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Thoughts from THE Show, is $29k the new $10k?

Had another enjoyabe brief one day visit to THE Show, Newport Beach last weekend. Great to see so many fellow hobbiests, and great gear. Went in search of speakers; here is a brief and disjointed summary of my impressions:
Many vendors were focusing on the $25-32k range; with most for sale around $29k as an entry point to 'quality'.
Rockport showed their new entry, $29k speaker in the Atrium. Had great balance; was warm, detailed, and engaging. First show presence for dealer; nice guy. My first experience with Rockport; was very impressed.
Eficion: at the Hilton; wow; for $16k I think it gives Wilson a run for its money with the Sophia; its AMT ribbon tweeter had great crystal highs, and its large woofer filled the room with satisfying bass, I enjoyed it.
BMC: nice gear; their $32k speakers had dipole arrangement; with both front and rear firing speakers; very engaging, huge sound stage, and great low end response. Paired up nicely with their amp/dac
YG: brought my own CD; so I was familiar with what was possible; initialy liked their sound;but in the end found it a bit 'dry', and brittle; and not totally enjoyable, this was at at least three different rooms showing their speakers.
Wilson Shasha's in the Brooks-Barden room; always a treat; enjoyed their room treatments, and professionalism, nice analog set up. Warm, detailed, lovely, and engaging.
Ventures: wow, very expensive; and very large...but totally engaging; great integration, warm, detailed, expansive sound stage, great bass, huge open subtle nuance on female voices...
Ayon: liked their Lumen White's better last year, than their own speaker line this year, but great amps and dac.
Found the KEF blades a bit disappointing, surprised at how large they are in person.
Enjoyed the TAD speakers again this year, well balanced, integrated very well.
There was a 'curved' line array speaker; I forget its name that also was quite good, interesting design, but filled the room with great sound; no glare.
The Veloce gear, with its battery source was extremely 'quiet' and detailed, and enjoyable.
Surprised how many room utilized the Synergistic Research ART treatments...hard to tell how it improved things; but can't argue with the results.
Too much to see and listen to in one brief day. Curious to hear from other members their take....I know you don't need to spend so much to get quality sound, but so many vendors showing off their $29k speakers made me want to chuckle; and take out a home loan...also thought the digital and computer audio was getting very close now to the analog rigs.
Love having this showcase in our backyard on the west coast; and will contiue to support and attend. Kudos to Bob Levi; and his team at LA/OC audio society; another great job; and Tierney Sutton singing on Friday night was an extra special treat.
mribob
peterayer
1,373 posts
 
I agree with Tpreaves. Excellent observation. Set up and "the room" are also frequently used at shows to excuse less than excellent sound.

Regarding all of the $29K speakers. Just wait 18 months. Some will be here for $15-19K. The problem is that the Sony and TAD speakers rarely come on the used market. Most of the others will be here though. I'm waiting to see the Q1 and Q3 at used prices. Those should be relatively good values in a few years, IMO.
kclone's avatar
kclone
601 posts
 
Nonoise, have you heard the Atohm GT-2's? Just curious to how they sounded compared to the GT-1s. I think they make their own drivers.
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
5,112 posts
 
I wonder how many of these companies with rediculously priced components will be around next year.
nonoise's avatar
nonoise
4,382 posts
 
Kclone,

No, I haven't heard the GT-2 but if it's a step up from the GT-1, it probably sounds great.

I checked out a review of them and they do make their own drivers and their cabinets are really braced well: reinforcements everywhere. I'm still thinking of the excursions that small driver was going through to make such a big, full sound. There was a guy there who put his ear next to it to make sure the music was coming from that speaker, twice.

All the best,
Nonoise
wolf_garcia
4,650 posts
 
It's fun to see what somebody comes up with when the design budget constraints don't exist...Buggati my sneakers away! But merely interesting and actually irrelevant to most people. Luckily you can put together a system that satisfies musically for a fraction of the cost of "audio porn", and the real value to me is when I come home after hearing some luxurious machines at maybe Goodwin's or someplace and realize my relatively inexpensive but carefully assembled assortment of mostly used or inexpensive newer stuff is beautiful to behold. Funny...where I live I'm near a few high end places and you cannot buy a turntable phono cable or a tube at any of them. Or any music. Go figure...
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