Outstanding Vivid Audio Show with Laurence Dickie in Antwerp, Feb 27-28, 2016
 

Our dealer celebrates extravagantly this year.
His business exists 30 years, and he organizes one show after the other.
Last month we covered the Martin Logan - ARC event.
Next month, there is a KEF show.

Last week, there was a terrific demonstration of different Vivid Audio speakers.

This was the invitation:

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Prepare yourselves! There are a lot of pics!
 

The large room had the G1 Giya, with T+A High Voltage Series electronics.

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"Dic", as he wants to be called, gave a lecture about the origins of his ideas, and the evolution in his work.

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You can see the Nautilus behind the glass door.
We didn't hear them this time - they played earlier that weekend - but I heard them on other occasions.

You can see the "real photographer" in the back.
My device was a simple iPhone.

http://www.metazahren.com/photograph...8_IMG_3053.jpg


Dic explained about the opposite bass drivers, neutralizing the effect on the enclosure, permitting the speaker to remain quite light.
Indeed, when you touch any speaker of the Vivid Audio range, the enclosure is free of resonance, so you hear no colouration of the enclosure.

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There were 40-50 people listening, and they stayed for the whole lecture, that lasted almost an hour!

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The bizarre form of the speakers has its purpose.
Form follows function.
Corners in a speaker deflect the sonic waves.
So, make your speaker in a way there are no corners!

http://www.metazahren.com/photograph...8_MMZ00851.jpg


Meta looked at it from an different angle...

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Let's look at the gear now!

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I've heard T+A with quite some speakers now.
T+A's own, B&W, Martin Logan, and now Vivid Audio.

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The stereo power amp can be used as a monoblock.
There were 2 pairs of them to drive the Nautilus, whose 4 drivers each need an amplifier, but for the G1s, only one pair was operating.
2X500W is already more than enough!

Bart... Kudo's, very nicely done! :ok:

With T+A, you can upgrade step by step.
One amp will deliver enough current to drive your speakers.
An external power supply improves things further.
Then you buy one more of each and you have the configuration that was driving the Giyas here.

http://www.metazahren.com/photograph...8_MMZ00945.jpg


The one on top was "off".
It had sent juice to the Nautilus though.

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The 3 pieces together:

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Pre-amp, SACD player and Hard Disc.

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The meters of the power amp were barely moving.

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The pre amp.
T+A has very clean looks, and is extremely well built.

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The SACD player with 2 DACs: one for DSD, and one for PCM.
It needs 2 power cords.

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I tested it extensively against the Accuphase 900 series last year.
It defended itself wonderfully at only ⅓ of the cost.


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Dic invited people to touch the speakers while a very very bass heavy piece was being played (Björk):

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They were very surprised.
Although the whole room was trembling, the speakers were dead quiet.
The ease with which the G1 pressurized the room was amazing.
The walls showed their limits, more so than with other big speakers I had heard there (SF Aida, ML Neolith, B&W 802 D3, ...).

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Relatively light as they are (80kg), they can move lots of air!

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I like Meta's black and white pics.

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