Wow! What an honor. Oh my gosh. Thank you.
I have not written much here the last 3 or so years since I accepted a job in San Clemente for a company that builds a very specialized implantable cardiovascular device that uses no leads directly to the heart! And of course, we got gobbled up by a twin cities company, so I hope to be returning to MN by the end of the year.
Not sure where to start or how to thank everyone here for their very nice comments. I read the forums here occasionally but with me away from my magical minnesota music box, I have been very much out of touch with keeping up on the latest breakthroughs. And the comment above about not wanting to rehash the same debates such as the importance of cables, modifications, the power of tube rolling, etc., has put my focus elsewhere. But it's nice to be back.
Apt. life has pushed me into audio's mid-tier zone
..but this has been a fun adventure to discover the magic of 20-30 year designs that nobody ever knew was possible. Having a pair of Jade Ref ICs in such a system is major crazy expensive, but it makes one aware of how good some of the components were long ago. I will share some of my happy findings in my current "budget" system in a follow-on writeup here. But first, I would like to share some experiences at the recent Newport Audio Shows here.
Sadly, this year's show is best described as one word: disappointing. Whereas last year and the previous year, there were several setups in the $10-20k system price that just knocked my socks off. I don't know if it is limited time for setup or the challenges of the hotel rooms, or what, but the $100k+ based systems do not justify their cost with such auditions there
..with one exception
..the demo of the Estelon speakers. Wow, wow, wow! But overall, the focus seems to be again and again about detail and I walk away nearly every time asking, "where's the dimensionality?"
At these shows, it seems like there's not much focus to assemble a SYSTEM. Too many setups with a $15k source, $2k of crappy solid state electronics, often ignoring cables altogether, and then a pair $2-3k or $10-20k speakers! I can understand the skepticism on the importance of cables, but electronics? still?
The little $2k Napa systems conquered several systems that were much more expensive. Sadly, only one room really got my full salute this year - as always the Von Gaylord systems are exceptional. And this year was no different. The previous two years I camped in the Nola speaker room. This year it was good too, but not like before. The Nola Contender speakers at $3600 have no competition
just incredible. The designer said to me more than once, "you again?" Yes, they were so very good
..and with mid-line ARC integrated amp and CD player. I ended up buying the Nola Boxers for my apt.
The only other overall presentation that impressed me greatly this year was the SoundLab room. They sounded so good even with mediocre (at best) electronics. if the dealer listens to these speakers with those electronics, he has no idea what these speakers really can do. Gosh I would have loved to just drop in the Aria preamp at that moment! But they sounded so good! Made me smile.
Other product lines that caught my attention were the Totem speakers (oh my, so good!) and systems with Cary tube electronics. If I were to start from scratch, I would do a serious shootout between Cary and Von Gaylord, pick the "winner" and set that as my reference point. And I know nothing about these lines.
A few times I went into JD mode and moved a chair to near field position. I got a few looks but I also told the presenter that he should try it some day. Maybe they did later when nobody was looking. 8-)
Not having much experience with mid-level systems, I have learned much in the 3+ years here, but sadly, not much from going to these shows. The Napa systems made me very aware what magic can be had for cheap but I want more. One does not easily transition from SoundLabs, Cat amps and the Aria preamp to a $2k system of a zillion compromises, but the Napa system is an awesome start and then to work back up. And moving to a dedicated basement room for a system and then to an apt living room 2/3 the size has been a challenge. But there have been a few WOW moments and discoveries here and also at a friend's house nearby. When you take a 30 year old tube preamp to a friend's home and replace theirs with this, and your friend's wife from an adjacent room suddenly asks what just happened because she never heard music like that in their home
.. mission accomplished! Another convert. 8-)
More next time on my apt system and comments on a few pieces I bought/sold/kept from A'gon activities.
Thank you again.
John
