Florida Audio Expo 2020 Show Report
Florida Audio Expo 2020 Show In Tampa, Florida.

Valve Amplification Company, Von Schweikert Audio, Esoteric, Kronos, Masterbuilt, Critical Mass And The Audio Company
Welcome to the Big Room!
Report By Steven R. Rochlin

  Welcome to the BIG ROOM! You've read about it, perhaps you've been fortunate enough to have heard the astounding VAC / Von Schweikert combo at one of the many shows around the world. The mating of the big arse Von Schweikert speakers with an abundance of VAC amplifiers. If you missed it, you're reeeeeally missed out... and should have been at the Florida Audio Expo 2020. This was the very last time to hear a truly amazing sound system, since Von Schweikert will no longer be bringing their insanely heavy and very large Von Schweikert Ultra 11 loudspeaker system ($325,000 per pair) to shows.

Based out of Sarasota Florida, a truly glorious place to live if I do say so myself (just did :) ), Valve Amplification Company (VAC) supplied their sensational Statement Phono Preamplifier ($80,000), Statement Line Preamplifier ($80,000) and Statement 452iQ stereo (or as a monoblock) power amplifier ($75,000 each). Oh, and within their room at FLAX 2020 VAC / Von Schweikert were using four of these astounding amplifiers! Umm, you ever-so-kind gentlemen know my home address, right?

Oh, but that's not all my dear friends.

You can't spell Success without Excess (ok, you can, yet they rhyme and mainly use the same letters so just amuse me here LOL), and so bring on the Von Schweikert V-12XS Shockwave subSchnauzers (subwoofers, $11,500 each and two were used for acoustic room compensation).

But wait, there's more! We haven't even begun to talk about the front-end source stuff. Esoteric's Grandioso P1x CD transport ($50,000), Grandioso D1x monoblock DAC ($50,000 per pair), and of course you'll want to use their G1 Grandioso clock too for good measure ($26,000). For music server / streamer / renderer duties the highly popular Aurender W20SE ($22,000) was put to good use.

But wait there's... Kronos' Pro trutnable with Black beauty tonearm and Ultracap Power Supply ($51,000), Airtight Opus 1 phono cartridge ($16,000), Critical Mass Olympus V-12 Luxury rack ($10,150) because, well you need a proper rack to place all your audio hi-fi goodies on. And since you have so much stuff, you'll need yet another rack, this time the Critical Mass Maxxum ($6,150). Connecting all this great gear together were Masterbuilt Ultra cables throughout. Phew!

Mmm-kay, with that all said am sure you're curious in how all this reference racked hi-fi sounded. Absolutely horrible! The single worst system my ears have ever heard! So, look gentlemen, you know I live about an hour away from FLAX so may as well donate it all to me and, well, guess I'll have to suffer by somehow tweaking it in a futile hope of somehow, by luck or unicorn magic, in making it sound half decent. And if you believe any of this paragraph, I have a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn.

Ok, let's try this once again. So, how did it sound? C'mon, like you really have to ask? Of course it was jaw dropping, deeeeep bass with tight 'n tuneful rumbling, vocal erotic ecstasy, effortless twinkling triangles... beeee-you-tee-full! And then there's that, you know, imaging and soundscaping. Wide and deep, perhaps akin to Kim Kardashian's... but more like Nicki Minaj's.... Ok, enough with the jokes already Steven!

Basically, imagine one of the best systems you've ever heard, and you've heard a plethora / mind-boggling array of systems all around the world for the past 25 years and 150 shows.

So, if you missed attending the Florida Audio Expo 2020, you also missed the very last time to hear this incredible system, which is so synergist that have heard the VAC / Von Schweikert combo so many times and they always, always, allll-ways are synergistic and sound spectacular.

PS: You know I truly loved a sound when my writing reflects the immense joy of a truly great sound system playing terrific tunes. As Ferris Bueller says, "If you have the means I highly recommend it."

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