New York Audio & AV Show '12 Show Report

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Re: New York Audio & AV Show '12 Show Report

Postby kabubi » Wed Apr 18, 2012 12:51 pm

Rhapsody/Bob didn't participate also, tama ba Tito?
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Re: New York Audio & AV Show '12 Show Report

Postby mullard88 » Wed Apr 18, 2012 9:16 pm

Hi ttommy,

May i request for a more detailed description on the sound of the Miyajima OTL Quad 57 combination?
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Re: New York Audio & AV Show '12 Show Report

Postby ttommy » Wed Apr 18, 2012 11:13 pm

kabubi wrote:Rhapsody/Bob didn't participate also, tama ba Tito?

Bob, like a lot of other retailers and manufacturers were watching the turnout of this show to see whether it'll deliver the goods. Part of the reason, I believe, is there's been a lot of BAD experiences with this *other* show, not this one that's sponsored by the Chester Group.

mullard88 wrote:May i request for a more detailed description on the sound of the Miyajima OTL Quad 57 combination?

Thanks for asking mullard, let me start by saying this was the sound that stuck with me, even now, a couple days after the show. The room was probably 18ft x 10ft and the system was setup along the long wall. Unless you were sitting in that single chair in the sweet spot some 6 ft away from the speakers, all bets were off, you'll get good sound but not "the revelation." The room was perfectly sized for this setup as it reinforced the bass a little bit without being boomy. I estimate these Quads went down to high 30s (Hz) and that was enough for most the music played (there were no symphonic warhorses played here). What's important to note is that given just the Quads in this room, you already have good bass, something I've heard large Quads in "mismatched rooms" not deliver.

Quads being point-source electrostats, you don't get the "upscaled" size of images as would other electrostats. By themselves, Quad mids are pure and coherent and music is rendered as if a painting were done by the same sized brush (or closely sized groups of brushes). No wide "swaths" of music here where detail is lost... on the other hand, no nano-resolution nitty-gritty microscopy either that gets inconsistent with the whole. Quads let you see the big picture and zoom in as you'd like. But paired with solid-state gear, oftentimes, you get a system that's very revealing to the point that you start noticing its flaws (lack of bass, dynamic slam, etc).

This is where OTLs come in. OTLs have that speed and excitement coupled with an acoustic purity that's hard to match among tube designs. My personal experience with Atmasphere MA-1s felt like "mainlining music" as if it were a drug that's injected directly to your brain. Speed + Purity makes for an exhilarating match. OTLs are very picky however and with speakers that are less than copacetic, there is no magic at all, just a dull lifelessness and problematic frequency response. With these Quad 57s, the Miyajima OTLs served as a perfect engine. If you consider that electrostats have very light membranes then pair them with an amp that has very high slew rates, then what you get for is a jump factor that is easily as fast as SET amps driving horns or single-drivers without the (typical) colorations of the either driver. In short, it feels like you're not wearing a thick prophylactic while engaged in an intimate, musical act :lol:

I forgot to mention a couple downsides in my post-- HEAT from the OTLs and the height of the soundstage which only went up to say 48 inches creating the impression like you're on the balcony watching performers on the stage below. This can easily be remedied by having a lower chair although I think the ideal is to probably to raise and stack these speakers, tilting them forward a little bit. As it is however, this was one magical combo.
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Re: New York Audio & AV Show '12 Show Report

Postby dimfer » Wed Apr 18, 2012 11:45 pm

audio reporting at it best. :rock:
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Re: New York Audio & AV Show '12 Show Report

Postby mullard88 » Thu Apr 19, 2012 7:00 am

Thank you Tommy. That was very informative.

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Re: New York Audio & AV Show '12 Show Report

Postby Audiogeek » Thu Apr 19, 2012 10:42 am

Very very interesting philosophy in audio. battery-powered may not be new, but seems like
dc is in, green and clean. veloce is the second company i've read on pure battery powered
preamp using traditional and reliable preamp tubes like 12ax7, as well as 6922 (by another
brand).

thanks for the valuable info ttommy.

ttommy wrote:Veloce partnered with YG Acoustics in this demo and the combination was excellent. In hindsight, I must admit YG seems to have less of its own sound compared to Wilson although I'm not sure these Kipods would be as dynamic as the Sashas. Veloce is a new company to watch, they definitely have a clear cut direction with the philosophy Avoid AC power at all costs in every way possible – DC rules. I would've loved to hear this system driven by vinyl.

Image

Thanks for reading!
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Re: New York Audio & AV Show '12 Show Report

Postby ttommy » Fri Apr 20, 2012 1:58 am

Thanks Ding and you're welcome, Sam. Btw, Audiogeek, don't forget our own local genius Mang Rod also makes a battery powered preamp based on the 1G6GT tube. Unlike typical preamp tubes like the 12AX7, this tube apparently was designed specifically for use with battery power. Thanks again!
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