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2018 Melbourne. Chester Como Show


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Guest yamaha_man
3 hours ago, Tony M said:

I guess anyone that knows me will understand I loved the sound in this room.  Yes, it would've been nicer with better speaker stands and some valves, but it was dynamic, alive and thoroughly enjoyable anyway, especially since all the equipment was about 40 years old:

 

 

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Seems like they have the left hand speaker on the right hand side.

I’ve had several sets of these and always had the left and right speaker where they should be.

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5 hours ago, carl888 said:

It was the first thing I listened to when I arrived and I thank the gentleman demonstrating it for not playing it at 110db with some gut wrenching bass. 

 

Amazing dynamics, front to back depth and scaling of instruments within the soundstage.  I found it very forward in the midrange and coloured with female voice so it was not to my taste (I'm using stacked Quads) but I can really get the appeal.  Hifi is largely subjective, you might love it.  

 

 

 

Thanks for the comments Carl--interesting to hear/read the varying observations-- I have friends overseas with the full house AC's and they rave /etc/etc

 

Incidentally you mentioned stacked Quads-- They aren't my old ones by any chance ?-- one curved panel designed with two speakers ea'

 

--Oh the plate on the back stating "The Radio People Hkg".

 

Great speakers

 

Willco

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56 minutes ago, Willco said:

Thanks for the comments Carl--interesting to hear/read the varying observations-- I have friends overseas with the full house AC's and they rave /etc/etc

 

Incidentally you mentioned stacked Quads-- They aren't my old ones by any chance ?-- one curved panel designed with two speakers ea'

 

--Oh the plate on the back stating "The Radio People Hkg".

 

Great speakers

 

Willco

Interesting.  I've never heard any owner claim their 6 figure audio system was rubbish :)

 

Re: Quads, no, I made the frames myself many years back.  

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Notable systems at the 2018 Como show (in no particular order):

 

Audio Note & Takatsuki

The music, as usual, is eclectic, relaxed and played at a reasonable volume. Why do many exhibitors play it too loud? Interesting sight seeing aged males lose self-control around glass tubes.

 

Synergy Audio Visual

Audio Research CD9 source/Ref 6 pre/Reference 160M monos, Sonus Faber Amati speakers.

Tube sound, with heft.

Interesting discussion about the sound of earlier CD releases and digital recordings, and the merits of 16-bit redbook recordings/mastering done right.

 

Reference Audio Visual

Esoteric Grandiso K1 source, Esoteric Grandiso F1 (30wpc class A integrated amp), EgglestonWorks Viginti speakers.

Good example of class A solid-state sound. The modest power output belying its big, deep, well-damped sound - and without the usual transistor "grit". The speakers were not wife-friendly, but they had a synergy with the amplifier.

 

Magenta Audio & Halcro

PS Audio disc/dac, Halcro (Eclipse?) amp, Davone speakers

Good selection of mainly jazz tracks, varied in styles and well recorded. I felt the amplifier may have been held back by the speakers.

 

Groove Works

AMG turntable, Ayon disc, Tidal Audio dac/pre, Einstein pwr, Tidal Audio Contriva G2 speakers

The speakers were positioned nearly half-way into the middle of the room, which probably accounted for unusually deep staging. Very effective A-B-A demonstration of enhancements by using Telos Audio active grounding box and Telos Audio resonator conditioners (solid metal pieces lifting speaker cables off the ground). I heard the most convincing sound of Muddy Waters - Folk Singer played on vinyl.

 

Carlton Audio Visual

Yamaha C-5000 pre/M-5000 pwr/NS-5000 speakers

Powerful sound. The speakers' dark piano-gloss sitting atop architectural stands are irresistible eye-candy. The treble, like those of the B&W 800 D3, could be too revealing.

 

Which is the best system? Who is the most beautiful woman? I like them all.

 

Thanks to the above exhibitors for giving me the opportunity to hear my music through their system.

 

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2 hours ago, yamaha_man said:

Seems like they have the left hand speaker on the right hand side.

I’ve had several sets of these and always had the left and right speaker where they should be.

Yeah, you're right - a sharp observation that I totally missed.  The tweets/mids are traditionally placed on the outside. 

 

However, FWIW, in studios the speakers were more often placed horizontally on stands close to a wall.  And I have 3 pairs - the pair in the living room are both right sided so there's no way I can get those right (or wrong) and the ones in the shed are twinned/stacked together on stands - so it doesn't count there either.

 

Crappy pic, but good enough to show what I'm on about:

 

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The most enjoyable room for me was the Sound Gallery setup with Magico A -series speakers and Solution amplification. Source was (I think) a Brinkmann TT with a DS-Audio optical cartridge. Anyone interested in a slightly used kidney?

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8 minutes ago, Musician said:

Any comments on the sound of the floating platter turntable?

Not sure, I'd need to do a comparison in my own system.  The system as a whole sounded fine to me.  But I'm a sucker for BBC heritage products (Harbeth).

 

There are just sooooooo many variables in a hotel room (which personally I detest).  

 

Unfamiliar equipment, room, lots of ambient noise,  people walking around, distractions etc.  

 

I know I haven't answered your question however I'm just not qualified to do so.

 

Maybe you could organise a demo, the seller seemed very approachable.  

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Guest Misterioso

The Harbeth speakers (SHL5+ 40th anniversary, if I am not wrong) were my personal highlight. They just sound natural (and very similar to the speakers I have). I thought the digital source (don't know which) in that room sounded better than the Maglev turntable. I didn't like the platter wobble and the sound of Kind of Blue was worse than I am used to. Given my preference for active speakers, I was looking forward to the ATC room. I was lucky, active SCM19A were presented. I think some Beethoven piano sonatas were playing when I was in the room. I was not too convinced of the piano sound but can't say if it was the recording or the system. The big Tidal speakers were stunning but I don't want to know their price tag. Some products were announced before the show (Genelec speakers, Prism dacs) but I could not find them anywhere.

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Guest Misterioso

And how could I forget this: there was WAY too much (loud) talking in about any room on Saturday afternoon. Very annoying. And almost all questions can be easily answered from a quick look at the technical specs. No need to impress the exhibitors with your hifi knowledge, just listen.

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Though I didn't go to this particular show, my biggest complaint is walking into a room and there not being music on! Even if the exhibitor has something to say, or answer questions, or whatever, there should be almost no down time with playing music, even if it's just at a low volume.

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That Aries Cerat room was way too loud when I visited unfortunately. 

 

I thought the ATC actives were a stand out, went back many times to have a listen. The old model Yamaha NS 1000's were great too. I enjoyed the Magico's the most out of the more high end HiFi speakers. 

Edited by Jonny
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25 minutes ago, Jonny said:

That Aries Cerat room was way too loud when I visited unfortunately. 

 

I thought the ATC actives were a stand out, went back many times to have a listen. The old model Yamaha NS 1000's were great too. I enjoyed the Magico's the most out of the more high end HiFi speakers. 

@Jonny which atc actives were they?

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