Innovative Audio room filled a relatively small room with some big gear. The big black $27,900 Wilson Sasha loudspeakers were set up along the long wall, driven by the $18,000/pair VTL MB450 Series III amplifiers and paired to a $20,000 VTL 7.5 Series III preamp.
The system was wired up with cables from Transparent Audio.
I managed to catch this room between audio sessions twice. Dumb luck. But what I did manage to hear was quick, dynamic and powerfully deep.
VTL and Wilson is a classic matchup and here, in the odd room config, the setup worked surprisingly well.
In the rack opposite (not pictured):
- $7,500 Meridian Control 15 Digital Media System
- $3,500 Meridian Media Source 600
- $4,000 Meridian Media Core 200
- $18,000 dCS Puccini SACD/DAC
- $5,500 dCS Puccini U-Clock.
None of this stuff was in use while I was in the room. All I heard was the analog system, which kicked some serious, well, you know.
Here’s the analog front end:
- $20,000 Spiral Groove SG2 turntable with a Centroid tonearm
- $3,000 Lyra Kleos MC cartridge
- $10,000 VTL TP-6.5 Signature phono preamp with an MC step-up transformer.
While this was my second favorite room of the show behind the Zellaton room, this is the system that I would want in my own home above everything else I saw at the show. I was blown away by the delicate perfect sound in the Zellaton room. In contrast, I was equally blow away by the raw power of the Wilson room. The demo I was lucky enough to hear showed off the sheer power of this system. I have never heard a system that literally shook the room with power and volume and still sounded balanced and amazing. I so wanted to hear the Wilson system pound out Helmet’s Meantime on vinyl. Maybe next year. I am going to bring some music to the next show.
Helmet Meantime… One of the greatest! I wonder if the characteristic “hi-fi” nature of the Wilson, would result in a painful experience with this album?