So I went to the Hokuriku Audio Show on the weekend. I didn't expect much because Hokuriku is way out in the middle of nowhere and there were only about 7-8 exhibition rooms but credit where credit is due, it was actually pretty cool. Rather than host the event at a hotel, the organisers used the international convention centre. Resultantly, the rooms were generously proportioned and highly isolated from one another.
Quite a few rather large speakers to have a nosey at: Tannoy Canterbury, Piega Classic 80 (in the flesh it's massive) etc.
Preferences in audio are a deeply personal matter and as an extension of that, the diversity of preference is correspondingly wide. For myself, and despite a fondness of Japanese electronics, I've never really heard a Japanese branded speaker that I really liked. Nevertheless, I poked my nose into the Esoteric & TAD room. They had the R1MK2 playing. The bass was warm but I couldn't help but feel there was a bit of disjointness between the low and mid bass. That may have been down to the room itself however, I'm not sure.
Elsewhere there was a pair ofTAD CR1MK2s hooked up to an Accuphase P7300. This pairing was quite nice and did not suffer from the ever present 'shriek' that I find in many Japanese speakers. TAD products are definitely a statement - they most certainly look the part - but the performance I heard from them was not enough to convince me to seriously consider buying into the brand. I'm just too poor and value-for-money is a big driver in my world.
Speaking of big drivers, Tannoy's Canterbury was on display. Yeah. Large. There's something I just love about the old-school nature of these...refrigerators: unapologetically huge. I desperately wanted to like these - and others in the Prestige range - but I just couldn't get past the 'cuppy' nature of the sound. One other thing I don't get: Tannoy have gone to great lengths to develop the Dual Concentric cone, which does develop a magnificent image, why then would you then go out and spot for an additional tweeter that you bung on top of the cabinet? I guess it's like adding a subwoofer to a standmount system but it seems to defeat the whole principle of the design concept. Still, preferences, if someone wants it that way they're within their rights to do so.
Penaudio and Electrocompaniet. Pretty wee things. Well balanced and a very convincing image, not shrill at all. The room was much too cavernous but in a smaller room I think they would be wonderful.
Harbeth was on display too. I can't recall what amp they were using but with Harbeth it really doesn't make a difference does it? (tongue firmly in cheek). Can't say I'm a fan of these.
The biggest disappointment was the Sonus Faber Olympica floorstander and Phasemation TT. They used a JVC studio master of Mr Mori, a very famous Japanese crooner. I had to just bite my tongue and wait for it to be over - so silibant it caused me physical discomfort. I'd like to hear other source material as I'm sure the Sonus Fabers are much better than that.
Amphion and Spec. Heard of these brands but never heard them. The Argon 7L floorstanders were placed adjacent to the Argon 3 standmounters. The floorstanders were powered up - I know this because only they had cables running into them. That's the point - that was the only way I could tell: they just disappeared. I want a pair.
So, yeah, glad I went. The conclusion that I walked away with is that if one starts looking at properly high-end gear, it would be a much more labourious process than mid range stuff since the benefits of a larger budget do not necessarily correlate to what we might consider an 'improvement'. And of course, listening in a convention room as opposed to one's own room is going to produce very different performances.
I would have attached photographs to the post but I can't seem to get them to work...
Cheers,
LDTM
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