Tim De Paravicini to Debut Loudspeakers at RMAF!

Wow. I did not know Tim could be so controversial. People seem to be taking this stuff too seriously.

 

Wowzers.

 

Tim De Paravicini is also credited for some of the better Luxman tube amp designs of the 1970s. The MB3045 monoblocks come to mind. Those had "quadrafilar" transformer primaries -a la McIntosh- but to the extreme!

No wonder De Paravicini is quoted on the McIntosh book as saying that the Unity Coupled circuit is the only one he wished he had designed!

 

Didn't he modify MoFi's tape players for GAIN?

He has my undying admiration for that one...

 

Ear-Yoshino in London

Here you can find few photos of Tim's two rooms at the Sound and Vision Show in London last month

http://www.penna-media.hu/ear_yoshino_2007_london/

 

I am?

 

yourself!

Why is this thread still alive, BTW?

 

I think Lee S. bumped it.

 

Wunnerful. Did LeeS actually go to RMAF?

 

They?

 

I'm being stalked? Ewwww.

Anyway, thanks!

 

Yepper. Out here in the suburbs of Denver now. Beautiful country.

I'm enjoying the show. For me the standout rooms so far have been:

**Usher Tiny Dancer/Oracle/Usher Electronics. Heckuva a speaker for $2,800/pr.
**EAR Speakers and Discmaster turntable. They disappear and the smoothness of the magnetic drive on the table is really noticeable.
**Joseph Audio. Terrific setup with new Super Scoutmaster Reference (rim drive!), Straingauge cart and preamp and Manley electronics. Nicely done.
**Wilson Sophias with Audio Research electronics and CD source.
**Thiel 3.7s driven by Simaudio Moon electronics. Impressive.

Only criticism was the abundant easy listening audiophile music being played in most rooms. Very friendly people atmosphere so I'm sure recordings you bring will be heard. Usher (MusikMatters) played my new Mingus Dynasty LP from Pure Pleasure...terrific imaging.

Still a lot to see however...

 

Yay! My hometown speaker manufacturer. I even tried to hook Steve up with a pair for mastering, but they were too busy trying to meet pre-order production. I don't know if your experience was the same, but there were a handful of good sounding (to me) rooms when I went, and a lot that had a certain "sameness" to them, even when they had wildly different equipment. I had a good time, all the same. Most of that stuff I only ever read about, it was cool to see in person, and everyone was very friendly. The seminars and live music were also good. I'd like to go again in the future.

 

Could be... I don't think I own any UD1's...

 

Well, was that deck first used for the GAIN system, which was used on the Simon and Garfunkel Bookends, or is it just as recent as the "new" MOFI? It's specs are definitely impressive, but I'm fairly certain I couldn't tell its own affect and the seeming change in mastering style.

 

Having a great time...some more rooms I liked:

**Marten Audio with their new flagship speakers. These are north of $200K I was told.

**Kharma room was spectacular. They had the new 350M Tenor monoblocks but at $90K a pair I am a few dollars short.

**One of the best systems I heard was the Merlin speakers plus Joule Electra amps plus Audio Aero CD player. Listened to Nils Lofgren Acoustic Live CD which I enjoyed a lot. The strings on the Merlins were absolutely lifelike.

I spoke to TommyTunes yesterday after the show and we both agreed that systems were generally insanely priced, with some notable exceptions. There were literally very few systems under $10K or $20K. I'm afraid high end audio is becoming a rich man's sport of sorts. I have been surprised there has not been more affordable systems present. I think the industry has to do a better job of reaching out to the younger folks coming up.

On the plus side, I have to say that I was very impressed with the collegial atmosphere in most places and really good service at the hotel. The writers from TAS and Stereophile and other publications like Positive Feedback were super-friendly, super-helpful. Yesterday I spent a pleasant hour with Frank Van Alstine and a couple of fellow philes discussing circuit design and the redbook format. Frank is clearly knowledgeable in this area and I felt like I was taking a course in audio design in college. He is exhibiting with Salk speakers and I have to drop by that room today.

Another standpoint event were every 2 hour or so performances by the Fry Street Quartet. These musicians are superb. I highly recommend their SACD/CD hybrid recorded with Isomikes from Kimber.

 

To compare Tim de Paravicini to a true thoroughgoing analog design engineer such as Bob Pease, Bob Widlar, Jim Williams or suchlike is simply silly. He's a moderately imaginative eccentric who has built a persona and likes to build things that are different and make people scratch their heads a little. And he charges a lot, is difficult to deal with and generally fulfills the expectations of neurotic audio people (which includes many successful pros) while making money.

No one copies his stuff because to be blunt either it does not do a job better than the conventional product or because the market is small enough not to be worth the bother.

 

No question that Tim is eccentric and difficult to deal with but I find his gear among the most musical on the planet. Going to RMAF and hearing the speakers with a full EAR system was a revelation - open, smooth, natural, dynamic. The EAR system in 9025 was a real highlight of the show for me. The Acute CD player sounded better to my ears than the hyper-expensive dcs "stack" in the YG room.

I also can't agree on pricing. His gear was quite reasonable compared to almost every other brand they had at the show.

RMAF was fun and I will be back next year but it's really a show for dealers or at least that was the attendance. If I had to guess there was 40% exhibitors, 50% dealers and writers/reviewers, and 10% regular consumers like myself. Still that is a good mix and the conversations were great.

I got to hang out with Philip O'Hanlon at dinner tonight and his Luxman gear was another highlight of the show. Wait until you see what is in store for Vivid Audio speakers....

 

And this doesn't influence your opinion?

 

http://www.penna-media.hu/ear_yoshino_2007_london/source/p1150267.htm
re my earlier quote, see the elastic band ? and there's another on the the counterweight!!