VAF Insiders Meetup Friday 7th

[VAF]

Hello all,
This is the first insiders club meetup.
 
Please hold the date - Friday June 7 - After work starting 5:30pm through untill 8:30pm.

52 North Terrace Kent Town
 
Much more info soon

New toys to see & try.
Drinks & food on VAF

 

Bring freinds.

 

New members welcome

 

For those unable to attend we'll have a computer set up so SNA members can ask questions and get reports.

[VAF]

Thanks Insiders for all the RSVP's after the Insiders Email an hour or so ago. It's going to be a good gathering. We are looking forward to getting to know a few of the VAF Insiders members in person.

 

Friday's Insiders gathering will be a low key Friday after work unwind, with drinks (beer & wine) as well as light food on VAF. Feel free to bring your own CD's and vinyl.

 

We'll be showing:

New VAF models

New Primare stereo pre-amp with surround bypass

New Primare Stereo power amp

New Sonolink DAC

and some seriously amazing one-night-only offers to VAF Insiders members.

 

So join us and blow off some steam after work on Friday. Explore new audio equipment, listen to good music, meet and speak with other VAF insiders.

 

SNA members in SA are also welcome to attend, and to join the VAF Insiders Club along with a great spontaneous audio event.

 

If you can, please RSVP here  which will help us plan drinks & food. We know however that it's Friday after work and you may not know untill the last minute if you can make it. If you can't RSVP that's ok, it's still ok to just drop in on Friday.

 

This Friday, June 7th, From 5:30pm to around 8:30pm

At VAF, 52 North Terrace Kent Town SA

 

 

[VAF]

Thank you to those who have RSVP. It's going to be a fun evening. Along with the sound systems (toys) to play with at the get together, bellow is a taste of the offers insiders will get first crack at.  There will be offers from entry level to top-end. Additionally to these, there will also be another one evening only offer for those who attend tomorrow. We think some of you will like it

 

What we are doing is setting up June as a month of audio fun, and weaving in some compelling and hopefully guilt free opportunities. Play with it. Like it. With compelling opportunities to own it.

 

Don't worry if you just want to play, that's OK., the insiders club is for enthusiasts, but we know some enthusiasts will want opportunities to buy too.

 

Week 1 Promotions:  Have it all

These offers end Saturday June 15

For a little more than Stereo get full surround. Get VAF’s legendary Signature loudspeakers for stereo, and all the way around for surround sound too.

Buy from the Signature range and for a little more than stereo get Surround

• For the first 10 buyers only (no exceptions):

Buy a pair of legendary VAF Signature i93MK2 Flagship Loudspeakers for $11,999 (black European oak, other finishes vary a little) and for only $2,000 more you’ll get $8,648 of additional value comprising a VAF Signature i93cc centre speaker and 2 x VAF Signature i91 speakers for surround channels.

Your package Price of $13,999, gets you value of $20,647.

 

 

About the VAF Insiders Club

 

We haven't figured it all out yet but this is a club created by audio  enthusiasts for audio enthusiasts. We hope to bring you breaking news on new audiovisual products and technologies, often before release. Also offers and deals on the latest gear (not only run-outs) and deals not available to the general public. We won't spam you. We won't send you boring info you can get anywhere. And the only offers we will send you will be real, and on decent gear.

 

To join simply email vaf@vaf.com.au with:

First/Last name

email address

real address (we might send you stuff)

phone number

 

We will not sell or share your information.
 

[Grumpy]

Ok! who's there?

I'm grumpy cause I couldn't make it tonight

[Batty]

Not me Gary

[VAF]

Ok! who's there?

I'm grumpy cause I couldn't make it tonight

a few folks early, other just in and a few stragglers still to come

[VAF]

looks like the DC-X35s are making some friends!

[Batty]

I must admit I'd like to try a pair of VAFs in my system just to compare with the Castles, but can't afford to buy at the moment so I feel that it would be rude.

[Get off My lawn]

Afraid I'm not there either.

At home with the kids while my wife is out for dinner.

Good thing my 3 year old likes Sonny Rollins!

[peacewise]

Evening Vaf & fellow insiders. My night to cook for our family here in mt barker, gotta give the meeting a miss.

Crikey it's bloody freezing today. Spose I'll turn on my amp, that'll warm up the room!

What music is on at Vaf? I wonder...

[Rural Rat]

Hope you guys are having a great time. Couldn't make this one sadly.

[Dolphy]

The get together must have been really good, no one has provided any feedback or photos.

[Sub Sonic]

I must admit I'd like to try a pair of VAFs in my system just to compare with the Castles, but can't afford to buy at the moment so I feel that it would be rude.

 

G'day Batty,

 

Not sure which models you're referring to, but if you'd like to try a pair of the small i90's, you're welcome to borrow mine for a few days.

 

Regards,

 

SS

[Batty]

The Castles are floorstanders about 1metre tall, so looking at similar size, should have gone along last night...

[Sub Sonic]

No worries

 

SS

[Batty]

Thanks for the offer, very kind of you

[everyones_shadow]

Thanks to Phil and everyone at VAF for a great night.

 

Not many people came this time compared to previous evemts.

 

Phil convincingly demonstrated how  each of his ranges of speakers could deliver impressive sound and still be visually inobrusive (i49, i90, mpb sw2), take up no space (ditto and soundwall), be part of the decor (no - be the decor and the furniture) and fill any size room with all the volume anyone would require. The new 35s standmounts were on display and I think the new rounded corners to the cabinets really improve the look.

 

The Gravitas is just scary. If your music has serious bass you can feel the pressurethrough your body and the room can be made to pump and rattle.

 

And those specials.. very generous.

 

Thanks Phil for your hospitality an sharing your industry insights.

 

ES

[RockandorRoll]

Was still in the office at 5.30 so i missed this one

 

Historically these are good events, hope to get to the next one.

[Grumpy]

Historically these are good events, hope to get to the next one.

Have to agree with you there Nathan, but although I couldn't attend this one,. I somehow get the feeling that I'm freeloading at these things because there is no way financially that I could upgrade my poor old DCX's - All I could contribute to the nigh would be some embarrassing drool down my shirt and onto the VAF showroom floor.

[VAF]

The wrap-up:
23 guests all up
some arrived early. Most by 6:15 when we kicked off. A handful later.
About an hour of structured presentations followed by more than a couple of hours of conversations and demo's.
Some bottles of wine, quite a few beers, two large platters of sandwiches and quiche all consumed.

 

Some really big sales offers. One was a one night only opportunity to trade in DC-X and get a pair of Signature i93 at half price.

Other deals which will run to the end of the week (Saturday June 15). Check here for the deals.

 Money changed hands and fantasies fulfilled.

Key points:
 
The new DC-X35s. The new sealed version of the DC-X35. Very impressive. A guest clocked it idling at 100db. Not even raising a sweat. Pristine sound. Very tight. Easy to drive. Not just because of the high sensitivity, but because of a non-reactive electrical load. To prove the point a NAD C375BEE was used as the amp. Source was a Sonos Connect feeding an Arcam Sonlink DAC which fed the NAD. Very simple system. Very detailed and unrestricted sound.
 
The New Signature i49. Such a tiny speaker. Not a millimetre to spare. Still uses a 25mm double chamber tweeter at the heart of this tiny coax. Aluminium cone, induction rings. Was demonstrated in two systems. First off the end of a tiny Nuforce amp. Filled the 10M x 10M room and sounded unbelievably clean for such tiny speakers. This was with no sub! Second Signature i49 system was 5 x i49 teamed with a single VAF MPB SW2 subwoofer (VAF's new little subwoofer. Only just over 18 lts of internal volume. Big sound. The scene 20min in on "The Hulk" bluray was impressively large. Quite amazing how such a compact system could sound so good. Philip framed it as an important system. A generation don't understand anything other than MP3. This was an affordable system that makes the differences obvious, hopefully giving a great point of entry to a new generation of audiophiles.

 

The Signature i90. These were demonstrated twice. The first time powered by a lovely Luxman L-550A II. The source was a Sonos Connect. The Sonos was connected via optical cable to the legendary Luxman D-06 CD player and the D-06 DAC did the digital to analogue conversion. Philip explained why the i90 are the size they are. That this was the smallest possible to achieve two things. 1) Perfect integration with subwoofers in a bluray based surround system, and 2) a genuine general purpose hi-fi speaker. While smaller speakers can be made (the i49 for instance), perfect integration with subwoofers is only possible with a speaker that moves as much air as the VAF Signature i90 or more. This was demonstrated in VAF's large Theatre Room using 5 x Signature i90 teamed with 2 x VAF MPB SW4 subwoofers. For a family friendly package the sound was impressive.

 

The Signature i93 MK2. Driven by the same Luxman setup as the i90, they sounded amazing. Lots of positive comments.

 

One request for vinyl which was bought in buy a guest. A Sheffield Labs direct to disc.

 

Beautiful showroom setup, but unfortunately nobody thought to take photo's!
 
 

[VAF]

Have to agree with you there Nathan, but although I couldn't attend this one,. I somehow get the feeling that I'm freeloading at these things because there is no way financially that I could upgrade my poor old DCX's - All I could contribute to the nigh would be some embarrassing drool down my shirt and onto the VAF showroom floor.

 

Not at all Grumpy. The insiders club is about participation, not purchase. We did make some sales, but most folks hung around talking. We want more people to love audio. Pursue better sound and help others do the same.

[Tony M]

Thanks, Phil, for a very pleasant, informative and hospitable evening - as we have come to expect from a VAF gtg.

 

If I was after a HT system or had a pair of DCX's that I wanted to trade in on some I93's, then it would've been a very exciting evening indeed.  In any case, I was intrigued/tantalized by some things I heard and will have to investigate the specifics with a longer session and more familiar music at some stage.  Evenings like this are more a "taster" than an opportunity to do any serious evaluation, but it's just great to get an update on new developments, to catch up with fellow enthusiasts and to chat to retailers in such a convivial and relaxing environment.

 

Overall, I think it's highly commendable for a retailer in little old Adelaide to open his doors and host evenings like this and it would be a very good thing if more were to emulate Phil's example.  However, I suspect the level of genuine enthusiasm and willingness to share insights and perspectives and be candid under scrutiny is all too rare in audio circles these days.

 

So, a very much appreciated evening and well worth coming down from Hahndorf to attend.

[ALH]

guys,

good to hear it was an enjoyable evening. What were the i49's like? I didn't make it Friday night due to a combination of a few things - not the least of which was lack of financial restraint,

ALH

[Tony M]

guys,

good to hear it was an enjoyable evening. What were the i49's like?

In a word - amazing!

 

Five of these plus one tiny sub produced a very convincing HT demo with at least a dozen people in the room.  Their 2 channel performance without a sub was also extremely impressive given their size.

Edited June 9, 2013 by Tony M

[Benje]

I was in the room listening beforehand, and thought (in the darkened room) that I was lsitening to 5 I-90's and two subs.

I was impressed when I understood that it was a single sub, and the small SW2 at that (I have one at home with a pair of I-90's)

 

I was shocked when I went in for the demo and realised that they were the I-49's.

 

Earlier, I played the Daft Punk Giorgio Moroder track (#3 track on the album).  The beat gets very low at the end of the track, and the system strugled at that time (but only at that time) is delivering clearly.  It wasn't bad in any way, it just was starting to lose it from what it had been.

 

 

I would mention two other products I saw.

 

The nuforce amplifier was imresssive - digital inputs, analogue outputs, and about 30W per channel stereo output.  The size of a router/modem, not an amplifier.  Comes in four colours.  A very easy instal for a TV and stereo music system where a small footprint was needed.  You can hook up a sub as well from the front ouput, but I don't think it splits the signal as such, just duplicates the audio signal.  I could be wrong here.  About $330.

 

There was also a Sono dac by Arcam, with the same form as a Sonos bridge.  Connect the coax out from the sonos and use the arcam 192/24 compatible dac.  About $300, with the unit looking just like it belongs (Sonarc dac).

 

I didn't hear the new doubled-up subwoofer.  Left too early for other obligations.  Pity.

 

The DCX-35C was a nice looking unit - but it wasn't suited to my ear.  Very efficient but a bit bright at the top end for me.  make your own judgement though - a lot of people seemed to like them.  Again, a very clean, compact look.

 

Benje