Zesto Audio
George and Carolyn Counnas (pictured above) of Zesto Audio had one of the very best sounding rooms at the show. They have been regulars at the California Audio Show for years. When you go into their room, it’s like visiting with old friends even if you haven’t met them before. Watch for an interview of Carolyn that Becky did at this show for the “Women in Audio” series we’ve been running.
The System
They were using the Joseph Audio Perspective II Graphine Loudspeakers in stunning rosewood ($21,499 pair). The amps were the Zesto Audio Eros 300 Monoblocks Class A Amps ($19,900 pair) with their Leto 1.5 Vacuum Tube Preamplifier ($7,500) and their Andros Deluxe Vacuum Tube Phono Stage ($6,900) with the Allasso Stepup Transformer ($2,995).
The source was the Merril-Williams R.E.A.L. 101.3 Turntable ($8,900) mounted with two Tri-Planar U2 Classic 10″ tonearms ($6,200 each). The cartridges were a Benz Micro Gullwing SLR MC ($3,600) and an Ortofon Cadenza Mono MC ($1,280). They were also using cables from Cardas Audio and isolation devices from Stillpoints.
The sound in this room had good tone from top to bottom. These small and fast Joseph speakers combined with the Zesto electronics provided a great analog set up for beautiful sound with nice detail and spacial information.
Old Forge Audio
David Cope (pictured above) of Old Forge Audio had a really tough start to the California Audio Show. UPS lost the box with all of his power cords and speaker stands, and a couple of things were also broken. Thanks to the kindness of friends, he was able to pull together a really amazing room.
David’s new babies, the SoundKaos VOX 3f compact 3-way speakers from Switzerland ($6,750/pr including stands), sounded great. Not having the stands did take a little away from their visual beauty, but it didn’t affect the way they sounded. The picture below from the SoundKaos website shows what they look like on their stands.
They were being driven by the Pure Audio ONE Integrated Amplifier ($10,000) and the Pure Audio ONE Vinyl Phono Preamp ($4,500). I brought the integrated amp home from the show to review. Every time I hear the Pure Audio amps, I can’t believe they are transistors. This was the West Coast debut for both turntable and tonearm, which were Wand 14-4 Turntable ($3,800) and Wand Plus 12″ tonearm ($1,800). The cables were from Luna Cable.
Just a reminder, we did a feature on Old Forge a few months back. Take a look here.
The Sound
I went back to this room each day and each time heard people commenting on how wonderful this system sounded. Yes, they were amazed that such a big sound could come from such small speakers, but most of all the comments were just about how great they sounded. I know there were people wanting to buy this pair, but they were David’s only pair to demo for the moment.
I also heard people, including me, who wanted to take home the turntable and tonearm. My friend Richard Austin, who is from Hong Kong by way of Canada and a reviewer for Dagogo, was giving me a hard time about beating him to getting the Pure Audio One Integrated Amp to review. I promise you, even though you may not be aware of these New Zealand electronics, this turntable, tonearm, and the Swiss speakers, you need to get acquainted. This room simply made music.
Salk Sound / McCary Audio / Exogal / Anticables
Jim Salk (pictured below) made the trip from Pontiac, Michigan to share his new Salk Sound SS 9.5 Satori loudspeakers ($9,995). Like all Salk Sound speakers, these had exceptionally beautiful cabinet work. The SS 9.5s have an open box midrange, and the sound was very open and beautiful.
The speakers were being driven by the McGary Audio SA1 Vacuum Tube Stereo Amplifier ($3,985). I heard the yet to be released and incredibly beautiful McGary Audio SA2 amp at AXPONA this spring driving these same speakers, and I was very impressed. In fact, these two shows with the McGary amps were the best sound that I have ever heard from Salk Sound speakers. I do have to admit, however, that I have never heard these particular Salk Sound speakers before.
The source for this great sounding system was the Exogal Comet DAC ($3,000) with the Exogal Comet Power Supply ($500) and the cables were from Anticables. I love simple systems and this was one that sounded far better than you would think for the price, and you get these beautiful cabinets to boot!
