Guest Posted October 18, 2013 Posted October 18, 2013 Wow what a day. I've never been exposed to so much audio, and so many audio enthusiasts in one place at the one time. Met a whole heap of SNA members, some old, some new, and met a massive amount of industry members - we're very fortunate for the amount of great people our industry and hobby holds. I managed to snap nearly every room, but after a long day I need to eat (and maybe a beer or two) before I sit down and filter through the photos. A great day, and if you've been procrastinating attending, do yourself a favor and come along. 4
Spearmint Posted October 18, 2013 Posted October 18, 2013 Thanks for the photos Tony, great coverage!
Guest Muon Posted October 18, 2013 Posted October 18, 2013 (edited) Nice pics! And good to see Earle finished the KT150 amp for the occasion, and it looks very lovely. Edit: "Very lovely" sounds a bit odd, lets say it looks awesome Edited October 18, 2013 by datafone
Steam Posted October 18, 2013 Posted October 18, 2013 Find of the show in the krispy room If my wife see's this she will make me buy if for her. 2
Grumpy Posted October 18, 2013 Posted October 18, 2013 Wow thanks for the pics Tony. The VAF room looked busy
Guest Posted October 18, 2013 Posted October 18, 2013 For now, easiest way to upload my photos: Australian Audio & AV Show 2013 Photos
Rob181 Posted October 18, 2013 Posted October 18, 2013 Tidbit. Me thinks he meant titbit...but I digress...Rob
Steam Posted October 18, 2013 Posted October 18, 2013 My show summary/ thoughts I hate audiophile Muzak. Venue is better than Sydney show except that there are no toilets available on floors 3 and 4 - you have to go back downstairs - annoying. Best sound. As per sydney show probably the TAD room although The Yamaha with the focal scala utopia was also very good. Dynaudio evidence excellent although they were playing the same three tracks. If I go back on Sunday I must take a track and beg them to play it. The magico S3's were also sounding good although they kept playing female vocal. I hate audiophile female vocal. The Sgr also put up a good effort but again the female vocal Which is why I loved the PCM / moon audio room. They were deliberately playing real music. Top marks for that for me. The sound was also very good although not traditional audiophile. But damn fun. The Wilson audio alexia's with the d'agistino amps and Dcs front end were dissapointing. It was ok butnothing special. I have heard the Wilson sacha's sound much better in different locations. So..... In any case I decided that the new d'Agostino pre is pure porn and should be banned. In ten years I hope one shows up on the used market - then it will be mine. Also disappointed by the audio research sonus faber combo. The guys in that room seemed unprepared and had a very few CDs to choose from. I have owned a ref 110 and this setup did the new ref150 no justice. Actually I think I just don't go for the sonus fabers. They always sound slow to me - no dynamics. Dissapointment: no sign of Raidho. There was a banner with Raidho logo but no sign of any speakers. I thought they were almost best sound at Sydney and wanted to hear them again. Massive disappointment: the Kef room had a beautiful pair of Blades in red. But they were on static display. WTF! Why drag a unit like this to a show and not use it? More thoughts may follow as they come to mind. Certainly worth going back on Sunday N 3
caminperth Posted October 18, 2013 Posted October 18, 2013 What are your highlights and lowlights of the show? I'll start with.. Highs Osborne Speakers - best sounding of the show Red Spade Audio's new speakers Meeting Earle and seeing his handiwork first hand Discovering Magnaplaner speakers - amazing imaging, though not sure about the amount of gear needed to support them - Sub, EQ ect Lows Dynaudio 100k speakers - sounded past woeful Listening to Magnaplaner's with the EQ turned off.. Not having enough time to stick around and listen to the Osborne room some more... Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk - now Free 1
lucmor444 Posted October 18, 2013 Posted October 18, 2013 Good summary Dr Nick. I also thought TAD probably had the best sound and was cross the Blade was not playing (I was given the excuse that they were not run in yet). dCS also vied with the agostinos for pure porn.
LHC Posted October 18, 2013 Posted October 18, 2013 Thanks for all the photos and show reports. From the photos many exhibits face the challenge of speakers placement in those tight spots. Glad to see some brought along their own room treatments.
Guest Posted October 18, 2013 Posted October 18, 2013 I also echo the comments on TAD. This was a stand out for me, along with what I believe was Vienna Acoustics. Cannot even remember in this tired state, which room they were in. Finally, the Signature i90's from VAF (pictured below), I was really blown away by, given their simplicity and small size. Admittedly, they of course lack bottom end, but what they do above that is remarkable. For an office, small apartment, or even add a "platform" sub - and you wouldn't be disappointed. 1
lucmor444 Posted October 18, 2013 Posted October 18, 2013 I thought the Dynaudios were very good but liked TAD the best.
Steam Posted October 18, 2013 Posted October 18, 2013 Those crazy " Naim's" were at it again. Its hard to see in the pic because the plugs are all black but the the entire setup is running off a single PowerPoint. That's 8 plugs all drawing from 1 PowerPoint. If I tried this at work I would have my lab shut down by the OH&S police. The naim rep said its so that they all share the same earth. Does this make any sense? Surly the adjacent power point on a std double GPO would also share the same earth? The system sounded good but not special. I would be interested to hear the electronics with different speakers. Doh! Sorry no idea why the pic is upside down. I just hope you can see it. N
andrewhollo Posted October 18, 2013 Posted October 18, 2013 + 1 for TAD. The fellow who designs them gave great insights into how fraught it is translating the intentions of both musician and recording engineer into recorded sound. Fascinating. And amazing gear. I spent a long time in there.
shirane Posted October 18, 2013 Posted October 18, 2013 Couple of photos. Apologies for the bad quality - too much jitter!
acg Posted October 18, 2013 Posted October 18, 2013 I concur that TAD was comfortably the best sounding room today. The Vienna Acoustics room was very smooth and rich but I must say that most vendors had their work cut out for them with the small rooms and big speakers. The small speakers often sounded better than the larger ones. Anthony 2
Krispy Audio Posted October 18, 2013 Posted October 18, 2013 Wow you Melbournians sure know how to get into the swing of things. Friday was an absolute whirlwind of a day and I assume this is only a taste of what the weekend will bring! It's been great to put a face to some of the names. No one's brought any vinyl in as yet so don't be a stranger - more than happy to give your favourite album a bit of airtime.
illusion Posted October 18, 2013 Posted October 18, 2013 Some more pics from the show, my personal highlights were: The lecture by Mark Doehmann. The amazing Dynaudio Evidence speakers. The Ultrasone Edition 12 headphones. Everything in the Audio Note room.
sleach Posted October 18, 2013 Posted October 18, 2013 (edited) Another vote for TAD here: fantastic! I also enjoyed the Vivaldi DCS front end with the Dan D'agostino amps and Wilson alexia set up - sounded beautiful (although I can't stand that "no refuge" track!) Speakerbits had a slightly questionable system but get my vote for music selection. The Mola mola and Gauder combo in the PMG room sounded great too. A happy surprise were the tiny VAF I90s. How do they sound like that at such a small size? I would like some! Lowlights: I did not care for the Vivid speakers and the Yamaha/focal setup left me cold. Sent from my iphone Edited October 18, 2013 by sleach
warrengday Posted October 18, 2013 Posted October 18, 2013 PRACTICAL TIP How to get to the show (I popped into the hotel at lunchtime and it wasn't obvious). Walk into hotel from the main entrance on Collins St. Walk down the stairs in front of you. Walk down a second flight and there is the entrance to the show.
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