Some recent feedback from the Capital Audiofest...
http://parttimeaudiophile.com/2015/09/08/caf-2015-volti-audio-and-triode-wire-labs/CAF 2015: VOLTI AUDIO AND TRIODE WIRE LABSSome last-minute wrangling saw Greg Roberts of Volti Audio decide to make the trek to this year’s Capital Audiofest down from Benton, Maine — and this year, he brought some tube-gear from McIntosh Labs to the party.
Overall, I think this room was one-of-the-better presentations I’ve heard from Volti. The focus was a little soft, and the detail-retrieval a little light, but the forgiving sound that I heard was big, strong and muscular. I’m a big fan of the blue-dials/exposed chrome+tubes of the McIntosh gear, and this experience lines up with what I’ve come to expect from that brand.
Aligned along the long-wall, Mac gear drove the three-unit speaker Vittora system (two “mains” + sub) to generate fulsome, lush music “at” those of us lined up opposite, with a now-common and completely spectacular coherence and panic-inducing jump-factor.
I’ve written about these speakers so many times that I feel like I’m repeating myself here — so I’ll save you some time and just confess that I love ’em. They’re $25k for the set, and as Art Dudley of Stereophile has mentioned every time these speakers have come up: they’re heirloom pieces. Big, bold, and incredible space hogs, to be sure. But if you have the space, your grand-kids are going to come to blows over who gets ’em. If I had a different listening room (and a bag full o’ cash), or more control over my living room (and a bag full o’ cash), I’d have bought a set of these several years ago. Oh boy howdy, do I want my very own set. I’m getting all Gollum, just thinking about them. Preciousss!
Greg teamed up with Triode Pete of
Triode Wire Labs to wire the kit up. I’ll come back to TWL shortly, but I will offer that Pete has had several opportunities to dramatically raise his prices and has refused. I love that.
I also love the fact that his wiring loom is really quite remarkable — and those power cords are the best value in cabling today. No, $550 isn’t cheap, but I’d take a fistful of Seven+ over just about every other vendor out there, regardless of price, and yes, I’m looking squarely at the $5k-and-up segment as I type that. I call that value.Some additional feedback from EnjoyTheMusic.com...
This time from Room 405,
The Triode Wire Labs - Sound Insight Roomhttp://www.enjoythemusic.com/Capital_Audiofest_2015/Part1b.htmSound Insight And Triode Wire LabsHosted by Steven Rabitz of Sound Insight, Charlie Rollo, SI Ditributor and Pete Grzybowski (a.k.a. Triode Pete) of Triode Wire Labs hailed the debut of the SI-300 Open Baffle Servo Subwoofers $7900/pr. Modeled after a GR Research design, the SI-300s have 3 12" drivers designed for open baffle loading, a spec built Rythmik servo plate amp, and a heavy duty, lined with NoRez double thick cabinet. All you planar owners (Magnepan, Quad, ET, and ESL) who can't get a sub to integrate with your panels, here is your solution. The servo action quickens the return of the cone after a transient and prevents boom and overhang, thus allowing the bass character to match the planar. The radiating pattern of these OB subs also matches the planar lending to less room irregularities and seamless integration, you're welcome. There was a lot of supporting equipment from various brands, Esoteric K-01X SACD $21,000, Coincident RC preamp $5999, a pair of Pass Labs XA60.8 monos $12,800/pr driving BG Radia FS 880 planar magnetic speakers $35,000/pr. The entire rig was wired with TWL, HP Digital American power cord $699, Seven Plus PC $549, Spirit XLR Interconnects $449 ($349 for RCA), American Speaker Cable $699.
Triode Pete's cables greatly contributed to the overall cohesiveness of the system, they are true bargains. Nothing at the show had more bass impact, and power down low than the SI-300s, while integrating invisibly with the panels. A couple of people not familiar with the Kodo drum track were startled and a little frightened when the first huge whack exploded into the room, the Sheffield Drum Record was so fun we listened to both Ron Tutt and Jim Keltner, the system put the drum kit in the room, very realistic. On one of my many trips to this room, Lyn Stanley came in and sang live in the room to her newest release "Interludes", available soon in SACD and CD formats, giving us a live versus Memorex moment to Led Zep's "Whole Lotta Love". Sensational!
Also, Stereophile (Art Dudley & Herb Reichert) has some blog entries...
Herb Reichert - StereophileAs many of you know, I used to love horns. I loved them because when the stars lined up just right, the world's best horns could play waaaaaay closer to real life-both dynamically and scale-wise-than any audiophile speaker at any price. Jump factor pinned the needles. Unfortunately, I gave up on them years ago. Why? Because full-range horns were never truly coherent and they made solo singers and musicians appear too big. (On the good side, because they played big, horns could do opera better any little boxes.) And then, a few weeks ago I heard a giant horn system designed by Jeffrey Jackson of EMIA and (incredulously) it seemed perfect in every way-but it cost $350,000! Today at CAF I played a couple of my own CDs through the Volti Audio Vittora horns and they seemed perfect too-and a pair of Volti Vittoras costs only $25,000! The Voltis (reviewed by Art Dudley in September 2013) played my Bach Goldberg Variations (with Ito Ema at the keyboard) with a gentle liquid smoothness that exceeded any liquid smoothness I have heard before. Piano sound was among the most realistic I have ever experienced from a loudspeaker. I wrote in my listening notes that I think I could live with these for the rest of my life! Bravo Volti! (and Triode Wire Labs!)
Art Dudley - StereophileThe gorgeous tone of Johnny Hodges' alto saxophone handily survived the trip through a pair of Living Voice Avatar OBX-RW loudspeakers ($11,850/pair), driven by a BorderPatrol P21 amplifier and USB NOS DAC ($9750 and $1250, respectively, with all cables and AC cords from Triode Wire Labs.
... and finally, some insightful feedback from Jonathan Janusz on TWL's Rooms at CAF...
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=136944.msg1456904#msg1456904http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=136944.msg1456908#msg1456908Cheers,
Pete