Top 5 systems heard at the show?

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Originally posted by RICHYH:
Was the AudioNet-Wilson Benesh any good? Up with Naim 552 etc or not?

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No, not remotely. WB failed to make any music this year. Last year was good (with both AudioNet and Chord -- AudioNet worked), this year wasn't. Bloody tricky room, but it was just miles off.

Here's my summary:
A very enjoyable show -- one of the nicest we've ever been to. Noticeably less crowded and mellower than recent years, but still plenty happening -- one just didn't feel suffocated and exhausted after the first hour. We started at the bottom, and worked our way up to the top, stopping anywhere which caught our ears.

Standouts:
Creek / Epos -- Rega 3, Nait-a-like, M12s. Small-scale system which just got on with the job in a bouncy, likeable way. Worked really well -- actually rather better than Rega's own (slightly more expensive IIRC) "little" system.

Dynaudio -- Naim CDX2, XPS2, 252, SC2, 300 (on Hutter!), Contour S3.4. Vivid, powerful, gutsy, fast, textured. No "woob" or hang-on at all. Great system, in spite of tall, ported speakers working about 9" from the wall. Could have sat here all day. Occurred to me that this was the same room which Mana had in 2000, so... (cue Twilight Zone theme). Very irritating Dynaudio rep.

Living Voice -- mad TT, mad valve bits, shiny ribbon cables everywhere, presided over by a seriously detached individual who seemed completely in his own world, and insisted on manually mis-cuing every track. System was reminiscent of a "good Naim on a good day" type of thing -- much that was seductive. A more obvious case of a turntable (or something) mistiming I have never heard, however.

Neat -- Well Tempered?, ?pre?, ECS "ex-Stealth" power, Ultimatum 7s. Wicked. Could have sat here all day too. Thanks to Bob for grinning a lot -- hard not to in that room.

Naim -- in the big room, somehow managed to recapture the quality they achieved there in 2000, but which has eluded them since. Interesting power amp swapping excersise between 250, 300 and 500. At no stage was it less than excellent, although changing the amps made big improvements. I couldn't help wondering about SoundBases under the DBLs though... This was the fourth occasion I have heard DBLs, and as always I was struck by how small, precise and intimate they go when the music demands it. You kind of expect this of the SL2, but not from a really big box. The "full orchestra" piece was utterly captivating. Nice "window case" models of CDS3 and 552 which you could knock to make the suspension wobble, and wobble they did -- I would estimate at least a 15 second decay time. Better than the Science museum!

Un-Standouts:

Castle / Electrocompaniet -- er... no.

Henley Designs -- Project RPM9, Roksan Caspian, Vienna Acoustics "pretty" speakers. I have never heard the base line in Level 42's "World Machine" so comprehensively de-pitched. Timing was OK, but bass notes just ended up like drum hits, removing the sense from the song, and rendering the other bits pointless. Very odd.

Richard Dane's shoes -- 'nuff said (this from my wife).

Random impressions:

Loads of tellys all over the place. However, the only screen we saw which wasn't doing that horrible "fat" distortion on pictures was Naim's. Doesn't anyone else notice?

Loads of vinyl in evidence. Probably over 50% of non-AV rooms had some sort of turntable. This is a big improvement. Since Naim now sell vinyl (not to mention TT PSUs and a tone arm), it's high time they brought at least one turntable to shows. Any bets on next year?

No Mana, no Linn. Prototype new Roksan Radius turntable (new arm, lots of ClearAudio-type acrylic) hidden in a corner of the Henley Designs static display next to a Xerxes X which now appears to have MUCH softer suspension (you could wobble it!).

Fun day, and 2 missing Jan Akkerman albums to add to the collection. When we got back, we put them on, and it sounded fab. Perspective, eh.


Best;

Mark

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Originally posted by Mark Ellis-Jones:
[QUOTE] Originally posted by RICHYH:

Naim -- in the big room, somehow managed to recapture the quality they achieved there in 2000, but which has eluded them since. Interesting power amp swapping excersise between 250, 300 and 500. At no stage was it less than excellent, although changing the amps made big improvements. I couldn't help wondering about SoundBases under the DBLs though... This was the fourth occasion I have heard DBLs, and as always I was struck by how small, precise and intimate they go when the music demands it. You kind of expect this of the SL2, but not from a really big box. The "full orchestra" piece was utterly captivating. Nice "window case" models of CDS3 and 552 which you could knock to make the suspension wobble, and wobble they did -- I would estimate at least a 15 second decay time. Better than the Science museum!



Best;

Mark

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Mark

My soundbases for the DBLs are hidden in a cupboard. After many trials I´m convinced that they ruin more than they improve. This became so obvius when the 552 arrived. Much more music and information whithout the bases.

As usual, try for yourself if possible.

/Erik

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Originally posted by Mark Ellis-Jones:
Un-Standouts:

Richard Dane's shoes -- 'nuff said (this from my wife).

Best;

Mark

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Why, thank you Mark. Were they the Gucci's or the R M Williams boots?

I feel a banning coming on.....

Personally I really came away thinking that two systems really lived upto or exceeded expectations:

1. VPI/Border Patrol/Living Voice setup. In my opinion the "best of the day". Sounded very musical but also with incredible detail, dynamics etc etc.

2. TACT digital amp. Bit like the digital equivalent of the VPI/BP/LV kit, just not quite as fun to listen to. Being fair, only cost maybe half the amount and as I only have CDs now, would be far more useful to me.


Nope, I'm not going to include any Naim gear here as it rather underwhelmed me. Frankly I couldn't here any PRAT from ANY of the systems (whether Naim or not), probably a side effect of the hotel. So maybe in different environments the Naim gear would sound better.

For me the DBLs sounded like they were suffering from serious levels of cabinet resonances, which really put me off (the SL2s certainly didn't suffer from this). In comparison, I thought the SL2s made instruments sound like they were playing through a Yamaha synthesiser. Again, probably an effect of the hotel as against the system. Maybe I just don't like Naim speakers...

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Originally posted by Richard Dane:Why, thank you Mark. Were they the Gucci's or the R M Williams boots?

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God knows -- If I was au fait with that sort of thing I'd have been in the Castle room buying the Electrocompaniet "Essex-look" boxes. Your shoes were relatively subtle, though -- there was one bloke wearing a suit!

Leave off the RM Williams' boots - some things you just don't criticise...

(TC, currently wearing the Veal Calf Craftsman (he ain't happy ) in black... try www.bootsonline.com.au for a much cheaper source than you can get in the UK, Richard... )

TC '..'
"Girl, you thought he was a man, but he was a Muffin..."

TC,

thanks for the link. It's not really the UK prices which annoy me (crazy though they are...) but the fact that much of the range isn't imported here. Luckily I managed to persuade my sister to pick up a couple of pairs for me on her last trip to Australia... She's a star!!

Richard

Boots... getting really off-topic now!

Yeah, point taken about getting RMW boots in the UK. It's expensive and the choice is very limited. I think we're stuck with basic Yard boots and standard (Yearling) Craftsmen, whereas our Aussie friends enjoy a much greater choice.

For the record, the Veal Calf Craftsmen cost about £120, plus P&P (£15) plus VAT (£20ish - based upon shipping value which was noted as $150Au IIRC). Which adds up to £155, which is still less than I can buy their most basic Yard Boot in Glasgow (£175, I think they are). Once you know your size (as you do) you're laughing. You can buy Yard Boots for around £80 plus P&P (and VAT, sadly). So, very reasonable for boots which might just last you 60 years...

TC '..'
"Girl, you thought he was a man, but he was a Muffin..."

Mmmmm... Woomeras look nice. I could go with those.

Best;

Mark

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Yeah, point taken about getting RMW boots in the UK. It's expensive and the choice is very limited.

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I think you'll find that it's the RM Williams stores that are expensive. Their prices in Aus are also about 20-30% more than in other shops stocking their boots. If you do a search on saddleries in Australia you'll probably find your boots cheaper than the shop linked above.

Is this just a way to post a link to pictures of expensive Hobby Horses?

I thought that was off limits these days...

Herman

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Originally posted by herm:
Is this just a way to post a link to pictures of expensive _Hobby Horses_?

I thought that was off limits these days...

Herman

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Herm,

For pictures you want the other thread called Bristol Show - The Pictures

Guess you happy with your gear (Naim) I mean being in the Netherlands and all

Regards
Mat

Mat,

if you really don't know what I was alluding to, when I mentioned pix of Hobby Horses , you're a very lucky fellow. It's a little bit of Forum History, from the days of yore.

As to my location, if we're talking about gear availability, especially second hand, I guess I could be happier. In that case I'd rather be in Tonyland.

Herman

Richard,
good to see you wear good ol' Aussie boots but do the Naim version have a din socket ?