HOME ENTERTAINMENT 2007

Part 2

Joe: Interesting new speaker design from Haniwa. This set up seem to be a little off stride to me. I listened to several cuts and it just didn’t come together for my ears. I would like to hear something more familiar to see what is going on with these.

Andrew: $50k three way Haniwa horn speaker with outboard x-over featuring DSP and phase correction.  Biamped with Art Audio amps, Haniwa pre and cartridge.  The speakers sounded very live playing vinyl on an old Marantz tt.  10inch horn loaded bass drivers provided solid foundation.

Linda: I don't know about these. Really nice sound but not too appealing to look at. Pricey to boot.

Andrew, the Marantz table isn’t that old. It is the MARANTZ/TT-15S1 ACRYLIC TURNTABLE that was released just a couple of years ago. Designed by Marantz and built for them by Clearaudio (you can see the design similarities). For just under $1600, you get a contoured acrylic table with an outboard motor, a very thick acrylic platter on an inverted bearing, special anti-resonance feet and a sophisticated tonearm with an Ebony armwand. It comes complete with an $800 Clearaudio Virtuoso Ebony Wood Cartridge; plug and play ready. We are working on obtaining one for review now – publisher

Linda: Exceptionally good sound for the money. A little boxy, but not bad looking. Speaker cabinets have nice finish. Is it real wood veneer or vinyl?

Very impressive turntable.Looks and sound much more expensive than it is. I like this room. Sound has lots of rhythm and dynamics.

Joe: Music Hall had several turntables and several bottles of scotch on display.

James: Joe, by the time I got there on Sunday, the scotch was pretty much history!

I liked this room a lot. When I entered, Leland Leard, VP of Music Hall, was playing a new LP by Amos Lee. He had the system cranked and the room was rockin’

Leland was even doing a little attitude dancing. Not too pretty, but rather entertaining.

He’s actually a very cool guy – very knowledgeable, too. The high-end needs more men like Leland.

The LP was being played on the updated top of the line mmf 9.1 with it’s new carbon fiber arm and several more tweaks. It comes WITH a dust cover AND a Goldring Eroica Cartridge. The sound was right up there with other good tables. We are in line for a review – and possibly the 7.2 table shown at CES as well. Roy Hall isn’t a man that sits still with his products. He travels the world looking for new technologies and better manufacturing techniques to keep costs low and improve performance.

Leland was also excited about the new Whest Two phone stage. He had just gotten it in time for the show. “It’s really a killer phono pre for the price – much better than the Creeks”, he grinned. When asked, he said, “Sure, I’d love to send you one for review!” I’m looking forward to that! The input stage (MM and MC) is designed to be ultra-linear with a frequency response of 1 Hz-130 kHz +/- 0.05dB. However, Whest Audio have added a special 50KHz zero on the RIAA curve to mimic the cutter head, and thereby allowing reproduction up to 50 kHz which exists on all LPs as their studies into cutter head electronics show. The input stage also utilizes ultra low noise circuitry and ultra low noise multi-regulation so that MC cartridges with extremely low output levels have no problems.

As a system, with the Creek Destiny CD player, the Creek Destiny integrated, the new Epos M16 Speaker and even the MMF 9.1 table with arm and cart plus the Whest Phono 2 you have a killer system for UNDER $10 grand that will play CD’s and LPs at a very high level of quality.

This gets my vote for “BEST VALUE SYSTEM AT SHOW”.*

*Scotch not included

Linda: Outstanding sound here. Speakers would be very appropriate in a contemporary setting - South Beachers would love them. But anyone would love the sound they produce. Pure music magic.I can hear all the frequencies and they are very even. From top to bottom it's all there for me. I can walk around the speakers and still  hear a perfect stereo image - like walking around on stage during the performance. One of the best. I remember how good these sounded in Vegas, too.

Joe: Scaena – Best of Show? $44k More Behold Digital electronics sounding great.

Andrew: Smaller Scaena speakers ($35K with subs) from the original designer of the Pipedreams.  He is back to using ribbon tweeters.  The big black cylinders in the back each contain one 15inch sub and amp.  Driven by a laptop, and Memory Player USB DAC from Nova Physics and another Behold amplifier, we listened to Masakela’s Train to Johannesburg start to finish.  Fabulous, natural sound, tho no better than my system at home.  Didn’t like the unfinished industrial look of the speakers.

James: I had heard the bigger speakers at THE Show in Vegas. These sounded equally impressive, especially with just a bit of room treatment for such a big sound. Very fast transients and spacious soundstage with no trace of the speakers themselves – just abundant sound and articulation. Me like – a lot. Candidate for Best Sound (regardless of price).

PROCLAIM DMT-100 speakers.

Joe: Great Balls… not doing it for me, despite “perfect balance” trick. The system includes an external crossover that offers flexible set up options.

James: Like I mentioned earlier, things can change drastically at these shows. Such was the case here. When I was in the room, Dan Herrington (with the water bottle) was running the speakers tri-amped. He told me as I left that he was planning on switching over to “an ancient Pioneer receiver to show that anything will drive them – even low powered amps”. I asked him if he was sure he wanted to do that, but I believe he was conscious of the $26,000 price tag and didn’t want to scare people away by implying that they needed to spend additional big bucks. Well, there’s a reason speaker makers team up with electronics makers at shows to showcase their products at their best. Anyone with decent ears could hear the difference with a crappy old receiver.

When I heard the Proclaim DMT-100s, they were utterly magical. The voluminous soundstage was a tapestry of sounds uncluttered by resonances and other noisy artifacts. Extremely dynamic and transparent with bass that really did have “great balls”. The freakin’ freq. response goes down to 23Hz! No 25 watt Pioneer is going to support that.

There really is some breakthrough tech at work here. “The enclosures are built using two opposing layers of fiberglass which are filled with a proprietary sand mixture which is then vibrated to a densely packed consistency. The result is a heavy, dead, non resonating enclosure that lets the driver unit itself do all the talking and not the surrounding surface”, Dan told me. He continued, “The speakers use an external crossover to eliminate noise and resonance, but you can also individually adjust output for the mid and top end to optimize linearity and balance for any environment. Once the levels are there, the L-pad used for the adjustments is removed from the circuit and replaced with top-grade resistors. This gives you the cleanest possible sound”.

Smart. Very smart. Unless you’re driving them with noisy, crappy, ancient mid-fi amps. The fact that you can raise, lower or swivel the mid and tweeters to tailor the sound to any room and seating position is brilliant.

These speakers were actually near the top of my list for “Best Sound at Show”. Can’t do that now, but “Most Innovative New Speaker”? Perhaps.

Linda: Very 3D sound. Effortless.Expansive stage, too. The style might turn a lot of women off, though.

Jeffrey Catalano’s High Water Sound

We like his motto: “Two channel with attitude”.

Andrew: The High Water Sound room.  Ultra cool looking Tron electronics.  AMR CD player with 80s vintage DAC chips and tube output stage.  Tron tube amps, Blackbird (?) turntables with Dynavector and Graham arms.  Oh how I wish they had partnered with better speakers.  They played weird music.

Linda: We have that turntable at home. Really nice, comfortable sound in here. Kinda funky. Those big horns on the speakers are a little utilitarian looking. These look more like studio monitors or a PA you might see in a upscale club. Lots of sound here that gets inside you, though. Kinda feels like a disco in here. Fun! Really great vinyl playback.I wish more people could hear what this sounds like.

Joe: Highwater Audio had a hard time getting their Aspara (formerly Impulse) speakers into the country in time for the show and while Highwater owner Jeffrey Catalano didn’t feel they had settled in yet when I heard them, I was impressed by the smooth sound and the lack of any horn-itis. Room tuning was performed by Darren Censullo featuring Acoustic System Resonators. Turntables were provided by TW Acoustic’s Raven One and Raven AC. Really nice sound in this room. The Highwater room also featured a CD Player and Integrated amp from AMR and distributed by Censullo’s Avatar acoustics. Both are beefy as hell and have some innovative features, including a USB connection and multiple amplifier modes on the Integrated. Each piece retails for $8,500.

James: The real stars in this room, if not the whole show, to me were the TW-Acustic Raven AC (not “blackbird, but close Art!) and the TW-Acustic Raven One. I have heard the big mother AC several times at shows and was knocked out every time. This is one of the great tables in the world. I hear the TW-Acustic Raven One every day, because it’s in my home under review. Right now the review has been delayed a bit because we are waiting on a new Graham Phantom tone arm so that the table can fully strut it’s considerable stuff. I don’t want to give away my thoughts just yet, but Jeff is going to have a hard time prying the Raven One away from me. At $4,500 sold direct, the Raven One is a steal, as many in Europe and the Far East already know – it’s probably the hottest table in those areas. The problem is, since these tables are handmade, like Schroeder arms,  in Germany, they are not easy or quick to get. Better get your order in now. Stereomojo has gotten tons of emails waiting for our world’s first review. We’re anxious to get ‘er done.

THE MOTHERSHIP – Acustic Raven AC

Andrew: Magico Mini’s in the Goodman’s room.  Met again with sales guy Al, who is just terrific- exactly what Goodman’s advertises:  An enthusiast sales person who is passionate about his product, personable and low pressure (I had met him earlier this year at the store and auditioned the ML Summits).  Playing analog tape through the gorgeous top line VAC electronics at medium volume.

The new Mini’s cost $27k for the pair (I think that includes the stands) and sound better than the $22k Magico floorstanders Goodmans was playing on Friday.  Lowest bass notes are missing in action, but the speakers were commendably flat to around 50Hz.  In addition to the quiet classical tape, we played Fanfare for the Common Man (RR CD).  This is how I found out the lowest octave was missing.  Above that, good slam and timbre.  Still, I didn’t see the magic in these speakers, which sounded very good, but did not make me think they’re worth the money.  There are plenty of players at this price point now, and most offer better dynamics, slam and extension.  Alan Wolff from Magico was on hand to oversee the demo.

Linda: Very attractive speakers. Beautiful wood and finish. Nice sound, but bass is missing. Warm, inviting tube sound.

James: Terrific sound, aided by yet another reel-to-reel machine. Maybe I shouldn’t have sold my Revox B77. Several reviewers have raved about the “Magic Mini’s”, but for $27 large I can think of other speakers I’d own first. Several others – that actually have a low end.

I’d love to compare these with the Mark & Daniel Maximus Monitors I’m reviewing at the moment. They won a Maximum Mojo Award at the Montreal Show and they are sounding better here than at the show. I liked the $12,000 MBLs I heard in Montreal (review in the works) better than the Mini’s, and for the money the $3,800 Maximus Monitors with the added Omni Harmonizer was very competitive with the MBL’s. Not only do the Max’s go low, they sound better than some subwoofers in that region. No kidding. I have been wrong before about speakers that seemed overpriced, so I guess we’ll have to wait and see about the Magicos. I have only heard them at shows.

Andrew: Gamut now makes speakers for $7500.  Five midwoofs and a dome tweeter.  Along with their electronics, bass was a little wooly.  Decent air and good stage height. I liked them but had to sit through some strange music- very long rock polka in French or German, may have been a Gamut selection.  Played Morphine- bass heavy and sax a little recessed.  Still, musical and effective.

James: I’ve heard the Gamut gear and reported on it from three different shows, so I didn’t venture into Gamutland this time. We are talking to Gamut about potential reviews.

Andrew: Hifi system by Weiss.  Electric boxes around $10k each.  Speakers are $30k per pair with subs that didn’t make it to New York.  Acuton drivers, ceramic tweeter (not the diamond version).  Maybe the best Accuton sound I’ve heard, with plenty of good bass and clear detail.  I liked these better than the Magico Mini’s.  Head and shoulders above my recollection of similarly priced Kharmas.  Like the Talons, these are Acutons done right.  With the subs, this room would have been top three.  Without, still up there.

Andrew: Studio Electronics.  Used Benchmark DAC/volume control.  Very pretty hybrid amp (this pic does not do it justice for $7k and 400wpc.  Includes NOS Siemens EC88s.  The speakers, with KEF looking tops (only mids here tho) are $6500.  The designer told me that the speakers used Audax tweeters he had lying around and Morel bass drivers on the sides.  The midranges are custom made and run almost full range.  Played through a pro-studio Midas analog EQ, the speakers were a bit bass heavy.  Good stage height, starting to think I like mids mounted on top of the tweeters on short speakers.  I think the speaker may be overpriced, but nice people.  I wish them best of luck.

Linda: Interesting design and very seductive sound. Clean and clear. Bass is a little soft, though.

James: I’ve heard Studio Electric at several shows and have talked to David MacPherson, the man behind the company, on the phone a couple of times. His main job is as a mastering engineer. Brilliant guy with a passion for music. The mids look a lot like the Proclaim “great balls”, don’t they? It seems balls are growing in popularity. Bad news for feminists, maybe. These are his entry level speaks that sound very musical, no doubt helped greatly by the magnificent (looking at sounding) ELECTRODYNE hand-built hybrid amp. Daivd believes people shuldn’t have to go experimenting with tubes to get the best sound out of an amp, that’s we he ships the amp with top line (and selected) NOS tubes. I’ve been after David to send us the amp. I’d like to compare it to my reference LSA Signature hybrid ($6,000) which even at six grand outperforms many separates.

From FLK Marketing: Rethm, Modwright, Art Audio & Redpoint

Andrew: 3rd Rethm ($7.5k) speakers featuring Lowther drivers with wooden phase plugs.  I had kind of liked these in past shows, but couldn’t stand them here.  Even partnered with my favorite turntable (Redpoint/Triplanar) and ultracool electronics from Modwright and Art Audio, the shouty midrange peak on CD just drove me crazy.  There was a piercing quality on female vocals.  Bass foundation was missing.  Dead Can Dance on vinyl – terrific record, bass a little better, but the Lowther’s peakiness still bothered me.   Would like to hear these electronics with Klipschorns. The ultrabright speaker wires are a happy digital photographic artifact.

Linda: This is easily the prettiest room and system. Very contemporary but not over the edge.Speaekrs completely disappear with a very expansive soundstage. Great tube sound, too - not to colored. Best bass I've heard in a horn speaker that looks as good as it sounds. That Redpoint turntable looks as good as it sounds, too. I could see that in our house. Some of the best sound I've heard in New York and the prices are not at all outrageous.

James: This was the most visually striking room at the show. As I entered and saw all the gleaming, matching brushed silver metal on the speakers, the amps, the stunning turtable and even the equoipment rack, my eyes just lit up. Add Joe Fratus’ esoteric Art Audio tube amp and the whole thing just looked so complete and satisfying. The picture is very inadequate.

I see Andrew didn’t like the sound here. I know why. While I was there (after Andrew had to go home), Joe came in and switched tubes on his amp – right in front of a room full of people. “Wait until you hear the difference these make”, he told the room in his Tony Soprano voice. Five minutes later, without the new tubes even warming up enough, the sound was transformed. Completely and totally transformed. People even gasped. You can see the “old” tubes on the floor in the pic. The new bottles were made for him by KR of Kronzilla fame.

I was shocked. I’ve never heard one pair of tubes make THAT much difference. Even before the change, what I saw (and I do mean “saw”) was a complete, colossal, holographic, 3-D layered soundstage spread out in the room like a movie at an IMAX theater. From my reference CD, Linda Ronstadt was standing out in front (forward for me, peaky for Andrew?) of the orchestra and the speakers with the backup singers way in back – the way it sounds at home. The stage reached the ceiling and seemed limitless in depth with even the distant sounds detailed and hovering in clouds of clean, quite space. When this happens, I admit my eyes take over and I am less concerned with frequency blips. The new tubes simply put more soul and realism in the spaces and Linda was even more holographic.

The orchestral cut from Reference Recording’s “Tutti” CD was staggering in it’s vividness and extreme dynamics. Timpani and big bass drum hits made you feel them in your chest. Nothing compares to horns in the arena of dynamics – micro or macro. I have the Cain   & Cain Single Horn Bens in my large room under review as I write this. There are always trade-offs with horns or any other type of transducer.

What you have with these Rethm Saadhanas is TWO separate cabinets – one sealed isobaric system in horn-loaded cabinet containing the Lowther and another completely isolated cabinet containing dual custom made Peerless bass drivers with 6 inch paper cones and cloth surrounds. Internal wiring with single conductor flat copper cryogenically treated in loose nylon sleeves producing a response of 32Hz to 20khz. Efficiency is 97 db/w/m.

Don’t see two separate cabinets in the pic? Look closely. The cabinets and not top and bottom, but front and back. See the vertical separation? Heady stuff.

   A top/middle compartment opens up to reveal a crossover adjuster and a level control to further tailor the sound to a   room. There is even a thoughtful ground lift for those crusty older tube amps that pick everything up.

I practically begged for a review pair and Frank Kraus of FLK Marketing and Distribution acquiesced. The first available pair to reach shore will be headed our way. Frank asked me to remind everyone that he performed NO sound tricks in the room. “I didn’t even take down the pictures with all that reflective glass on them”. The room was about as raw as it gets. Duly noted.

Alright!  Redpoint tables. Model D here, I think, though I’ve never seen it in this brushed silver form. Yes, we asked for one of these, too, but so far no luck. Custom made table by small companies are very hard to acquire – sometimes you have to wait months to even buy one. If you are a small manufacturer, which would rather do if you are already backordered? Send one to a review or a customer? We understand that. Customers come first.

How did it sound? Marvelous. It would only sound better at MY place!

Let’s not forget Dan Wright and his Modwright gear. His stuff is always consistently outstanding.

Andrew: Guru speakers from Sweden.  Approx 1 cubic foot, with 5 inch mid bass and small tweeter.  Slot loaded.  $1850 per pair. Played lots of low bass, didn’t sound too bad.  Used Sjofen electronics at $400 per box.

Still, this money buys Maggie 1.6s or Paradigm Studio 80s.  No contest.

James: These speakers were the talk of the show – if you are a Stereophile writer. At the end of the writers roundtable, almost all of them pointed to this room as the place to go. I had been there. The room was packed, not because of the great sound, but more because of the free food and booze. Ok. There was a lot of low bass and a large soundstage, but these speakers are designed to place in corners and against the wall to get that bass. Pretty limited application, but the speakers were also butt ugly. Little black boxes with no grills that looked more like a DIY prototype. At $1,850 the pair, there are several speakers here that are better sounding, better looking and can actually be used in a real room.

What was more interesting to me was the Continuo turntable sitting on a side table. Impossible to photograph because it was blocked by people inhaling Swedish Vodka and pastries, it sells fo $1,200.

I’ll check to see if we can get one of these for you.

Linda: Too crowded in there for me!

Andrew: DCM is aiming to re-enter the hi end market with a speaker line that tops out at under a grand.  The designer told me that he likes to keep things simple, using multiple 6.5inch woofers and second order crossovers.  Drivers made in house by Mitec.  Whole system for less than 3gs, sounded good enough for that.

Andrew: Wilson demo with new Watt Puppy 8s ($28k) and big BAT 150SEs.  Front end was a BAT CD player and prototype DAC.  Played 24bit master of live blues band (BAT recording).  Sounded like the band was in the room, maybe better.  Followed up with Peter McGrath masters.  Sounded like music. 

The demo showed that the quality of the recording is still the most important ingredient.  I’m not sure how this system sounds as a stereo with commercial recordings, but I sure did enjoy listening to the music making.  Focused on the playing, mike positioning, trumpet fingering, things like that.  This sounded so different from the Wilsons in the Lamm room I wouldn’t have believed they were the same speakers.  In the end, I don’t know what to think about these things - I probably like them, as I did the Puppy 7s.

Linda: This is what stereo is all about. It just sounds completely real to me. Top sound all around.

James: Big sound in a small room. These speakers need more room to live up to their potential. They sounded much better at the Montreal show where they were in a room several times this size. Listening here, I felt like I was behind the wheel of a Ferrari in an NY city traffic jam. Still, among the best sound at the show. Peter McGrath invited Linda and me to a private showing after show hours. We spend nearly two hours listening to music. Mikey Fremer dropped in as well and did about 10 minutes of side splitting comedy and impersonations of industry bigwigs that had our sides hurting, but most of the time we listened to some of Peter’s own recordings of a Spanish pianist he captured in concert. I had requested he play it again after he had played the 24bit tape in Montreal for me. It is simply the best solo classical piano recording I have ever heard by a pianist who is a monster talent. Mikey was bowled over as well. The whole time, there was no sales talk, not much talk about equipment at all – it was all about the art of music and was certainly the most enjoyable 2 hours for us at the show. But the Watt/Puppies reproduced each colossal ffff and the slightest ppp perfectly.

Peter also told me about Dave Wilson, who left a high paying corporate job, with his wife’s encouragement, to strike out on his own to pursue his passion. Enduring a few bankruptcies, he and his wife never gave up and persevered to make Wilson Audio among the very best. McGrath was the first Wilson dealer when he had Sound Components in Coral Gables, Florida, so he has been with Dave since the beginning. Like the Sasons I like so much, the Wilson company was born from a desire to improve on studio monitors for recording and mixing live music. perhaps that's why I like the Wilson Sound, too. McGrath believes in Dave Wilson the man as well as his product. I do, too. Peter offered to send us some Wilson’s. I think I’ll take him up on that.

Joe: Reimya room featured tuning by Harmonix. Possible review.

Joe: Caliburn Criterion with Copperhead arm settled on a new Stillpoints stand with a 200 lb. top shelf capacity and Stillpoints technology in the support bars for each shelf. Also on the stand are Concert Fidelity electronics which feature short run topology. Peak Consult Princess floorstanders were the last link in the chain.

James: I already talked about this room, so I’ll just say that Paul Wakeen is a guy who knows his stuff about resonance control and the vast difference it can make in the quality of your system sound.

Joe: Vandersteen and Audio Research. Laid back, classic! This is one of maybe two rooms where I really wanted to stay and listen more.

James. This is their new carbon fibre option. Carbon Fiber everywhere – cabinets and even the screens. Excellent sound as always.

Joe: AR in the Vandy room.

James: That’s a Clearaudio table. Purity and dynamics. Lovely audio.

Joe: KEF 207/2, nice sound in a challenging room. Interested in a Stereomojo review. The display pair is the first set to be brought into the US. 4 Way design with one driver dedicated to 200 hz – 400 hz. Price is $20k which includes a fancy Owners Kit to hold accessories and such. The kit also includes a performance graph for each individual speaker.

Joe: Chord and KEF 203/2 – the boxes are the fancy Owners Kit for the 207/2

We’re not done!

MORE STEREOMOJO COVERAGE TO COME:

WE TAKE YOU TO THE STEREOPHILE WRITER’S ROUNDTABLE

WHERE ONE OF THEM SAID:

“THE US HIGH-END INDUSTRY WILL BE OUT OF BUSINESS IN A FEW YEARS!”

We have voted on the Best of Show categories.

Click here to see the winners!