AXPONA 2024 Who's Going?

[ttocs]

April 12th is approaching pretty quickly!

Last year, some of us who wanted to meet up had breakfast at the hotel restaurant on the mezzanine, one level up from the ground floor at the top of the escalator in the food/bar area. They have a buffet there. It's a very convenient place to meet up at the beginning of the day. You can ask Paul McGowan all the questions you want while he's scooping up his scrambled eggs! He ate there every morning. I didn't bug him, just said hi.

We can exchange contact info privately amongst those of us who'd like to meet up. I know @Duke is going!

 

[amey01]

Would love to just jump on a plane and come to Chicago for AXPONA. Oh well. There's an audio show in SYD and MEL this year, which will probably be about half of AXPONA (combined).

 

[ttocs]

Would love to just jump on a plane and come to Chicago for AXPONA. Oh well. There's an audio show in SYD and MEL this year, which will probably be about half of AXPONA (combined).

You want us to Live Stream it for you? Except for the bathroom breaks, of course.

 

[Jerry Del Colliano]

FutureAudiophile.com will be there.

I've got some good flights into and out of Chicago and I will be at the show the whole time.

We will cover on Facebook with images. We are a good follow if you like audiophile stuff on FB...

 

[amey01]

You want us to Live Stream it for you? Except for the bathroom breaks, of course.

HAHA.

 

[Big Dog RJ]

Would love to just jump on a plane and come to Chicago for AXPONA. Oh well. There's an audio show in SYD and MEL this year, which will probably be about half of AXPONA (combined).

Very true 110%.

In fact even less... apparently the Sydney show just went off this last weekend. I've been in touch with a few close distributors who invested heavily in the show with much enthusiasm but it was a complete disaster! Both Friday and Saturday were dead, such that the usual audiophile know it all's were present but not hardly any new attendees. These dealers are desperately trying to target the 30 to 45 age group, who have the money and are buying CDs and vinyl from JB Hifi stores. They're simply not aware of the specialist stores and most don't have a clue that other top tier gear is available.

I had a feeling this would always be an issue for this younger generation who rely heavily on digital and social media, they don't get the chance to experience or demo highend audio.

How did we old buggers learn about this gear and experience it? Well, we had access to actual print media, Stereophile, TAS and Hifi News & Review. Plus the UK version of What Hifi covers a wide range of gear from very affordable to SOTA. During my student years Both in the UK and US, I subscribed to these mags like a squirrel protecting its nuts! I collected nearly every issue that when I left those countries to migrate to Aus, I had to ship those mags in a separate container!

Sadly, this younger gen don't have any idea about these publications nor audio gear out there, so they can't be bothered attending such shows anymore. Apart from that, our population is very tiny compared to the US & UK markets, which have 350mil to 150mil respectively. We only have 22mil, which is mostly comprised of migrants... forget about highend audio, they're just trying to afford a house!

I sincerely hope this industry picks up somehow and those involved have to make an extra effort in brand & gear awareness, otherwise this boat ain't goinna float.

Best, RJ

 

[amey01]

Very true 110%.

In fact even less... apparently the Sydney show just went off this last weekend. I've been in touch with a few close distributors who invested heavily in the show with much enthusiasm but it was a complete disaster! Both Friday and Saturday were dead, such that the usual audiophile know it all's were present but not hardly any new attendees. These dealers are desperately trying to target the 30 to 45 age group, who have the money and are buying CDs and vinyl from JB Hifi stores. They're simply not aware of the specialist stores and most don't have a clue that other top tier gear is available.

I had a feeling this would always be an issue for this younger generation who rely heavily on digital and social media, they don't get the chance to experience or demo highend audio.

How did we old buggers learn about this gear and experience it? Well, we had access to actual print media, Stereophile, TAS and Hifi News & Review. Plus the UK version of What Hifi covers a wide range of gear from very affordable to SOTA. During my student years Both in the UK and US, I subscribed to these mags like a squirrel protecting its nuts! I collected nearly every issue that when I left those countries to migrate to Aus, I had to ship those mags in a separate container!

Sadly, this younger gen don't have any idea about these publications nor audio gear out there, so they can't be bothered attending such shows anymore. Apart from that, our population is very tiny compared to the US & UK markets, which have 350mil to 150mil respectively. We only have 22mil, which is mostly comprised of migrants... forget about highend audio, they're just trying to afford a house!

I sincerely hope this industry picks up somehow and those involved have to make an extra effort in brand & gear awareness, otherwise this boat ain't goinna float.

Best, RJ

I've read variations of this script for as long as I have been into high end audio.

It's a shame the show wasn't as successful as it could have been - but those retailers do have to bear 100% responsibility for their own marketing failures. And failures they are - collectively - the lot of them.

As you say - the market is there for the taking. And there is a thriving industry to support that market too.

Absolutely thriving! - we are spoiled for choice. At least 300 brands of speaker that I could name, at least 100 brands of amplifier, at least 100 different brands of digital sources, at least 100 brands of turntables, etc.

I mean - just Australian manufacturers - we've got at least 50 at a guess......sure, some of it is niche, but we've got some world-class manufacturers in there as well - KRIX, VAF, Duntech. DEQX, Orpheus, SGR (there's just 6 off the top of my head).

I mean, Halcro - how did I forget that? And Elektra.

ME amps used to be (and still are) highly sought after all over the world. And I hear they are / may be manufacturing again too?

And some of our niche stuff is out-of-this-world! I mean, look what Graz and associates are doing with Apogee! And Kyron Audio are pretty amazing too. WHT speakers. Dynavector.

Compare that to something that is a commodity that we all have - eg. mobile phone. There are just 2-3 manufacturers. Apple, Samsung (and maybe Google, but they're stubbornly struggling on the hardware front). Even huge international conglomerates have dropped out (notably LG).

The audio industry is alive and thriving. We, as consumers, have more choice than any other hobby (or commodity) in the world that I can think of.

And if those retailers (and other stakeholders) just want to hang their heads and complain then I'm afraid they're going to reap what they sow.

Funny you mention JB Hifi (one of the most profitable retailers in Australia at present) - **THEY**, know how to market.

Sadly for us a consumers - we rely on all the stakeholders for a thriving industry. And those stakeholders include retailers. So it is us who are going to suffer if any one of those stakeholders don't successfully execute their role.

 

[Big Dog RJ]

Correct amey01, without a doubt!
And Yes mate, JB definitely has the budget and expansive reach across our nation, I sincerely don't think any other store has this kind of muscle. They're everywhere! Even in cafe's and sidewalks.

BTW, those going to Axpona, if any of you get the chance to audition the Clarisys line of panel speakers, please do report. These exotic ribbon type speakers are supposed to be making some serious headway. Up state in Qld, we have our very own Apogee refurb specialist, Graz. The Clarisys panels are supposed to be a radical design and change from all things Apogee. They cost a fortune but it seems like custom orders are steady and they install these very very heavy panels at the owner's house. This level of service is only found at Wilson's and a handful of others. I've had the opportunity and pleasure to audition the Alsyvox ribbons and Diptyque panels. Will be doing a private demo on the Diptyque reference series this Aug, so looking forward to that.

I've been very interested to experience the Clarisys, and on both visits to Spore there was no dealer who carried them. They've set-up in the US already, plus in Europe and a few other places. Nothing yet down unda though. There's apparently a Sydney distributor but he doesn't have any models on demo.

I think just to experience what these new ribbon type speakers are capable of is a worthwhile opportunity.
Cheers, RJ

 

[Robert D]

Correct amey01, without a doubt!
And Yes mate, JB definitely has the budget and expansive reach across our nation, I sincerely don't think any other store has this kind of muscle. They're everywhere! Even in cafe's and sidewalks.

BTW, those going to Axpona, if any of you get the chance to audition the Clarisys line of panel speakers, please do report. These exotic ribbon type speakers are supposed to be making some serious headway. Up state in Qld, we have our very own Apogee refurb specialist, Graz. The Clarisys panels are supposed to be a radical design and change from all things Apogee. They cost a fortune but it seems like custom orders are steady and they install these very very heavy panels at the owner's house. This level of service is only found at Wilson's and a handful of others. I've had the opportunity and pleasure to audition the Alsyvox ribbons and Diptyque panels. Will be doing a private demo on the Diptyque reference series this Aug, so looking forward to that.

I've been very interested to experience the Clarisys, and on both visits to Spore there was no dealer who carried them. They've set-up in the US already, plus in Europe and a few other places. Nothing yet down unda though. There's apparently a Sydney distributor but he doesn't have any models on demo.

I think just to experience what these new ribbon type speakers are capable of is a worthwhile opportunity.
Cheers, RJ

Looks like a pair is about $34,000. Not too bad I guess if you compare them to a set of Martin Logan 15a speakers at $29,000. Not too far in price. I wonder, do the Clarisys sound better?

https://www.monoandstereo.com/new-clarisys-audio-studio-speakers/#:~:text=Clarisys Audio Studio ($34 000.00) with double-sided bass,drivers and midrange/tweeter designed by Clarisys Audio itself.

 

[amey01]

Looks like a pair is about $34,000. Not too bad I guess if you compare them to a set of Martin Logan 15a speakers at $29,000. Not too far in price. I wonder, do the Clarisys sound better?

https://www.monoandstereo.com/new-clarisys-audio-studio-speakers/#:~:text=Clarisys Audio Studio ($34 000.00) with double-sided bass,drivers and midrange/tweeter designed by Clarisys Audio itself.

I for one would love to hear them.

Planar magnetics sit in a funny space. Obviously, like anything, there are good ones and there are bad ones. Purely from a theoretic point of view, ES would be the ideal way to design a speaker, all other things being equal. (ie. driving a membrane through ES force rather than a complex/heavy array of circuitry/magnets). But planar magnetics have all (most of?) the same disadvantages/disbenefits of ES. So what gives - it's hard to understand exactly where they sit.

 

[Big Dog RJ]

The pricing of the Clarisys line is slightly off... such that when I was presented an approx range from the proposed distributor, it was much different.

1. Minuet 35grand Euros, which is around 55 to 60 grand USD, that's about 70 - 80grand AUD.
2. The Studio Plus is over 100grand.
3. The Auditorium is 145grand USD, which is 1/4 of million AUD.
4. After the Auditorium there's another larger one which is a multi panel system that costs well over 500grand AUD/ 350grand USD.
These are the four main models.

So if there's a Clarisys at 35grand... I highly doubt it. There's another model that's being introduced, called the Picolo series but not yet released. Maybe that's the smallest entry level model, so I'm thinking this maybe be under 40grand, definitely not the other models I've listed above, no way!

**Note** the above pricing is in two versions. One is the Clarisys standard version- without the use of Neodymium's. Then there's the Neodymium version, which pushes the price up by 25% further!

These are NOT cheap nor affordable speakers, they only cater to a certain cliente.

The parent company is based in Switzerland, with two offices based in the US and Spore. The actual manufacturing is done in Vietnam. Honestly, I have nothing against Vietnam but to me in general, when something is made in Sth East Asia, which is my former hometown... it shouldn't cost that much at all! Labour is cheap in this region. I'm thinking about the Clarisys social responsibility program, where they donate or develop a fund for disability services in Vietnam, called Clarikid. You can read more about it on their website. If this is legit then it's a highly ethical company. Now that's a good thing!

They also provide exceptional tech support, where the Clarisys crew will actually come out to your house to set up the speakers. The owner cannot do the installation on their own. So, I was told that this exhorbitant pricing is set this way due to the added customer support that's provided by Clarisys during and after warranty. How far this is true? Well, some of the current owners who already have purchased these speakers, say that the customer service is in a league of its own.

Wilson does this for their customers as well but mostly for certain models, XLF, Chronosonic, XVX and the top tier speakers.

I believe this is the main reason why the Clarisys line hasn't made any introduction into Aus. At this price level, there's no market. Heck, when the Neoliths were first introduced here, only 1 pair sold and that was the demo pair itself (165grand AUD). Only two speaker systems of Alsyvox were sold, the entry level Tintorento (60grand) and the one pair of Botichelli (125grand) that's it!

Clarisys??? Forget it, it won't sell here. Maybe some crazy chap with drug money stashed away under the sofa just might... only if they were keen on high quality playback, which I doubt. Most of that type of clientele prefer to purchase Lambo's and Ferrari's so that they could drive around. Highend audio systems are kept in the lounge or in dedicated rooms, no one gets to see them let alone hear them.

Anyway, according to the Clarisys chief tech, they use only one type of material for the mylar/ribbon. This one type of material performs exactly equal across the freq range, whereby delivering a far more coherent sound compared to multiple driver arrays, tweeters mixed with woofers, hybrids, etc. When you mix driver materials, they all have their own frequencies and this causes anomalies in playback.

That's basically why I prefer electrostats and full range stats. One material- one type of mylar. It just sounds far more natural than multiple drivers, reproducing all sorts of frequency ranges. You can hear the difference at once.

However, at the end of the day, there's no such thing as best speakers or best gear. It's all about the owner's tastes and personal preferences. If they like it so be it!

For those who get a chance to experience th Clarisys line, please report back. Always interested to learn something new.
Enjoy those fine tunes!
Cheers, RJ

 

[Robert D]

The pricing of the Clarisys line is slightly off... such that when I was presented an approx range from the proposed distributor, it was much different.

1. Minuet 35grand Euros, which is around 55 to 60 grand USD, that's about 70 - 80grand AUD.
2. The Studio Plus is over 100grand.
3. The Auditorium is 145grand USD, which is 1/4 of million AUD.
4. After the Auditorium there's another larger one which is a multi panel system that costs well over 500grand AUD/ 350grand USD.
These are the four main models.

So if there's a Clarisys at 35grand... I highly doubt it. There's another model that's being introduced, called the Picolo series but not yet released. Maybe that's the smallest entry level model, so I'm thinking this maybe be under 40grand, definitely not the other models I've listed above, no way!

**Note** the above pricing is in two versions. One is the Clarisys standard version- without the use of Neodymium's. Then there's the Neodymium version, which pushes the price up by 25% further!

These are NOT cheap nor affordable speakers, they only cater to a certain cliente.

The parent company is based in Switzerland, with two offices based in the US and Spore. The actual manufacturing is done in Vietnam. Honestly, I have nothing against Vietnam but to me in general, when something is made in Sth East Asia, which is my former hometown... it shouldn't cost that much at all! Labour is cheap in this region. I'm thinking about the Clarisys social responsibility program, where they donate or develop a fund for disability services in Vietnam, called Clarikid. You can read more about it on their website. If this is legit then it's a highly ethical company. Now that's a good thing!

They also provide exceptional tech support, where the Clarisys crew will actually come out to your house to set up the speakers. The owner cannot do the installation on their own. So, I was told that this exhorbitant pricing is set this way due to the added customer support that's provided by Clarisys during and after warranty. How far this is true? Well, some of the current owners who already have purchased these speakers, say that the customer service is in a league of its own.

Wilson does this for their customers as well but mostly for certain models, XLF, Chronosonic, XVX and the top tier speakers.

I believe this is the main reason why the Clarisys line hasn't made any introduction into Aus. At this price level, there's no market. Heck, when the Neoliths were first introduced here, only 1 pair sold and that was the demo pair itself (165grand AUD). Only two speaker systems of Alsyvox were sold, the entry level Tintorento (60grand) and the one pair of Botichelli (125grand) that's it!

Clarisys??? Forget it, it won't sell here. Maybe some crazy chap with drug money stashed away under the sofa just might... only if they were keen on high quality playback, which I doubt. Most of that type of clientele prefer to purchase Lambo's and Ferrari's so that they could drive around. Highend audio systems are kept in the lounge or in dedicated rooms, no one gets to see them let alone hear them.

Anyway, according to the Clarisys chief tech, they use only one type of material for the mylar/ribbon. This one type of material performs exactly equal across the freq range, whereby delivering a far more coherent sound compared to multiple driver arrays, tweeters mixed with woofers, hybrids, etc. When you mix driver materials, they all have their own frequencies and this causes anomalies in playback.

That's basically why I prefer electrostats and full range stats. One material- one type of mylar. It just sounds far more natural than multiple drivers, reproducing all sorts of frequency ranges. You can hear the difference at once.

However, at the end of the day, there's no such thing as best speakers or best gear. It's all about the owner's tastes and personal preferences. If they like it so be it!

For those who get a chance to experience th Clarisys line, please report back. Always interested to learn something new.
Enjoy those fine tunes!
Cheers, RJ

No, the euro isnt what it used to be. Using this converter, 35,000 euro is only about $37,000

https://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/convert/?Amount=35000&From=EUR&To=USD

that price above I mentioned is a few years old too, and inflation has been sky high.

 

[Big Dog RJ]

Ok that may be the case. However, that's in USD 37grand which still amounts to over 60grand AUD. Also, this is without Neodymium's. Take the Neodymium version and that cost shoots upto 25% more. The Minuet, which is currently their smallest model, will be in the range of 70 - 80 grand depending on Neodymium's.

Apparently the Clarisys speakers are pretty good without Neodymium's but with these special rare earth magnets, the performance level goes into another dimension.

That's the issue with Neodymium's, they're very very expensive. Magnepan never uses Neodymium's, otherwise there's no way Maggie's can maintain their low cost. Same goes with Audio Analysis ribbons and other panel type speakers. It's only Alsyvox and Clarisys that widely use Neodymium's and this is the sole reason why their price is so high, regardless where there made in... Vietnam or Switzerland. Of course, if there's a Swiss touch to anything the price goes up 100%! That's for sure.

The Studio plus and Auditorium are both in 6 figure categories, and there's a top of the line, which is over half a million. Like I said, catering to a certain level of clientele.

As far as I'm concerned, I still truly believe the Electrostats have the perfect type of transducer. A thin uniform mylar membrane sandwiched between fully charged stators, reacting to the signal spontaneously without any interference whatsoever, and the sheer speed at which the mylar moves is like no other. It's simply the perfect material to use and is uniform as one complete driver.

This is what Clarisys is doing with their ribbon membranes. Easy on paper but quite tricky to execute and make commercially viable. But ML has already done it with their stats, and they're remarkable stats!

Cheers to ML stats, just gotta love em!
Enjoy those finest tunes.
Woof! RJ

 

[Robert D]

Ok that may be the case. However, that's in USD 37grand which still amounts to over 60grand AUD. Also, this is without Neodymium's. Take the Neodymium version and that cost shoots upto 25% more. The Minuet, which is currently their smallest model, will be in the range of 70 - 80 grand depending on Neodymium's.

Apparently the Clarisys speakers are pretty good without Neodymium's but with these special rare earth magnets, the performance level goes into another dimension.

That's the issue with Neodymium's, they're very very expensive. Magnepan never uses Neodymium's, otherwise there's no way Maggie's can maintain their low cost. Same goes with Audio Analysis ribbons and other panel type speakers. It's only Alsyvox and Clarisys that widely use Neodymium's and this is the sole reason why their price is so high, regardless where there made in... Vietnam or Switzerland. Of course, if there's a Swiss touch to anything the price goes up 100%! That's for sure.

The Studio plus and Auditorium are both in 6 figure categories, and there's a top of the line, which is over half a million. Like I said, catering to a certain level of clientele.

As far as I'm concerned, I still truly believe the Electrostats have the perfect type of transducer. A thin uniform mylar membrane sandwiched between fully charged stators, reacting to the signal spontaneously without any interference whatsoever, and the sheer speed at which the mylar moves is like no other. It's simply the perfect material to use and is uniform as one complete driver.

This is what Clarisys is doing with their ribbon membranes. Easy on paper but quite tricky to execute and make commercially viable. But ML has already done it with their stats, and they're remarkable stats!

Cheers to ML stats, just gotta love em!
Enjoy those finest tunes.
Woof! RJ

I'd sure love to hear those with the neodymium magnets! Maybe they'll be at the big audio show in Chicago?
With pricing, I was just trying to point out that $37,000 USD isn't a huge difference from the $29,000 for Martin Logans. That's a 28% price differential. Both are more $ than I'm willing to spend, but if I were going to spend nearly $30k on the Martin Logans, I'd seriously consider the Clarisys too.
Which kind of speaker has better longevity? Do the Clarisys panels break down slowly and need replacement after 20 years?

 

[Big Dog RJ]

Yes Rob, I understand no worries mate.

The Neodymium's are superb! These are actually an awe-inspiring experience to audition. I've heard the Alsyvox which widely use them in every model and on the Diptyque but only on their Reference line. That's one of the main reasons Diptyque is able to offer their ribbon panels at a more affordable range. Whereas Alsyvox is considered, there's nothing really affordable, their smallest panel, the Tintorento starts around 70/80 grand. The Botichelli-X (out-board x-over 120grand plus) then the Raffelo starts around 200grand plus and so on...

With regards to longevity stats vs ribbons; I'm thinking it all depends on the owner's environment. If the room is nice and clean, smoke free, less pet hair, and no sneezing, also temperature controlled environment, most panels should last quite long if looked after well. Also humidity and coastal climates can kill panels short term. In my previous home town, it was a tropical paradise but an absolute paralyse for any panels! The wiring would start corrosion, mylars would just collapse and true ribbon foils would sag twist and snap! If memory serves correct, I've changed over 16 ribbon tweeters on various Maggie's I owned. Had Quads and ML stats, none of them lasted compared to sealed box designs. The Infinity's IRS 1B's that I had, lasted much longer but after a while Arnie Nudell left Infinity and there were no parts. (Arnie N is no more now).

So, taking into consideration the Clarisys tech support, I'm thinking that they'll honour their warranty and after warranty service as long as the owner is the original owner. I'm not sure about transferable warranty. I'm also quiet certain that the Clarisys chief tech, Florian W, who's actually the owner, will make sure his panels are well supported. Florian is Swiss, and he's extremely passionate about these speakers. He's built them from the ground up taking into consideration every aspect of the legendary Apogee Diva's and Apogee Grands and bettered these models in every aspect, so he says. He also owns two sets of Apogee Grands and is a close mate of Dan D Agostino. In fact Dan D' also owned the Apogee Grands.

ML OTOH, will always support the customer for as long as they're still producing stat panels for certain older models. This is where I was thinking about either make, Diptyque or Clarisys to get only if and when ML no longer supports the stat panels for the CLX's. But by that time, my hearing may be off too... so who cares. At this stage, I just prefer full range stats. Perhaps when that time comes to consider something else and ML tech support has no other options, then we'll see.

Cheers matey,
Enjoy those finest tunes!
Woof! RJ

 

[Big Dog RJ]

Attn: Rob D

BTW, Clarisys has already established itself over there. Sun Coast Audio in Florida and I think one in NYC as well as a few other dealers. So it's certainly making in-roads.

I would most definitely head out there for an audition, and even get in touch with Florian and the crew. They're currently getting ready for Axpona but once that's done, it'll be business as usual. According to Florian, they're already engaged with 10 custom orders in the US, and going steady... so they must be doing something right!

Cheers, RJ

 

[Robert D]

Yes Rob, I understand no worries mate.

The Neodymium's are superb! These are actually an awe-inspiring experience to audition. I've heard the Alsyvox which widely use them in every model and on the Diptyque but only on their Reference line. That's one of the main reasons Diptyque is able to offer their ribbon panels at a more affordable range. Whereas Alsyvox is considered, there's nothing really affordable, their smallest panel, the Tintorento starts around 70/80 grand. The Botichelli-X (out-board x-over 120grand plus) then the Raffelo starts around 200grand plus and so on...

With regards to longevity stats vs ribbons; I'm thinking it all depends on the owner's environment. If the room is nice and clean, smoke free, less pet hair, and no sneezing, also temperature controlled environment, most panels should last quite long if looked after well. Also humidity and coastal climates can kill panels short term. In my previous home town, it was a tropical paradise but an absolute paralyse for any panels! The wiring would start corrosion, mylars would just collapse and true ribbon foils would sag twist and snap! If memory serves correct, I've changed over 16 ribbon tweeters on various Maggie's I owned. Had Quads and ML stats, none of them lasted compared to sealed box designs. The Infinity's IRS 1B's that I had, lasted much longer but after a while Arnie Nudell left Infinity and there were no parts. (Arnie N is no more now).

So, taking into consideration the Clarisys tech support, I'm thinking that they'll honour their warranty and after warranty service as long as the owner is the original owner. I'm not sure about transferable warranty. I'm also quiet certain that the Clarisys chief tech, Florian W, who's actually the owner, will make sure his panels are well supported. Florian is Swiss, and he's extremely passionate about these speakers. He's built them from the ground up taking into consideration every aspect of the legendary Apogee Diva's and Apogee Grands and bettered these models in every aspect, so he says. He also owns two sets of Apogee Grands and is a close mate of Dan D Agostino. In fact Dan D' also owned the Apogee Grands.

ML OTOH, will always support the customer for as long as they're still producing stat panels for certain older models. This is where I was thinking about either make, Diptyque or Clarisys to get only if and when ML no longer supports the stat panels for the CLX's. But by that time, my hearing may be off too... so who cares. At this stage, I just prefer full range stats. Perhaps when that time comes to consider something else and ML tech support has no other options, then we'll see.

Cheers matey,
Enjoy those finest tunes!
Woof! RJ

Someday we may end up in a tiny apartment at a rest home, and headphones may be our best option! I'd certainly piss off my neighbors with my tunes.

 

[Paul172]

The Clarisys Auditorium are $148,000 US and in the CAT room at Axpona they were a let down. They made my ears bleed in the high frequency range. The mid size clarisys speaker I forgot its name the Minuet maybe? Holm Audio had a show special price of $34k and they sounded fantastic! I’m keeping my CLX tho!

 

[Big Dog RJ]

The Clarisys Auditorium are $148,000 US and in the CAT room at Axpona they were a let down. They made my ears bleed in the high frequency range. The mid size clarisys speaker I forgot its name the Minuet maybe? Holm Audio had a show special price of $34k and they sounded fantastic! I’m keeping my CLX tho!

Yes, I'm not surprised. Those large Clarisys Auditorium panels... well they're awfully large, and require a huge room with proper set-up.

I finally managed to get through one of my former dealer mates in Spore and he's confirmed the pricing. It seems that Clarisys has been established there now, going through the Malaysian importer, not based at the Adelphi, as most highend audio brands are based at. Approx Pricing is as of now:
Minuet 46grand USD
Studio Plus 66grand USD
Auditorium 146grand USD

When converting that into AUD, we're looking at approx double the pricing plus add another 25% for Neodymium's..., no thanks maties! I'm not engaging in this kind of spend.

This is very true coming from Electrostat owners. What we're getting is truly supreme, in the field of closer to the perfect transducer. The mylar material used in Stats is of one type, one membrane. This yields far greater accuracy, transparency and inner detail like no other. There are hardly any anomalies and the wave form in full freq range is far more coherent than any speaker array using multiple drivers with different materials.

Take for example the Maggie's, although pretty good the mids and bass section are quasi-ribbon. It's only the ribbon tweeter that's a true ribbon element and when you listen closely, that ribbon tweeter wanders off on its own. So Mags techies had to adjust carefully with crossover points to get them to sound more coherent but when you compare this to a full range Stat, the difference is very noticeable from the first note onwards.

This is another reason why the Clarisys wanted to make sure the ribbons used in these panels were of one material. In fact, the main driver consists of mylar-kapton-mylar. So by maintaining this uniformity, they've been able to make full use of those powerful Neodymium's, further enhancing the efficiency and dynamics of the speakers

They're trying to emulate the near perfection of the Electrostatic response and the way in which it controls the mylar. In fact, the chief tech himself quoted the Quad ESL as an example during his brief introduction of Clarisys.

Having said that maties, we already own one of the best Stats money can buy. Coming from another CLX Art owner, it's going to take an awful lot of convincing for me to seriously consider the Clarisys. OTOH the Diptyque ribbon speakers made by the French design team, is really tops! I've heard three of their models and hope to experience their top of the line DP160 MKII Reference series this Aug. Pricing on their lower end models isn't too shabby either. Nothing too crazy in pricing and they utilise Neodymium's as well if chosen by the owner. Overall, better value I reckon.

As of this stage, there's no other speaker system I'd rather own, the CLX Art's are my end game.

Cheers to ML Stats!
Now that deserves a mighty WOOF!!!
RJ

 

[Robert D]

Yes, I'm not surprised. Those large Clarisys Auditorium panels... well they're awfully large, and require a huge room with proper set-up.

I finally managed to get through one of my former dealer mates in Spore and he's confirmed the pricing. It seems that Clarisys has been established there now, going through the Malaysian importer, not based at the Adelphi, as most highend audio brands are based at. Approx Pricing is as of now:
Minuet 46grand USD
Studio Plus 66grand USD
Auditorium 146grand USD

When converting that into AUD, we're looking at approx double the pricing plus add another 25% for Neodymium's..., no thanks maties! I'm not engaging in this kind of spend.

This is very true coming from Electrostat owners. What we're getting is truly supreme, in the field of closer to the perfect transducer. The mylar material used in Stats is of one type, one membrane. This yields far greater accuracy, transparency and inner detail like no other. There are hardly any anomalies and the wave form in full freq range is far more coherent than any speaker array using multiple drivers with different materials.

Take for example the Maggie's, although pretty good the mids and bass section are quasi-ribbon. It's only the ribbon tweeter that's a true ribbon element and when you listen closely, that ribbon tweeter wanders off on its own. So Mags techies had to adjust carefully with crossover points to get them to sound more coherent but when you compare this to a full range Stat, the difference is very noticeable from the first note onwards.

This is another reason why the Clarisys wanted to make sure the ribbons used in these panels were of one material. In fact, the main driver consists of mylar-kapton-mylar. So by maintaining this uniformity, they've been able to make full use of those powerful Neodymium's, further enhancing the efficiency and dynamics of the speakers

They're trying to emulate the near perfection of the Electrostatic response and the way in which it controls the mylar. In fact, the chief tech himself quoted the Quad ESL as an example during his brief introduction of Clarisys.

Having said that maties, we already own one of the best Stats money can buy. Coming from another CLX Art owner, it's going to take an awful lot of convincing for me to seriously consider the Clarisys. OTOH the Diptyque ribbon speakers made by the French design team, is really tops! I've heard three of their models and hope to experience their top of the line DP160 MKII Reference series this Aug. Pricing on their lower end models isn't too shabby either. Nothing too crazy in pricing and they utilise Neodymium's as well if chosen by the owner. Overall, better value I reckon.

As of this stage, there's no other speaker system I'd rather own, the CLX Art's are my end game.

Cheers to ML Stats!
Now that deserves a mighty WOOF!!!
RJ

With the Australian dollar, it's highly inflated? Do fast food workers get paid $25/hr Australian or more? It seems inflated. A US dollar is worth about 1.5 Australian dollars. I'm guessing that salaries are similarly inflated?
The minimum wage here in Ohio is $10.45/hr. Just curious. I find international economics fascinating.