Tact Audio and Sound Lab put on quite an usual display that featured Ralph Glasgal's Ambiophonic sound retrieval software in addition to a stack of Tact and Boz Audio electronics. Bozavic Radomir (photo right) looked rather impressed himself.  Having heard this system over and over again at the home of Ralph Glasgal did not prepare me for the quality improvements I heard in this room. Either the software is much improved or the loudspeakers got better, either way something fundamentally changed for the better. I've heard some form of multi-channel playback from the Sound Labs over the years but this setup and demo was truly remarkable. Two folks in particular who thought the sound was rather impressive were Tactitions (and staunch supporters of the digital high-rez-way) Jose Ramos (above photo left) and one of the best ears in the hobby, my friend Dr.Boris Greene.

Rives Audio Dare to Compare Demonstration

Rives Audio, VAC, Wadia, Talon Audio and XLO showed in two identical rooms minus one treated with RPG acoustic room treatment and the Rives Audio PARC system (for sub-bass only - photo right). Okay, these guys are pros at what they do. I mean honestly, they're qualified as I've seen and yet, there was something equally right and wrong with both setups sonically speaking. The untreated room could not support the bass dynamics coming from the twin Talon Audio woofers. The sound was muffled, dark and too colored. On the other hand, the treated room had much greater bass definition, pitch and low-end control. But here's the kicker: the top end didn't sound as good as the untreated room. The very life of the recording was somehow sucked out via the treated setup. I trust given the time they had to optimize the room maybe they simply couldn't get it to sound as good as they had hoped. One thing's certain: treating a room is pertinent but be ever-so careful because it can create as many problems as it attempts to fix.  

When you see and hear such beautiful eye candy such as MBL gear, what else is there left to say?

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