1-Where did you hear the best ...


"Theory is when you know everything but nothing works. Practice is when everything works but no one knows why. In our lab, theory and practice are combined: nothing works and no one knows why."


1-Where did you hear the very best sound(s) system(s)?  

 i- In a show  ii- In a store  iii- In a private place               Please elaborate.


2-Where do you believe we can mostly find the best sound systems between the three aforementioned places?

i- In shows
( maybe because they can take the time to put together cost no object components synergistically ... )

ii- In stores
( maybe because they have the expertise and time to build excellent systems and have plenty of time to implement it in a decent acoustic environment ... )

iii-In private places
( maybe because some people are wealthy enough, competent enough, passionate enough and have time enough ...  And, of course, being wealthy, competent and passionate means they do benefit of an excellent dedicated room ... )


3- Do you think that most of the very serious audiophiles are doing better than the stores where they bought their equipment ? ( I know, most of the time we ended up buying our components from various places but, let's compare our systems with comparable ( pricewise ) offerings we can find in stores ... )

Do you think you are personally doing better than stores?


In theory, we might have an idea of the answer of question number 2, while question number 1 refers to practice ... Question number 3 being in fact a logical consequence of the two previous ones ...


4- Which best sound system would you like to hear? 



Gentlemen, you start first!

All right, quickly

1- ii & iii
2-iii
3-no
4- I'm still thinking !!!


It is my first thread which I am starting, please don't be too rude with me!
128x128effer
My system Magico,Q3 speaker, CJ ET5  preamp,Audia Flight Stremento #4 MK2 amp,TW ACUSTIC AC3 turntable with all BN upgrades feet,3motor unit with copper cover etc,TW arm,Transfiguration Proteus S cartridge.Furtech and Purist cables,Lindermen CD player may be upgrading to Audia Flight top preamp.Wonderful 13wX20 room with Stillpoint acustic panels with everything on Symposium stands even the speakers sounds great.Thanks enjoy!!
Wow!

Your speakers must certainly disappear and let only the music flow in the room ...

Do they easily go down to 25 Hz in your room?

How would you rate the synergy of your system on 100? At a certain level, it becomes difficult to improve ...

I am a panel afficionado, but I would like very much to hear these Magico ... 


unfairlaine,

Hearing no compression is ... addictive when everything else is first rate ... 

Little anecdote: When it was released, I bought an Oracle Delphi MkIII. I was still studying at the university ... It was a big purchase! It completed my first system with a pair of MG I, Quad 405-2 and Quad 33.  I had so much pleasure with it ...
1 - I heard it many many years ago in an audio show. I don't remember the electronics, but the speakers were the mighty B&W 800. The sound was so naturally powerful that I truly believed, before entering the room, that a real orchestra was playing in there. I was shocked to see a pair of speakers instead of musicians...

2 - I think that a good store has the best conditions to present the best sound. A good store combines expert people, the best gear possible and a proper room. Usually I get better experiences in stores - the real good ones.

3 - I really don't know. I have no idea. My case alone is deceptive: After many changes I ended up with the very same combination that I heard in one of my regular stores. Same turntable (Nottingham Analogue), same amplifier (Line Magnetic 219ia) and the same speakers (Zu Audio Omen Def). But the sound was far better in the store and the reason is the room. I have my system assembled in a very bad room, and for now I can't change that. Maybe in the future...

4 - I'm not sure about what system I would like to try, but there are some pieces of gear that I never heard and I'm curious about. Like Magico speakers, Pass amplifiers and VPI tables. But one system that really impressed me as "ultra high end - go rob a bank" was a pair of Marten Coltrane Supreme driven by KR Kronzilla amplifiers. That was WoW! (in a store in Hong Kong last year)

I have had Magnapan Tympani 1D and Maggie with the ribbon tweeters also Quads when i was big into tube amps such as CJ Premier 5s.Great hobby. Magico has much better detail,stage and definition than Magnapans but you must match them with the best  equipment. 
About Q3, especially part ii ( Are you doing better than stores ... )

I ask because last year I had the chance to meet a lot of people selling interesting equipment ( because I wanted to build a third system in the place I stay when I am working in a remote place ... ) and I noticed that even though these gentlemen had good system, it was far from being optimally set. Most of the time, speakers were too close to the back wall and too distant one to another resulting in a soundstage with almost no depth ... I looked like people were placing theirs speakers primarily for the look as it was a simple furniture ... 

In my case, I consider that the speakers tell you where you place them, if you want the best results, sound wise ...

So it is sad to see a lot of good equipment not giving their best performance ...