Floor-1
A
room- Linn Italia
An
Italian first for the Akurate speaker system, driven by
2105 amps, a Kisto pre/pro and a Unidisk 1.1 multichannel
universal player.
In a corner, a DVD feature on Linn was played on Unidisk's
1.1 smaller sibling, the Unidisk 2.1,
The two Linn universal sources, the 2.1 priced about 30%
less than the 1.1, are among the first European solutions
to the so-called "format war". The 1.1. seemed
really interesting; let's just hope the less expensive (while
not properly affordable) 2.1 to be almost as good…
In
a corner, a DVD feature on Linn was played on Unidisk's
1.1 smaller sibling, the Unidisk 2.1,
The two Linn universal sources, the 2.1 priced about 30%
less than the 1.1, are among the first European solutions
to the so-called "format war". The 1.1. seemed
really interesting; let's just hope the less expensive (while
not properly affordable) 2.1 to be almost as good…
B room- A&DT
Nice
surprise, the Genelec active speakers at an Italian Audio-Video
show; the distributor, which is mainly active in the pro
market, seems to be realising the potentiality of these
speakers on the AV consumer market.The sound was quite good,
actually, and active speakers are a really interesting solution
to the cable (and box) clutter problem, as it's easier and
less compromised to place in-wall signal level cables than
speaker-level ones.
G
room- Teac
An "open air" DV50 universal player stole the
gazes of those who have an interest in universal sources.
This player, which sports a stereo optimised signal path,
is another format war solver. The price is quite steep,
but this is a high quality product, built like the proverbial
tank, as it is usual for Teac.
I room- MPI Electronic
This
multichannel music room was showing the implementation of
a concept which we strongly endorse, the mix of high-tech
and vintage elements. A full McIntosh stack, including a
DVD-Audio player, was driving Heritage Klipsch speakers,
the front channels being the legendary Klipschorns. The
outcome was really showing the validity of the high-tech/vintage
concept.
L room- High Fidelity Italia
The Tannoy Yorkminster speakers, equipped with the optional
supertweeter, driven by a full stack of Accuphase products,
which included the DG38 Digital Voicing Equalizer, were
(almost) another instance of the above mentioned high-tech/vintage
concept. The DG38 was used to correct some slight room induced
colorations, correcting some resonances ant slightly tailoring
the high frequency response. The sound was limited by room
size and listening distance, but it was a fascinating experience
all the same. I think these speakers need a vast room to
breathe; this one wasn't a tiny one, but it certainly was
sub-optimal; a compromise we are happy to accept in order
to be able to provide the experience of a system such as
this to many people.
The DP67 is the new middle-of-the-range Accuphase digital
player, fitting between the DP55V Cdplayer and the DP77
SACD/CD player. I would have expected a SACD player, but
I guess Accuphase designers aren't satisfied with less expensive
SACD platforms.
The exhibitor told me a story which shows how much Accuphase
believes in high-res digital, and in the SACD format in
particular. The system, in its original configuration, was
CD only; after the visit of Accuphase executives and designers,
a DP77 SACD player was added, without even connecting it
to the DG38…
M room - D.M.L. Audio
The
pairing of Galactron electronics and Spendor speakers is
a classic for this distributor. This year the main speakers
were the smallest Spendor standmounts (S3/5), which showed
an almost incredible ability to fill a room which surely
wasn't small, and whih was constantly filled with listeners.
Another small system to keep an eye on, and another confirmation
of the fact that small speakers are far from dead.
01/A
room - S.I. Audio
Fulvio
Chiappetta is a well known name in the Italian underground/DIY
scene, having published many a design and a technical paper
on the magazines. He was showing the first "proper"
finished product under his company's name, an OTL integrated
amp, quite huge (the PSU was bigger than the CD player in
the system), featuring novel technology and a price, I am
told, which might be really interesting.
The
rest of the system was above suspect, a Sondek CD12 and
a pair of Dynaudio Special 25 speakers. My preconceived
idea about the fact that Dynaudios don't mate with valve
amp of less than monster driving abilities was debunked;
S.I. Audio's amp (a 60-watter) drove the speakers really
well, with clout and extension, but also with sweetness
and detail…The amp will be featured in our issue n.
8.
P
room - Rany Hi-Fi
In
this room Rany Hi-Fi were showing their statement system:
the AvantGarde Trio were partnered by a monster stack of
6 BassHorn subwoofers and by the VTL Siegfried amps, which
were positively dwarfed by the subwofers in size - they
told me even Luke Manley was surprised by that.
The
preamp was a VTL 7.5; the turntable was an Avid, equipped
with a Triplanar tonearm. The digital player was the Audio
Aero Prestige, the first production sample, I am told. This
player, costing more than 15000 Euro, converts the DSD signal
to PCM in order to be able to process it at 32bit/384 kHz
using proprietary algorithms.
The
sheer impact of the system was breathtaking; I have never
heard the helicopter in Pink Floyd's The Best Days Of Our
Lives/Another Brick In The Wall replayed with such realism.
Q
room- TecnoFuturo
Another
bravery prize to Tecnofuturo; you must have guts even to
think about setting up a system with JM-Lab Grande Utopia
Be in one of the Quark Hotel rooms. I am certain that the
speakers help in this task; these monsters play music with
an incredible delicacy, as if some of the qualities of small
speakers were built into a full-range statement speaker.
Obviously, such speakers at a show can't pull a disappearing
act, neither can they throw the 'stage I am sure they are
capable of. I also think that these speakers require top
partnering equipment; the Perreaux products which were being
used, while surely good, wouldn't be my first choice.
We
will try and listen to these speakers in better conditions;
we will surely keep an eye on their smaller siblings:
R
room- UK Distribution
Lots
of interesting stuff in the Opera-Unison room. First of
all, the demonstrated system, reasonable in price and size
composed of Unico series source and amps and Opera Quinta
speakers; a certain shut-in quality on the higher mid-range
was evident, but the system was musical and un-spectacular
in the positive sense.
Then,
two new products are worth being mentioned: the Unico multi-channel
hybrid amp, big, bold, well-finished and, again, reasonably
priced (an 8 chanel, hybrid, 90 watt per channel, bridgeable
amp for 5500 Euro, how do they do it?)
...and
the come-back of the Simply Two single-ended, EL-34 based
integrated amp, for which a really affordable price is announced
(think about an Unison/Opera SE system for less than 4500
Euro, source included…)
S
room- Marantz
The
most interesting part of the room were the new Marantz products:
the
new 7/9 series, which will be introduced by Ken Ishiwata
on our issue n. 5 (which is being prepared in English):
the
new, competitively priced CD5400, which is already being
touted as another budget wonder:
the
DV12-S2, a universal player, replacing both the DV12-S1
and the SA12-S1:
and
the DV8400, which is a worth successor to the first Marantz
universal player, the successful DV8300:
It's
worth mentioning that the SA17-S1 was to be seen in many
systems at the show, a compliment to this player's qualities.
A surprise: the return of Mordaunt-Short to the high-end
market sector - announced for 2004 are these speakers sporting
a Nautilus-inspired tweeter loading transmission line:
