High End Outing

On what has to have been one of the nicest Veteran’s Days in MN history a group of four intrepid dabblers and hangers-on to the world of high-end stereo and video journeyed out and about the Twin Cities to sample the wares of the elite of home entertainment.

After a good deal of searching, AudioVideo Dimensions at 1695 Hwy 169 N was located. A new location with potential, but not a lot of interesting gear at this point. Next Stop, Halsten Entertainment, just north of Hwy 395 at the Louisiana Blvd exit. This was also a new stop for us, but not a new store. Excellent selection of video, with all the latest Sony products including their answer to LCOS called SXRD, which seems to bring rear projection sets one step closer to being “as good as plasma”. Of course plasma keeps dropping price, so the plasma sets that used to be $20K are now $5K, which since the LCOS/SXRD of similar sizes are only $3-4K is a lot closer to being within reach. Most likely we will eventually get to flat wall panels in whatever size desired, but the trail will not be straight.

The video market continues to be completely wild with “generations” of technologies going by in a year or less and the drive to lower and lower price points at ever increasing screen sizes, resolutions, brightness, screen types, and picture quality is stunning. The other “find” of the day in video was also a Sony, the Bravia 32” XBR LCD flat panel. A stunning set, amazing to think that when I purchased a 31” Phillips set in ’90 it was a HUGE picture … and of course that tube set weighed over 100 lbs.

A stop at High-Fi Sound is always an important part of the trip. It was the site of our groups “original experience of sound stage”, a seminal point in life for anyone who has enjoyed the (costly) pleasure. Ah yes, mid 80s, Dalquist DQ-10s, Jennifer Warnes, Famous Blue Raincoat, but I digress. This trip was one of those “rare find” trips where a new piece of audio gear in the price range and “WAF” (Wife Acceptance Factor) parameters of mortal men could consider purchasing. We were treated to the sound of a set of B&W XT4s being played through about $15K of Macintosh tube gear. How they sound through more pedestrian electronics remains to be seen, but what we heard was stunning in soundstage, midrange, highs, and even surprising in bass. Being relatively small speakers, they “Kanna change the laws of physics” as Scotty would say, but they give it a good run.

A rare find … Speakers that I can dream of, at a “mere” $2500 for the pair, and they can fit well in virtually any setting at least visually … and it seems with a good chance at being very rewarding sonically as well.
B&W XT Speakers

As is our custom, we were also able to make a stop at Audio Perfections, which we fondly know as “Audio Perversions” since it has that kind of “darkened and off the beaten path” look about it that makes it appear that it could be vaguely illicit in some sense. Significant gear has been purchased there by the group however, and we were given a listen to a set of Wilson Maxx Series 2’s. Something like $45K for the pair, not looking particularly “unobtrusive”, and weighing in at something like 500lbs each, they push the WAF beyond any sense of reason. No doubt they were being driven by gear and cables that more than matched their cost factor, so a mere $100 grand “boom box”. Fortunately, the material selected for listening in this case, some set of drums from the 50’s did not even make us pine away for the unattainable.

We moved on to “the big box store” of Best Buy just down the road to finish out the day looking at some things eminently more affordable, and closed the evening with the standardly excellent meal at Buca di Beppo that we somehow managed to push to the territory of $50 a head. Extremely cheap next to $45K speakers at least!

I’d have to rank it very close to the top of these stereo junkets that have been happening once or twice most every year for the past 20 years. A most enjoyable way to spend a Friday afternoon away from work.