Cardiiiii Posted November 4, 2017 Share Posted November 4, 2017 I just got back as well, my favourite pair has to be the Hulgich Maestro, man they were amazing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theking Posted November 4, 2017 Share Posted November 4, 2017 everyone have their own taste of music and probably vendor will focus on music that will show their product at their best.so be prepared and bring your own to listen and test their system.you will be surprise how easy to spot which system you like or dont like when they play song that you are familiar with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gillmaverick Posted November 4, 2017 Share Posted November 4, 2017 Well Photo speaks for itself... 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joz Posted November 4, 2017 Share Posted November 4, 2017 5 hours ago, jamiebosco said: Only one question? And were these mystery speakers identified????? Did I guess right with VAF? Yep Vafs new Flagship fully active units. One of my favs of the show. Some tracks played were spectacular. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joz Posted November 4, 2017 Share Posted November 4, 2017 4 hours ago, campo007 said: I just home from the show. Hands down the most boring music being played in most rooms. White man blues. Terrible. Yep but you can't please everyone. BYO your tunes you want to play, some others may even like them if not you may clear the room. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joz Posted November 4, 2017 Share Posted November 4, 2017 Some local stuff, open baffle this time. Quite enjoyable . 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joz Posted November 4, 2017 Share Posted November 4, 2017 Some of the new actives. Their flagship from the Fanaticus range. DarthVader in front of the VAF music wall, they just shouldn't sound this good. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceS Posted November 4, 2017 Author Share Posted November 4, 2017 Back from day 2. I have eaten dinner and now it is time for some more reflections. I found that there were some very special rooms that stood out, both with regard to their fine products AND their friendliness and co-operation! Yes, some (but by no means all) of the rooms seemed to me to be marked by these characteristics. Took my female vocal CD along today and found yesterday's impressions strongly reinforced! The Redgum/Legends folk were just so nice. I was continually amazed by the fantastic value for money - and there were plenty of other speakers at the show that came nowhere near them regardless of price. They even especially picked out music for me that they thought that I would like!! The VAF Research folk always had a smile on their faces and could not do enough to help. Loved their new innovative premium speakers. I enjoyed every minute that I spent in their room. The Holton Audio/SGR Audio room was another standout. Always happy to run my CDs, their guys chatted to me when they were taking their breaks way away from their room! Thought their speakers coped pretty well with my really demanding female vocal CD also. Last, and the best of a brilliantly fantastic group of stand outs, were the Halcro people. Nothing was too much trouble. Always friendly but never pushy. These people were an absolute delight. Let me relate a story that puts things right in perspective. It was pretty late in the day when I arrived ready to run the CD on those wonderful electrostats. Everyone's speakers had struggled with my female vocal CD (I thought the best other copers were those 3 above) and I then came to the Halcro people. As soon as I arrived Mike saw me and came over and asked for my CD. I will tell you that it came together so well that it gave me goose bumps! I remarked to Mike how I got goose bumps listening and Mike said, "Me too"!!! Wow! So good. If you are going to the show tomorrow be sure to visit these four wonderful rooms and their fantastic folk first. Then just enjoy. Bruce 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JukKluk2 Posted November 4, 2017 Share Posted November 4, 2017 40 minutes ago, gillmaverick said: Well Photo speaks for itself... No wonder that there's no-one else in the place. Also, is that daylight through the window? When did they start getting that in Melbourne? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted to music Posted November 4, 2017 Share Posted November 4, 2017 2 minutes ago, JukKluk2 said: No wonder that there's no-one else in the place. Also, is that daylight through the window? When did they start getting that in Melbourne? Ts called daylight saving.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swervyn Posted November 4, 2017 Share Posted November 4, 2017 3 hours ago, mattd2308 said: Asked one rep, "got War on Drugs' latest album....nup, never heard of 'em. Ahh, Dead can Dance...... nah, don't know 'em.... I just walked away. pretty much same as my response would have been, never heard of them either, sure you didnt think you were going to a jb hifi music clearance sale rather than a hifi show? 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JukKluk2 Posted November 4, 2017 Share Posted November 4, 2017 3 minutes ago, swervyn said: pretty much same as my response would have been, never heard of them either, sure you didnt think you were going to a jb hifi music clearance sale rather than a hifi show? A Bill Shorten Zinger on SNA? Who'd a thunk it? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattd2308 Posted November 4, 2017 Share Posted November 4, 2017 (edited) 23 minutes ago, swervyn said: pretty much same as my response would have been, never heard of them either, sure you didnt think you were going to a jb hifi music clearance sale rather than a hifi show? Yeah, should have asked for Khe sangh or Twisting by the pool!!! Edited November 4, 2017 by mattd2308 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JukKluk2 Posted November 4, 2017 Share Posted November 4, 2017 1 minute ago, mattd2308 said: should have asked for Khe sangha Does that come with tomato, lettuce and mayonaisse? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joz Posted November 4, 2017 Share Posted November 4, 2017 18 hours ago, stevoz said: Hi all. I went to the International Hi Fi Show with my brother yesterday and it was rather good. It's set up a bit like a rabbit warren and therefore, easy to forget which rooms you've been in. When I got home and checked the 'venue guide', I realised we'd missed a bit, including a lot of analogue gear. I mention this to qualify my claim for 'best speaker brand in show', ie: we didn't hear everything. We first went to the VAF room and heard the yet to be released 'Fantastico' range. They were very, very good and set 'a bar'. Then we found ourselves in the first of three SGR rooms, listening to the SGR DP2 bookshelf speakers, part of the first passive speaker range from SGR , the 'Discovery' range (up until now, they have only made 'active' speakers). Well, the bar was well and truly raised.....and to be honest, was not equalled or surpassed, at least until we heard the SGR DP3 floorstanders and what I now know to be the MkII version of the SGR CX4F 'active' floorstanders. All of these speakers are 'gobsmackingly' brilliant! We did not hear better for the day. To quote myself from my post on the Product Reviews and Opinions 'SGR CX4F In Depth Speaker Review' thread by rippingdragon, so I don't have to rewrite it!, (with link below): "So open while so emcompassing, every frequency impossible to fault, instrument separation like I've never heard before, the pure tight bass plumbing depths that had me searching for a sub that wasn't there, a perfect sonic balance". They were a complete 'jaw dropping' revelation and have reset my judgement of what is sonic perfection. The only brands that went close, to my ears anyway, were VAF (still excellent), Avantgarde Acoustic horns (also very good) and Monitor Audio (excellent). We left the JBL room underwhelmed.....Krix better as were Osborn's, but again, both left behind by the bar setting SGR's. If you have a chance to get to the show today or tomorrow, head straight for the SGR rooms but be warned, you may be disappointed with all the other speakers that follow. Maybe start elsewhere first, then be blown away by these Australian wonder speakers...... A triumph!! I would say that sums up my thoughts for the day too! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gator2310 Posted November 4, 2017 Share Posted November 4, 2017 Really great. Some beautiful sounding gear. Sennheiser HE-1's - amazing...(as one would expect at a cool $80k) LOts of lovely speakers But my personal fave were the Studio 19 solo prototypes. Pretty cool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benje Posted November 4, 2017 Share Posted November 4, 2017 1 hour ago, joz said: DarthVader in front of the VAF music wall, they just shouldn't sound this good. joz my VAF sound wall is now 9 years old - no updates required! Benje 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qwertyqaz Posted November 4, 2017 Share Posted November 4, 2017 9 hours ago, joz said: I would say that sums up my thoughts for the day too! This just shows we all have different tastes, I for one found the SGR floorstanders too mid bass heavy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joz Posted November 4, 2017 Share Posted November 4, 2017 1 minute ago, Qwertyqaz said: This just shows we all have different tastes, I for one found the SGR floorstanders too mid bass heavy. The actives or passives? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qwertyqaz Posted November 4, 2017 Share Posted November 4, 2017 Just now, joz said: The actives or passives? Not sure, these ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joz Posted November 4, 2017 Share Posted November 4, 2017 Ok the actives,interesting I found them very evenly balanced. I'm a big fan of them, I actually thought that others may find them a little neutral. Which my taste leans toward. The passives IMO to me had me thinking they were a bit heavy in the bass probably due to the room size. Yes tastes! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joz Posted November 4, 2017 Share Posted November 4, 2017 I spent a fair bit of time in the Holten room with the guys there. I needed to reaffirm any doubts that I can't be left alone with a volume control. The littlest of the new SGRs played remarkedly well getting cleanly louder with the big Holten up their butts. It seems quite a few people were surprised about what the new kids in town could dish out. Heard many positive comments about the room. Well done to all concerned. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceS Posted November 4, 2017 Author Share Posted November 4, 2017 A reflection based on an incident at the show. It was late on Friday and I had been making the rounds with my three acappella CDs. Went into a room which had only one visitor. Went up to the guy running the room and asked if I could play a track from my aceppella CD. That visitor got up and walked out saying that he did not like that kind of music. While the CD was getting organised more people came into the room. At the end of the track one of the visitors came up to take a photo of the CD so that he could buy it. Goes to show that we all have different tastes! And what a good thing that is!!!!!! Bruce 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hensa Posted November 4, 2017 Share Posted November 4, 2017 Firstly, a shout out to [mention=103433]Marc[/mention] for organising what was/is a great show![emoji106] Some excellent sounding rooms indeed and some notable standouts for me. The big Halcro ESL’s were jaw-droppingly good with a scale that was unmatched. You’ll need a massive room (and wallet) but what a staggering sound they produced. The active SGRs being fed by the Brinkmann Bardo was excellent. Beautifully balanced and smooth sound. The passive SGRs being driven by the Holtem amp was another excellent room, dynamic and clean but no brightness at all. I was impressed with the Spatial speakers and the effect of the DEQX was very positive. The opening vocal notes from a Leonard Cohen number was a memorable moment - the Spatials went surprisingly deep and for their price, are very good indeed. As always, Bill was happy to share his deep knowledge and played a broad selection of music including requests. The Hulgich room was one of few that I went to twice, so impressed was I with their speakers. They look superbly built and their sound was well balanced and very dynamic. For what looked like a fairly modest front end, I can only imagine how good these would sound on the end of a top analogue rig. Right now, if I had $10K to invest in a speaker upgrade, the Hulgich’s would be right in the mix! There were plenty of other notable rooms. The VAF statement speakers were making some amazing music and their sound-wall was very impressive. Osborn was another excellent sounding room and the big Monument speakers delivered massive scale. Always among the best value speakers at these shows. All in all a very enjoyable day, capped off by an excellent evening where I could finally put some faces to the monikers of many of my online nemesis’![emoji106] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stump Posted November 4, 2017 Share Posted November 4, 2017 21 hours ago, rob said: Thanks for all the pictures. I noticed pre-sale tickets are no longer available online. Can one safely head into the show on Sunday and purchase tickets at the door? Yes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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