Best and Worst sound at the CES Show 2004

I would put the Joule/Vandersteen 5A room as being the most long term listenable of all the rooms. It had a natural, easy and well balanced tone with the best soundstaging of all the rooms. The speakers simply vanished as the music began to play. That room redefined the word, "musical."

I could own that room and never want for more. Considering the price of the 5A's, they once again make a mockery of costlier speakers, a feat Richard Vandersteen has done since he started in the business. No wonder customers love him and competetors hate him.

Actually, I never do any serious listening on the first two days of the CES/The SHOW, allowing for proper setup, tweaking, and "burn-in" of the gear. The improved fidelity after the first two days can be quite noticeable!!

I'm sorry, the post should be 2005, NOT 2004 :)

I liked the Wilson/VTL system. There was great music being made when I was there. Some of the rooms that sounded bad were either cold gear, new gear, or poor set-up. Many rooms I went to that sounded bad were much better when I returned later for another musical choice and warmer gear. The Wilsons were stunning with their ability to produce music on such a grand scale. The Lamm/Wilson system was sweet, rich and very musical. The Avantgarde Meta Duo with the ONE.A amp was cranking on one-half a watt. Their sensitivity was 107db. They were the best I have heard the Avantgarde sound. The Manley room made great music in a very small room. This was one of the best rooms with the small space accomodation. The ESP Concert Grand at 40K was playing Lyle Lovett with Accuphase digital gear and had great slam, huge sense of space and very clean top end. So many rooms, so little time. The Gilmore Audio room with Gilmore audio electronics were much better this year than last. Their gear matches better with their speakers than what they used last year. The guitar was a bit thick in the midbass, image height was believable, and space was good. Overall a good musical sound. Last year they were just a bit thin IMHO. The Von Schweikert VR4-SR with an integrated amp from VAC was magical. One of the best low dollar sounds at the show were the VR4's. The speakers were 7995.00. The "Jupiter" by Duevel with VAC equipment was a bit dry sounding, but overall very musical and engaging. The sound was open and very fast. The bass in the Cabasse room was big, a bit bloated, but fun to listen to. The bass guitars sounded like they were on steroids as did the drums. The round monitors imaged very well, but I would have liked a more delicate and airey treble. I enjoyed hearing "Funeral for Friend" by Elton on the Von Schweikert VR9SE's. They were as good as I have heard that cut. The Talon Firehawk with big Electrocompaniet electronics "Nemo", was very clean and articulate. The best sound at the show.....without a doubt the MBL speakers with MBL gear was so effortless and clean that I had a hard time leaving as did the crew from TAS. Expect them to be writing about the speakers. Wayne Garcia, Jonathan Valin, and Neil Gader were there for a half hour and still there when I left for the safety of my ears. They were rocking out to 9" nails and the spl's must have been at 105-110db and going. The music was so elegant, dimensional, and pure that I could live with either of the 3 pairs we listened for the duration of my hearing and not want another speaker. They were really that good. Hear a pair if you can. All ears, Jallen

Nrchy I have a pair of the original 3 sided Starsound amps like those at the show. The price depends on the resistors used in the signal path. The pair I have were built with the finest Vishay's available and with out their normal jackets..3 years ago these amps as built were less than 8k for the pair. I am a dealer...Tom