s far as two-channel audio is concerned, this year’s show was the best I’ve attended. There were more good sounding rooms, and more excellent, Class A rooms. Tube gear was ubiquitous. Vinyl was less in evidence. Curiously, there were no Argent Room Lenses to be seen. In the software sales area on the second floor some expected manufacturers were missing. There were fewer tweaks and less music for sale -- and discounts were slim. There were more rooms giving home theatre demos, where it just gets more unreal by the minute. While every effort is made to approach natural sound with two-channels, often the same manufacturers make products to give you the highest quality “sound effects” imaginable. Seems the more outrageous the effect, the better. Why is there such a discrepancy in the two domains?

Gershman and Kora

The larger room featured the massive and oddly oblong-shaped Gershman Opera Sauvage speaker ($17,000). Electronics were supplied by Kora of France, and included the Cosmos Reference tube monoblocks ($7850), the Kora Eclipse pre-amp ($3750) and the Hermes II DAC ($2600). A discontinued CEC transport was helping out (several rooms had these no longer manufactured but highly thought of belt drive transports). Wiring was by Virtual Dynamics, a new comer to me, and featured cryogenic treatment. Whatever the theory behind it, these wires sounded great. The Kora tubes excelled at micro-dynamics and detail and added a pleasing warmth without being over-ripe. The Gershman Opera Sauvage speaker surely belongs in Class A. The sound had that ineffable verisimilitude that placed it above criticism. The strings of the Philadelphia Orchestra recording Nature’s Realm [Water Lilly Acoustics WLA-WS-66-CD] had a convincing complexity that few rooms could match. This was one of a handful of rooms where I checked my critic’s hat at the door. Note: the other room with these manufacturers more affordable products had the same qualities, to a lesser degree, and offered a true taste of the high-end at real world prices.

Balanced Audio Technology, System Audio and Nordost

The smallest speaker with the most robust sound had to be the System Audio SA 2K ($3500) from Denmark. A two-way design with a 6” mid/woofer, it was incredibly dynamic and open. These little speakers were able to fill the room. All was not well, however, as the dynamics seemed to be stepped, like a ratchet mechanism, rather than smoothly progressing. The BAT electronics used here included the VKD55SE CD player with the 6H30 tube ($6,000) and the VK300X integrated amp ($5500), which can be configured for solid state or tube operation. Nordost Valhalla wiring was used throughout.

Von Gaylord Audio (formerly Legend Audio Design)

Warm and musical describe the tunes heard in the Von Gaylord Audio room. The gear consisted of the Legend Mk II speakers ($3995), the Nirvana mono block amps ($6500), the LAD L2 pre-amp ($4495), the Music Reference DAC ($4995) and used a Live Performance AC conditioner. The new Chinchilla wires were used throughout. The speakers disappeared and, curiously, so did most of the soundstage imaging. When I inquired about this with Ray Leung, he demonstrated with hand claps one of the worst cases of slap echo I’ve encountered. The initial clap was distinctly heard repeated maybe a half dozen times. I quickly offered to introduce him to Mike Kochman of Echo Busters, who was able to fix Ray up with a set of Corner Busters and Echo Buster panels. This alleviated most of the problem. Several other rooms on the seventh floor suffered from the same malady. Under show circumstances, you gotta roll with the punches.

EgglestonWorks, Convergent Audio Technology, VPI Industries, Electrocompaniet and Harmonic Technology

Planned presentations were given every half-hour in this room, so it was not possible to play varying source material. Nevertheless, the EgglestonWorks Savoy speakers ($39,000), Convergent Audio Technology JL-2 stereo tube amp ($12,000), Convergent Audio Technology SL-1 Ultimate pre-amp with phono stage ($5,950), VPI Industries TNT HR-X LP Turntable ($10,000) with van den Hul Black Beauty cartridge ($5,000), Electrocompaniet EMC-1 MkII 24/192 CD player ($5,000) and Harmonic Technology Magic wiring yielded a sound that was world class. Effortless dynamics, clarity and musicality combined for an exciting presentation. This was simply great sound and another contender for best at show. The home theatre demo was of a Star Wars Episode One clip.

Nagra, dCS and Verity Audio

Beautiful, clear and open sounding, with an absence of artifact, describes this room. The gear featured the Nagra PL-L vacuum tube line stage ($6000), the Nagra VPA tube monoblocks ($12,400), the Verity Audio Parsifal Encore speakers ($15,500), the dCS Purcell DAC ($6995), the dCS Delius DAC ($8995), and the dCS Verdi transport ($8995). The purity of the sound was marred only by the impression that it was a little too clean and a little larger than life.

Lumenwhite, dCS, VAIC and Shunyata Research

I returned to this room many times and became acquainted with each manufacturer’s contribution to what had to be a prime contender for Best Sound at Show. Amplification was provided by the VAIC 52-B monoblock amps ($19,750), digital source again consisted of the dCS gear: the Purcell digital up converter ($6995), the Delius DAC ($8995) and the Verdi transport ($8995). Speakers were the fantastic Lumenwhite Whitelight ($38,000). Shunyata wires and Hydra AC conditioning rounded out this world-class rig. Regardless of the type of music played, there was outstanding dynamics and absence of artifact. Nature’s Realm offered thunderous orchestral crescendos without compression or breakup (the first time I’ve experienced that). Interesting note: the Acoustic Dreams Isolation Rack used here sported solid maple shelves ($3494).

Viva electronics, Silverline and Walker Audio

The stunning Walker Audio Reference LP turntable ($40,000) with the new Swiss-made Magic Diamond cartridge ($4650) provided the Best Analog Source at the show. Vinyl was the only source in this packed room when I was there. Amplification was the Viva Solista stereo SET tube amp ($9500) and Viva Linea 300 line pre-amp with optional 300B power supply and remote volume control ($7000). The Viva gear has that rich, 300B SET sound in spades. Silverline Audio La Folia full-range speakers ($8000) added to the sweet, rich and realistically dynamic presentation. This was, without doubt, a contender for best sound at show.

The Very Best Sound at Show

Without a doubt, the Very Best Sound at Show had to be the live concert featuring Arturo Delmoni accompanied by a guitarist on Saturday afternoon. After several hours with the big systems on the second and fourth floors, I felt myself relax in here, which indicated I had some degree of tension after listening to those systems. Arturo’s tone was rich, velvety and warm and had much more overtone complexity. There are no pure tones in real life: each note consists of an array of overtones. Likewise, there wasn’t any hyper-detail: I didn’t hear fingers on strings, etc., and even if I did, it surely wasn’t prominent or spot lit. His violin didn’t sound “fast”, per se; the initial transient was instantaneous, but not aggressive. These things are important, but let’s not forget they are secondary.

The Best Reproduced Sound at Show: Impact Technology and Balanced Audio Technology

Here the BAT electronics included the VKD55SE CD player ($6,000), VK-50SE pre-amp ($8,000) and VK-75SE amp ($8,500). The predecessor to the VK-75SE was the VK-60, one of my all time-favorite amps. Cables were Cardas Audio Golden Reference. The real showpiece here was the Impact Technology “Airfoil” 5.2 speaker ($35,000). The tweeter is a patented new technology. These speakers immersed you in a sound field that dwarfs what we commonly call a sound stage. It didn’t need to get loud to excite the air in the room. Very involving: the presentation was ultra dimensional and achieved without room treatment. I’m going to keep an eye on this company.