz wrote: »

OMG! where is a fainting icon when you need one?:eek:

Yea, i was thinking the same thing.........I told you that last system looked REALLY expensive haha

beardog03

gotta love it !

aint it nice to be able to spend the afternoon enjoying nice toys ?!!

BaggedLancer

beardog03 wrote: »

gotta love it !

aint it nice to be able to spend the afternoon enjoying nice toys ?!!

Yea, i would gladly have spent longer had it not been for that phone call!:rolleyes:

beardog03

glad it all worked out though...

snow

Glad you guys had a great time . Its amazing how a single hi end component can cost more than most of our complete systems lol.

I do have a question for one or both of you though. I seen an item on audiogon that I am interested in and if I purchase it, are either one of you willing to make a trip back there to pick up and ship to me?

They probally know how to pack, but I know I would feel more comfortable having either one of you do this. knowing as a fellow audiophile that you know how it would feel to get a new toy that is poorly packed and broken.

I would be willing to compensate for gas time packing materials etc. I dont expect either one of you to do this for me, but it would make a great excuse to go back look and listen to other items.

Of course I would expect that if one of you does this that you try this out in your system for comparison purposes first before shipping.

Plus this would be a great reason for a second date with the lovely C Frizz if you went together again. ;):)


REGARDS SNOW

VR3

When you guys get really bored

I think the store is Innovative Audio ---

Its Manhatten, NYC

They have a room, JUST THE ROOM that cost 500,000 dollars...

The system in that room, cost more than the room itself

Now that room, was something to witness and listen to...

Glad to hear you guys got your ears on some high end stuff, it makes things interesting..

But just imagine how much more is out there, there are speakers that cost as much as the entire system you just listened to...

Pretty crazy stuff...

Serendipity

Vr3MxStyler2k3 wrote: »

When you guys get really bored

I think the store is Innovative Audio ---

Its Manhatten, NYC

They have a room, JUST THE ROOM that cost 500,000 dollars...

The system in that room, cost more than the room itself

Now that room, was something to witness and listen to...

Glad to hear you guys got your ears on some high end stuff, it makes things interesting..

But just imagine how much more is out there, there are speakers that cost as much as the entire system you just listened to...

Pretty crazy stuff...

I've got to see this, and I live like 20min. away from this place...

BaggedLancer

snow wrote: »

Glad you guys had a great time . Its amazing how a single hi end component can cost more than most of our complete systems lol.

I do have a question for one or both of you though. I seen an item on audiogon that I am interested in and if I purchase it, are either one of you willing to make a trip back there to pick up and ship to me?

They probally know how to pack, but I know I would feel more comfortable having either one of you do this. knowing as a fellow audiophile that you know how it would feel to get a new toy that is poorly packed and broken.

I would be willing to compensate for gas time packing materials etc. I dont expect either one of you to do this for me, but it would make a great excuse to go back look and listen to other items.

Of course I would expect that if one of you does this that you try this out in your system for comparison purposes first before shipping.

Plus this would be a great reason for a second date with the lovely C Frizz if you went together again. ;):)


REGARDS SNOW

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaa at the last line.

Since I have the car I can take care of this for you. And do you want them to pack it and me to verify their packing or do you just want me to pack it all together?

Since it is from Goodwins I would rather have them verify and test it for me while i listen to more of their gear rather than use my own.

Let me know.

snow

BaggedLancer wrote: »

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaa at the last line.

Since I have the car I can take care of this for you. And do you want them to pack it and me to verify their packing or do you just want me to pack it all together?

Since it is from Goodwins I would rather have them verify and test it for me while i listen to more of their gear rather than use my own.

Let me know.

Will do BaggedLancer. Thanks for the help. I fired off an email last night to them and hopefully will hear back soon.

REGARDS SNOW