Found a local Hi-Fi dealer

[dane_peterson]

Audio Perfection: http://www.audioperfection.com/

Just stopped into the store today. It's a bit run down on the outside, but has 3 very nice listening rooms. The sales floor is also stacked with equipment.

The first room that caught my eye had a plethora of very high-end stuff. A shelf 6-feet high decked out with McIntosh components, paired with Martin Logan Vantages and Wilson Series 2 Maxx's. There were quite a few more pieces in this room, including a few REL subs and other cylinder subs I didn't recognize. Most of these speakers I'd never seen in person until now. Very exciting. There was a man in this room listening to some older speakers, so I tried not to disturb him too much.

I wandered to the next room, which had a 5.1 Gallos setup with the 3.1s, as well as some Sonus Fabers. The main salesman was seated in this room watching Casino Royale. I started chatting with him as I wandered through the rest of the store.

Into the next room, there were several expensive-looking turntables, followed by more McIntosh equipment. I saw a Martin Logan Cinema sitting on the floor (holy cripes, what an enormous center channel!) Quite a few maggies, and several Sonus Faber, Wilson, and NHT towers.

On the main sales floor, there were a few crates and boxes, including a pair of B&W 802Ds. The salesman told me he had just received them on trade-in. I asked if the Wilsons Maxx2's were hooked up. He said they were, and I could demo them as soon as the other man was done. I ran out of time, so he told me to return with a couple of my favorite discs.

I gotta say guys, with all this hi-fi stuff within a 10 minute drive from my home, I may be in a bit of trouble. Of course most of this stuff was way out of my budget, but I wouldn't put it past me to find a way to afford something from there.

Anyway, didn't really get to listen to anything, but seeing that stuff in person was in itself enjoyable. I look forward to going back and hearing what $48,000 speakers sound like. :D

[janmike]

Congrats. Sounds like most of us when we find a place like that.

[wingnut4772]

Please go back and listen to the Wilsons. I wanna hear what you think about them.

[dane_peterson]

I'd be happy to. :) Are there any others you'd like them to be compared to?

[venomclan]

How did the Gallos sound? They are probably my next upgrade.

[wingnut4772]

I'd be happy to. :) Are there any others you'd like them to be compared to?

Maybe the Sonus Fabers but I was just looking for an opinion in general. I heard that they (the Wilsons) can be a little bright. I was just curious to see if you like them.

[dane_peterson]

How did the Gallos sound? They are probably my next upgrade.

Didn't get a chance to hear the Gallos, but they're an attractive speaker. If only they were a little taller...
I'll take a listen to all listed when I go back.

[VR3]

The Wilson X1 in comparison to a pair of 8,000 dollar Sonus Fabors made the SF sound like a blown car speaker.

But its possibly an unfair comparison.

The Wilson was in a room that cost as much as 5 of my houses combined.

Not even counting the gear which cost about 5-6 times that of my house as well.

Absolutely phenominal setup I heard that day.

[pearsall001]

Some friendly advice. Walk in with only your favorite CD's for listening & leave the wallet & credit cards home. Don't say I didn't warn you!!!:D

[ben62670]

I wish I knew where there was a nice HiFi place around here. You would think the please boat (theft) capitol of the world would have a nice big HiFi shop

[VR3]

Do like we did, drive 12 hours just to listen! :)

[ben62670]

Didn't get a chance to hear the Gallos, but they're an attractive speaker. If only they were a little taller...
I'll take a listen to all listed when I go back.

Boy am I glad my credit sucks! If I still had good credit I'd be up to my ears with audio debt(injuries+Xwife made me broke).

[Joey_V]

Have fun with the Maxx2... I remember hearing those on Halcros with a nice Eagles Master CD and I was pretty much left sitting in the sweetspot chair with my mouth open in disbelief. I knew there was better... but I didnt know it was that much better.

Needless to say, I came back and listened to the same Maxx2 with some BAT VK600se amps... and sadly, it wasnt the same as before. I was no longer blown away.

So, with the right synergy, they are killer!

Have fun!

[Serendipity]

Do like we did, drive 12 hours just to listen! :)

I did that too to hear a pair of Definitive BP10B's. When I heard them, well, the rest is pretty self-explanatory.

[wingnut4772]

Boy am I glad my credit sucks! If I still had good credit I'd be up to my ears with audio debt(injuries+Xwife made me broke).

That's my problem. I have excellent credit and a LOT of it. It gets me in trouble big time.:(

[ben62670]

That's my problem. I have excellent credit and a LOT of it. It gets me in trouble big time.:(

Careful, careful, careful

[xsmi]

Don't do it.... Nooooooooooooooooooooo......

[dane_peterson]

I returned to Audio Perfection with a few CDs yesterday.

I started out with the Gallos Reference 3s, as I've always liked their design.
They were being run by a NAD amp, Ayre CDP, and a Gallos controller.
I started out with some Ray Charles. The brass section was extremely tight and crisp. The vocals imaged well. I felt there was something missing in the bass. I guess I may have just been expecting more with the 10" drivers, but if I purchased these speakers, I'd definitely want to run a sub with them.

I then switched to one of my favorite CDs, Speechwriters LLC. They have some nice acoustic guitar passages. The guitar picking was well-detailed, and I have yet to go back to my LSi9s to see how they compare. My initial thought is that the Gallos provide more detail here. There are prominent vocals on this disc, and though I was actually disappointed on the vocal imaging on this disc, when I switched to another, my feelings changed. #10 had very distinct center-staging for the vocals, so I'm led to believe the mixing was done differently on #8.

Enough of the Gallos. An attractive speaker with some nice detail. I don't know how much headroom it has on the LSis, though. Considering the equipment they were using, I'm willing to bet it's a pretty lateral upgrade (though I might still consider it cuz they're so sexy!)


I then wandered around the shop a little more, listened briefly to some Jack Johnson on Sonus Faber Concertos (or were they Grand Pianos?). Now it's time to listen to some Wilsons. ... DANGIT! Every time I go in there to demo the Maxx2's, there's someone else using the room. Fortunately, they were listening to some vinyl Diana Krall on the Wilson WATT/Puppies, so I wasn't completely missing out.

As soon as I entered the room, I could feel the emotion of this music. Typically I either need to be familiar with a song, or at least particularly like the music style to enjoy a song. I had never heard this track before, and actually didn't really like the song that much, but I still enjoyed it tremendously. I unfortunately do not know what equipment was being used, as there were several pieces on the rack (some NAD, some McIntosh, don't know what the vinyl player was)

I've never heard anything so balanced, articulate, and encompassing before. It sounded like these things had a flat response from the center of the earth to the top of the atmosphere. Everything in every instrument was detailed perfectly. The speakers were about 8 ft apart, toed in about 10*. I was standing behind 3 people who were seated about 14 feet away. I was blown away. Right there I decided I didn't even need to hear the Maxx2s... this is as good as it gets. The imaging was pretty darn good, but what was better was the enveloping sound. It just filled the room... you didn't feel like there was open empty air anywhere. And they weren't turned up unreasonably either. It honestly felt like there were enormous speakers everywhere producing this much sound.

I honestly don't know what else to say. I did bring by Credit Card with me... fortunately for me it's pretty darn full, and I don't have that much credit anyway. However, I probably wouldn't have purchased these anyway. Two reasons:
1. I want to hear the Sophias (which were directly behind me during the listen) For half the price, how much could you lose? Instead of two 8"ers, it has one 10"er. From what I've heard from Wilson so far, I'm sure any of their products would make me extremely happy.
2. They were finished in plum. I'm not a rich snobby girl or a medieval king, so this finish was simply unattractive to me.

I told my wife last week when we found this place "Don't worry. I'd NEVER spend that much on speakers."


Whoops.

[wingnut4772]

You are my hero. I really want to hear those Wilsons:p

[dane_peterson]

They're the only dealer in MN. I consider myself very fortunate. :D

[wingnut4772]

There is one here too in the Gables but I am afraid if I go listen to them it will make me want to blow my new house $$$ on them. I guess I could leave the credit card at home.....:p

[hearingimpared]

Great write up. Dane you are fortunate that you not only have a high end dealer near you but one who doesn't have their nose up in the air. I have one not 15 minutes from me but they are so snobby that it makes my skin crawl.

[pearsall001]

Great write up. Dane you are fortunate that you not only have a high end dealer near you but one who doesn't have their nose up in the air. I have one not 15 minutes from me but they are so snobby that it makes my skin crawl.

Overture I presume?

[hearingimpared]

Overture I presume?

I'm not mentioning names but . . .

[pearsall001]

I'm not mentioning names but . . .

Enough said bro!!!

[xsmi]

I Told you not to do it.... You my friend are in trouble.