Paragon Events - Fall of 2011

[Still-One]

It looks like I am going to be busy again this fall as Paragon in An Arbor is going to again have their Manufacturer Events spread over five or six Thursdays starting in early October.

The first event scheduled for 6-October is one I have been waiting for as Dan D'Agostino will be showing his new products. I am hopeful that in addition to the Momentum amps his new pre will be ready to show.

The last week in October will be for Wilson, Transparent & Audio Research. Early November will be McIntosh, HRS and B&W. This will be followed by Sonus Faber/Rel, Wadia and Krell.

I will provide the dates for all of the events in a future post. Add in RMAF and I will be staying busy this fall.

Jim

[Doug Lax]

Really down to earth folk there too !

[Audio 1]

Really awesome to have a local dealer that hosts events like this.

[Still-One]

Well this evening Frank (Vettedrummer) and I are heading out to listen to Dan D'Agostino's Momentum Power amps. I am assuming they will be pairing them with either Maxx 3's or Sasha's but it will be interesting to see if he brings his "new" pre-amp or they decide to use a Krell or Doshi .

Will update you later tonight.

Jim

[Hondo]

I will also be attending and would like to meet you if our paths cross. Thanks Doug

[Vettedrummer]

Jim and I went to this presentation of Dan D'Agostino new mono block amplifier the Momentum. First off it is pretty, no it is beautiful! It is one of the best looking amps I've ever seen. It weighs a ton and is so un-KRELL like. It is musical, colored, and beautiful. It is also very expensive for the pair of blocks. Blocks as a kid never costed this much, but they didn't sound like this either. (About $35,000.00 for the pair) These are all hand built and all points are through the board by hand. The amps were played through Wilson speakers so the sound stage was wide and deep and the blackness of sound was one of the best I've ever heard. I got to sit in the sweet spot for the demo and man it really was sweet. They will be a RMAF so if you go check them out. Yes, we did meet Doug too! Cheers, Frank

[Hondo]

I am in complete agreement with Frank's (Vettedrummer) evaluation of this demo. My wife and i enjoyed it immensely and with our recent exposure to Larry and Paragon would like to thank him for the invite. It was nice to meet Frank and Jim (Still-One) and learn about their experiences and tastes in the hobby. i look forward to more of these here in Michigan and others around the US. Doug

[bakerman]

I had been down there on Monday and wasn't able to make the trip for the Thursday night event. I am planning on being at the McIntosh event though. A great bunch of guys (and gals) and very accommodating.

[Still-One]

Sorry, I did not have time to post last night after the event as I was wrapped up watching the end of the Tigers-Yankees game.

As Frank and Doug have posted we attended a very enjoyable event at Paragon Sight & Sound last evening. I am sure that Chuck (SRT10- Viper) who was also there will add his comments at some point too. Audioaficionado was well represented.

The mostly "All Made in America" system we listened to was the Momentum Amps (Connecticut) Wilson X-3's (Utah) Transparent Cables (Maine) and Wadia 9 (Michigan) connected to laptop. As Frank has noted, photos do not do justice to these amps. In person they are very attractive and the finish is top notch.

Chuck and I sat on each side of Frank who was in the prime listening position while we Dan D'Agostino spoke about his background and design intent for his new amps. Bottom line, these are not specification driven amps. He wanted them to sound musical and the design to have the look and feel of something you would be proud to own.

We all know there are all flavors when it comes to amps. There is no single correct sound. I have always liked the sound of Krell amps and as Frank noted, these do not sound like Krell amps. I am not sure they sound like any amp I have heard. They were musical, seemed to have a nice grip on the X-3's, the music flowed from a silent/black background and male vocals were reproduced very nicely. (We probably should have stayed for another go 'round where we could have asked for some female vocal tracks).

It is difficult to separate the sound of the amps from the rest of the gear in this quality system. I can say this is the best I have heard X-3's sound. Yeah these amps are something special.

I think Paragon is going to transport the amps to RMAF for Dan, so if I can get back in there before Tuesday, I might be able to try them with some different speakers and with some of my own music.

Jim

[Still-One]

I think I am going to head back over to Paragon Saturday to give the Momentum's another listen. I will see if I can pair them up with the Futura's which I have not been able to get my arms around or the 800 Series Diamonds.

This time I will bring my own music.

Jim