I’ll have more to say in an upcoming AudioXpress piece, but overall… I was depressed. Things that should have sounded good didn’t (beyond room issues), things that are made to impress sounded spectacularly unreal, the bullshit was heavier than ever (and more aggressively nasty if the snake oil peddlers got even a whiff of anything other than rapt adoration), and nothing really breakthrough was in evidence. The choice of demo material and its presentation were tailored for severely Aspy audiophile equipment junkies.
On the good end, there was at least one speaker that blew me away in a positive sense, some of the very best sound I’ve heard. And a very nice cheapie that I’m going to try to get for some more extended listening and some measurements. An accessory that’s well thought out, is sold without a bullshit story, does what it’s supposed to, and is made by a guy with a great sense of humor. And some really well-designed pieces of electronics that I covet.
There, obligatory teaser over.