Some nice piano ...

Now, this is bling, ...

Curious about the Davis Coubert speakers, I found this video of a quite unpretentious setup, where this brand is doing a nice job,

Like nearly all speakers, when set up decently and well driven, they get far more things right, than wrong ...

Rather nice ... and the speakers are certainly something to look at!

This is a pretty good example of how better reproduction easily shows the layering of the sound elements in a mix - everything's in a different space; but it doesn't detract from the experience, IMO.

Nifty comparison in a rig, of high quality conventional amp, versus high quality class D,

Pretty clear which is the winner, here - - just the sort of thing to throw at your "all amps sound the same!" friends ...

Here's an interesting one - this company has posted a lot of captures of premium equipment, and some sound top notch. But here you have an example of the rig aiming to reproduce the sound of a big band - and it doesn't quite get there,

The size of the acoustic is quite well done, but the tonality of the grouped instruments, in the crescendos towards the end, is not. When a setup gives you the ability to hear deep into the performance space, as here, then you can judge how well the sound of the instruments at the position where they are located in the virtual stage is reproduced - and here it clearly doesn't make the grade. This is a harder test to pass for a replay setup, and this clip shows how it's quite easy to pick this shortfall.

Can DACs and tubes go together? ... I think so,

Just found this, a nice piece of opera,

What's especially pleasing is the continuation of the sense of the performance, when at the end of the clip the camera moves around, to even behind the speakers; this is why there is no such thing as a "sweet spot", when a system works well ...

And another example of "there is no such thing as a sweet spot"; the camera moves around quite a bit, with no sense of loss of the performance,

Very good presentation of the spatial qualities of the recording; very little to quibble about ... the drumming is not quite right, is my major hesitation.

Plenty more on that channel; in particular, this take, , of the old chestnut gets the ambience of the recording space pretty darn good!

A bit different this time ... PA setups can be atrocious, blasting you with ear aching noise. But some companies know how to do it right, and Danley Sounds is one of those who makes equipment which provides a high standard - this is the type of thing that should be everywhere, and not the usual nonsense,

Just came across these speakers, spoken very highly of, and tracked down a video of them playing; starts at 2 minute mark - very nice, no complaints about what they're doing - spot on space retrieval,

Happened to come across this, while looking at the brand of speakers,

What I found interesting was that this was a good standard of vinyl - I didn't mention that when I visited my audio friend up the road, N., yesterday that we also listened to his vinyl - and that this is the sort of soundstage that his can throw up. Demure when everything's cold, it blossoms after about 4 sides of LP - even on a ridiculously poor condition pop record, with pops and scratches galore, that made him lift the cartridge fairly soon, the quality of the sense of the music making was in place ... good listening!

I was just made aware of these speakers, and found some recent clips of them in action - this is one of the best ones,

Yes, doing lots of things right  - Big Sound, good intensity; hard to fault ...

Another one of those speakers, elsewhere ... this IMO captures the sense of what capable playback is like, as good as anything else I've come across ...

Very good example of what plagues so many systems ... starts off well, then steadily deteriorates as the track progresses - this is typically caused by a buildup of static, IME; the curse of ambitious rigs, everywhere,

Action starts at 7:20 ... listen to the clarity of the voice, and orchestra, throughout - as it progresses, the sound steadily gets more 'choked', becomes more tedious to listen to; in the end, you're thankful when it stops ... .

A problem that has been around for forever ... how much longer before we get rid of it?

Okay, a SOTA vinyl rig - how does it sound?

Hmmm ... obviously getting lots right, but unfortunately still the telltale sounds of a non-optimised chain - the voice has a definite muffled quality to it, and the beats of the orchestral backing are not as open, and expansive as they should be.

This is so telling, that even in a high end venue that would have had a lot of attention paid to many details, that it is still far from trivial to get everything right - given the cost of all the stuff here, this rig should have nailed this track ... this is why I say, the audio industry is still not on top of the game .

Couldn't quite believe this one - in April 2022, this is actually put on YT as an example of high end SQ ... dear, oh dear ...

A pretty good example of where the audio industry can be so depressing - thinking this is acceptable sound.

4 hours ago, fas42 said:

A pretty good example of where the audio industry can be so depressing - thinking this is acceptable sound.

I agree this sounds poor.

What are you observations regarding the voice of the human being at the start? The guy introducing the various bits of kit.

Yes, the voices - which I didn't pay attention to when I came across the clip - to me show excess room treatment. The sort of thing which I have a strong dislike for ... yet even this doesn't save the replay ...

In complete contrast to that last clip, an example of what immersive SQ delivers,

The people in the room talking sound less real than the music playing; the music is one space here, and the attendees to the show are in another; there is no, "sweet spot", for the listening - the music doesn't fall to bits when you hear it from a completely wrong place. This is a pretty good example of, the Cocktail Party effect ...

And some MBL sounding like they should,

No excuses for expensive gear not doing this well, these days ...

Yesterday was an interesting experience ... I went to a meeting where they had a vocal track, backed by some subtle ambient music at one point, with various normal musical tracks at intervals. And I was struggling to work out where the sound was coming from!! Finally, it dawned on me - that tiny, candle like thingy sitting on a table was doing it - a Bluetooth tube gizmo ...

Absolutely remarkable - this was so far advanced, in terms of SQ, over the typical ghettoblaster that was usually dragged to these affairs - no bass, of course, and there were subtle signs of stress when the volume was pushed a bit - but I had trouble picking a single thing wrong with the sound. Treble was excellent; spoken voice was spot on, beautifully layered, one could hear way, way down in the mix - it easily filled the space with clear, full sound.

How good was it, really? Well, here is something that is usually considered highly,

What I heard yesterday was quite a bit better in terms of not showing issues, and being, well, convincing ...

Which says what? Firstly, technology is moving along very nicely, and remarkable performance can be obtained for peanuts. Secondly, battery power and simplicity, full integration are big winners in getting rid of lots of the niggles, that sap the specialness from much hifi.

The stumbling block is bass ... this needs lots of energy, and bigger driving surfaces. Making these wireless boxes somewhat bigger, getting really smart with moving driver surfaces more aggressively, and most importantly, having lot and lots of battery power should get one very close to being a complete package. I can see a pair of these cheapo boxes with these improvements hiding behind a curtain and pretending to be a piano in action, and completely fooling listeners - very encouraging ...

And right on cue, from Axpona, a demo of "small is beautiful" ...

Ummm, I have my favourite, between the throwaway setup - and the "proper" speakers ... which is yours, ?

This setup was mentioned on the Axpona thread, as being sub-par,

Yes, it just sounds, weird ... this is the sort of mess one gets in when chasing an idea, without stopping to listen to whether it still sounds like, music. Weirdness can work as a quick lolly to taste - but you don't want to live with it, .