CES 2018: DeVore, dCS, Dan D'Agostino | Stereophile

[@joeygonzo]

I remember going to CES and get blown away by the audio gear . This was back in the late 80's and early 90's.

[@Sams911]

In the beginning of the video, that's John Quick... what a classy and knowledgable / helpful guy, and a great representative for dCS in the US..

[@socksumi]

The Wilson room with it's carpet and strategically placed furniture and fixtures had much better acoustics than other hotel rooms. That is why it sounded better overall.

[@Ricky-cl5bu]

Where is 9900 dollars in that speakers there must be 8000 dollars profit

[@barney6888]

YAAAAAY !!! I'm the umpteenth person to watch this video and I win, delivered free of charge, all the gear from 12:45 on so I can finally hear the viola part in Mahler's 9th. YAAAAAAAAY !!!

[@audioheadcase1938]

Wonderful video; what a fantastic pairing dCS/D'Agostino/Wilson/Transparent- I've always been a big D'Agostino fan and I'm glad to see he's still hitting it out of the park. It shows just how far we have come with the "cost no object" systems. It must have been a fantastic experience. I am intrigued by the DeVore speakers, enough now to go and have a listen. Thank you, Mr. Atkinson, well done.

[@edleifer6719]

I was so intrigued by the Devore's that I bought a pair of the Gibbon X this year and haven't looked back.

[@amirjubran1845]

Regarding MQA, it is very important to remember that it is not the same mastering as the PCM. If those MQA remasters were offered in PCM, they'd likely sound very much the same, perhaps even better on PCM since it is lossless. Unfortunately, there is no real fair way to compare the formats because there is a vested interest in preventing such comparisons from being made.

[@elvislad]

Lovely low organ sound in the DeVore room

[@genkifd]

why does John have earphones on when listening?

[@craigcoughlin1834]

They're microphones

[@johnbravo7542]

Looks like his hair barber said," I'll give something special today,I will make your head look like planet Earth

[@ΦΩΤΗΣΡΑΛΛΗΣ-τ8β]

Good evening. Some speakers do more for transistors, some do for lamps? and what are they?

[@davidsims4993]

Just love how when he asks the guy the cost of the dcs Vivaldi1 Limited Edition, he says $80K so matter of factly, like its no big deal. Jeez, you gotta be kidding me!! I would not even consider buying a car that costs that much money, let alone a piece of audio gear. Thats a downpayment (or a decent portion of it) on a house! At least a house goes up in value.

[@divertiti]

It's not meant for you

[@garthdev]

There is a annoying clicking through my Sennheisers and valve headphone amp...???? ( dCS, Dan D'Agostino)

[@Stereoeditor]

This at the beginning of the clip and is me adjusting the volume with the D'Agostino's remote control. - JA

[@garthdavison5608]

Thanks (Parsing Elf) aka Garth

[@mrpositronia]

It sounds to me like someone is clicking a pen.

[@mserlin]

"Where do you put the crossover?" "Between the two drivers" ha! Audiophile humor 😃

[@alb.1911]

LOL

[@BullrullarN]

In the cabinett

[@jamespeck2638]

Notice he NEVER DID answer the question (HZ wise)....a secret?

[@michaeljones19731]

Ask a silly question. Receive an equally silly answer. Lol.

[@chrisdher65]

So was he reviewing headphones or the system???

[@thegrimyeaper]

I wonder if the Sasha's come in grey. Would love to be able to say I have a couple of Sasha Greys in the house.

[@edleifer6719]

Ha Ha

[@JanEskildsen]

Listen with headphones on ....

[@davidtomsett]

Seems as though you are listening for faults rather than for the joy of the music. Sometimes I think we lose the idea of enjoyment through over analysis - we will never get musical nirvana - as long as we spend what we can afford on gear and it gives us enjoyment then what more can you we ask for!!

[@stuartmartin3408]

Well said, but then i believe after years of wasting money that the whole audiophile thing is snake oil. $9900 for a pair of speakers?? and that thing whatever it was, (list of acronyms) for 80K, thats more than i just sold a house for! Seriously this is plain madness.

[@ResilientME]

David Tomsett The analysis and tuning in a system made of dissimilar parts to best reflect your music & accommodation is the fun here. Like adding yourself to your music as tone engineer. Music for music's sake can be enjoyed on systems costing as little as $50, and they tend to be more genre agnostic too

[@sidvicious3129]

You knocked this one right out of the park, it should always be about the music first and the equipment should be a means to that end. You don't have to spend 80,000 to 100,000 to a million on a system, but if you do and can afford it, it shouldn't be looked at as snake oil either, because that's where the jealousy sets in. What someone spends is their business, you can spend, 15,000 on a bicycle, 80,000 on a camera, 300.00 on a pair of blue jeans, 1-100 million on a house, 1 -10 million on a car, is that snake oil? Or is it people spending what they earned the way they see fit. I have heard a 100,000 system and it sounded amazing and I have heard a 150,000 dollar system that sounded like crap and a 500.00 to 1000.00 systems that sounded from good to amazing as well. Buying used and demo models can be your friend, establishing relationship with local dealers also help and they will call you when they get used or demo equipment. Buying used equipment from record stores is also an option. Setup and room acoustics are extremely important and the enjoyment of music is what we all do this for regardless of price. The biggest issue is when you go to these shows, there are mostly people that are between 40-65 and if you play any music that isn't approved, you are looked at as if you have two heads. You can't account for all music taste, but you can play different music to show the range of different systems and the industry and magazines have to be able to communicate to the general public by also including lower cost systems and grooming the young to be educated by the old to continue this great hobby of ours.

[@stuartmartin3408]

Point taken, my ref to snake oil is that people say difference can be heard in a 80k system to a 5k system, in an very subjective field. If there is a difference is that added value worth 75k?. Its not a matter of jealousy at all i've spent horrendous amounts on audio and other hobbies. That's always been the cliche argument against us non-believers. The having of and the spending of the cash isn't the snake oil, its the claims made and the costs attached that make me think its marketing BS. Expensive cars can be objectively compared, 0-60,BHP blah blah, so can 1Mil + houses, Sq Footage, Pool, Garden etc etc... But some will argue so can audio gear.....thats when we get sold the snake oil in my humble opinion.

[@dragondriver69]

You're right, but...that's their job, finding the most enjoyable ("less faulty") system...you know, they're reviewers :)

[@chasevineland1508]

Wilson Audio Sascha... droooooooooling!!!

[@ThePerfeckted]

$22k components...give me "alexa" lol. Nice eye candy stuff there at CES. Thx for vlog.

[@philipgana9913]

Dan D'Agostino is the KING of amplifiers! I absolutely think he is the very best in the game

[@davehwang6815]

After having been cheated by shareholders at KRELL, Dan suddenly regain the passion in second-to-none electronics. So elegant but ultra powerful.

[@zencoatlrios2648]

Gryphon Audio, VITUS...

[@michaeljones19731]

They are stunning looking tanks with the power to match. Good luck Dan.

[@brianmoore581]

Nelson Pass ain't too bad, either.

[@bolsesolheim7469]

250 000 Dollars for a chunk of strange looking metal and hundreds of transistors GIVE ME A BREAK DAN IS YOUR WIFE THAT COSTLY MOHA HA

[@gadymarcus5297]

wow phenomenal sound

[@Jdeneik]

I like great music reproduction but I have to think there is a diminishing return at 10K per device...would love to see these Audiophiles be able to identify components through a double blind test for preamps, amps, cables etc...

[@bolsesolheim7469]

TIME IS RIPE FOR US VULTURES I

[@michaeljones19731]

If you have to ask the price, you can't afford it LOL.

[@nixternal]

I really want that Cantus recording of It's Alright. It's either unobtainable or my googlefoo has become weak :/

[@Stereoeditor]

It is out of print but there are some for sale used on Amazon: www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00DGIH5DS

[@wellroundedsound2422]

Clearly Tyll Hertsens had a good time at CES...:)

[@phototristan]

And shortly after this, John fired him.

[@luizfcoimbra82]

Why is John using headphones?

[@zencoatlrios2648]

Luiz Fernando Coimbra senheiser microphones binaural

[@nerveaudio]

Nice setup trick. Speakers flanking open doors to the other room....Speakers will NEVER sound like that in front of a flat wall.

[@DuanePortal]

Hello, what are the ear devices Mr Atkinson has in when doing the listening sessions???

[@gotham61]

Those are the Sennheiser microphones making the recording you're hearing.

[@DuanePortal]

Ahh,, interesting, thankyou!

[@vessk000]

Do you know what is the model?

[@Stereoeditor]

Sennheiser Ambeo binaural microphone/headphone system.

[@DuanePortal]

Stereoeditor thank you so much.

[@salvadorrodenas3071]

Devore is a tall man!

[@hocheye]

So he could not tell him how much the whole system is, so in the $200k region! How good can it be? So it sounds twice as good as a $100k system? I doubt it.

[@divertiti]

Have you heard either one?

[@markh.9822]

Does a $5 record sound 5x better than a $1 record? Is a $25 record sound 25x better that the $1 record? Now you should realize what a logical fallacy doing that comparison is

[@johnbravo7542]

U.S.$80K ? Get the fuck outta here.

[@dambuster6387]

Hifi is to way expensive it seems to be aimed at HIFI buffs with lots of money in the bank, $9900 for a pair speakers plus the cost of rest of the gear its seems to me a endless money pit.

[@johnbravo7542]

The real money pit is in the cables,cable risers,any of the voodoo shit snake oil they try and sell you.

[@ColocasiaCorm]

It is a money pit. Your expensive speakers depreciate like crazy when the new hotness comes out and you have to have it.

[@societyofhighendaudio]

His hair is going grey. At that age sign of absent mindedness is common. that's why you may see cable on his ear. But thats noit what I want to say. Sign of high cholesterol in obesity leads to heart disease and diabetes is inevitable.

[@twraven1]

Having attended CES many times, not in at least 5 years, as a consumer I think this show would improve and see a future if it was opened to consumers. I understand the need for manufacturers to se their retail customers but Munich makes it much easier to for the average guy to attend. CES is very consumer unfriendly and it is partly the reason I stopped.

[@fredriksvard2603]

Sad

[@raymondleggs5508]

If you buy some of these things you are being scammed

[@histubeness]

Scammed? Why? --Your statement is meaningless without giving reasons why, in your opinion, "you are being scammed".

[@raymondleggs5508]

im talking all the expensive cables and some of the amps which i bet you couldn't tell the difference between a $300.00 technical pro power amp and it if demoed behind a curtain.

[@raydm4015]

Better stick your Bose cubes and shitty amp then lol

[@raymondleggs5508]

I hate bose cubes lol.

[@bolsesolheim7469]

THE STUPID CUSTOMERS ARE GOING AWAY

[@socksumi]

These don't sound like they're worth anywhere close to 10 grand US pr. You can buy floor standers with very similar sound for $1.5K from the likes of Elac and others. Or better yet by used high end and classic gear.

[@ColocasiaCorm]

Normally id agree with you but the wilsons were pretty damn smooth and clean

[@raymondleggs5508]

D'Agostino amps sound bland.

[@raydm4015]

Through your crappy speakers it sure does yes..

[@raymondleggs5508]

You'll be surprised how many audiophiles don't like D'agostino amps

[@mrpositronia]

In your opinion. Everyone is entitled to their opinion.

[@raffiequler7510]

Yes, they sound bland with your low-fidelity speakers.

[@blech71]

PASS, D’A, PS, NAD etc.... they all have their places and to make blanket claims is lame. It all depends on all the components coming together into a system... yeah there are times where you would use an Emotiva over another choice based off what the other components are going to be

[@Montreal_Audio_Systems]

All that money on gear Dan D'Agostino amps bla bla bla All that and you listen with an ear piece??? Wtf

[@astralboy]

boring tracks played