David Solomon is a great friend and has helped Sumiko on many many occasions over the years. He had never asked anything in return for his help until he asked to use the Strads for his new iDAC debut. We were happy to help.
The Peachtree Room was a challenge. Due to a snafu, we didn't get cables for the system until after midnight Thursday. Nothing to get upset about. These things happen at shows where you are in a room with gear provided by multiple parties. Still it was frustrating and David, ever the consummate gentleman, apologized profusely for the delay though it was not his fault.
By that time the Peachtree folks had arranged the room and it wasn't changing. If we had a choice we would have put the system on the opposite wall. Even when we did get sound from the system, it was not with the cables that were ultimately used. Those showed up Thursday after the show opened.
I would agree with your assessment of the Strads. As we set them up, we were aware of the desire for more power. Even though David is intimately familiar with Strads at their very best, given the system, the room, and his expectations, he was very happy.
On the way back from Denver on Monday,
audiosalon and I set up a pair of Strads in a wonderful room using an Ayre/Doshi/Berning front end. Now those were great!
