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JULY 2007—A VISIT TO ACOUSTIC SOUNDS
We had a very nice trip to Colorado at the end of May. We got to celebrate
my parent’s 60th wedding anniversary, see some friends, and do some fun
things while we were there. The weather, compared to Missouri, was
Heaven.
From an audio standpoint, the zenith of the trip was the hour and a half
that I spent at Acoustic Sounds early on Thursday, the 24th of May.
We got to Salina late the afternoon of the 23rd and I took advantage of the
evening twilight to determine exactly where Acoustic Sounds was located.
It is not hard to find—Salina is not exactly huge—and it is something I have
meant to do in the past.
I arrived to check things out at eight-thirty the next morning. Despite that,
everyone was extremely nice to me.
I met Chad Kassem and he introduced me to Chad Stelly. Stelly, as he is
referred to, spent some time letting me listen to their reference system. If
you have seen an Acoustic Sounds catalog recently, you know that this
system is fronted by a pair of massive Avalon Sentinel speakers. The
electronics, when I was there, consisted of a Pass Labs X350.5 stereo amp,
a Pass X1 preamp, and an SME 20/2 turntable*. I have heard some
expensive speakers, the Wilson Maxx 2s come to mind, but this is the first
time I have ever heard speakers costing $115,450 a pair**.
This is also the first time I have heard or even seen any Pass Labs
equipment in the flesh, er, metal. It is beautifully made equipment and
sounded great even though it was probably not fully warmed up.
Acoustic Sounds’ system sounded wonderful, as you might imagine. The
listening room is very quiet and very large, which allows these speakers to
work as they were intended. I was very impressed. It is impossible not to
be. You could probably buy a home in Salina for what this system costs.
To even discuss the question of “value” when talking about a system like
this is, of course, to miss the point. If I could afford a set up like this, I
would do it. You would too. Happily, my system, which probably costs less
than the speaker cables—all right, which does cost less than the speaker
cables—at least makes sounds which are in the same general neighborhood
as this system, if not coming from the mansion on the hill.
I appreciate Stelly’s time and patience in letting me do some listening. I
would have been happy to listen longer had I not had 450 miles to drive
that day.
Stelly handed me off to Chuck Kennedy who gave me a tour of the
warehouse. I will not attempt to describe all the wonderful recordings that
they have there. First, it would take too long and, second, it would break
your heart. I do not even have a turntable and I wanted one of everything.
I did purchase a CD there, the Isotek Full System Enhancer & Rejuvenation
Disc, Isotek-IBD-CD1. I will be reporting on it further as I get more time to
try it out.
I enjoyed chatting with Chuck while he showed me around. He provided me
with a lot of good information that I am going to follow up on. He also
suggested some potentially interesting things to write about in the future.
My sincere appreciation to everyone at Acoustic Sounds for all of their time
and kindness.
The audio portion of the trip was downhill from Salina, which, given the
terrain, is not easy to do. I did visit a couple of audio/video stores in
Denver which, while they are much better than anything local, are still far
more home theater oriented than audio.
I did pick up my Heathkit TT-1A tube tester while in Denver. My friend Tom
Boffa did major work on it. There were bad parts, missing solder joints,
and some other problems that he repaired. I still have not had a chance to
play with it since getting back home, but will fairly soon. I will have more to
say about it eventually.
My next project is to install the Vampire 800 CB RCA plugs that have been
sitting here for months and see how they sound. I am hoping for great
things, as always. I am also going to play with some cork as equipment
supports. Stay tuned.
I am going to Chicago next week. I will report on any encounters of the
audio kind.
Have a happy and safe Fourth of July!
Kent Johnson
June 28, 2007
*I do not know what was being used as a cartridge or phono preamp.
**Per the 2007 Stereophile Buyer’s Guide. This price may not be current; it
has probably gone up by now. How depressing is that?
We had a very nice trip to Colorado at the end of May. We got to celebrate
my parent’s 60th wedding anniversary, see some friends, and do some fun
things while we were there. The weather, compared to Missouri, was
Heaven.
From an audio standpoint, the zenith of the trip was the hour and a half
that I spent at Acoustic Sounds early on Thursday, the 24th of May.
We got to Salina late the afternoon of the 23rd and I took advantage of the
evening twilight to determine exactly where Acoustic Sounds was located.
It is not hard to find—Salina is not exactly huge—and it is something I have
meant to do in the past.
I arrived to check things out at eight-thirty the next morning. Despite that,
everyone was extremely nice to me.
I met Chad Kassem and he introduced me to Chad Stelly. Stelly, as he is
referred to, spent some time letting me listen to their reference system. If
you have seen an Acoustic Sounds catalog recently, you know that this
system is fronted by a pair of massive Avalon Sentinel speakers. The
electronics, when I was there, consisted of a Pass Labs X350.5 stereo amp,
a Pass X1 preamp, and an SME 20/2 turntable*. I have heard some
expensive speakers, the Wilson Maxx 2s come to mind, but this is the first
time I have ever heard speakers costing $115,450 a pair**.
This is also the first time I have heard or even seen any Pass Labs
equipment in the flesh, er, metal. It is beautifully made equipment and
sounded great even though it was probably not fully warmed up.
Acoustic Sounds’ system sounded wonderful, as you might imagine. The
listening room is very quiet and very large, which allows these speakers to
work as they were intended. I was very impressed. It is impossible not to
be. You could probably buy a home in Salina for what this system costs.
To even discuss the question of “value” when talking about a system like
this is, of course, to miss the point. If I could afford a set up like this, I
would do it. You would too. Happily, my system, which probably costs less
than the speaker cables—all right, which does cost less than the speaker
cables—at least makes sounds which are in the same general neighborhood
as this system, if not coming from the mansion on the hill.
I appreciate Stelly’s time and patience in letting me do some listening. I
would have been happy to listen longer had I not had 450 miles to drive
that day.
Stelly handed me off to Chuck Kennedy who gave me a tour of the
warehouse. I will not attempt to describe all the wonderful recordings that
they have there. First, it would take too long and, second, it would break
your heart. I do not even have a turntable and I wanted one of everything.
I did purchase a CD there, the Isotek Full System Enhancer & Rejuvenation
Disc, Isotek-IBD-CD1. I will be reporting on it further as I get more time to
try it out.
I enjoyed chatting with Chuck while he showed me around. He provided me
with a lot of good information that I am going to follow up on. He also
suggested some potentially interesting things to write about in the future.
My sincere appreciation to everyone at Acoustic Sounds for all of their time
and kindness.
The audio portion of the trip was downhill from Salina, which, given the
terrain, is not easy to do. I did visit a couple of audio/video stores in
Denver which, while they are much better than anything local, are still far
more home theater oriented than audio.
I did pick up my Heathkit TT-1A tube tester while in Denver. My friend Tom
Boffa did major work on it. There were bad parts, missing solder joints,
and some other problems that he repaired. I still have not had a chance to
play with it since getting back home, but will fairly soon. I will have more to
say about it eventually.
My next project is to install the Vampire 800 CB RCA plugs that have been
sitting here for months and see how they sound. I am hoping for great
things, as always. I am also going to play with some cork as equipment
supports. Stay tuned.
I am going to Chicago next week. I will report on any encounters of the
audio kind.
Have a happy and safe Fourth of July!
Kent Johnson
June 28, 2007
*I do not know what was being used as a cartridge or phono preamp.
**Per the 2007 Stereophile Buyer’s Guide. This price may not be current; it
has probably gone up by now. How depressing is that?