Standout rooms at the Fest

[RichPA]

I thought it would be fun for people to post about their personal favorite rooms at the Fest. So far, Lori and I agree on three that really stood out to us:

1. Jolida, using stand-mounted MBL speakers
2. The Quad/Shanling system - I think it was in the Pure Audio room - will check later when things start up for today
3. Manley, using System Audio speakers

We heard some other nice stuff, including members' rooms, but so far these are the ones that made the biggest impression. Lots of great exhibitors, and every one of them friendly and enthusiastic - can't wait to start again today!

[Fishcat1]

Well this was my first audio show,and boy what an impression indeed! Loved the laid back quality and the vibe in the place was cool. These were my favorite rooms and a few thoughts about each setup. Please keep in mind that I'm fairly new to this hobby (4 yrs) and I'm not so positive about what my taste really is for this stuff. This show experience was wonderful from an educational point of view. Anyway enough rambling.....

1. Audio Note-OMG the purity was exceptional as was the black background and near explosive dynamcs. Unreal. Very non electronic sounding. Now I sort of understand why the stuff is so expensive.

2. Jolida /MBL- The dimensionality was instantly stunning. By far the most 3-D type sound. Badass.

3. Audio Space/Gini- Never heard the "legendary" LS 3/5a sound so I was skeptical for some reason. Threw that thought out the window instanly after the first song. Another showgoer mentioned that was the only room he returned to all day. Super transparent.

4. ASI-Dissappearing act was impressive

5. Jaton-They smoked a pair of large Ushers in the same room with a very clean midbass region. The Ushers were a little boomy, probably due to the small room size. Still nice. The Jaton speakers were lightweight, proving there are several ways to get to the desired end result. Interesting cabinets.

Well those were my favorites, and what a cool experience this was. My wife is already sick of my blabbing about hi-fi stuff cause I'm giddy. Thanks to all who make this event possible, it was a great resource, and the exhibitors were just wonderful to chat with all day.
-Fishcat1

[wank]

Usual suspects - McIntosh, AudioNote, Manley, plus the Marantz room w/ Snell speakers.
Also, one big vote for the Hawthorne audio room. It baffled me.


(Rim shot).

[Mike Gibson]

I apologize in advance if I left anyone out but claim old age as a viable excuse.

While I enjoyed the vendor forums what stood out to me were the members rooms. The vendors all had great rooms, make no mistake. It's just that for me personally it was meeting the members and putting faces with names.

My particular favorite was Squidwards room. Here you could hear the end result of a successful collaboration between Ed & Dave on a phono preamp. Also it was an object lesson in what you can accomplish with time, patience and effort. It was very evident that DIY and some research can give you a system that plays well above the entry fee.

I also enjoyed the room shared by DGWojo and Punker X. Being an Altec fan it was nice to hear some models I hadn't heard before. They were both very giving of their time.

It was fun meeting Kegger and eating half his dinner :) Piece it Pete, Cosmos, Fisher-Dave, bigmacc, RichP, AlleyKat, WhiteSE, Dogscanskate, KenWorth, jcmjrt and many, many others whose name I cannot recall. Damn, I knew I should have taken notes. :)

Also I met a special friend from the UK. Modge was very good to meet and hang with. Even if he talks sorta funny :) Oh and bigmacc; he does look like an Englishman :)

Negotiable Terms had a very nice room and was very generous with his time with me.

I also want thank Trianglezerius for graciously giving me a ride to Squid's place and for his conversation then and later.

I met RichPA and his gracious wife Lori and enjoyed my conversation with them.

A special thanks to the members of the SMAC who were very kind to me and allowed me to hang with them.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention for those who don't know it that both Squidward and Dnewman04 are very generous, both with their time and always helping others. There is much more to these two than meets the eye.
Just ask some of those who have been helped by their efforts.

When I met Grumpy I didn't think he was grumpy at all :) Just harried as hell trying to keep things flowing smoothly. His efforts paid off. This was probably a once in a lifetime visit for me. So again I thank all the people who were so gracious to me while I was there.

[rsfmotoman]

My first show also.

My favorite rooms were by far the member rooms.

I really enjoyed the systems Kegger, Cosmos, and Army had running.

I think I found what my next speaker purchase will be...JBL 250ti (if I remember right). Great speakers Cosmos! :yes:

:thmbsp::thmbsp::thmbsp:

[BajaGringo]

Hope to be able to attend one in the future. Make sure you guys post some pics!!!

:music:

[JustBuyNew]

Mine was as following:
1) Ridge Street Audio/Ultra Fi room
2) Audio Two
3) Manley room
4) Audio Space room with ls3/5a speakers

Most disappointing rooms
1) Jolida/MBL very fatiguing after the wow factor wore off.
2) McIntosh room- Too much speaker for such a small room and overly warm sounding.
3) All the rooms that had speakers that didn't fit the room or didn't take the time to set them up properly.

[Tapehead47]

Finally found a regular link I can use to keep myself updated. You know we AKers who couldn't make it there are chomping at the bit!

My internet was down today so couldn't check in for hours. Now I'm really looking forward to reading all the posts, and I mean ALL the posts and seeing all the pictures!!

Hope you guys are having the time of your life!

Best to all,
Rick

[jeffsab]

My favorite was the last room I sat in, NOSValves. After being worn out by a lot of ultra-expensive systems with no warmth, this was perfect. I'll admit that I don't really know a darn thing about high-end audio, but that system sounded exactly like I want mine to.

[wajobu]

Another for me was Brian B's. (Venus HiFi AK Forum) Manley Stingray powering a really wonderful pair of FJ OM speakers from Germany. The sound from these speakers was just plain stunning--full spectrum, and more than very capable!

These are the only photos I have found thus far: http://6moons.com/audioreviews/fj/om.html

http://audiokarma.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=90050&d=1209952575

[BajaGringo]

Like Rick said - we be wanting photos. It's the voyeuristic quality about us...

:music:

[tentoze]

I thought it would be fun for people to post about their personal favorite rooms at the Fest. So far, Lori and I agree on three that really stood out to us:

1. Jolida, using stand-mounted MBL speakers
2. The Quad/Shanling system - I think it was in the Pure Audio room - will check later when things start up for today
3. Manley, using System Audio speakers

We heard some other nice stuff, including members' rooms, but so far these are the ones that made the biggest impression. Lots of great exhibitors, and every one of them friendly and enthusiastic - can't wait to start again today!

Never made it into the Jolida room this afternoon on my brief walkabout, unfortunately.

The Quads were in the Pure audio room, and were fantastic sounding to my ears. Pretty sure they were running them on a Quad integrated when I was in there. Very, very sweet sounding.

Albert's set-up, with the Manley Snapper mono-blocs and System Audio speaks, was a pleasure to listen to, and I could sit and listen to Albert just tell stories for hours- a walking encyclopedia of the audio world AND the music business.

BrianB's "modest" set-up with the the Manley Stingray (how could that ever be bad??????) and CEC cd player driving those FJ OM's performed way, way beyond any initial visual expectations on first entering the room. Brian is a master at synergizing systems, and that one was no exception.

[MrGee]

The System Audio/Manley setup was VEEEEERRRRRYYYY impressive.

His was one of the units that actually hit the bass notes in track two of Vollenweider "aeolian minstrel" Just an awesome setup for sure!
http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/7796/akfestsaturdaymay320080np3.jpg


Well, here is another pic of the German speakers.
http://img74.imageshack.us/img74/368/akfestsaturdaymay320080ur7.jpg
I liked them. They dont sound like they look for sure, but I found a hole in the crossover. The stage they threw was just sweet and besides the small complaint, which I am confident the maker will deal with in revision b, they are a contender...though a bit pricey at just south of 4grand...OUCH!


For me, the shocker of the show was the Hawthorne room 4 sure.
Spent a while in there again today and just fell in love with that 1 watt of audio heaven.
Jazz, Allman Bros. or the Santana Supernatural album, they seem to get it right.
I will be in touch with these folks for sure.
The bargain that is represented in these baffle-less monsters, combined with DIY flea-power taking them to whatever level you please, makes them a sure-fire winner.
I plan on buying mine before they discover they could triple the price and still offer a bargain.

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/3572/hawthorneod2.jpg

I guess these have to get my vote for best of the show.
http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/9823/akfestsaturdaymay320080lv1.jpg
:banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:
Van Alstine/Salk R-O-C-K-E-D the house with class and pristine liquid detail...but I EXPECTED them to. Hawthorne, for me, was an unknown. Kudos to them!

MrGee
<mimicking an audio reviewer>

[Citizen Gain]

It was the Gini LS3/5A and B+ Bass stand that did it for me. Never heard anything like them! Listening to this solo string bass version of Night Train, I wondered... WHERE!? Where did they go!? THE SPEAKERS ARE NOT HERE! THERE ARE NO SPEAKERS HERE! Only a real, live actual bass player. And I didn't need to wonder where he was. I could point to him. I could reach out and poke him! If I didn't like his playing, I could kick him in the nuts. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVhuGCVIf3g) And the crazy part? He was standing BEHIND where the speakers were placed.
Best. Imaging. Ever. Bass as precise and musical as I've heard. Clear as an unmuddied lake. And efficient! HUGE sound from a 20 Watt amp!

[pustelniakr]

Biggest surprise: The nice highs coming from the 15" drivers (secretly co-axial) and pretty amazing bottom end coming off the open baffle'd aformentioned drivers, bolstered by the addtional "Auggie" subs in the same open-baffled panels).

Horny surprise: the Classic Audio Reproductions monster speakers...Oh, for a room in my abode big enough for such as those

Most feared experience manifest: The call of the vacuum tube...BrianB made me think of the Stingray, indeed. Many tubes were had by all...must resist...must...resist

DIY satisfaction...Pak Protector...nothing like a whole room full of significant stuff...grown in one's own garden. Gotta love it

Easiest spot to squat and soak up tunes: Squiders & Senor Newman (who only eats food with his own name on it)

Location where most time was spent (Outside the hunt for the elusive pizza joint (than you kindly JUSTIN!)): If I told ya I'd have to kill ya.

Great place to charge up the pacemaker: Retro & Army's place. Hmmmmm. I guess I do like Infinities :rockon: (Never was a doubt about EW'd SPECs)

Cause for the hankering to expand the vinyl collection even further: Punker & DrWojo's (spelling on purpose). Good ear candy in there gents

To the AlleyCat family, and you know who you are, you're the best. Thanks

To the Southern Mafia...Ya'll ain't half bad (Did I say that out loud?)

Modge...Post something so we know you got back to the UK safely...OK?

As for those who believe they saw me at the fest...you were mistaken...if not, and you can prove it...I'LL BUY THE NEGATIVES :yikes:

Enjoy,
Rich P

[dgwojo]

I had a great time in all the rooms, luckily I shared a room with PunkerX (Mike) so we could switch off and still have our room "manned". Madisound was neat to visit after buying parts from them for years, it was nice to actually meet the people from there and get the latest catalog, hope they return next year. I especially enjoyed the member rooms, like most of us, we don't have unlimited budgets for our hobbies, it was also nice to have so many repeat visitors in our room, great fest, Dave. :yes:

[ScofieldKjv]

The Ridge Street / Ultra Fi room stood out best for me.

Other mentionables:
McIntosh / IDS speakers
Harbeth / Belles

[WhiteSE]

My favourite rooms where Squidwards as I really liked the inmorally large phono stage he and dnewman built. I think its just plain wrong to have a phono larger than your power amps.

For that purpose you need then PakP's amp and power supply combos that use tubes larger than dinasour balls (love his creations).

Jim Salk's speaker (I forget the model) using some Lambda Acoustics woofers were one of the best speaks in the place.

Craig NOSVulvas had some great sounding speaks as well, with a very nice midrange horn...

[dnewma04]

I liked the new Salk speakers with the PHL mids and Lambda woofers, myself. Not surprisingly since they are two of my favorite brands of drivers for those applications.

I was a bigger fan of the member rooms than the vendor rooms, generally speaking. They represented something more attainable to me. The vendor rooms were mostly very nice with none of them systems driving me out of the room like some have in the past. As a DIYer, it's always interesting to listen to very expensive systems to get an idea of what you like/don't like and determine the path you want to take with your own system.

[ekmanning5]

I'll second NOSValves room for ONE of my faves. The music and conversation were always topnotch. Pretty funny how Craig got so many inqueries about his Frankenscala speakers. A room full of some of the purdiest hand made tube gear you'll ever see, and question after question about the speaks.

[Bauhausler]

I spent a total of 12 hours on my feet and still managed to miss some significant rooms. Thanks to all whose ears I bent, and to those I was only able to wave to, lets talk at SMAC.

There was so much great sound. I was really expecting to hear more systems that I didn't like, but there were VERY few. Some of the rooms could have used treatments (or open doors) to reduce midbass boom, but that's just a setup issue.
The MBLs looked badass but left me cold. Probably the lack of palpable bottom end on those small units. That's a deal killer for me.

I've been talking this over with LVB, and we think a clear value winner for the show was Usher. We loved the sound of both sets that we listened to, and the design and finish are top drawer. Consider that they're at a very competitive price point and I think they're head and shoulders above the crowd.
If I was a manufacturer who was a direct competitor to Usher I'd be losing sleep right now.

Kudos to the Manley rep for playing Rasputina for us. I never guessed someone would have a CD with Transylvanian Concubine on it. A very cool guy, and honest and outspoken.

Hey, one beef: I can't believe that people always listen to such boring Sad Bastard music at home. Music chosen for shows is supposed to highlight the benefits of the gear and hide the flaws, but it's just DULL.
Sure, I listen to Holly Cole, Kurt Elling, Rachel Yamagata, Feist and so on, but if a system can't play the Meat Puppets' song Severed Goddess Hand at volumes that will make me perspire, it doesn't meet my needs.
Next year I'm going to bring some of my own music and use Black Rebel Motorcycle Club to blow the cobwebs off a few woofers.

[dnewma04]

Agreed on the Usher speakers, to my ears and eyes, they best the speakers from Italy (that inspired many of their designs) in terms of sound, aesthetics, and most of all, in price. Agreed to some extent on the musical selection, it's not particularly diverse from room to room and even our own room was guilty of a bit of the same old thing (we were media limited to some extent this year with both Ed and I being fairly new to records)

[bolly]

hey fellas, how was that lil fostex rig?? What was the price?

[Ski]

My favorite room had to be the Salk/VanAlstine combo. I especailly like the cathedral window shaped ones. It was the only room that gave me goose-bumps.

[ScofieldKjv]

It is always interesting to hear the different reactions from people. Our group hit the Usher rooms last and we were disappointed. The 8871's for me seemed like they had potential but too big for the room; also they didn't sound that coherent, I'd like to hear them again in a better environment.

The most disappointing was the room with the Be-718's, I found the hosts down right rude! When we came in, there was a gentlemen sitting in the sweet spot and he got into a discussion about cables with someone, which is fine, it was labeled as a cable room, but they could have moved their discussion. When I finally asked one of the hosts to play our CD he obligided but had the volume so whisper low you couldn't hear anything but the two fellas talking and we were forced to sit over near the door. Rediculous. Nonetheless, IMO, the Ridge Street room was better to me.

[Urizen]

* Bob Cook/VanAlstine with the Salk Song Towers. Great sounding gear at down to earth prices. The VanAlstine Omega Star "differential" amps are something special. The Salk prototypes (Lambda Acoustics/Morel MDT-33 tweeters) in the adjacent room were a visual and sonic dream, as was the well treated room.

* Pure Audio LLC with the Quad 909s. I never thought panels could sound so dynamic.

* Dave Cope/Audio Note UK with the E Lexus Signatures and their impressive crossovers. Fantastic staging and smooth, smooth...

* Squidward's "Cornholios". By far, the best sounding vintage Klipsch I've heard to date.

* Kegger's Polk 10s driven by his "TV" amp. Thanks for letting me bend your ears with the heavy stuff. The Polk's, with only around 5 WPC SE driving, handled my bass test disc remarkably well. It rocked!

* The Army/RetroStereo rig had Nugent's Gibson in the room with us.

* Hawthorne Audio. My first listen to OBs. Great room, and friendly to boot.

* Venus Hi-Fi. Brian's simple system was astounding, given the size of the small German speakers he used. His intended gear had been held up and damaging in shipment, and what he threw together at the last minute sounded mighty fine.

* Mark Anderson. We roomed together and he brought his restored KLH Sixes paired with a Pioneer SX-650. Several hours of fine twang were enjoyed. Great combo.

So much good gear, and even better folks. I had a blast.

Ken

[Bauhausler]

I kept hearing rumors of a hairy wild man stalking the 'Fest. They say he was thin with a crazy black beard, a maniacal grin and some sort of brightly glowing bottles full of fire that music came out of when they were plugged into 250 lbs of scrap iron. Last seen in the vicinity of a square yard of aluminum tooling plate masquerading as a turntable.
Can anyone confirm?

[Kamakiri]

I found myself at the Fest shopping for a complete new system, for the first time, and was anxious to find my own "perfect" sound.

When I found myself at the Jaton room, I just couldn't tear myself away. I went and dug a couple of decently scratched up CDs that I keep in the car, just because I had to hear my music on this system. Astounding.

What made the system even more impressive is that I tended to find a lot of the systems felt "middy", because of the room acoustics (which of course I took into account as I listened). This system, however, had no such issue. In fact, it had no spiked feet on the speaker stands, there were no isolation dampeners on anything, and there were no (from what I could see) especially high end cables used.

When a company can manage to push out that kind of soundstage without needing the above, I thought, hm.....it can only get even better....and I'm ordering my Jaton system up within the next two weeks :)

[Bauhausler]

Kam;
I'm with you on Jaton. I liked everything that system played. We talked about the glossy black speakers after we heard them & went back for another listen. Pretty astounding at the price. The solid state "Operetta" electronics they had with them looked like a screaming bargain for the build quality.
The reps in the room were super friendly and enthusiastic if a bit incomprehensible when they got going. I'd have to nominate that system for best price/performance ratio. We listened to a variety of music on it and heard it do NOTHING wrong. Truly an amazing achievement.

EDIT:

Here's a photo by Krikor showing the Jaton speakers and Operetta amp

http://s279.photobucket.com/albums/kk141/krikor111/2008%20AKFest/?action=view&current=Jaton3.jpg

[dnewma04]

hey fellas, how was that lil fostex rig?? What was the price?

Exceptional with simple music and moderate-low levels. Not so great otherwise with anything especially dynamic or loud.

[RichPA]

More rooms that stood out to us on Sunday:

1. The Hawthorne Audio room - not the speakers for me, but I enjoyed them very much, and the room was obviously a labor of love.
2. The Lauritsen Audio room, with the new Fried speakers. Sounded best when he had the Manley Stingray set up, but very nice on the other gear he brought as well.

[Halcro1]

Well this was my first audio show,and boy what an impression indeed! Loved the laid back quality and the vibe in the place was cool. These were my favorite rooms and a few thoughts about each setup. Please keep in mind that I'm fairly new to this hobby (4 yrs) and I'm not so positive about what my taste really is for this stuff. This show experience was wonderful from an educational point of view. Anyway enough rambling.....

1. Audio Note-OMG the purity was exceptional as was the black background and near explosive dynamcs. Unreal. Very non electronic sounding. Now I sort of understand why the stuff is so expensive.

2. Jolida /MBL- The dimensionality was instantly stunning. By far the most 3-D type sound. Badass.

3. Audio Space/Gini- Never heard the "legendary" LS 3/5a sound so I was skeptical for some reason. Threw that thought out the window instanly after the first song. Another showgoer mentioned that was the only room he returned to all day. Super transparent.

4. ASI-Dissappearing act was impressive

5. Jaton-They smoked a pair of large Ushers in the same room with a very clean midbass region. The Ushers were a little boomy, probably due to the small room size. Still nice. The Jaton speakers were lightweight, proving there are several ways to get to the desired end result. Interesting cabinets.

Well those were my favorites, and what a cool experience this was. My wife is already sick of my blabbing about hi-fi stuff cause I'm giddy. Thanks to all who make this event possible, it was a great resource, and the exhibitors were just wonderful to chat with all day.
-Fishcat1I might have been the person you are refering to on the Gini/audio space gear .... not even a grand for speakers and 3k for the intergrated ... Biggest bang for the buck in the show... i like the Manley Room also and th MBLs were a disapointment for me , espicially at the price point ... I also liked the big white tower room they sounded great espically for a big speaker....Alot of fun for me a first time showgoer.. Mike

[wajobu]

I kept hearing rumors of a hairy wild man stalking the 'Fest. They say he was thin with a crazy black beard, a maniacal grin and some sort of brightly glowing bottles full of fire that music came out of when they were plugged into 250 lbs of scrap iron. Last seen in the vicinity of a square yard of aluminum tooling plate masquerading as a turntable.
Can anyone confirm?

You mean one of these, perhaps, hmm? :D
http://audiokarma.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=90109&stc=1&d=1210024366
Please excuse the less-than-stellar photo.

[Bauhausler]

That's the cave - er... room - that I saw him in. Tending the electrical fires for the clan.

[Fisherdude]

That's the cave - er... room - that I saw him in. Tending the electrical fires for the clan.

I was in there. I wanted to get a closer look at those amps, but I was terrified that if I got too close I'd jump an arc to my nose.:no:

[PakProtector]

I was in there. I wanted to get a closer look at those amps, but I was terrified that if I got too close I'd jump an arc to my nose.:no:

hey-Hey!!!,
The amps are not that dangerous...:) I wouldn't suggest licking them though. There was nearly 300 lbs. of power supply between the two PS chassis, and nearly 50 each for the amps.

Was that shot taken w/o flash? usually the flash leaves just a dim orange glow from the anodes instead of that intense discharge...:)
cheers,
Douglas

just wait 'til next year!

[ekmanning5]

Was that shot taken w/o flash? usually the flash leaves just a dim orange glow from the anodes instead of that intense discharge...:)
cheers,
Douglas

just wait 'til next year!

Douglas I was standing behind him when he took it. I believe it was a phone camera...no flash.

[wajobu]

Correct! :D

[boodles]

Hi everyone
I'm quite interested in everyone's overall thoughts on the Hawthorne speakers. They seem to be getting rave reviews, but I'd like some more feedback before making a purchase decision, since there's no way for me to hear them in Nevada. Could anyone give their thoughts and a description of the "type" of sound they produce. Having never heard open baffle speakers, I don't know what to expect. I'd probably be using just the single driver version and a pair of DIY Adire Shiva sub's that are self-powered, so bass response should not be an issue. I'm looking for speakers that create a great soundstage and get all of the subtle timbres of real instruments and voices right.
Any opinions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Chris

[Kegger]

boodles, I heard them, AND WANT/HAVE TO HAVE THEM!!

They are Killer!! And I believe just as you describe.

[ozmoid]

Another for me was Brian B's. (Venus HiFi AK Forum) Manley Stingray powering a really wonderful pair of FJ OM speakers from Germany. The sound from these speakers was just plain stunning--full spectrum, and more than very capable!Yes, Venus Hi-Fi's gear was one of the most enjoyable vendor set-ups I heard. Brian was gracious enough to stay "open late", so I got to spend some quality time with the system. Excellent gear, amazing sound for the size, very surprising.

hey fellas, how was that lil fostex rig?? What was the price?If you're referring to the Madisound room, I think they were BK-16's? Quite good, easily the best of what they were auditioning. One of the best values at the show IMO between footprint, output, and price. Less than $800 for the pair in kit form, IIRC. Very impressive little speakers.

The best fully DIY speakers that I heard were RayW's Transmission lines. Fantastic! :music:

[tube-it]

I too was very impressed with the Hawthorn speakers. At first glance I saw very basic plywood speakers that reminded me of on of my first DIY projects. I could not believe the sound that came out of these little basic rectangles.