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At one point I got wrapped up in a conversation Frank was having with Reuben Ghose, chief mastering engineer and studio wizard at Mojito Mastering in Toronto. It was fascinating to hear these two guys who really know their stuff engage in conversation. This was the kind of moment that happened so much more often at this TAVES than other shows I've covered. Maybe it was simply because the show was smaller, or maybe I just took more time to listen to people rather than equipment.
Next door in HiFi Room B once again I ran into familiar faces and equipment. These guys would be TarasKowalczyszyn & Ken Hotte of Teo Audio, who have been pioneering liquid cables for what must be a decade now. They claim to have refined their technology and manufacturing process and it seemed to be aiding the rig inside. It is still expensive, with 1m Kronon interconnects at $3199 and the 9' pair of Reference speaker cables at a whopping $44,000. Here I found them teamed up with Triangle Art and ACA (Angel City Audio). I have heard ACA speakers before wired with a very high end Skogrand cable and at TAVES last year. Their multi-coated hand-applied finish over MDF is spectacular under light, yet dark and disappearing under dim light. I've seen nothing like it in the audio world, but it is reminiscent of some designer leather finishes in the home furnishing industry. The ACA Seraphim Prime Extreme ($35,000) is equipped with an equally elegant external crossover that sat beside the floorstanding speaker. With a claimed frequency response of 28Hz to 21 kHz, =/- 2dB, a 4 Ohm impedance and 91dB sensitivity, it can be driven by high quality, but not necessarily high power tube amps. This is how I've heard it driven in the past and it sounded as good as recall my previous experiences. The standard Seraphim is priced below $10,000 if that makes you feel more comfortable.
The Extreme, here, was driven by a spectacular rig from Triangle Art starting with their Master Reference turntable ($39,900) that will appear in the New York show as this goes online. With its dual platters it was not unlike the Clearaudio turntable mentioned earlier, but as with everything, Triangle Art takes it to the extreme. The tonearm was their Osiris Mk2 12" design ($6800) fitted with their Apollo MC cartridge ($8000). In fact, I heard this same turntable, arm and cartridge in the Venture Audio room covered in Part 1. Side by side was their more affordable Concerto turntable ($4990) equipped with a more affordable cartridge, their Zeus MC ($4000). The polished platform on which it rested reflected the underside of the platter which was as perfectly finished as the top side. Beneath the turntables were the Reference Tube Pre-amplifier ($17,999) and Reference Tube Phono ($12,999), each with their separate power supply. The speakers were driven by the Reference Tube monoblocks ($17,999).
The music here was excellent, too, but quite unlike the previous room with Coherent Audio speakers. Here the sound was more neutral and didn't have the sense of reflective space that may well have been imparted by the plywood room with the Coherent. It sounded much more like a typical dedicated listening room than in the makeshift cube that it was in. Taras reminded me of a conversation we had a few years ago about the physics of vibrations and how he dealt with them in his cables. He had applied that same wisdom to the room here, but asked me to keep it confidential, so I must. I can tell you however, it sure seemed to have worked. It all added up to another of the Best Rooms at the show.
I had a pleasurable conversation with Hugh Nguyen, owner of ACA, seen here on the left, who explained their business model as non-traditional but always focusing on satisfying their customers. They sell direct, but also work with a couple of distributors for their speakers. Additionally, they are distributors and retailers for a few brands from around the world. All that, plus manufacturing a small line of very fine speakers. Hopefully he will find time and resources to make appearances at additional shows in the east. The Seraphim certainly deserves more exposure. Tom Vu, president of Triangle Art, seen here on the right, joined us at the end of our conversation. So many interesting people to meet at these shows.
Finally, at HiFi Room A I came upon the Epsom room featuring their new Epsom Home Cinema LS100 Laser Display which was their version of a projector that sits on the floor mere inches from the wall on which it projects. Using an ultra-bright laser technology it is said to achieve a black contrast ratio of up to 2,500,000:1. I peeked in and saw Formula 1 race cars that reminded me it was almost time to leave. The room was very dark and the movie was very bright. What else can I say? Stepping out I found a second movie on the outside wall of the room in the "broad daylight" of the Main Pavillion. I'm not sure if this was the same projector set-up as inside the room, or if this was a huge flat screen TV. I suspect the latter since the blue light on the wall behind the screen was coming from the screen itself. It was impressive to see such a viewable image in such a well-lit room.
With a few minutes to spare before heading home, I took a spin around the Main Pavillion noting drones hovering overhead and robotic vehicles and dust pans dueling it out on the circular demolition derby platform that was under construction early that morning. (Note the intense battle scars on the surface.)
I met NAO, the humanoid robot whom I found too short to cue up LPs for me.
I took another listen to the Mitchell & Johnson headphones, and found the Grado stand was too busy for a quick listen.
I stumbled upon the ultimate listening chair for indulging in Grateful Dead music that will double as your coffin when you've finally heard every song they've ever recorded.
And just as I was about to leave the Mirvish Hallway I heard some lovely music amidst the din of a hundred conversations. On a small table in the corner that was not even an identified space in the Show Guide, was VK Music with this Elekit TU8600 300B SE tube amplifier driving an Audiowise prototype speaker with a full-range Voxativ AF2.6 driver, a ported design small tower with 99dB/W/m efficiency and a frequency range good down to 40Hz. The amp in stock form was $1185 US, without tubes (so you can select your own favorites). The speaker, on the other hand was an experiment to develop a DIY speaker, but with the Voxativ drivers costing in the neighborhood of $5000/pr. this presents a problem. The designer is working with lower cost drivers and trying to find a workable business plan. A single-driver, full-range speaker capable of being driven by a low power SET amp is something I've heard more than a decade ago, and it can be a truly beautiful way to listen to music. The trick is to make it affordable. As Dan Mance, the man behind Audiowise pointed out, there is a groundswell of powerful DAC/amps coming onto the market to serve the headphone market that would be perfectly suited to drive a speaker with 98dB/W/m sensitivity. This would certainly be a bridge product to introduce the younger headphone set to the traditional speaker-centered High-End paradigm. The speaker with the wonderful Voxativ driver, however, could easily be an end game for near/mid-field listening at reasonable volume. This was easily one of the true gems of the show... and most people simply walked on by. I wish Dan the best of luck in developing his dream.
The parting shot was of this auction for a truly wonderful dog portrait in support of Sick Kids with an opening bid of $225. I hope someone bid high. Happiness is your dog wagging his tail.
Finale
---> Back to main TAVES 2017 show report page.
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High-Performance Audio Reviews
