Peoria does have it's own airport, but I bet it's expensive to fly in there.

Not sure about hotels, as I only stay at the Marriott downtown. I'd see about getting us better rates, but it's under new management so I no longer have the pull I might have previously.

Still, if someone reminds of the dates Decfest falls on this year, I can ask and see if I can get any discounts. There is both a Marriott and Courtyard downtown Peoria, which is about 17 minutes from Steve's house.

I've stayed at the Hampton Inn near the casino a couple of times for DeckFest, and been quite pleased. The staff is very nice, the rooms are clean, and the location is about 5 minutes from Steve's place. I plan to stay there again this year as well. Hope to see you there!!!

Auguie

Here's a link to the info and live broadcast page:

https://www.decware.com/newsite/zenfestcam.html

And here's a link to this years thread on DECFEST 2014

https://www.decware.com/cgi-bin/yabb22/YaBB.pl?num=1406241460

Looking forward to seeing everyone there!

I'm looking forward to it, Steve! It will also be nice to not have to wrestle people for 15 minutes of listening time, only to have someone else come in and change it on you.  :)  I think this is a great idea. Get it all tweaked out and we'll be there!

Dan, that's great news!

I just e-mailed this year's annual Decfest invite to everyone on our customer appreciation list.  If anyone here didn't get it, let me know and we'll get you on the list, and I'll post it here.

Thanks,

Steve

i will be there Friday, Satuday, and Sunday.
I will try to bring some LP's. Steve maybe you can record them to you RTR

I think I still have my name badge from last year in the glove box of the little Scion. I'm like...what's this...it says Decware on it!

Just a teaser about some possible new speakers this year...  

We have found a suitable full range driver for the DNA horn and are looking forward to everyone's feedback.  I can tell you that it really makes a Zen Amp (SE84CKC) sing!

Also, Bob has been working on a new speaker to replace the MG944's that were discontinued last year.  As some of you know, the MG944 was an MTM transmission line speaker.  This year we're going to hear an MTM speaker (same driver compliment) done in a DNA style horn enclosure.  I hear it's wicked.  We will again be looking forward to hearing everyones comments about this design.



Steve

Quote:


LOL - I love it. From...well, I'm not sure if I'm going....to, WHERE DO I SIGN UP!

This sounds pretty exciting! I'm really looking forward to going now!

This year we're going to have a coupon code on the badge you get when you sign in.  It will be good for 10% off your next purchase, and be valid for one year.

Steve

Only a couple weeks away! I'm looking forward to meeting more of the extended Decware "family". I'm looking forward to the late night tape sessions and hearing the speakers Steve has setup for us.

"anal pre-fest test"...  Sounds rather obscene, Steve.  Just what were you doing?...hehe

Quote:


LOL

I'll be amazed if it sounds half this good tomorrow during the day. I mean it IS 11:00 P.M.  Right now, the sound is 5 feet above the speakers and wall to wall.  It's pretty sick.


Steve

Steve,
Setup looks real good. Can't wait to hear it!
John

I was going to play the digital rig today, but I got sidetracked with a 15 IPS audiophile grade recording of the Beetles.  The tape was on an old industrial Ampex reel that I purchased for scrap.  No one know what was on the tape.  I have to say that after listening to this tape, whoever mastered the Beetles CD's should be brought up on charges for what they did to them.  Shameful.

Steve

Thanks to the Audio Gods who purposely sabotaged my Acoustats in the final hours of Decfest, I have for the very first time achieved the TRIFECTA of audio rooms.  I have tape, my vinyl rig, and the Digital side of the room sounding as good as the formats will allow on all three fronts.  I can go from Tape to vinyl to CD without vomiting.  In fact with only two beers I can go from tape to digital and get completely lost in the better recordings.

Anyway, keep in mind it's fairly easy to get caught up in an Audio high and spew out of bunch of highly exuberant audio babble designed to seed excitement, and quite another to do it, and then have everyone show up to witness it first hand and find out you weren't making things up.  So on that note I'll forgive my exuberance about this years fest and rest comfortably in the knowledge that it will be the best sound ever, on all three fronts of any Decfest to date.

Getting back to last nights digital side of the room, just for kicks, I duplicated the experience I had last night with Dave tonight after listening to one of the best analog tapes we've ever heard.  Directly afterwards I fired up the OTL and FRX drivers and played a CD that kept him locked to the couch for 34 minutes, a new world record.

No it's not tape. No it's not even LP, but it doesn't suck, and usually in the past it mostly did... well, suck.

Tonight we took the Beetles tape and put it on the serious tape machine with the butterfly heads and listened to a compilation of over a dozen early Beetles pre 1967 songs that were recorded actually in the same league as the Diana Krall LP's we've all grown to love.  Imagine a recording of the Beetles sounding more audiophile and refined than a Diana Krall LP. That's what we witnessed, and that's what we're going to play during the fest among other things that will be memorable to say the least.  

I guarantee that those who plan their fest around 8 o'clock all three nights will achieve audio ruination in the same way it has effected us. You'll never see music the same way again, but on a positive note, you'll realize that it's possible to achieve sound beyond what you realized was possible, It will restore your faith and hope when you hear what it was really like BEFORE it got so waxed.

Now that we've really digested this Beetles tape, like other tapes we've heard, the first impression  or at least the first comment you make to the other guy listening with you is "I had no idea they were actually that good., they're at least twice or three times better than I knew. "I simply changes everything. It changes your perception of reality because it is reality.  

Tonight we had the Beetles unplugged in our listening room sound completely real, and astonishingly good. As though they were really hear. As though it were real. The complete 1000% polar opposite of even their best White album, this was not even comparable. I estimate the value of this tape upwards of a grand.

I couldn't be more excited Decfest coming only a week away!  Usually I'm fairly stressed.  Now I feel armed and ready.  Bring it on, as they say... You visit here will be memorable, and perhaps in more positive and profound ways than it was in the early days... some of you know what I'm talking about. Memerable it was... yes, positive... not completely sure.

Can't wait to see everyone.

Cheers,

Steve

no problem!

I am considering it, yes...  however I don't really want to make an amplifier that people won't buy, so this year at the fest I am going to give my prototype OTL a lot of air time to see peoples reactions and try to gauge the amount of money they would be willing to spend on this kind of sound.  

Amplifiers using tubes like this AND built the old school way are far from practical and anything but cheep. For example, this OTL SET amp requires 7 power supplies, the largest being a high voltage supply rated at 4000 mA. A Torii or Mystery Amp by comparison uses only 300 ~ 340 mA. An amplifier like this OTL creates enough heat to keep a room warm in the dead of winter, so using it during the summer in a small room would be difficult without central air. Does it sound better than a Torii or ZMA, yes it does. Does that make it a better sounding amp, not nessesarily. We'll just see what people think about it and without knowing how much it would cost to make a pair of monoblocks we'll just say 10 grand.  If we don't throw out a number like this, literally everyone will want a Decware OTL SET amplifier until they find out what it costs and then they'll be disappointed. This is in fact why I've always kept it either hidden or off limits during past Decfests.

Is the OTL different than the other S.E.T. in devlopment that was spoken about in the previous thread?

Is it different remains to be seen.  My first thought was to make a classic SET amp with this tube, but the output transformer is simply massive which gives me real pause when thinking ahead to trying to ship the amps. I'm going to build a pair anyway - since I have the custom made transformers here, and I expect the process will just convince me to make the OTL version.  Time will tell.

Steve

Count me in for Saturday!  Always great fun to meet people and have an opportunity to listen to world class equipment.

I've been to the last 2 fests. And I really wish I could come to this one.   Unfortunately life and situations have been upturned so that it's just not prudent for me to make the trip this year.  When back on my feet, I'll shoot for next year.  Will miss seeing everyone and all the cool new toys. very likely will be watching live feeds and stuff.   Have fun everyone.

Some of you probably think I'm nuts when I say stuff like this, but I describe it as I see/feel/hear it, and oftentimes the builder (in this case Steve) usually agrees with me.

Back before I had the ZMA, Steve gave me a taste of his one-off OTL amp - not 10 seconds into the session, I almost yelled out for him to stop playing music, as the sound was a bit overwhelming; it was a bit of sensory overload honestly. The sound was so dense (being played from his Teac DAC mind you) and visceral, that for a second my brain said "reach out and see if you can touch it as it goes by"

Two times in my life that sound reproduction has pretty much popped the circuit of my brain, both times were with Steve.

I don't think you're nuts. Or maybe you are. . . and if so we all are or want to be as we want smiliar experiences.

Lonely Raven wrote on 09/27/14 at 18:17:22:


You make it sound as if it was either scary real or it was like fingers on a chalk board.  A  bit overwhelming in a good way right?

Can anybody explain what the difference one could expect in sound and performance from an OTL vs. Transformer based amp?  What are the trade-offs between each one, etc.?  

Man ... I have been waiting for a S.E.T. from Steve with just a little more juice, I'm not so sure about the OTL as I've never heard one ... but the amount of watts is perfect for me and my speakers so it has my name all over it as long as I can afford it!

What an amazing video!!

Now, from what I understand, most OTL amps out there aren't really OTL. They "modified OTL" or "Hybrid-OTL" or some such. I don't understand the technical differences exactly, but I've seen several EEs say that a proper OTL would have all the negatives Steve talks about (heat, expense, slew of transformers, dangerous voltages, etc). I'm guessing Steve's one off amp is a true OTL - I don't know if the Atmos-phere falls into that - but seeing as it needs 10 output tubes, it probably is a real OTL.

All those Output Tubes is what puts me off...LR.


I'm more interested in Steve's OTL with 6c33c's.

I need it to handle the dips of 2-4, 6-ohms...from my 8-ohm Speaker's.
If it needs a preamp with gain...I have that in the CSP3!
Also, need RCA inputs and want XLR with it too.

For me it is not a merry-go-round. I enjoy my CSP3/ZMA combination, my SE84CS/SV83 Svetlana and Super Zen CKC...I'm not selling. I rotate them. Although, my CSP3 an ZMA rule.

I appreciate Steve's designs making my music. If he persue's this OTL...I want him to know I'm interested.

I look forward to the impressions of Listener's at the Fest.

LR, as beowulf asked....what are your further impressions of the OTL...compared to the ZMA?

Rotating speakers and amps. . . just a totally different mindset and methodology to me, I want one system really to do all without futzing and have been working in that direction for years. If ONLY I could spend more time in my own home with my system because it really has become that for me, one system to just let me melt into the music, favoring all my recordings as well as any system I've had or heard.

Vive la difference! I'm glad you have fun on the merry-go-round. But I'm glad to have the stability of one great system for playback.

Well, it seems like a merry go round to me, especially with all those speakers. I never need more than just one, right set of speakers. The HR-1s are those for me, especially the newest version I own.

You're also wrong: I have four Decware amps (well really five, but my original Zen amp #27 turned to Revision A I'll never get back from a friend).And I explore different tube complements in each. A Torii Mk II, a Torii Mk III with stepped attenuator and Jupiter caps, a Torii Mk III with standard attenuator and Jupiter caps (but no bass controls, one of the first made and bass controls can't be added) and a C amp modded by Eddie Vaughn. I have three systems (two here in my home, one at my parents), three amps in use, one in the closet. But the Mk III with the stepped attenuator and the Jupiter caps, it has the magic that makes my main system best in a way that I can enjoy my recordings, in tandem with my HR-1s and RP3 and ZP3 and CSP2+ and DirectStream and DCD-A100. I don't need to move any component out and that gives me great satisfaction. If only I could spend all my listening time in front of that system, but alas I have caregiving duties that make me listen more elsewhere.

To each their own. We all have different tastes and priorities and I've discovered and fed mine. And I'm learning when to just center on what is in play and enjoy the music.

Whatever Larry. I put it as concisely as I could, we're different, you like to flit from thing to thing it seems, I don't. Vive la difference as I said before.

Couple things I'd like to bring to the surface here...

I have never liked OTL amplifiers because they require multiple tubes in parallel which is expensive, hot, and never as transparent as a single tube, especially after the tubes begin to drift. Besides being expensive, they are famous for blowing up speakers and themselves.  

My OTL is like no other in that it is an SET. It is like any other SET amplifier... the difference is that the tube of choice (6C33C) is capable of driving very low impedances so with a second tube acting as a current source on the cathode of the first it is possible to drive an 8 ohm speaker directly with no output transformer.

What everyone is calling my OTL is not actually correct.  My OTL is an OTL SET amp.  Output transformer-less Single ended triode.  That makes it as different as you can get from most OTL amplifiers, which is why I like it.

Steve

I am really looking forward to coming to the Fest. I am sort of new to the audiophile thing and have really enjoyed acquiring my current system. It will be really fun to meet a lot of the people I have either bought stuff from or just talked with on this site as well as meet Steve in person.

Steve, I did talk Frank into coming with me so get ready! I'm sure he will have endless questions.

Steve, also, thanks for the info. I'm with you LR an Beowulf...count me in!

Palomino and I have been chatting in E-mail, getting our Demo tunes lists together. He's great at finding demo tracks, and I'm good at finding the highest resolution version of whatever track. So it works out.

I think I may have mentioned this before, but Bri and I are doing the Zoo or the Wildlife preserve out in Peoria during the day, then we'll head over before or after dinner - sometime before dark, so we can play around with gear and be ready for Steve's late night events. I don't dare miss any of the OTL and/or Tape antics!! Plus I've not heard a good vinyl setup in decades...and *never* heard any of Steve's vinyl setup ever!

Same plan for us on Saturday, we'll be playing around Peoria, looking for local things to do, then heading over to Steve's shop before dark.

I *may* bring my DirectStream if anyone is curious, but I'm not sure I want to leave it there all day and all night. It would devastate me if it had an accident. I really couldn't afford fixing it if something broke. So it would only be there under supervision. If nobody cares, then I'll leave it at home - one less thing to worry about.

Yeah, but you have to figure out how to control the mini-DAC with Steve's setup?

My setup, while multi-component, is self-contained. It does involve DAC, Mini-Computer, External Hard Drive, L-PSU, and laptop! It only takes 15 minutes to setup though.  :)

I'm looking forward to hearing the Chord on the OTL. I think the density of information of the OTL, and the silkiness of that little DAC will be something interesting!

BTW, Steve if you are monitoring this thread, weigh in on if you want us farting around with our own equipment.

I know some people brought their home build amps last year and I loved hearing them.

Can't until this years fest starts. I brought same LPs last year that where a big hit. LR and Palomino what's on your hit list. If I have it on vinyl I'll bring it. I there is anything anybody else wants to hear list it and if available I will bring it.

Keep in mind there won't be a lot of play time for vinyl this year, as I have the vinyl rig set up on the analog side of the room which won't be turned on until 8:00 P.M.  My plan is to demo the tape machines first, then any good vinyl after that.

Into 8 ohms it does around 30 watts.

Steve Deckert wrote on 10/02/14 at 20:18:17:


Hi Steve, is it too early to determine where the new amp will fit into the Decware lineup price structure?  I was hoping you may release a SET with more watts midway between the Mini Torii MT2 and Torii MK IV price wise, which there is a nice gap ($1800 - $3500) to fill with a Decware product, but I'm not sure if this is the one that can fit there.

Thanks!

beowulf, Steve's comments from earlier in this thread:

"I don't really want to make an amplifier that people won't buy, so this year at the fest I am going to give my prototype OTL a lot of air time to see peoples reactions and try to gauge the amount of money they would be willing to spend on this kind of sound.  

Amplifiers using tubes like this AND built the old school way are far from practical and anything but cheep. For example, this OTL SET amp requires 7 power supplies, the largest being a high voltage supply rated at 4000 mA. A Torii or Mystery Amp by comparison uses only 300 ~ 340 mA. An amplifier like this OTL creates enough heat to keep a room warm in the dead of winter, so using it during the summer in a small room would be difficult without central air. Does it sound better than a Torii or ZMA, yes it does. Does that make it a better sounding amp, not nessesarily. We'll just see what people think about it and without knowing how much it would cost to make a pair of monoblocks we'll just say 10 grand.  If we don't throw out a number like this, literally everyone will want a Decware OTL SET amplifier until they find out what it costs and then they'll be disappointed. This is in fact why I've always kept it either hidden or off limits during past Decfests."

I'm stuck at DFW airport till tomorrow. I won't even get to Peoria till 10pm. Looks like Friday is completely shot.

Quote:


Yeah, I was thinking/hoping along the same lines. I feel that if Steve finds this Russian MIG tube good to work with on all levels, then it would happen.

Plus, as mentioned in Steve's quote, he wants to make what people would want - you never know, maybe lots of people want a Super Zen based on the MIG tube.

I am listening an liking the DM946. I think I need to bring a pair in with the base = 947.

I have Steve's Zen Styx for 94db Speakers an up; driven direct by my DAC(s) into my ZMA or my other Zens. However, when using the CSP3 with 89, 90 an 91db rated Speakers (my favorites).....my Kimber Select is needed. My point being, I should bring in a pair of Steve's Speakers...that being the Monoliths.

Hey Decfest folks. Out here in NM I envy you!

I have been writing a review on the Torii MKIV, giving me a lot of time for careful listening and thoughts. This won't be that useful if Steve does not have a MKIV with a lot of hours on it, but if he does, and you have time, Reconstructive Feedback may be fun to check out. Here it took more than 600 to really hear all the amp's subtle potential. Unfortunately, I did not note where the Feedback shifted from diffused to all it can be, but I think this happened a little earlier. Now, with over 1000 hours, my Torii is really amazing, pretty different amp than pre 600 hours.

Here is part of my review. My source is a NOS Tranquility DAC 44.1/16 from a tweaked Mini with a separate Firewire drive for the music, with vibration control and weight, a good USB cable, and linear USB power separating the USB power to the DAC from computer power. This combo is great at micro detail, and is no doubt part of what I am hearing here.

"Reconstructive Feedback:

For a long time I kept it switched off, preferring the more focused sound. But this changed with long burnin. At some point the feedback effect became tighter, clearer, and very tasteful… spacious, but no longer diffused. Now I Need to keep it on.

Compared with my MKIII, the soundstage here is similarly saturated, wide and deep, but the MKIV sound with reconstructive feedback is different, increasing subtle information. It heightens the complexity of detail while enhancing liquidity and spaciousness. This refines everything, from the sound of wood, brass or skin, to each player's space, and finally wide ambient decays fading way past my walls. Also, recording ambience more completely and seamlessly integrates with my room ambience. From note hits to fading trails, it feels like it takes bits of information and divides them into more bits. The increased fine detail and greater sense of resolution make tones and edges smoother and more complex at the same time. It can be heard throughout, but shows best in edges and ambience.

My soundstage was already quite good here, but if memory serves, the reconstructive feedback from the MKIV gives mixes with less focus on soundstage more soundstage definition than the MKIII.

There is a lot good about this design, but with my source and system/room, the Reconstructive Feedback switch is really sort of revelatory, bringing the rest to fruition. "

I liked the other (slightly higher rez) version of that song better on that setup.

So was the OTL everything I said it was?

I do like Zygi's new speakers as well. I think they'd give the 944 a run for the money...though I'd have to put them side by side to be sure. The 944 just have such fast bass, the make too many other speakers sound slow (even the Anthony Gallo 3.1)

The tapes Steve played (that I caught) sounded amazing - I'm sad I didn't get to hear the Beatles tapes, but that was my fault for simply not being there at the right times.

Some great times and great conversations with everyone. It was great just chatting it up with everyone.

I really do hope Steve produces some sort of OTL in the future. It is really a sexy sound...though you really do have to be mindful of your source material and source device. An analytic DAC with an OK recording would probably be too dry and difficult to handle. But a silkier DAC and excellent recording would be mesmerizing.

"Are the "el caminos" the 944 replacements?

Yes, they have a dome tweeter and DNA style woofer loading.
FWIW I like the new speakers much better.

Lin, do you know what full range speaker and tweeters were used?...DFR 6.5" or 8"?  Thanks,  Mark.

I think Ziggy said the mb is basically the same driver Wilson uses for a mid in the Sasha/Sophia and the tweeter looks like an SB Acoustics ring dome.

I've never been a fan of ribbon tweeter and cone woofer pairings, I like the dome tweeter's integration and sound better. YMMV

Oh well, the best I could do was to catch some of the live feed. The streaming sound of Steve's tape machine was unbelievably good and made me want to be there even more. See you there next year.

Thanks Randy, I just put a ZP3 and a Rachel on order last week. Very excited about these finally coming. I am sure that a lot of good music was listened to at Decfest.

I'm really impressed you guys were getting an impression of how good the sound was over the live feed. I got several txts when I was playing MC with the OTL amp playing, about how good the sound was, and asking me what the tracks I was playing were.

It's a clever setup that can pull that off! Even more so when you see how simple it is!

Quote:


I've been thinking about that a lot since I did my MC session on Friday, and you felt the OTL was an overwhelming wall of sound. I have to say that I handled the OTL better now that I've got almost a year of Mystery amp under my belt - the OTL wasn't as overwhelming for me. So I postulate two outcomes (assuming Steve produces an OTL, and I somehow afford it).

Outcome #1 - the OTL becomes my main amp, and my brain evolves to a higher level of listening (only half-joking here - my experiences this past year tell me this is an actual thing). This will pretty much ruin me for any other kind of listening.

Outcome #2 - The Mystery Amp remains my main amp, and the OTL is my "winter amp" because of the heat - LOL just kidding. The OTL would be like listening to Reel to Reel master tapes - not something I do all the time, but something I do for really deep listening sessions.

Since I still have a lot of room issues to deal with, and I'm still (after a friggen *year* working out issues with building my overly complex sound diffusers, I still have a long way to go with the gear I have now. I'm betting I could get the Mystery amp as involving as the OTL if I ever get my room under control with diffusion. But then, imagine the OTL in a room like that!!

Quote:


I saw this the next day when people were listening to the mini-torii. It just didn't have the guts for a larger room, with that many people (aka higher noise floor).  It would have been fine for solo-listening late at night, and/or with high efficiency speaker. Late Friday night, it was so quiet, the damn fan was annoying me. LOL

Quote:


I agree with this - you know I like the more audiophile sound, and Bob's new speakers really appeal to me. I also felt the room got boomy on that side. Not so much on the other side. But then again, the couch was rolling all over the place, I'm betting with a little work it wouldn't be hard to find the sweetspot in that room. Remember, in your room you've not only added treatments, but you've adjusted both seating and I believe speaker locations to smooth out the bass. With all the work you've put into that room, your home reference kind of kills most other rooms - especially one with a rolling couch, full of speakers and people.  :)

Since I was standing behind the couch to let others take in all that is the OTL, I didn't get a chance to really evaluate the sweetspot. I think anything with a cone is going to be less head-in-vice then the 944 ribbon. But I do enjoy the speed of ribbon drivers.

From my mental memory of the 944, these speakers are quite close. I would hazard to say the 944 might still have faster bass, and the El Camino (sic) I think had better mids. I'd really have to put them side by side to evaluate since they are so much alike. Overall my thoughts are they would make a good replacement if the bass is as fast, mids are more detailed (without being edgy), and the tweets are smoother with a wider sweet spot. It would take all that to best the venerable MG944.

I would be happy with them in my setup.

OTL is a completely different animal from any of those other amps. It does stuff that's really hard to explain. Very detailed like the old 2 watt Zen, but liquid and HUGE like the ZMA, but still, completely different.

I hope Steve does an OTL Super-Zen to hopefully bring an OTL to the masses, and a big OTL like the Mystery amp, or Monoblocks for us extremest listeners.  :)

Mele,

I am glad to have you on these forums! Testosterone can be a dangerous drug

Will

Wow, sounds like you guys had a great time and thanks for all the comparisons and impressions!  It looks like Zygi has another hit with the El Caminos and a nice replacement for the 944's.

I can't see ever running any OTL here in San Diego.  Aside from being way too expensive for me, it is still almost 100 degrees where I live and my a/c bill alone was close to $300 last month, that on top of us having to use a fan even in the winter make it a no go and totally impractical.

Well I was hoping for a SET with some more juice say 10-15 watts in the $2K-$3K range, but not like the OTL that has taken center stage. ... I'm sure it's pretty awesome, but I'll sit this one out and use my Taboo for now and hold off for the time being.

Steve,

My headphones aren't great Sennheiser 280 pros, but here is what I heard. The tape density and smoothness was noticeable on the feed. Density without sounding thick or dull in any way. The 3 digital units I heard all sounded different, but odd by comparison. The only speakers that sounded really noticeably balanced to me were Bob's new ones. Other than the radial effect, this made me wonder about what I was hearing, but it was fun!

Btw stone I got several hours in with the Chord in the big room.  Sounded great.  Most of my observations about the speakers were based on the hooked up to the chord.

I pooped out Friday night at 1:00 so I wasn't able to do the direct stream comparison with mr late night lonely raven.

Very detailed and thought out reviews as usual guys.  

I also tapped into the live stream briefly one night while tapes were being played and was pleasantly surprised how good it sounded with my $100 headphones.  I thought I would see more toe tapping from the people sitting in the room, but maybe they were so floored by the sound that they couldn’t function properly.  There was a classical piece from a Canadian broadcast that stood out in particular to me.  It sounded awesome!

Do the “el caminos” have the same efficiency as the DNA horns (89 dB)?  I think I need additional data to determine if I would want to go lower in efficiency (94 dB) in my room.  In fact, I was hoping Bob would create a slightly more efficient speaker that bests the 944’s in SQ.  Might be an unreasonable request/wish for…  

I didn’t realize the DirectStream made an appearance.  I am curious what folks thought and how it compared versus tape and the other digital rigs.  In theory, DSD is probably the closest digital could get to tape, but you do have the AD/DA conversion, which likely has an impact.  Also, I think it’s true that you can’t push digital past 0db without negative clipping.  I remember making mix tapes as a kid and often pushing the meters into the red for that extra saturation.  

Wish I could have been there.  Keep the observations flowing… Cheers.

I think the el caminos are around 91 db. To me they sounded about that. I also think they are 4 ohm.

The direct stream made an appearance late Friday night.  I'm not sure how many people were around for it.  It was after 1:00 when I called it a night and Eric was just hooking it up.

I hope that Steve puts the videos out there like he did last year. I got a lot of great music ideas off those videos.  I'd also like to switch between videos when the el caminos were on different amps.

Quote:


Yeah well, about that...

Long story short, at about 1:30am everyone was heading out, and I said, "hey, I was about to bring the DS in" and everyone did an about face. Palo was...let's call it sleeping. But after about 15-20 minutes of me having issues getting my laptop to connect to my streaming server, everyone said screw this we're out of here. Not long after that I got my system up and running (stupid IP mistake and no time to test before I drove down).

So it was a solo flight - just me, the DS, my music, the OTL amp, and Bob's El Caminos. I played till about 4am.

All I have to say, is that's it's the closest I've ever heard digital come to tape. And yet, the master tapes still sounded better (duh!).

Looks as if the Fest was a success! Were I in the market for a new amp and new speakers I'd be interested in what Steve MAY develop as an OTL amp and the new speakers Bob brought. But I'm deliriously happy wtih my amps and speakers and know when to jump off the merry-go-round! Now if only I can get my DirectStream working again I'd be all set!

If it happens, then it is happening (the OTL SET). After some hours on the wonderful creation....I will take it down to see LR an Palomino.

Kudos to Steve for the Live Feed once again. I really enjoyed hearing the Reel to Reel an the OTL SET with Bob's new Speakers. I enjoyed Steve's Monoliths too.

I was inspired from Decfest to work on my Listening Room. I took down a room divider an spread my Speakers out wider with some toe-in. Improvement was had. Opened up my Soundstage even more.

I love what I have an could not see myself parting with my ZMA. What I could discern of the OTL SET/I want to bring it in though (I do believe it to be that significant like the ZMA). I could also happily live with my Vintage Polk SDA1 speakers in stereo with my ZMA too.
However, between now an Oct 31st, when the price goes up on the Monoliths....I should bring in a higher efficiency Speaker.  

I'm considering:
Monoliths or Tekton Lore S.  Any opinions? I decided against the Seas Pendragons an Bob's new Speaker will be more than I want to spend. The Monoliths and Lore S are at 2k and $1500 delivered, respectively.

Thanks Beowulf, I was afraid of this long Lead time. I'm going to bring in Steve's Monoliths most likely. He has them ready to go.