Panditji, psoonee and I were going through most of the show together. We tested the same music on all the speakers, to hear whether the speakers were getting the following things right:
i) WA Mozart- The Abduction of the Seraglio (Orchestra of St Martin in the Fields, SACD), to test for depth of soundstage (the vocals are in the 2nd row), as well for macrodynamics.
ii) Gordian Knot- Arsis. This opens with a 40 hZ fretless bass note and stays in the lower register for quite long, followed by a quick run to the high A on the 14th fret (220 hZ0, revealing discontinuities in the crossover region.
iii) Tool- Jambi. Bass slam and instrument separation, from among the 2 best recorded hard rock albums ever (the other being Rage Against the Machine's debut).
iv) Keith Jarrett- La Scala. An uncharacteristically dry (i.e. not drenched with reverb) ECM recording. Testing whether the appropriate scale and size of the piano are reproduced, along with microdynamics.
We also heard a lot of the usual audiophile pablum in the rooms, with one notable exception, Lakozy
.
Ill write down whatever I can remember:
1. Amphion- The smaller speakers (4 midrange driver) imaged like crazy and were extreme VFM at 65k. I didnt enjoy the larger ones much, to be honest.
2. Auro 3D- The demo of Bach was quite nice, with height ambience from the cathedral translating very well. Didnt really hear that much difference in movies.
3. Steinway Lyngdorf S Series- I was looking forward to this the most, and it did not disappoint. The most dynamic speaker I have heard, ever. There was this Michael Buble bluray they were playing in which he moves the mic a couple of inches from his mouth, and you could immediately hear the imaging change with pinpoint clarity. Very impressed- I wish I had 30 lakhs to burn.
4. Vienna Accoustics The Kiss- My favourite speaker at the show, despite the godawful setup (misaligned speaker drivers). Excellent imaging, soundstage beyond the speaker boundaries, even respectable bass. Plus they look unbelievable.
5. McIntosh/Sonus Faber- Terrible, terrible room placement, on the short wall. Pricing was also crazily marked up.
6. Burmester- Laughably average speakers, especially at the price point (90 lakhs)- reminded me of the Magico/Devialet disappointment last year. Unfriendly dealer too.
7. Oppo Digital- Finally got to hear the PM-1 headphones that everyone has been raving about. I was streaming low bitrate mp3s using Bluetooth, and was getting some distortion through the HA-1 headphone amp, so wouldnt comment.
8. Lakozy- As always, the nicest guys at the show. Had tons of wonderful music on their server (some of it was mine, from the last time I visited the showroom
). The best speakers for rock at the show here- Revel Performas
We didnt get to hear the Joseph Audios which werent hooked up, or the Audio Vision room, which I couldnt even find! Saw Burge hanging out- should have asked him.
One more note- pricing seems to be converging to global pricing. The Oppos, Clearaudio turntable, Vienna Acoustics, etc. were close to what one would pay in the US. There were some distributors (who you could easily identify) who were selling only to the super rich, and whose pricing was insane, but on the whole, an excellent sign for the industry.
