Back from AXPONA 2017!

[Vinnie Rossi]

All,

AXPONA was another successful and packed show! 

This year I kept it clean n' simple and showed the following:

- LIO configured with: DAC, Phonostage, DHT PRE, & MOSFET AMP
- Harbeth's new SHL5plus "40th Anniversary" Edition speakers
- Acoustic Signature Wow XL Turntable & arm
- All cabling by Triode Wire labs.

[Direct USB connection from Macbook Air (running Roon) to LIO DAC]



As you can see, even the speaker stands / racks used were rather simple. 

It turns out that we received a very nice pair of stands from Rensonant Woods , but unfortunately, they
just were not tall enough (especially with the hotel chairs) to get the soundstage high enough for me, and
considering that a packed room also has many people standing, I decided we needed to elevate the speakers.
The hotel room had a few end tables of the perfect height, and fortunately there were solid (marble top, maybe
50 lbs each) and we put cloths over them and they sure did the trick in a pinch.  Certainly not audiophile-approved,
but for those who came to the room and listened with their ears instead of their eyes, the system sounded excellent! 

For example, vocal tracks from Dean Martin, Peggy Lee, The Fairfield Four, and others delivered spot-on imagining, realism, and
a 'disappearing act' with the speakers that left many tapping toes and showing big smiles, and kept many attendees
in the room for a while.  Quite a few came back numerous times and just couldn't get enough of the system!

From the sources, to the cabling, LIO, and Harbeth's - the system overall played exceptionally well together and I appreciated all
the compliments and enthusiasm of the attendees.  It was a pleasure to meet many new faces, and see many familiar ones as well. 

Here are some more pics of the system (sorry, low-res from my smartphone):












Enter the KR AUDIO PX-4 DHT

On Friday I was using SV811s (a show favorite with the SHL5's), but on Saturday morning a customer
surprised me with a new pair of KR Audio PX-4s that he just bought the week before and has fallen in
love with.  He was willing to let me borrow them for the rest of the show if I liked them, and I couldn't resist
trying a new DHT with the LIO.

Not an inexpensive tube (~ $800/pair ?), but they AMAZED us all!      

These tubes have the rich midrange of the SV811's, but with a more extended top end and more solid bass, .  It was
a tube that could play rock, jazz, classical, electronica... all equally well and left some LIO customers who visited wanting
to get a pair for themselves (myself included!). 







These tubes run on the 4V filament setting and only draw 1.1A of current each, so they run fairly cool
and should last a very long time in the LIO DHT PRE circuit.

I'll be sure to post links to feedback of show attendees and members of the press.  And for Audiocircle memebers who
visited, please post your impressions and thank you in advance!

Vinnie

[Vinnie Rossi]

Some early feedback from the show:

http://forums.naimaudio.com/topic/axpona-chicago-anyone?reply=70131329523784562#70131329523784562
 

Quote from: MangoMonkey"

 

Quote

 

Apart from Naim, the electronics that stood out for me were the AVM gear as well as Vinnie Rossi powering the Harbeth SHL+ special edition.

vinnie's design is very interesting / the system is powered by ultra capacitors alone. 1/2 of them power the system while 1/2 of them get charged. And then they switch over. This apparently isolated the system from noisy mains. I learned this today. Toe Tapping was an involuntary reaction to the music playing in his room. Again, no bling - just the Vinnie Rossi all in one into Harbeths speakers.

 

 

 

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/axpona-impressions.666413/#post-16319727
[Photo credit from forum member "rischa"]



http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/axpona-impressions.666413/page-2#post-16323228
 

Quote from: Joe Spivey

Quote

I didn't make it to all the rooms but the standouts for me where the

1. Vinnie Rossi/Harbeth
2. Kii Audio Three
3. Legacy/Raven

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/axpona-impressions.666413/page-2#post-16323683
 

Quote from: avanti1960

Quote

Part 8. Hey Vinnie! Vinnie Rossi Lio modular amplifiers and Harbeth SHL5+ speakers. Never a cleaner, more natural sound there was. I have raved about the sound of these amplifiers since the first exposure at the '13 AXPONA show. This Lio model featured a tube line stage with MOS FET transistor power stage.
While not quite the 3-dimensionally huge sound scape that an all tube amplifier can deliver, the beefy presence and low end power of the solid state output stage made up for it. The Harbeth's seemed just a little too large for the room and bass modes were present if you sat in the wrong spot. But listening in the nearfield was a joy to behold.
Often speakers with "super tweeters" can produce too much "air" and high end as to sound artificial and exacerbate any noise in the rest of the system. Not so with Vinnie's amps which are off the power grid because of their capacitor charge / store technology. They have absolutely no detectable noise floor and as such the system sounded incredibly natural and real. All this without the use of proper speaker stands.
A tip of the hat to our gracious host for an extraordinary product and room.

 

 

[photo credit from forum member "avanti1960]

This nice email was waiting for me when I returned:
 

Quote

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Hi Vinnie,
I was able to visit your room yesterday during the show.   This was my first high end audio show and I had a great time. That said, I’m a consumer in the market for my first decent system.   The combination of your amp and the Harbeth’s speakers blew my mind.  For me personally it was the best overall sound quality there.   You were in the middle of a conversation at the time, but I would really appreciate a couple minutes of your time to talk.  Hope the show goes well for you.

 

MANY THANKS to all your posts above, and to everyone who visited our room at Axpona!

Vinnie


 

[ted_b]

Vinnie,

As per my note to you earlier today, it was great seeing you again after a year or two missing each other at these shows. 

 

Your room was one of the two best sounds at Axpona, IMHO (the other also being on the 3rd floor, at the Volti/Border Patrol/Triode Wires room).  Wait, maybe it's just Pete's wires!!! 

 

Seriously, the marriage of LIO and Harbeth, previously celebrated at past shows, was better than ever.  And I didn't even sit in the sweetspot, but the musicality was clearly evident.   Great job, as always.

[jtwrace]

Is @The Computer Audiophile going to review the LIO?  

[Vinnie Rossi]

15 hours ago, ted_b said:

Vinnie,

As per my note to you earlier today, it was great seeing you again after a year or two missing each other at these shows. 

 

Your room was one of the two best sounds at Axpona, IMHO (the other also being on the 3rd floor, at the Volti/Border Patrol/Triode Wires room).  Wait, maybe it's just Pete's wires!!! 

 

Seriously, the marriage of LIO and Harbeth, previously celebrated at past shows, was better than ever.  And I didn't even sit in the sweetspot, but the musicality was clearly evident.   Great job, as always.

 

Hi ted__b & jtwrace,

 

Thank you for visiting and giving a good listen to our system at Axpona! 

 

I agree that Pete's Triode Wire Labs cables are excellent and match well with LIO (I've used them

a few times with Volti Audio as well with excellent results, and Pete's always fun to have in the room!)

Vinnie

[Vinnie Rossi]

This was just posted by Stereophile's Jason Victor Serinus  :

"Harbeth and Vinnie Rossi score again!"

http://www.stereophile.com/content/axpona-more-adventures-jvs-day-two#v7FYpL6k02W2QB0Q.97
 

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Harbeth and Vinnie Rossi score again! Here, the Harbeth Super HL5 Plus 40th Anniversary Edition loudspeaker ($7495/pair), which includes a new supertweeter and a 40th anniversary magnetic grille badge, joined a Vinnie Rossi LIO Super Integrated ($11,675 as configured), Acoustic Signature WOW XXL turntable ($3495) with TA-700 tonearm ($1295) and Ortofon 2M Black Cartridge ($850), and Triode Wire Labs cabling to produce a very smooth and nice sound. The midrange was lovely, the top fine, and the soundstage wide. In short, what's not to love?

On my 24/96 tell-all track of the last movement of Seattle Symphony's recording of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring, I could listen well into the soundstage. Bass, which is prodigious on this track, was excellent and fast. Image size may have been diminished from what I'm accustomed to, but the mids were simply gorgeous.

Read more at http://www.stereophile.com/content/axpona-more-adventures-jvs-day-two#TgwjrmivJ1h6JGs0.99

 

[Photo credit - Stereophile / Jason Victor Serinus]

Thank you for stopping by for a good listen, Jason!  You were sitting in the sweet spot, and that certainly was where the magic happened and the bass was much tighter (nearfield setup, less room interaction). 

Vinnie

[Vinnie Rossi]

This was just posted:

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/axpona-2017-speakers-below-20k/

Greg Weaver / The Absolute Sound:

Most Significant
 

Quote from: Greg Weaver / The Absolute Sound

Quote

"The 40th Anniversary Edition Harbeth HL5 Plus ($7495/pr.) was a clear standout. This edition, celebrating 40 years of speaker building, includes WBT Nextgen binding posts, a new super-tweeter, and UK made polycapacitors. Driven by all Vinnie Rossi electronics, including the LIO “Super Integrated” system ($11,675), which combines the LIO DHT linestage, LIO MOSFET amp, LIO phonostage, and LIO DSD/PCM DAC, the Harbeth system was remarkably musical. Strengths here included especially faithful tone color and texture, with intricate yet undeniably accurate layering, soundstaging, and imaging."

Many thanks to Greg for visiting and enjoying our room system! 

Vinnie

[Vinnie Rossi]

"But wait - there's more!"

Positive Feedback: The Best of the Best at AXPONA 2017
 

Quote from: Maurice Jeffries / Positive Feedback Online

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Sticking with my smaller-is-better mantra, Vinne Rossi, Triode Wire Labs, and the good folks at Fidelis turned in another quality outing this year. Powered by a Lio hybrid amplifier (here in its "Super Integrated" $11,675 configuration and outputting a "scant" 25 wpc into 8-ohms), the new Harbeth Super HL5 Plus "40th Anniversary Edition" speakers (from Fidelis) soared to uncommon musical heights. Sounding superbly musical, detailed (but not exceedingly so), and oh-so relaxed, the Harbeth's pulled you into the performance. Greg Weaver, who joined me for the ride, put it best: the Harbeth's make you forget about audio and force you to focus on the music and the performance.

 

http://positive-feedback.com/show-reports/the-new-axpona/

Many thanks to both Maurice Jeffries and Greg Weaver for auditioning our 'minimalist' system (yes, complete with "Westin" branded table-stands) at Axpona and posting your very favorable impressions!

 

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Steve Guttenberg ("The Audiophiliac" / CNET) mentions LIO in his post "Insanely Great Audio Products Rock Chicago Expo"

https://www.cnet.com/pictures/latest-greatest-audio-products-rock-chicago-expo/9/

 

Looking forward to doing it all again next year at AXPONA 2018!

 

Vinnie

[Vinnie Rossi]

From Eric Neff / HI-FI + Magazine:
 

Quote from: Eric Neff / HifiPlus

Quote

The Vinnie Rossi LIO is a modular triumph in sound and quality. Here is the tricked-out model which includes the Direct Heated Triode front end. Sporting the Phono Pre, DAC and 25wpc amplifier modules this version of the LIO comes in at $11,675. Paired with the 40th anniversary model Harbeth Super HL5Plus at $7495 and Triode Wire Labs cables the sound was truly three dimensional.

http://www.hifiplus.com/articles/axpona-2017-digital-audio-and-amplification-part-one/?page=2

Thank you, Eric!

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And this was just posted by Rafe Arnott / Part Time Audiophile:

https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2017/05/09/axpona-2017-vinnie-rossi-keeps-em-smiling/


[Photo credit: Rafe Arnott / Part Time Audiophile]
 

Quote from: Rafe Arnott / Part Time Audiophile

 

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This is a sonically outstanding amplifier: lively, engaging, constantly daring you not to respond to its sensory provocation...

At this price point I cannot recommend the LIO highly enough, considering the state-of-the-art analog, and digital circuit designs, the fact that it also features Rossi’s patent-pending Pure DC-4-EVR Ultracapacitor Technology power supply so you won’t ever need to upgrade your power cables (and allows for a staggeringly low noise floor) it is a true bargain in high fidelity.

 

 

 

Many thanks, Rafe! 


AXPONA 2017 - What an awesome show it was! 

Vinnie

[Vinnie Rossi]

More Axpona 2017 coverage!

http://positive-feedback.com/show-reports/axpona-2017-pictures-at-an-audio-exhibition/
 

Quote from: Gary Beard / Positive-Feedback.com

Quote

Vinnie Rossi has turned the audiophile community on its ear with his LIO modular electronics. The sound of the fully configured DHT LIO driving the Harbeth Super HL5 40th anniversary monitors via Triode Wire Labs cables was nearfield joy. Liquid, transparent, wonderful; and the LIO wasn't even running Vinnie's newest DAC! The analog source was an Acoustic Signature Wow XL. Without question, this was one of my favorite rooms at the show. I definitely could enjoy living with this system in my smallish listening room. Yes. Hell yes.

Photo credit: Gary Beard / Positive-Feedback.com

Thanks for visiting, Gary!   
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Next week is the Los Angeles Audio Show (LAAS)

http://www.laaudioshow.com/

June 2-4, 2017  |  Sheraton Gateway Hotel

Room 476 (Vinnie Rossi / Spatial Audio / Anticables)

I hope to see many of you there, and I'll start a new thread on this forum with pics and

feedback from the show!

Vinnie