Cloney's Sound and Vision Show 2011

[tony]

Could only spend a little over an hour and half at the show on sunday morning. Similar thoughts to a lot of the thread here with regard to cost,lars etc except the headphone section which I thought was fantastic. I really liked the various headphones and the little lyr valve amp. Sorry I didnt bring something I wanted to listen to with me. I liked the fact you could listen to every type of unit regardless of cost.

Cyrus room I thought was disappointing as they just had one streamer. Can't understand how they were not demoing their mono x300's etc.

Does anybody actually buy €70K Kharma's? Do they have a room large enough and private enough to hear them?

Fair play to cloneys it must take a lot of effort.

PS Lars played a track from a supertramp album from 10yrs ago and advised it is one of their hidden gems.

[Claus]

Could only spend a little over an hour and half at the show on sunday morning. Similar thoughts to a lot of the thread here with regard to cost,lars etc except the headphone section which I thought was fantastic. I really liked the various headphones and the little lyr valve amp. Sorry I didnt bring something I wanted to listen to with me. I liked the fact you could listen to every type of unit regardless of cost.

Cyrus room I thought was disappointing as they just had one streamer. Can't understand how they were not demoing their mono x300's etc.

Does anybody actually buy does €70K Kharma's? Do they have a room large enough and private enough to hear them?

Fair play to cloneys it must take a lot of effort.

PS Lars played a track from a supertramps album from 10yrs ago and advised it is one of the hidden gems.

He also played an Elvis track with studio chat. Anyone know where it might have been from? Cheers!

[mcq]

I attended the show on Saturday and was surprised at how the time flew by. It was well organised and a pleasure to browse through the rooms. A number of rooms stood out for me.

The Absolute Sounds room with the Sophias, the Devialet amp/DAC and a Metronome transport sounded really good and was, arguably, the most involving sound for me with not a hint of harshness. A very expansive, yet effortless sound that I found intoxicating.

The room with the Kharma Mini Exquisites was, in my opinion, rather less involving. Perhaps it was the music or the volume levels but I just didn't feel emotionally engaged like I was with the Sophias.

The smaller Kharma room with the new Elegance DB7s was much more impressive and one that I kept returning too. Lots of clarity and detail and warmth and emotion, I found it very satisfying to spend time with this system. I wonder, though, just how much the Meridian CD player contributed to the sound. I bought the 808.3 earlier this year and can attest to its warm, smooth yet detailed sound.

It was good to see Jean-Christophe Crozel there with his masterpiece, the wonderful IT-15, and chat with him about his work. The small Lecontoures sounded good but I agree with the comments about the loud volume. When I play music at home, the volume knob never goes past eleven o'clock, but Jean-Christophe was there eagerly winding the knob past twelve o'clock and on towards three o'clock, to the detriment of the music (in my opinion). He obviously likes his music loud but that's not the best way to demonstrate what the IT-15 can do. It's a subtle amp which demands long listening sessions to get a sense of its capabilities. And, as good as the Lecontoures were, I get the distinct impression that if they were substituted for, say, a pair of Sonus Fabers, we would get a truer sense of the IT-15's very singular qualities.

Finally, I was seriously impressed by the Raidho C1s in the Nordost room. A very detailed sound that was never wearing, there was an extraordinary impression of the live event. Very compact speakers which take up very little space on their ingeniously designed stands. I enjoyed wandering through all the rooms but the Wilson Sophias, the Kharma DB7s and the Raidhos were the standout speakers for me.

[jkeny]

.......
To more serious Hi Fi matters.
It is with great sadness that i announce the retirement of my Yound DAC....sadness over and on to more joyous matters!
I have just listened to Hard Nose the Highway by Van Morrison for the umpteenth time and i have never had such an enjoyable listening experience.
All credit for this goes to the new JKDAC which i picked up from John after the show.
From now on the discussion on digital versus analogue source is not relevant anymore, using Jplay and Johns new DAC with valve amplification and electrostatics ticks all my boxes.

The show has been a real win win for me so lets hope next years is at least as good.

Great, Pearse, thanks for posting. I'm glad the JKDAC32 ticked all your boxes on your home system & you find it better than the Young DAC. It should also improve some more over the next couple of weeks burn-in :)

[dubber]

It was good to see Jean-Christophe Crozel there with his masterpiece, the wonderful IT-15, and chat with him about his work.

I must say he came across as a thoroughly decent guy. I really enjoy my Lavardin amp ... it was good to meet the man behind it.

[Ken Moreland]

.......
To more serious Hi Fi matters.
It is with great sadness that i announce the retirement of my Yound DAC....sadness over and on to more joyous matters!
I have just listened to Hard Nose the Highway by Van Morrison for the umpteenth time and i have never had such an enjoyable listening experience.
All credit for this goes to the new JKDAC which i picked up from John after the show.
From now on the discussion on digital versus analogue source is not relevant anymore, using Jplay and Johns new DAC with valve amplification and electrostatics ticks all my boxes.

The show has been a real win win for me so lets hope next years is at least as good.

Great, Pearse, thanks for posting. I'm glad the JKDAC32 ticked all your boxes on your home system & you find it better than the Young DAC. It should also improve some more over the next couple of weeks burn-in :)

Pearse, very impressed with how quickly you chose the JKDAC32 over the renowned Young Dac. Perhaps you'ld give us a fuller review when you get a chance. (You can see how I'm thinking here.)
John , nice link-up with Jplay.

KM

[jkeny]

Pearse, very impressed with how quickly you chose the JKDAC32 over the renowned Young Dac. Perhaps you'ld give us a fuller review when you get a chance. (You can see how I'm thinking here.)
John , nice link-up with Jplay.

KM

Thanks, Ken, it made sense to link up with the best playback software I know & they were happy to offer a 10% discount off their software for my customers.
Pearse, I'll email you!

[Diapason]

JK, just so I'm clear, can your dac be used with something like a Sonos system?

[jkeny]

JK, just so I'm clear, can your dac be used with something like a Sonos system?

No, it's more a high SQ replacement for the Sonos. My DACs have a USB input so they connect to your computer/laptop & have an analogue line level output that connects to your preamp/amp. You can stream music off the internet in the same way as the Sonos. You can remotely control the music selection & playback using a iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad, Android phone or any device that can control your playback software.

Alternatively, you can use your own DAC with my MK3 product which connects via USB to your computer & outputs digital signals to your DAC's digital input.

I guarantee you that this will easily beat the Sonos for sound quality or you get your money back without penalty - essentially it's a free home trial.

[Diapason]

Thank you sir. That's what I thought, but I was really enquiring for a guy I know who already has a Sonos system but is mulling over an external dac.

I, on the other hand, am a clean slate...