Tír Na HiFi

Nice, but unlikely to be able to get there during the week days. :)

Have my class christmas play unfortunately.... Otherwise I would be there. If nothing else, just to hear a system I know, would never be within my budget!

I'll be there in the evening, pretending I still have a reason to attend high-end hifi demos!

Claus wrote: ↑Wed Dec 05, 2018 1:48 pm Have my class christmas play unfortunately.... Otherwise I would be there. If nothing else, just to hear a system I know, would never be within my budget!

It won't be the same without you heckling him!

Diapason wrote: ↑Wed Dec 05, 2018 5:44 pm I'll be there in the evening, pretending I still have a reason to attend high-end hifi demos!

Same. And same.

I have to say, if I'm being honest, I really didn't like the speakers. I like a bit of subtlety in most things but especially hifi. These speakers, as demoed, were not at all subtle. I'm sure there will be lots of fans for this type of sound of there but not me. It could well be Lars' choice of music for the evening, much of it not really music but a track of excessive drums, then excessive bass, then drum & bass! Even though it was also too loud I actually did nod off for a few seconds! It was when Lars played real music, one track by a young girl which I took to be about the shooting on Utoya Island 2011 of which she was a survivor. The other a live recording (Montreaux Jazz festival?) of Suzanne Vega. Both those tracks showed the musical abilities of the speakers rather than their technical and largely academic qualities.

the amp used, an integrated, seemed very capable and certainly delivered the goods.

What was interesting was the use of mains conditioners, good quality mains leads and isolation pucks. I've long been a convert to isolation (not just locking myself away in the man cave for long periods of time) and use decent racks, additional isolating feet and spikes to get the best out of equipment rather than simply upgrading. It's a long time ago I realised a bit of isolation can be the most cost effective upgrade available.

Anyway, Lars was Lars, his entertaining old self. If we had a drinking game for everytime he told us something was "baaaad" none of us would have driven home.

Argh now I’m even more annoyed I couldn’t go! I would have realised how bad my sound is....
Someone should tell him that all he needs is the Oscar Peterson track, and that's it!
Worrying if a set of speakers that start at 25K can’t blow you away....
Thanks Ivor, I must drop by next week for an in depth discussion....

Yeah, Thursday evening was very enjoyable, but then again I absolutely love the Lars show. Whatever he's demoing, he's always full of energy and enthusiasm, and it's always entertaining to see and hear him in full flow.

As for the speakers, there's a certain amount of baggage and expectation that comes with speakers at this price range (did anyone hear the RRP of the big pair? I'm assuming somewhere in the 50k - 70k range?) The expectation always colours my judgment for a while, for better AND for worse, and one listen will never really tell you what speakers of this calibre can really do.

In many ways I thought they were outstanding. Lars highlighted the areas the team were particularly trying to address in the design, and it seems clear that they worked. Speed was a big factor, reducing noise floor was another, and sure enough the speakers were lighting fast and incredibly open, giving a very clear window on the music. Dynamics were also excellent, from tiny details nearly buried in the mix to explosive drum whacks, it was all there and nothing was ever swamped.

I'd certainly agree that the music selections were more geared to demoing aspects of sound rather than demoing music, and that factor, coupled with my seated position very far off-axis, left me wondering whether I found them really convincing musically. All the individual pieces were there, the sonics were excellent in virtually all of the ways we talk about these things, but from my seat I never really got that magical sense of real musicians in front of me. Of course, my usual approach of using small classical forces to get a handle on that wasn't possible on Thursday, so who knows? Again, the track Ivor mentioned with the young girl singing was outstanding, so I'm pretty sure they can pull this off with the right material. I just would have loved to hear more of it.

If I had this much money to spend, would I buy them? Well, if anyone would like to donate the money I'd be happy to report back!

Just for the record I had no idea what the speakers cost so no expectations, I assumed about €25k but I've found that cost doesn't always match performance. I really have to stress the above is a purely personal opinion, they're just not my kind of speaker. They did do all that was required admirably but I couldn't live with them.