The Really Tasty Gear Thread - With Pictures!

[tsv_1]

Italian Ice

Great thread!

a humble contribution... I've heard OF these speakes, but have never heard them live. They've garnered solid reviews and I imagine, not unlike Italian ice, they have a flavor some find quite tasty indeed.

<><><>
The 3000 series is a powerful, dimensional acoustic system of the Campanile line, developed by Bolzano Villetri™ designed especially for serious home cinema.

 

[Hocky]

interesting.

 

[JonFo]

Wisdom Audio

Man, these are my new 'must have speakers':

The new LS4 from Wisdom Audio.

Not only beautiful, but have some of the most amazing stats.

80" of line-source goodness with amazing performance from 80Hz on up.

The mid bass drivers displace as much volume as 42 six-inch dynamic drivers, but with the low-distortion and linearity of planar drivers.

Read more here:
http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/speakers/floorstanding/wisdom-audio-series-ls4-ls3
http://www.ultimateavmag.com/content/wisdom-audio-ls3-ls4-speakers

Downside is cost, they are $40,000 USD/Each. Yes each unit. Need five for a home Theater?
Then better have $200,000 ready to burn ...

Or save some coin and use the $30,000/ea LS3 for rears

 

[tsv_1]

Man, these are my new 'must have speakers':

The new LS4 from Wisdom Audio.

Saw these online the other day... essentially a maggie with full absorption of the backwave (if I recall, and I'm sure I'm oversimplifying). Would be interesting to hear. Seems like they might skirt room interaction issues.

 

[slowGEEZR]

How do they keep from falling down?

 

[User211]

The mid bass drivers displace as much volume as 42 six-inch dynamic drivers, but with the low-distortion and linearity of planar drivers.

Love to know how they work this out. Apparently an Apogee Scintilla displaced as much as 8 12 inch drivers, according to Hi-Fi News. Mind you, that's 25 years old, cost massively less, and went as low as 25Hz.

BS to the driver calculations unless proven or explained otherwise. Anyone know the answer to this? Surely it isn't surface area alone...? Maybe the article I read meant 4 12 inch drivers per speaker? Hm...

 

[MPS]

The mid bass drivers displace as much volume as 42 six-inch dynamic drivers, but with the low-distortion and linearity of planar drivers.

Doesn't really make any sense at all. Which six-inch driver, how much linear travel = displacement? 0,5mm/driver? 6mm/driver?
42 pcs of six-inch drivers equals to 10,5 pcs of twelve-inch drivers

 

[User211]

Hm - it occurs to me that this Jeff Rowland 301 amp is tasty. Therefore, in celebration of said artifact's tastiness, here is an image of said item.

I heard that the front panels are brushed & buffed by virgins for many hundreds of hours, and that's why they look so seductive. Well - you can believe that story if you want. Me? I do - completely.

Definately one of the nicest looking solid state class D amps on the planet, IMO.

 

[tsv_1]

Were I marketing these, I would be hard-pressed to suggest anything other than "The Great Wall" as a model name....

 

[Audioseduction]

Pass Labs XA160.5 Class A Monoblock 150lbs

 

[User211]

The speakers Todd should have bought. The Diva Ultimate.

*LITERALLY BRAND NEW SPEAKERS
*INCORPORATES ALL NEW**FOIL ONLY**MID RANGE & TWEETER DESIGN WITH EASY TO DRIVE 4 ohm LOAD
*STRONGER & MATCHED MAGNETS
*ENCAPSULATED FRAME FOR ZERO RESONANCE
*INCLUDES: NEW PASS LABS XVR1 CROSSOVER
*MATCH & TUNED WITH THE FINEST COMPONENTS
*FINISHED IN NATURAL MAPLE (OTHER WOOD FINISHES AVAILABLE)

Do NOT go and listen to these at Rich Murray's. They'll be dangerous. You'll be $27,995 worse off.

Personally, I'd choose a different finish, but hey...

 

[Bernard]

Justin, who is Rich Murray? Surely not "our" Rich, considering you have a picture!

Very nice system, BTW.

 

[User211]

Justin, who is Rich Murray? Surely not "our" Rich, considering you have a picture!

Very nice system, BTW.

See Audiogon search for Apogee Diva.

Nice - but it could do with 10 more Pass Labs amps for that effect.

 

[tsv_1]

Those are awesome! and you might well be right about them being the speakers I should have bought. Would love to hear them! I'm almost soiling myself just looking at the photo... never mind being in the same room with them. They really are just gorgeous!

And given my preference for clear lacquered maple, they might has well have been custom designed just for moi.

That's gotta be well over $100K there in the picture, ya? My keyboard needs a drool-guard.

 

[User211]

TBH I reckon you could haggle him down on that price. Wood work is growing on me and looks good in the close up.

They aren't going to sound like any ordinary Diva looking at the feature set. They're going to be killer, I think.

Duetta Ultimate testament: Duetta Ultimate

 

[tsv_1]

TBH I reckon you could haggle him down on that price. Wood work is growing on me and looks good in the close up.

They aren't going to sound like any ordinary Diva looking at the feature set. They're going to be killer, I think.

Sounds like the guy writing the review never listened to any MLs though... if so, that's unforgivable.

 

[User211]

Sounds like the guy writing the review never listened to any MLs though... if so, that's unforgivable.

He didn't need to Todd. He just "knew" when he heard those Duettas

 

[Bernard]

I wonder if the speakers are braced at the back. Those stands look flimsy.

 

[User211]

I wonder if the speakers are braced at the back. Those stands look flimsy.

Put it this way, I wouldn't give him $27,995 until they were...

They do look a bit (lot) like the stock ones, which are incredibly strong brushed aluminium - but IMHO don't rise far enough up the back.

 

[tsv_1]

He didn't need to Todd. He just "knew" when he heard those Duettas

I proclaim now that, one day, I will again proudly own ribbon transducers. I wonder if the wife would be OK with me designing two separate audio rooms (plus a third for HT) in our retirement house?

You know what? knowing her, she'd be fine with it as long as she got the rooms she wants as well.

Here's a very early swag at the exterior... the wife says "too church-like"... but I like high gables, gothic treatment, and stone exterior. Maybe I should have just been a monk (in a monestary where they worship high-end audio).