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. Add Comment Vintage Triangle 1180 09/11/2011
30 years ago...this idea of a satelite and separate subwoofer was in the air! Interestingly enough, I had no recollection of this speaker, the first offering of Renaud de Vergnette under the now famous Triangle brand, which is distributed all around the World, including here in Australia (by Audio Active Australia in Melbourne...walking distance from my day's job office in South Melbourne!). I have found no technical information on this product released in 1983, one year before we were to introduce our own Microphase system. What we can derive from the picture, is that the satelite is a two-way system with a cabinet that attempt to reduce standing waves AND achieve time alignement at the same time. It looks like there is also a down firing woofer. The satelite has a much bigger volume than our SATs, but the subwoofer seems very similar in size, probably using a 17cm woofer as well. If anybody has any more information on these speakers, feel free to tell us in the "comments" I am trying to visit Triangle in October, and hopefullly find out more about this quite neat design. I cannot resit but to photographically list a few more similar designs thast have appeared here and there over the years from Davis Acoustics, Wilson Audio and others. Feel free to add to the Collection! | AuthorBorn in France, well travelled, relocated to Sydney in 1997. ArchivesMarch 2012 CategoriesAll |
French Vintage HiFi














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