Sony had several
rooms on this hallway. One was promoting their Hi-Res Audio products with several
stations set up for people to play with, as well as attendants to explain the
value of high resolution audio to people just getting acquainted with the high-end. With a consumer friendly brand name like Sony, they are offering a portal
for newcomers to the whole high end industry. Across the hall once again they
showed their very high end near-wall 4K video projector that throws a
spectacular image across a large wall for $50,000 or somewhere thereabouts. No
sign of this technology trickling down, yet, and with 8K and another
technology developing in the wings, it may become obsolete before it ever
does.
With his
equipment arriving at the show undamaged this time, David Cope presented the Audio
Note UK line in stereo with the speakers set in the corners as is
the norm for this design. Featured was the P2SE Signature which is a 6L6
parallel tube power amp with an attenuator, allowing it to be driven directly
by a source component if you wish to eliminate a preamp in a single source
system. It puts out 18 wpc and costs about $6000US. That's what was new here
and the music was typically warm, inviting and very satisfying. The simplicity
of the presentation and David's low-key approach had visitors lingering here
to enjoy the music.
No, the Tri-Art
room was not a seminar room on speaker anatomy, although it sure looked like
one. They premiered their new D'Appolito configured open baffle speaker that
was more than it seemed. If I'm not mistaken, the separate crossover on the
floor is tri-wired from the amp. Notice the wooden Tinker Toy cable risers and
how carefully the cables are arranged and strung up through the backbone of
the speaker. The brushed metal pieces at the floor allowed for threaded spikes
and added stability by increasing the footprint. Un-noticed, but not un-heard
was a super-tweeter barely visible just above the midrange and below the domed
tweeter. Cognitively, I cannot recognize test tones that high, but the music
had an airy openness with unlimited height in the soundstage that tipped its
hand. Having just finished my review of the PureAudioProject open baffle
speaker mentioned earlier, the sound here was very familiar with its
transparency, openness and dynamics, but the Tri-Art speaker had a better top
end due to the super tweeter, and was more seamless in its presentation. The
speakers are $3400 plus another $600 for the crossovers, totaling $4000, just
a little more than the speakers I reviewed. Aesthetically, the Tri-Art is more
challenging to my sense of style. Perhaps if I lived with them for a while I
would feel differently, but there is a little too much Picasso in the backbone
and baffle. It is hard to argue with the sound they produce until you reach
their lower limit which is probably about 40 Hz. In the Canadian Exhibit,
Tri-Art had a smaller version of this speaker as well as a box speaker or two
on silent display. A smaller version supplemented with a powered subwoofer
might make a more formidable combination.
The other
component of note here was the Tri-Art turntable ($2500 with one arm). The use
of naked Plyboo on the dual plinths here, even on the tonearm, certainly keeps
the cost down. While I've seen this table before, I had a good listen to it
here and took note of some of the quality fittings and features. Their use of
carefully crafted isolation footers is reminiscent of the Stage 1 mods I've
applied to my Linn. I also noted this is a two motor belt driven design. Their
record clamp is comprised of brass, copper and bamboo for multiple constrained
layer damping. I'd love to try that one out on my Linn. A final note about the
Tri-Art electronics here, this was a mid-range series enclosed in Plyboo
chassis. Their higher line which incorporates the Plyboo and concrete chassis
is under revision so we can keep an eye out for that next time around.
This being a
weekend of basketball and Easter Sunday, I'll call it a night here so I won't
fall asleep during the championship game on Monday night. Duke versus Wisconsin!
(My bracket calls for Duke.) It should be a really good one. Stay tuned for
much more Montreal coverage in the days ahead!
---> Click here to
see part 3 of Rick Becker's Salon Son & Image report.
High-Performance Audio Reviews
