Title: Re: DECFEST 2024
Post by Kamran on 10/07/24 at 05:01:32
Part 2
East End—Single Ended Glory
On the East end of the listening room—Sarah 300B (known commodity in this household) was pulling exclusive amplification duty paired with both Digital, Vinyl, and the crème de la crème Tape Machine (more on that later) driving either Randy’s Baffles or Steve’s new creation, which we have dubbed the ‘Omni baffles’ for the time being (also fitted with Fast 15s) and the AMT Tweeter up top.
Let’s get one thing out of the way—-the Omni baffles are friggin amazing. I couldn’t get enough of them. While I enjoyed Randy’s baffles (heck I’m listening to them right now at home even after an exhausting day of travel), the Omni baffles’ imaging was a mile deep, surprisingly high (considering how low the drivers are) and with decidedly lower and cleaner bass notes. The tweeter, while set to 10db lower, was adding some magic on top—-Steve calls it the icing on the cake.
He was not kidding….
People’s minds are going to get blown next year when they finally get their hands on it. Steve projects to update the website by end of the year. Caveat —- you need to have a large room. Steve only intends to use the ZF15M Masters to sell the Omni baffles later this year.
I was weighing my options as I was listening to them both days.
Bigger Better Baffles—or a Divorce? Not sure if I have come to a conclusion just yet….
In an ideal world—there would be a size in between Randy’s baffles and the ZF15M—that would be such a compelling option.
Pro Tip: Figure out a way to shine a light behind the ribbon tweeter…Looks mad cool that way. We accidentally stumbled on to this when Bob was shining his iPhone flashlight behind the speaker trying to explore the caps on the crossover.
And of course, I have a picture.
We listened to the TT, that new tonearm is a thing of beauty but I was equally floored by the TT stand that Steve built—-I guess I never paid attention to it before. His craftsmanship is just next level man….
Educated
Speaking of blowing minds, we have to talk about the stroke of genius to place the Headwreckers outside this year. I recall walking to the backyard shortly after arriving and was just paralyzed when I heard the first bass note coming out of the speakers. Stopped dead in my tracks looking at Phil (who had a wry smile on his face) and Paul—who was frantically calling someone on his phone and telling them—you have to come outside and listen to these speakers!
Let me tell the folks who listened to the Headwreckers last year in the listening room—-you actually didn’t listen to what this speaker is capable of. Erase the room boundaries and this bad boy comes out to play—-talk about an out of body experience.
I had to take a break just now filling in my son about the fest and the experience of listening to the Headwreckers —- he had a lot of good questions (proud papa moment), but here are two questions that are relevant to the topic at hand:
Q. What amp was Steve using to Drive the Headwreckers?
A. The Mystery Amp, but that was an insurance policy to combat the noise floor outside (wind, ppl, fire)—pre fest, Steve was using Rachael and it worked just fine.
Awkward silence on the other end—I think he thought his dad was full of shit.
Q. Didn’t the outside noise bother you guys (since he knows that I’m anal about the noise-floor)?
A. It’s funny you asked that—-we were having the same discussion around the fire-pit while listening—Steve is anal about noisefloor too I said—-but that’s when he is inside—-outside, the noise of the wind, the crackle of the burning timber, the rustling of the leaves was actually adding to the sonic experience—-the Headwreckers were not only overcoming these external factors, but also blending in with them. I couldn’t agree more.
It was an educational experience and a humbling one at the same time.
I must have gotten my ten thousand steps by going back and forth from the main listening room to the Headwreckers, but Day 2 was probably tilted more towards the Headwreckers…as I realized that I can get 90% of the experience of the inside listening room in my own rig—but listening to the Headwreckers outside could be a once in a lifetime experience, and I just wanted to soak it in.
West End—The Boss
On the West End of the room, we had the Torii Monos and the experimental SS amp driving Bob Ziegler’s HRv2’s.
I have a love/Hate relationship with Bob—-his speakers are friggin amazing to listen to—and he makes me question my choice of going with Open Baffles.
So how is the SS amp? Well, we did just one experiment so take what I say with a grain of salt.
I queued the cover of St. James Infirmary by Hans Theesink and we listened to it on the SS amp. It was pretty darn good, if a bit dry. Then we switched amps and let the Monos sing.
LOL—-NO COMPETITION
That track was 10x more alive, engaging, and tonally satisfying on the Torii. And I wasn’t the only one in the room who shared that particular opinion….
I can barely keep my eyes open—so I’ll cap off with how the second night ended. During the last hour of the fest on Saturday, with only a handful of folks remaining, Steve’s internet connection dipped for some unknown reason. We decided to go inside and with no digital to run either indoor or outdoor, Steve connected his tape Machine to Sarah and left to diagnose the issue.
To say that I was dumbfounded for the next half hour or so before I left the fest, would be to put it mildly.
And here I thought Steve’s Digital and TT was offering rich resolution, sublime dynamics, and insane realism.
The Audio Gods figured that I needed yet another education…
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