Bristol Hi-Fi Show 2009

[User211]

Shame about Montreal, Bernard.

Anyway, first spotted in London, the iTube 452 amp - only this time it was playing. Hard to be enthusiatic over the sound, but that's probably more due to the speaker limitations than anything else. If I were to buy the amp, I'd hook it up with some ProAc D1s. I quite like it - it looks quite original to me.

From the website: "The new flagship iTube 452 is a fully integrated push-pull amplifier featuring no less than 9 valves and 4 line input stages to offer 45w per channel of supreme audio performance. As with all Fatman iTube Valve amps, all aspects of sound reproduction are handled with incredible accuracy with a full natural sound stage which is precise and yet fills the listening room with breadth and depth. The deepest lows to the highest highs are all reproduced with supreme clarity, accuracy and openness with a beautifully warm tonality. The iTube 452, like all Fatman products, achieves this superior performance and natural warmth through the employment of premium grade circuitry and genuine thermionic valves coupled with innovative design and meticulous engineering.
Audiophiles queue here.

Remote
The iTube 452 with ValveDock comes complete with full function remote control.

With ValveDock
The iTube 452 includes a matching docking station suitable for all iPod products (except Shuffle). Cables are also included in the package."

 

[User211]

Nice stack of Mission Cyrus gear - not playing, but some similar stuff was, and was hard to go crazy about, I have to admit. I'm not going to list all the gear... try their website for that. Nice looking stuff, though. I used to own a Mission Cyrus Two and it was an OK amp for the money.

 

[User211]

Nice Lorricraft 501 TT. Made at the original Garrard site. More info here: http://garrard501.com/.

 

[User211]

Lorricraft TT is situ - with some very nice sounding Leema Acoustics gear. This is definately good, nice sounding stuff, with just a hint of "metal cone" colouration from the speakers.

http://www.leema-acoustics.com/

 

[User211]

This stuff is new on me - but it sounded very good. DLS.

CD One and Amp One - both £2995 each. Very nice, clean styling, I think. M66 loudspeakers - didn't catch the price.

http://www.dls.se

 

[User211]

Tangent radios - nice for the kitchen etc. Internet streaming, DAB, FM you name it. Seems like they have taken a leaf from Tivoli's book. I actually own two Tivoli's, which are pretty good for the size.

http://www.tangent-audio.com/

Follow up is a bunch of Vita Audio radios. Well, What Hi-Fi seems to like 'em - but that publication is the lowest of the low in my book.

Go on - treat yourself. It isn't going to cost megabucks

 

[User211]

Bryston BCD-1 CD player, B100 integrated amp and PMC loudspeakers. A good combination, and yet another good sounding room. I dunno what was going on this year, but a lot of the modest systems really came over quite well, raising the sound quality bar at the show over previous years as a consequence. Quite why is a mystery to me - maybe it was just a case of good synergy between components.

The CD player was filthy. And let's face it - it isn't pretty. And nor is the amp. I want looks and good performance, please Bryston. Could do better.

 

[tonepub]

So, 32 thousand Euros (approx 40K US) for the Garrard 501.. Must be amazing...

 

[amey01]

So, 32 thousand Euros (approx 40K US) for the Garrard 501.. Must be amazing...

Good prospective contestant for the overrated audio equipment thread I reckon......


I've heard a 401 and other than Fisher Price styling that would look at home in Rich's system, the sound didn't do anything amazing for me. Just because it's a transcription deck doesn't mean the world is going to stop for it.

 

[tonepub]

40k is a lot for a table. I've heard a couple of very good ones and a couple of somewhat overrated ones.

The big problem at that price is that there are quite a few incredible tables at around 15-20k from SME, Raven, Clearaudio, Spiral Groove, the VPI HRX, etc. that even on a killer system, it's tough to justify. Even with a 5-10k cartridge and 5-15k phono pre.

Madness...

 

[Dreamer]

40k is a lot for a table.

$40,000 is a lot of money for anything that doesn't have doors, windows, and a chimney... My parent's first house was less than $40k...

Get real, fellas, to 95% of the people in the US or the EU, $40k is just flat-out a LOT of money. To the vast majority of people on the rest of the planet, it's more than they will ever see in their entire lives.

It's 3 factory-tricked-out Triumph Bonneville T100s, and the leathers and helmets to go with them.

It's almost 1.75 times the starting salary of an elementary school teacher.

It's more than the starting salary of the average police officer, fireman, EMT, or school bus driver.

It's a year's tuition and fees at many private colleges.

It's the combined tuition cost of a Bachelors AND Masters degree from some state universities.

It's three times the annual income of a minimum wage worker in the US, BEFORE taxes.

It's an OBSCENE amount of money for a record player, especially an ugly one that doesn't even qualify as a piece of "art" or "sculpture".

Some of y'all need to get your realities adjusted...

 

[User211]

So, 32 thousand Euros (approx 40K US) for the Garrard 501.. Must be amazing...

Well, that would be cool, I mean it'd be rude not to take the money of the bankers who could afford that.

Curious, I just phoned them up. It doesn't cost that - it costs £12.K. There's some complete BS on the web about how much it does cost. That's a lot, but it's still half of an SME 30/12.

Shall we call this the controversial TT thread?

 

[User211]

Good prospective contestant for the overrated audio equipment thread I reckon......

Apart from the Garrard, why so?

I post some cheaper gear compared to Hong Kong or RMAF, and suddenly we have value issues. Get real, all!!! This stuff for the most part is relatively cheap compared to those shows, where nobody complained!!!

Am I saying the Garrard is reasonably priced even at £12.5K? No, I think it's a complete rip - but hey, so is a lot of hi-end hi-fi.

 

[User211]

You know, sometimes I wonder why I bother. I went to the trouble of taking all these pics, for me really, I admit, but I don't have to go to the bother of posting them. So far all we have really had on this thread is arguments, overrated claims, sarcasm, incorrect assertions and "bash the rich" (OK, I did just poke a bit of fun at that) who can actually afford some of it.

I don't mind a bit of controversy, and I'll continue to post, but hey... IT'S ONLY HI-FI!!! We're supposed to like it.

I hope that point has been made. Now let's move on....:devil:

 

[amey01]

Apart from the Garrard, why so?

That's all I was talking about!!

 

[amey01]

IT'S ONLY HI-FI!!! We're supposed to like it.
..................................

................................and like talking about it?

 

[User211]

Good prospective contestant for the overrated audio equipment thread I reckon......

Well OK, but you did refer to the whole thread! No worries...

 

[Bernard]

You know, sometimes I wonder why I bother. I went to the trouble of taking all these pics, for me really, I admit, but I don't have to go to the bother of posting them.

Justin, please continue to post them. I, for one, enjoy the pictures. I consider the prices to be only of academic interest as I can't afford them, so I don't get my knickers in a twist about them.

 

[User211]

Exactly, Bernard. And let's face it, even this more affordable gear is STILL damned expensive, really. So what, though? No point in getting upset about it.

Expensive out-of-reach products exist in fashion, jewellery, cars, houses etc. Some inevitably offer poor value. Live with it - don't get upset about it!

And if hi-end hi-fi didn't exist, there'd be nothing to aspire to. So I like the fact it exists.

 

[tonepub]

$40,000 is a lot of money for anything that doesn't have doors, windows, and a chimney... My parent's first house was less than $40k...

Get real, fellas, to 95% of the people in the US or the EU, $40k is just flat-out a LOT of money. To the vast majority of people on the rest of the planet, it's more than they will ever see in their entire lives.

It's 3 factory-tricked-out Triumph Bonneville T100s, and the leathers and helmets to go with them.

It's almost 1.75 times the starting salary of an elementary school teacher.

It's more than the starting salary of the average police officer, fireman, EMT, or school bus driver.

It's a year's tuition and fees at many private colleges.

It's the combined tuition cost of a Bachelors AND Masters degree from some state universities.

It's three times the annual income of a minimum wage worker in the US, BEFORE taxes.

It's an OBSCENE amount of money for a record player, especially an ugly one that doesn't even qualify as a piece of "art" or "sculpture".

Some of y'all need to get your realities adjusted...

Is Bummer your middle name?

Why is something automatically bad or part of a conspiracy because it's expensive?

Granted most people's analog front end is probably worth 1-3000 bucks, but there are plenty of people playing at that level too. Anyone who makes 40 thousand dollar tables does not sell a ton of them, just as Ferrari doesn't sell anywhere near as many cars as Honda or Toyota.

So everyone should just stop producing luxury goods and services because you are offended by them?

If you want to take it a step further, your stereo probably costs more than it does to feed a whole village for a year in a remote part of Africa.

What's obscene to you is pocket change to someone else and vice versa.

Quit whining about the same thing. Are you going to go live in a mud hut?