Sydney Hifi Show April 2025

[Big Dog RJ]

G'day maties, hope all is well at your end of the woods.

Headed out from Melb to Sydney on road, it was a bloody long drive! Got there about 9hrs and attended the show. Then had to drive all the way back, about 8hrs &40mins, not too shabby.

So here's the first one: (interesting speaker design, a work of Art!)
These are the Giya G1 Spirits from Vivid Audio. Driven by PS Audio BHK 600's, plenty of drive, dynamics and over-powering bass. The source wasn't upto par... digital streaming.

[Big Dog RJ]

Next were the Focal Diva Utopia speakers. These are very interesting, such that everything is built in. Connectivity, comes with a DAC & streamer, plus 200w Class AB amplifiers in each speaker. So all that's required is an App to control the volume levels, that's it! No other gear needed, unless you're using a TT rig, then a preamp is required. The speakers also come fully furnished with an outer cover that is clipped on to the speaker enclosure. This particular pair had a felt type of finish. Other custom finishes are available, such as leather and certain types of fabric, very unusual indeed.

[admin]

Very cool stuff. I really like the look of the Focal speakers. Look at those power cords!

[Big Dog RJ]

Next was the Big kahuna so called reference system that came at an impressive price tag of 670grand $AUD !!! It was anything but worth 670grand. First impressions on the Sonus Faber II Cremonese were quite good actually. Driven on their own was fine! With a full array of ARC's latest and greatest, these were the powerful REF330M monoblocks using 6 KT170 tubes per amp. Very powerful and bombastic, thick heavy and veiled. Didn't quite have the speed, agility and transparency as compared to CJ or my modded CJ amps for that matter. The Ref330m's were priced at 170grand for the pair, comparing these with CJ's ART108A's or the ART300's, the ARC Ref amps aren't anywhere near CJ's ART amplifiers performance, no chance Charlie! I could get the ART108A's for less than half of the ARC's. The performance of the ART108A's and the ART300's are awe-inspiring! It takes an awful lot of dollars and engineering to equal or surpass these.

The other very thing that I was NOT pleased with at all, is the fact that they were using 6 REL subs in conjunction with the SF Cremonese. What the...??? Just a pair of REL's ok... but 6!!! C'mon, this is not music, just loud thunderous levels with artificial enhancements in LF. No definition, no proper soundstage depth, lacking musicality, refinement in presentation was lacking, just a huge wall of a blast! And for 670grand, no thanks.
The gear was impressive though.

[Big Dog RJ]

Then came this very unusual bizarre system, an all-in-one, all inclusive including a sub in the middle! Has every type of connectivity you need, only thing lacking is a toaster! This is the latest lifestyle gadget from Marantz. Sounds just about passable... but definitely not highend. It's like a giant Google mini with a built-in sub. BTW the sub is the circular component that sits in the middle. Comes in two sizes, a small donut and a bigger donut!

[admin]

Not sure why somebody would want to pair 6 Rel subs (or any subs for that matter) with those Sonus Faber speakers? They should already be full range. Why muddy the soundstage with so much artificial low end?

The Marantz is a conversation piece for sure. Obviously not geared to a true audiophile but interior designers with deep pocketed clients.

[Big Dog RJ]

Here's the last one that elevated my senses, apart from the many others that were pretty much standard. The majority of system demos were using streaming services, that were sub-par compared to the rest of the gear, and the most annoying thing during playback, is the music would cut out due to Internet issues.

The other systems that did have proper sources set-up, such as TT's and digital players, the quality of playback was tops!
Which brings me back to these two TT rigs, one being my favourite the Rega Naid system, superb! It was playing in the SF & ARC system, and I specifically requested for those ugly REL subs to be switched off! Playing through the Cremonese II's full-range that was world's apart! The performance was far more enjoyable and had the level of musicality I was looking for. The REL subs just ruined that quality performance. I'm not sure why you really need 6 subs on top of a speaker system that already costs 200grand...? No sense at all.

Anyway, here are the two TT rigs that truly out-performed every digital streaming thing during the show. The Rega Naid and Musical Fidelity M8X, top gear stuff.

[Big Dog RJ]

Finally, the humble system that had all the musicality, definition, superb soundstage depth, well balanced, transparency, quality with finesse! And Yes, the speakers simply disappear!
This is the Triangle speaker system, with built-in Class D amplifiers in each speaker, has deep articulate bass, fast paced and easy dynamics. Nothing to fall off your seat, enjoyable for long periods and an absolute pleasure to audition. Best of show!
And costs less than 16grand. Go figure.

This is big dog RJ signing off, over & woof!

[paulCJ]

Thanks for the photos and descriptions Big Dog!!
I was recently at Axpona and had a blast seeing friends and hearing some great gear. There was a REL 6-pack demo in one of the regular-sized hotel rooms, with discussions by REL. The 6-pack was described as not for the purpose of putting massive amounts of bass in the room, but to help with smoothness & refinement. The lowest 2 subs are for the deeper bass, but the mid upper subs (at least in the Axpona demo) did not excite room nodes and did not increase the lower bass, but helped with naturalness of musical instruments. Obviously, this was not the case in Sydney.

The Giya Spirits with BHK600's is cool. I have heard Giya Spirits and have heard the BHK600's, but not together.

[Big Dog RJ]

G'day Paul mate.

Yes, those triple stacked REL subs partnered with those beautiful SF II Cremonese, were a complete mis-match in my opinion. The Cremonese on their own were damn beautiful. Should have just kept it that way, since those big top of the line ARC Ref330m amps were already doing a fine job! Why ruin it with those dumb subs... ??? beats the heck out of me.

The Giya G1 Spirits were truly tops! Very high performance and extremely dynamic with the BHK 600's. The only issues with this one is that the bass was overpowering. It needs to be tamed down, either with a larger room or some sort of room correction software for optimal LF presentation. The bass was all over the joint, it wasn't defined nor articulate, it was bloody faaat, lumpy and bumpy! And very jumpy! Just bounced off just about anything, regardless of the number of people attending. Usually, systems of this nature will tame down when there's a crowd, due to body count... but not in this case. Those G1's just blasted away.

The other issue of course, being the source. In fact, the chap demoing that system, mentioned to me that the source is the weakest link. Said he should have just brought in a CD player. In fact, why don't they? What's with the streaming? It's hogwash when it's mediocre bandwidth and connectivity cutting out, absolutely useless. I really can't understand why the heck they use this very source with such top flight gear. Makes no sense.

Anyway, it was a great show, something we needed after a very long time. The one in Melb is not upto par. Very entry-level.

Cheers matey, and do enjoy those finest tunes!
Woof! RJ