LAAS 2017 - Vinnie Rossi LIO / Spatial Audio X1 / AntiCables Show Coverage Thread

[Vinnie Rossi]

From LAAS2017, Suite 476:  Vinnie Rossi LIO DHT Integrated Amp (with custom Spatial Audio X1 amp module),
Spatial Audio X1's and Paul Speltz's ANTICABLES:














FINALLY - I have a spacious exhibit room (I jumped in early on reserving a full-sized sweet), and the LIO DHT Integrated (with X1 Amp module) + Spatial Audio X1's + Paul Speltz's ANTICABLES are sounding incredibly good together!  They really can DO IT ALL!   

Hopefully some CA members who had the opportunity to listen will post their impressions soon enough, and I'll be sure to update this thread with show coverage as it becomes available!

Vinnie

[Vinnie Rossi]

Mirrored coverage on the Vinnie Rossi Audiocircle forum:

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=150692.0

 

From AV_Passion:

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The sound in the Vinnie Rossi/Spatial Audio room was superb.  I knew it was a good sign when as soon as I walked in I started to relax, my toe started tapping and depending on the recording, when you closed your eyes the room walls would drop away and you would swear the musicians were in the room.  The sound was organic, effortless, integrated from top to bottom with crisp, clear bass, massive sound stage and no room resonances.  Given the wonderful sound, I found the sparse, simple elegance of the system even more astonishing and it still leaves me marveling as it was a stark contrast to every other room at the show that I visited.  There were no massive, acoustically isolating racks of DAC's, preamps, and power conditioners, no monster amps sitting in the middle of the floor between the speakers, no cables the size of fire hoses connecting the various pieces of equipment, no acoustic panels and sound tuning devices cluttering the room, just a small laptop running Roon, Vinnie's Lio, and Clayton's X-1's connected by some very thin, unobtrusive cables.   It sounded great in both halves of the the room even though the suite had two divider walls partially separating one portion of the room from the other.  The quality of the sound was the purist testimony to the quality of the design, materials and synergies of each component.  Astonishing!

This is a system that anyone could aspire to build and continually evolve.  Start with Vinnie's simplest Lio configuration and upgrade the Lio as time and funds permit with no investment cost penalty.  Given it's simplistic, minimalist beauty, it is a system that would be welcome in almost any home by any significant other and where one could be content remaining forever within the ecosystem that Vinnie has created.

Just as importantly if not more so than the system, was the opportunity to speak with Clayton and Vinnie.  You will never meet two nicer, more down-to-earth guys than these two who are also brilliant, passionate, visionaries.  It was simply a joy to sit and talk with them.

Lastly, this visit fully convinced me that this is what audio, as an industry, should aspire to be.  Simple, elegant, sparse, unobtrusive systems that can evolve with time, designed, created and serviced by quality people, that always leaves the music to stand alone with no apologies or caveats needed.

 

From targa02:

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Hi AV Passion.  I could not have said it better myself.  The simplicity of the Vinnie Rossi/Spatial system is remarkable.  No worries about dirty AC power,  reduced interconnect count and significantly lower number of boxes is a welcomed solution for me and my wife.  But what is this increased simplicity worth if it does not sound good?  Well, as av passion states, it does sound good, very good.  The system is detailed, but relaxing, effortless, sounds good at low volume levels and high and the soundstage is the best I have ever heard.  The width and definition
were fantastic and the depth was like nothing I have ever heard  - amazing!  The system embarrassed most rooms with higher MSRP.

I already had a deposit down on the Spatial X1 and now I am in the process of buying Vinnie's Lio.  I am very excited.

BTW, i have no financial connection to Vinnie Rossi or Clayton Shaw. They are both great guys.  I have known Clayton for years and have owned several of his products. 

 

 

[Vinnie Rossi]

All,

I'm finally back home from the LAAS2017!  I have to catch up on many emails and phone calls this week, so
thank you for your patience during this busy time for me.

We were very pleased with how everything turned out for this show, and especially invoking this kind of emotion that that av_passion stated above:
 

Quote from: av_passion

 

Quote

 

I knew it was a good sign when as soon as I walked in I started to relax, my toe started tapping and depending on the recording, when you closed your eyes the room walls would drop away and you would swear the musicians were in the room.  The sound was organic, effortless, integrated from top to bottom with crisp, clear bass, massive sound stage and no room resonances.

 

 

 

That's really what it is all about!   

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LAAS2017 ALFIE AWARD

On Saturday night, there was an LAAS2017 audiophile products award ceremony ("ALFIE Award"), and I was deeply honored that the LIO received it!  I am very humbled by the panel of judges from the LAAS & LA/OC Audio Society for taking the time to visit and learn about what LIO is all about, and for presenting this award.   



The only thing that could have make this award even sweeter for me is if it encompassed our entire room and included Clayton Shaw's Spatial Audio X1 Loudspeakers and Paul and Judy Speltz's ANTICABLES speaker cables and USB cable.  It was with Clayton, Paul and Judy's creations and passion in achieving such a high level of sonic performance that made our room as good as it did!

Our team:



Another nice surprise was that a local show attendee that visited our exhibit room multiple times during the show ended up purchasing the entire room of gear that we presented (LIO, X1s, and cables) - and since he was local, we were able to deliver it to his home and set it up on Sunday evening!  He was very serious about wanting to recreate the exact sound that he heard in our exhibit room at the show, so it ended up working out perfectly for all of us! 

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As for PRESS COVERAGE, here is one from today by Brian Hunter of Audio-Head.com:

http://audio-head.com/vinnie-rossi-and-spatial-audio/
 

Quote from: Brian Hunter / Audio-Head.com

Vinnie Rossi always has a smooth selection of sonic treats to sample from and he always seems to know the right tune to play for any audience – with deep tracks and clever covers. He was also generous enough to let me sit in the sweet spot and bear witness to the quick, but clear rock track Madness from Muse for a taste of the weekend’s auditory cocktail. Upward extension was spot on, the system’s response to the rapid fire vocal samples and distorted instruments was controlled and tidy.

 

Photo Credit: Brian Hunter / www.audio-head.com

Thank you for visiting, Brian!

More soon...

Vinnie

 

 

[Superdad]

Congratulations on the showing and the awards Vinnie.  Your room set up looks great.  Wish I could have been there to meet you and hear the system.  I am a fan of Clayton's speakers as well.

 

Best,

Alex C.

[firedog]

Congrats Vinnie. I'd love to hear a system like that sometime.

[Vinnie Rossi]

Thanks, Guys! 

 

Here is some more coverage from LAAS 2017!

 

From Jana Dagdagan of Stereophile:

https://www.stereophile.com/content/jana-wraps-her-laas-coverage


Photo Credit:  Jana Dagdagan, Stereophile
 

Quote from: Jana Dagdagan / Stereophile

The last room on my list: Vinnie Rossi, Spatial Audio, and Anticables.
 

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"Wicked Game" by Jenna Mammina and Rolf Sturm sung through a system that comprised a Vinnie Rossi LIO "super integrated" amplifier ($11,880 as configured; a Stereophile Class A Recommended Component 2015–2017), a pair of Spatial Audio X1 "UniWave" loudspeakers (standard painted $14,000/pair, gloss Lucite surface $17,500/pair), and Anticables throughout. The sound of the LIO's ultracapacitor-powered, modular system paired with the X1's uniwave dipole design was widespread, transparent, and profoundly engaging—the perfect end to my Los Angeles Audio Show experience.

Thanks for visiting, Jana! 

 

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The Audio Beatnik has just awarded Clayton's Spatial X1's Loudspeakers Best of Show (under $20K):

http://theaudiobeatnik.com/index.php/2017/06/10/la-audio-show-part-3-best-speaker-20000/


 

Quote from: Jack Roberts / The Audio Beatnik

 

Quote

...Clayton Shaw’s newest design the Spatial Audio X1 UniWave Speakers were so musical, so open and so emotionally involving that for a few minutes I forgot I was at a show.

...This system that Clayton Shaw and Vinnie Rossi put together was close to the best sound I heard at the show.

...Yes, the bass was very deep and powerful, but it was also extremely tuneful and not the least big or fat even in these show rooms, which  were not kind to speakers with deep bass. There were only a few rooms with speakers that could say this. The sound was also very open and very transparent with great imaging, and yes, the soundstage was huge.

None of that is nearly as important as how musical and emotionally involving as these new speakers are. So, let us present our first ever Beatnik Bongo Award to the Spatial Audio X1 UniWave Speakers as the Best Speakers Under $20,000.

A most impressive debut of the X1's!   Congratulations, Clayton!     
And many thanks to Jack Roberts of The Audio Beatnik for listening to our room at LAAS!   

 

Vinnie