I have chosen to review the show in reverse alphabetical order for a change, so here we are starting with W!!! .
Wisdom Audio
Wisdom Audio is new to me but have been around for quite a while, 1996 to be precise... David Graebener is the "eminence grise" behind the company, with 30 years of experience developing planar transducers. Jerry Hanna - in the photo - is vice president business development and worked at Madrigal for some time (as a few of the executive team members) was very good at explaining and demonstrating the virtues of their planar technologies. The column you see is a full range device going down to 80Hz on its own! There is a HUGE subwoofer to cater for the lower 2 octaves (45x90x150cms!!!) The system claims 100 db/W/m, which together with the cylindrical directivity pattern of the satelites gives a very realistic and precise sound. Not quite as impressive as the Everest system from JBL demonstrated next door, it was nevertheless the next closest thing to live music. Quite an achievement, and certainly less unaffordable than the Everest (Do you need to climb the Everest to achieve Wisdom???...lol!)
Wilson Audio
Dave Wilson does not need an introduction, as he has been designing "reference" systems for over 30 years. The new Sasha demonstrated on the stand of its French distributor Europe Audio Diffusion (EAD) is the latest incarnation of a long series of extraordinary speakers on which the most famous would be the Watt/Puppy, a satelite/subwoofer combination, my favourite arrangement as you probably know by now, if you have followed this blog for some time... It is also a "money is no object" kind of proposition and the reference speaker of the revered Ken Kessler - not an easy treat to achieve! In good company here driven by Audio Research electronics and next to the latest version of Magnepan panels! EAD also distributes Macintosh and the new Dan D'Agostino amplifier (unfortunately on static display only...) This is not for the faint hearted, but certainly one of the best sounds at the Show.
Waterfall Audio
Third award for the Niagara, top of the range for this unique concept of glass cabinet loudspeakers. Powered by Atohm drivers, another sublime French loudspeaker manufacturer, these original products are both very good to your ears and with a very high WAF index. Waterfall is distributed all around the World and as far as...Australia! Nadine and Cedric Aubriot are a very handsome couple running the show and they have managed to assemble a diverse range of products well targeted to the melomane as well as to the CEDIA type clients who want a decent sound from a discrete system.
Born in France, well travelled, relocated to Sydney in 1997. Loves to cook for family and friends from seasonal and local ingredients and listen to live and recorded music, the subject on hand here! I am an electronic engineer by trade, speaker designer of some fame in the mid 80s, now involved in technical and architectural products for the Building Industry. I also blog on food, wine and travel, focused on all things French: www.ourfrenchimpressions.com
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