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2019 Stereonet Melbourne Hi-Fi Show - Reports & Feedback


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22 hours ago, Tony M said:

 

   He put me on to Planet Audio and we met up at a Herald Sun home entertainment Show in "Jeff's Shed" in the early 2000's. 

 

 

Thanks for putting in the effort Tony for writing that again, well worth the read.. 

 

This was only my second hifi show since the entertainment shows in Jeff's Shed, I was heavily in to aus.hifi back then (are you allowed to mention that group on SNA ?

 

Anywho, that's where I fell in love with Ambience Ribbons and Osborn loudspeakers.. 

 

Many many years later and as of 6 weeks ago I finally own a set of Ambiences, right about the time Tony Moore retires. 

 

The love affair with Osborn died on the weekend.. Maybe not justified, but they did nothing for me and it kind of upset me. but I now have my Ambiences and now to replace the rest of my system to do them justice. 

 

I have a heap of digital photos of those entertainment shows taken on a Sony Camera that used floppy disks, I will see if I can find them. 

Edited by Hytram
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I thoroughly enjoyed the show.  It was my first time to a Hifi show.

 

Kharma really got me! The sound came from these speakers is pure divine. 

 

I also discovered some cool songs/album thru this show.

 

Here are the 2 songs I really liked:

 

 

 

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14 hours ago, Hytram said:

 

 

 

Anywho, that's where I fell in love with Ambience Ribbons and Osborn loudspeakers.. 

 

Many many years later and as of 6 weeks ago I finally own a set of Ambiences, right about the time Tony Moore retires. 

 

The love affair with Osborn died on the weekend.. Maybe not justified, but they did nothing for me and it kind of upset me. but I now have my Ambiences and now to replace the rest of my system to do them justice. 

 

 

Ha! Sounds like you're in a very similar situation to my good mate @Ooogh.  He loves his recently acquired Ambience speakers with a passion, but is not finding it easy to get the optimal amplifier solution.

 

I seem to remember Tony Moore demoing the Ambiences in an upstairs room at the Herald Sun show I attended with big monobloc amps that just might have been Chord?? 

 

Maybe your pics will clarify this?  In any case, I reckon you and @Ooogh should compare notes because you seem to be on the same quest.

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Its interesting reading some of the earlier posts... I dont consider myself having much experience with hifi but even I would know that the rooms would be terrible to try and get to sound half decent, so I was sad to see some of the earlier posts paying out on the exhibitors about how bad some of the rooms sounded. Dont people think that they will come and read these posts and think twice about exhibiting next time? A friend of mine knows some of the exhibitors and they said that it was really hard to setup and get good sound in the rooms, some of them spending hours trying to tweak and get things right.

 

Anyway, I really enjoyed the show. Some of the equipment was really beautiful.

 

The ATC speakers in Pure Music Group room were fantastic - one to note for when I have a financial windfall. Fell in love with the Verdier La Platine turntable in the Sound and Vision Group room - its so beautiful and will be visiting Nick at Carlton Audio Visual to have a proper listen. I didnt realise that the same company handling the Verdier turntables is now the distributor for van den Hul cartridges and phono stages. It seems that has changed hands recently.  And i was impressed with the Lenehan standmount speakers. How does he get such bass from a small box? Seriously amazing and the speakers were sounding great. And I really liked the Dali Epicon 6 - they were a hidden gem and even in that huge space sounded suprisingly good.

 

The show gave me a few ideas about upgrading my system so I found it really useful to talk to the exhibitors and see the gear on display.

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I would have loved to get there this year having attended the last two shows in Melbourne but alas I'm now the sole carer for my teenage daughter which doesn't make it that easy to do these sort of things anymore oh well such is life family is more important.

 

In particular I would have loved to check out those big ass ATC's also the Spendor Classic 200 and the rest of the show as well catch up with some audio friends.

 

You can never please everyone who walks through the doors we are a fussy lot on here at the best of times, I think Marc his family and team should be commended and thanked for putting on this event whether you liked it or not it's a major achievement.

 

 

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9 hours ago, RankStranger said:

13353B89-FE48-4570-9745-BCFA61633C44.jpeg.adcca891b858899f535072f40773a483.jpeg

 

@cheekyboy can anyone tell me what the finish on the 2 way floorstanders (BR1?) is? Is it some sort of Blackbutt?

 

its gorgeous ?

I believe the cabinets are constructed from solid Camphor Laurel. All hand finished, stunning looking things. 

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18 hours ago, Ray Charles said:

Its interesting reading some of the earlier posts... I dont consider myself having much experience with hifi but even I would know that the rooms would be terrible to try and get to sound half decent, so I was sad to see some of the earlier posts paying out on the exhibitors about how bad some of the rooms sounded. Dont people think that they will come and read these posts and think twice about exhibiting next time? A friend of mine knows some of the exhibitors and they said that it was really hard to setup and get good sound in the rooms, some of them spending hours trying to tweak and get things right.

I don't think visitors expect ideal sound at the show because of venue limitations, however it should be decent enough without being bad. Excellent (never ideal) sound is the icing on the cake. A common problem is many demos have the volume turned up too loud. When one room does this it starts a loudness war, then every one loses because you hear distortion and cannot tell if the bass is coming from the demo or adjacent rooms. Some of the exhibitors displayed volume level in their room, which is good to see, as they were less likely to turn feral. I was in the Lake4 room trying to appreciate the ATCs and saw how the the exhibitor was trying in desperation to find music he could play that wouldn't be drowned out by the Yamahas next door.

 

Also, I think many listeners put too much emphasis on stereo imaging, stage and image focus; they are not the be all and end all of audiophiles, and would be very difficult to control in irregular, small hotel rooms with odd furniture and crowds. Timbre, dynamics and timing for example are equally important, and can be appreciated even if you don't sit in the sweet spot (as long as you're not too far out to the side or right against the back wall). Many speaker setups sound decent enough if you sit within a 30-45 degree arc, as designers usually factor for this.

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9 hours ago, RankStranger said:

13353B89-FE48-4570-9745-BCFA61633C44.jpeg.adcca891b858899f535072f40773a483.jpeg

 

@cheekyboy can anyone tell me what the finish on the 2 way floorstanders (BR1?) is? Is it some sort of Blackbutt?

 

its gorgeous ?

 

9 hours ago, RankStranger said:

13353B89-FE48-4570-9745-BCFA61633C44.jpeg.adcca891b858899f535072f40773a483.jpeg

 

@cheekyboy can anyone tell me what the finish on the 2 way floorstanders (BR1?) is? Is it some sort of Blackbutt?

 

its gorgeous ?

Hello @RankStranger,

 

DaveO is correct, they are made from natural Camphor Laurel and there is no paint involved with these, they are fine sanded and finished with many applications of oil and beeswax, hence the silky sheen and feel to the timber. I had some sample timbers on display that you may have seen, all natural timbers that can be used in the construction, such as Rosewood, White Beech and Padouk to name a few.

 

Cheers,

 

Keith

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19 minutes ago, pass the bass said:

. A common problem is many demos have the volume turned up too loud. When one room does this it starts a loudness war, then every one loses because you hear distortion and cannot tell if the bass is coming from the demo or adjacent rooms. 

This may very well have been true in many of the rooms, but in our case in room 1202, on several occasions I thought the good folk next to us must be playing their music too loud and so I walked in there myself, only to find that the volume level was not too loud at all, but those low frequency bass notes from the music being played simply bled straight through the thin wall separating our rooms. I asked and was told that our music, which was not played too loud, was also having the same effect on them.

 

Cheers,

 

Keith

Edited by cheekyboy
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5 minutes ago, cheekyboy said:

 

Hello @RankStranger,

 

DaveO is correct, they are made from natural Camphor Laurel and there is no paint involved with these, they are fine sanded and finished with many applications of oil and beeswax, hence the silky sheen and feel to the timber. I had some sample timbers on display that you may have seen, all natural timbers that can be used in the construction, such as Rosewood, White Beech and Padouk to name a few.

 

Cheers,

 

Keith

Thanks, it really is lovely. My dad had a stash of camphor laurel that he used to use for wood turning. The main thing I remember about it is the incredible smell! It’s so nice to see something other than the standard black or American walnut. Well done!

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4 minutes ago, RankStranger said:

Thanks, it really is lovely. My dad had a stash of camphor laurel that he used to use for wood turning. The main thing I remember about it is the incredible smell! It’s so nice to see something other than the standard black or American walnut. Well done!

Yep, I made that particular pair of BR1s for my youngest daughter with the proviso that she allowed me to demo them at the HiFi Show before I gave them to her. I had them in my own living room for the couple of months leading up to this show and that beautiful smell of the camphor laurel was ever present in the room. 

 

Cheers,

 

Keith

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17 minutes ago, cheekyboy said:

Yep, I made that particular pair of BR1s for my youngest daughter with the proviso that she allowed me to demo them at the HiFi Show before I gave them to her. I had them in my own living room for the couple of months leading up to this show and that beautiful smell of the camphor laurel was ever present in the room. 

 

Cheers,

 

Keith

I regret not sniffing your speakers while I had the chance is a sentence I never thought I’d write :) 

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On 22/10/2019 at 9:53 PM, pass the bass said:

It wasn't easy to have a listen to the Spendors, as there were only 2 chairs in the room. But I'm glad I persisted, because the top models from the D (9.2) and Classic (200) lines were on demo. It's uncommon to hear an infinite-baffle design (Classic 200) these days, let alone comparing it with a bass-reflex design (D9.2). Another interesting aspect of this comparison is that they are made by the same company, employing similar sound principles, and even sharing the same midrange driver - which reduces the number of confounding variables. Both are 3-way, 4-driver floor-standers. The other major differences are that the Classic 200 has 2x 31cm woofers, compared to 2x 18cm in the D9.2. But wait, there's more: to top it all off, Gordon Hoskins (Director of MG Hoskins, distributors for Spendor) kindly allowed me to play several tracks on both speakers, as he switched them back and forth after each track - I was in hifi show nirvana. Both speakers did not sound too boomy in the bass (that was my first concern as the room was on the smaller side). From the Classic 200, piano notes had a more sonorous tone, you could hear more of the tonal harmonics and decay (equivalent to more colour saturation on a screen). I suspect the Classic 200's large woofers contribute to that effect because I have heard this in other systems employing stereo subwoofers to enhance higher-frequency perception, air and space; they also impart a "warmer" tonal balance. The D9.2 were stronger on transients, attack, and clarity. There was less (not unsatisfactory) "body" to the sound, and the tonal balance was not as warm (certainly not cold). The soundstage was wider with the Classic 200, and deeper with the D9.2's, neither being deficient otherwise. I liked the sound of both speakers, and it really comes down to choosing the sound you prefer, according to the music you play. To use another analogy: do you prefer curvaceous, or athletic women? Aren't they all beautiful?

 

Amplification was from a Leema Tucana solid-state integrated.

 

N.B. Pictures are borrowed from Spendor, as I have a crappy camera-phone.

Classic 200.png

D9_2.png

noticed the very smooth treble from the  D9.2, excellent tweeter characteristics!

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Great to be able to read everyone’s views, opinions & feedback from this year’s show as alas, I couldn’t attend as it was my wife’s birthday...& as much as I sold her the benefits of a wee side trip to Melbourne, it just didn’t fly!

Anywho, I’d like to think I’ll get to the show next year, wherever it is & whoever is promoting as it’s just such a great opportunity to listen to a great range of speakers & equipment we just don’t see here in little old Adelaide.....although, in the spirit of “one up man ship”, I did attend the Halcro/Duntech launch last night at Hi Fi Collector in the beautiful Adelaide Hills just 2 minutes from my house so...how’s them apples!

Would have loved to have heard the active ATC’s [emoji22]

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On 21/10/2019 at 1:27 PM, sleach said:

Does anyone else come home after and immediately play all the tracks they shazzamed while listening at the show to see how their system stacks up? 

 

Or maybe just me.

Last year I went home and watched the same movie scenes they demoed in the huge Krix Dolby Atmos theatre room to see how my humble HT system stacked up.?  For what I outlaid, I was not unhappy.?

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On 24/10/2019 at 8:00 AM, RankStranger said:

I regret not sniffing your speakers while I had the chance is a sentence I never thought I’d write :) 

I wonder what it would be like if they invented a way to make speaker enclosures out of hemp.

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10 hours ago, Muon N' said:

Audio Note have used Hemp in speaker cones for some time now.

In the case of our BR1 at the show, the natural timber panels were 16mm thick camphor laurel and the finish was achieved by repeated sanding and the application of orange oil and beeswax. The drive units in our BR range are not made from natural fibre, although our CH1 loudspeaker uses a Fostex driver that is made from banana pulp and our CH2 loudspeaker uses a Tang Band driver that is made from bamboo pulp. No surprise really to see hemp used to make a speaker cone.

 

Cheers,

 

Keith

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46 minutes ago, cheekyboy said:

No surprise really to see hemp used to make a speaker cone.

Gives a new twist to the adjective; 'smoking!'

 

* Keith what's the final finish on the camphor? They looked radiant in your room.

 

A friend cut down two 120 year old camphors  around the corner from me and milled the lot of it. From one of the stumps he cut a series of 2.8m slabs(yup, the stumps of these trees were massive. That's a vertical cut too not a horizontal one), one of which he had made into a 10 or 12 seat table...you should see the thing. No photo I could take would do it justice.

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Guest Muon N'
2 hours ago, cheekyboy said:

In the case of our BR1 at the show, the natural timber panels were 16mm thick camphor laurel and the finish was achieved by repeated sanding and the application of orange oil and beeswax. The drive units in our BR range are not made from natural fibre, although our CH1 loudspeaker uses a Fostex driver that is made from banana pulp and our CH2 loudspeaker uses a Tang Band driver that is made from bamboo pulp. No surprise really to see hemp used to make a speaker cone.

 

Cheers,

 

Keith

Yes, read that here in this thread of the Camphor L, interesting.

Also have noticed Bamboo being use in some driver cone materials these days, and a high end cartridge for the cantilever.

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