Hi
I am back from the show with lots of photos for you all
I am currently cream cracker'd so am off to bed for a kip :eyebrows:
5 hours driving and 5 hours in the show + tired
Will up load photos and a report later tonight
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Hi
I am back from the show with lots of photos for you all
I am currently cream cracker'd so am off to bed for a kip :eyebrows:
5 hours driving and 5 hours in the show + tired
Will up load photos and a report later tonight
Look forward to it :)
Good work fella...
Was that you I saw taking photos with a compact digital camera? Anyway looking forward to seeing the piccies. Only had a phone camera and thought quality would not be good enough. Some interesting stuff though I thought not as good as last year. Some boring musical choices for many of the demos. As predictable best sound from systems fronted by Mitchell and Notts Analogue TTs though some impressive file based sounds. Gromit's 'computer speakers' were making some surprisingly impressive sounds.
looking forward to your report and photos too.
OK
Not sure if this is going to work , should be 67 photos on public view , Fingers crossed
http://smg.beta.photobucket.com/user...calford%20Show
I had a great day at the wigwam show , very enjoyable
Met up with Marco what a nice man and he insisted on buying me a pint at the bar :cool: , cheers Marco , also met Lodgesound , Hoopsontoast, and one other gent :scratch: sorry cant remember his user name .
Spme very nice kit on show and very friendly owners :)
I was very impressed with one room the equipment sounded incredible :stalks::stalks::stalks: I had to have 3 visits to the room just to make sure I was not imagining the sound quality , It WAS EPIC
If anyone's interested in the said room just say and I will comment further ;)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Audioman
I was wearing a Harley Davidson Bandana and using a Canon DSLR ;)
( Brother ) :lol::lol:
Pics work fine Al, wish I'd tagged along now
Yup , please tell us more mate . Thanks for sharing your fantastic pictures with us BTW .:)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...w/IMG_0164.jpg
Bless me father for I have sinned... :eyebrows:
Don't think I could sneak those past SWMBO :lol:
looking at those pics Al I think you may have found your way into the Lenco Heaven room? definitely recognize some of those TT's.
That TT looks great. Why do i think of the Ferrari Modulo 512S ! :)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...w/IMG_0153.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...w/IMG_0136.jpg
:yesbruv:
Some might take that as in bad taste going by Keith O'Brien's admission of guilt tonight.Quote:
Originally Posted by synsei
It's fugly enough for there for sure.Quote:
Originally Posted by Spur07
wii.
that's the Lenco TT I recognizedQuote:
Originally Posted by Rare Bird
O YESQuote:
Originally Posted by Spur07
I went in every room ;)
Who??? Bad taste??? :scratch:Quote:
Originally Posted by wiicrackpot
Quote:
Originally Posted by synsei
30 inch bass driver :eek:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21647060Quote:
Originally Posted by synsei
must be this
Tragic case of Cardinal Keith O'Brien, head of the Catholic Church of Scotland.Quote:
Originally Posted by synsei
Up at 5.30 this morning and got in at 9 tonight 370 ish miles round trip , good day out perhaps bit down on numbers from the last few years
Roy , the offer was on the table , no charge for fuel either as I was going anywayQuote:
Originally Posted by Roy S
I will be going to the National Audio Shoe later in the year so maybe join me for that show ? :)
Oh for crying out loud, so I've got to scan the news before every comment I make? :doh:
Apologies if I have offended anybody...
No..no..it didn't affect me, just zoom out and give us more humour Dave. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by synsei
Cheers Al, will see how I'm fixed. Did you take Oleta with you today?Quote:
Originally Posted by Audio Al
No , I did think about it but feel the choice of music is best left to the exhibitor to show of the system they have on demoQuote:
Originally Posted by Roy S
Did you listen to Circle of One ?
Great pictures Al - spotted the XTZ amp in there, someone else with good taste obviously ;) Yes we need to know about the super-system of course...
I'm Catholic and I was laughing so I doubt it :)Quote:
Originally Posted by synsei
I did, nice chilled vibe but thought some of the arrangements didn't suit her voiceQuote:
Originally Posted by Audio Al
Cheers man, glad you enjoyed it;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Audio Al
I started writing a lengthy show report, and then lost most of it, after my laptop decided to hang!! Anyway, here's what I managed to save, along with the pictures of the systems (shamelessly stolen from elsewhere) I thought sounded the best. I will add more comments later...
Once again, I very much enjoyed myself at the Scalford show, which IMO, is way better than any of the commercial trade shows on a number of levels, not least of which was the sonic standard of the systems demonstrated.
This year there were more systems than ever I heard that were very good indeed; few were poor, but below are the ones I think deserve a special mention...
For me, the best sounds I heard were between those of Valvebloke:
http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/8338/valvebloke.jpg
http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/118...eblokejpg2.jpg
...and Dom's Audio Note/Allnic/Mod Wright system, fronted by a superb sounding Garrard 401, with Audio Note Arm 3/Io cartridge and the utterly GORGEOUS sounding Snell Type A:
http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/1512/snellsystem.jpg
http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/4089/snellsystem3.jpg
http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/5...ellsystem2.jpg
Those beautiful looking NS1000s of Valvebloke's not only were a feast for the eyes, but also the ears, fronted by a Quad CDP and vintage RCA and Leak valve amplifiers. The sound was detailed, fluid and very musically engaging. I guess that I'm just a big fan of professional monitor speakers, when done well - and here they most certainly were!
Dom's system, for me, also really ticked some major boxes, as it produced a sound that resembled that of real instruments and voices in a totally effortless and convincing manner - and those Snells are probably one of the best speakers I've heard. They're quite vintage Tannoy DC-like in their musical presentation, which of course is a sound I can relate to, and they did genuine scale, vocal and instrumental texture with aplomb and had a lovely 'big-boned', effortlessly musical presentation that really made me smile!
At a push, I'd probably nominate it for the best sound I heard at the show. It really did highlight again for me that there has been little real progress made in loudspeaker technology, since the days when the truly great, genuinely innovative speakers were born, and here I include the Snells, along with Tannoys, Altecs, JBLs, Klipschs, Quads, IMFs, etc. Every time I hear speakers of that ilk, it becomes quite obvious what is wrong with 95% of modern speakers!!
Pictures of the other systems that impressed me most:
Russ Abbott:
http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/2145/russabbott.jpg
Cablemonkey:
http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/2471/cablemonkey.jpg
http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/5282/cablemonkey3.jpg
Freefallrob:
http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/4331/freefallrob.jpg
http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/5356/freefallrob2.jpg
Lodgesound:
http://img593.imageshack.us/img593/3558/lodgesound.jpg
Nagraboy:
http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/7050/nagraboy.jpg
Steelhull:
http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/9...ullmichael.jpg
Steve Toy:
http://img541.imageshack.us/img541/6450/toyster.jpg
I'll edit-in my comments on the various systems above later! :cool:
Marco.
This is just an educated guess, but the record looks like it could be side 1 of Made In Japan by Deep Purple.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marco
Any chance of confirmation of that? :)
Hi Chris,
Sorry, dude. It isn't my pic, and so I wasn't there when that record was playing... However, that was a truly superb sounding system!
Incidentally, it was interesting that every system that contained an Allnic valve phono stage sounded fantastic, which confirms my already held view that they make some of the best high-end phono stages on the planet...!
Marco.
I would generally say I agree with your thoughts above Marco, both with regard to the overall quality and the systems of note (with some minor differences of opinion).
The big Snell’s sounded good on Sunday, but were appreciably better on the Saturday night when a different amp was being used (in both my, and the opinion of others, that were there).
Syndicate Room 18 !!!!!!:eek::eek::eek:
This was my favorite room in the show , The sound quality was outstanding
It ticked all my boxes :D
One of the systems components were as follows :-Technics SL1210mk2, RB300, Goldring Eroica LOMC Arkless Modified CA640P
And the second system was this :- Technics SL1200mk2, RB301, Ortofon VIGOR HOMC, Sony TAF-B940R amplifier, & EAR834P phonostages
Well done Gents I was impressed :)
My first show and it was very very good. A pity its only once year. My top systems:
1) Doms 401, Allnic, Modwright and Snell As. Lou Reeds vocals sounded so breathtakingly emotional I was nearly welling up.
2) Nagraboy , dcs sacd, nagra integrated with Harbeths, the best digital sound at the show and the best I've ever heard. I listened to types of music I don't generally listen to totally enthralled.
3) RMS Shipbroker & Setting Son, LP12, Ittok, AN Oto, AN speakers, very musical, Grace Jones and Peter Gabriel sounded great. Sorry to anyone I deafened when I upped the volume. The toes were tapping though.
4) Chelsea Dave, classy sounds which I commented on.
5) Carlbkk, American muscle with Taiwanese Samurai Speakers. A tour de force, impressive.
6) Russ Abbot, nice all round sound, great music selection.
7) OB1, at first I thought the Black Swan Speakers were hideous. After about 5 mins I wanted a set.
8) Papa Lazarou. Feel the quality.
I missed the giant Tannoys :-(. I didn't hear enough of the Belvoir room to form an opinion.
Sadly I wasn't there but in terms of visual aesthetics, Cable Monkey's AR / PU7 combo looks absolutely spunkalicious ...
I very much enjoyed it as much as previous years, and as usual missed loads of rooms on my walk round!
Highlights for me on the rooms I did hear were:
Richard's (Gromit) PL71/770ES/Q-Acoustics system
Rob's (Freefallrob) with the Techie/Sony amp/JBL's
Only got a pick of my room as I forgot my camera on the walk round!
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8514/8...bd5ee592_z.jpg
Scalford Hall Show - 2013 by RSdesignUK, on Flickr
Nice pics, Al. Glad everyone had a good time.
Great sound from 'budget' gear. I think on that performance the Arkless phono stage requires furthur investigation as those SL1200s outshone the other rather lackluster sounding examples I heard. Funny thing with a couple exceptions it was the performance of systems using small fairly cheap speakers that stood out. Also not mentioned anywhere I was impressed by Take 5's Orbe / Audio Innovations / Snell system.Quote:
Originally Posted by Audio Al
Thankyou.We were glad to be able to bring joy to many. Like yourself some stayed a long time -standing room only for large periods.Understanding the synergies of kit was key to getting best detailed dynamics and power at ALL frequencies.Matching to the odd room was the new challenge. We are delighted with instantaneous applause and feedback given between tracks.The Arkless mod was hugely dynamic yet delicately detailed. MC upgraders [who buy on sound quality AND value] should audition-No-just buy it-nobrainer.Quote:
Originally Posted by Audioman
Or side 2 of 'Machine Head' :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Stratmangler
Hi Mark,
Nice one, mate. Pity we never managed to meet up... The closest I got was seeing Andrew and you going into Steve Toy's room, but it was too full to follow you in!Quote:
Originally Posted by YNWaN
Interesting about the amp used in the Snell system. What was the different one then that was better? :)
I thought that it was a fantastic sounding system, especially the way it underpinned music with genuine scale - in that respect, and overall sonically, they reminded me a lot of my Lockwoods!
It also reinforced my opinion that to create genuine scale (not just deep bass), you need speakers with, not only large cones and cabinets, but also a wide baffle area. It's no accident, I feel, that every time I listen to speakers with a wide baffle area, they never fail to deliver convincing scale and give voices and instruments the required depth and body to sound real - and that is a massively important area to me, in terms of accurate musical reproduction.
Btw, I forgot to say in my previous post that it was great to meet Audio Al, Ian (IHP), Frank (F1eng) and Phil (oceanobsession) - all thoroughly nice chaps, along with Jonboy (whom I've met before) and various other AoS members, and members of pfm and Wigwam, throughout the day. Lots of fun was had! :cool:
Marco.
Nothing quite like Tannoys to show off an orchestra in full throttle I'm finding!Quote:
Originally Posted by Marco
Are you enjoying them, Julian?Quote:
Originally Posted by julesd68
Yes Martin. I wasn't expecting the scale that they produce with all kinds of music actually! Great for classical and rock.Quote:
Originally Posted by MartinT
The other startling factor is the amount of air and seperation you get between instruments. Very special indeed.
The only other speaker itch I will need to scratch at some point is some bad-boy Ushers. ;)
I helped get one of those across the courtyard and in through the door. Even with a sack-trolley and about 5 people it was bloody difficult.Quote:
Originally Posted by synsei
You'll just have to come over, then ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by julesd68
Big-boy Ushers are big-time fun, too - just in a different way! ;)
Marco.
On Saturday night I thought they were the only speakers I could actually live with, run (I think) with a pair of Guy's valve amps. On Sunday, hearing the same Lou Reed song, and the Modwright amp, I couldn't get out fast enough! The little Apogee Centaurs in room 36 did it for me, though. And I enjoyed the Lenco room, Chrome LP (mine) and Beefheart's "Big eyed beans from Venus" hit the (Clear) Spot!Quote:
Originally Posted by YNWaN