CES 2009: The Best Sound Money Can’t Buy
In the recesses of the Alexis Park Hotel, I heard perhaps the best sound at either CES or T.H.E. Show . Keith Herron was featuring his wonderful Herron Audio electronics, including his new SP-4 hybrid line stage, VTPH-2 tube phono stage, M1 monoblocks, as well as Herron interconnects and DiMarzio Super M-Path speaker cables. The front end was a VPI HR-X turntable with Rim Drive, JMW 12.7 tonearm, and an OC-9 cartridge. The good news is that you can purchase any of these components and all represent outstanding values.
The bad news is that Keith was using his Herron Audio 2104A Speakers, which are not in production. These are the same speakers he used last year to produce a gloriously musical sound, but he has made some minor improvements on them over the past year, particularly in the top end, and they’re even better.
What made this full-range system so special was its completely natural musical timbre with exceptional tonal balance and coherency, holographic imaging, precise focus, transient speed, and explosive dynamics. Keith focused on “getting the timing” right, using mathematics, his ear, and recording expertise. “If you get the timing right, everything else falls into place,” Keith said modestly. I was stunned at how close this system came to capturing the sound of the recording venue, in a completely relaxed, yet engaging way. While I heard many terrific systems at CES 2009 and T.H.E Show, this is the one I found myself dreaming about.
Comments
I must agree that Herron audio represents outstanding value for money
Also I would like to say that my dealings with Keith Herron from here in Australia have been nothing short of outstanding.
I had a problem with the imputs of the preamp 'dropping'out due,as it turned out,to a stepdown transformer I was using as a line conditioner. The voltage was too low for the preamp. Keith bent over backwards trying to fix the problem even going as far as to replace the original unit.
It would have been easy for him to leave me to figure things out for myself but he gave my problem his full attention,even calling me on my cell phone twice,until the problem was rectified.
I cant speak highly enough of Keith Herron and his high value equipment.
I am not at all surprised by the response you received from Keith to your problem. He seems truly dedicated to his customers and helping them achieve great sound in the home. Last year at CES, when I asked him a question about VPI's Rim Drive, he took the core of the Rim Drive out of his system and let me hold it to see how heavy it was. Moreover, he spent a lot of time discussing its sonic attributes with me, and, this was not even his product.
Because Herron speakers were not "in production," I did not mention the Herron system in my CES 2008 report last year as the best (or among the best) sounds of the show. After hearing the improvements he made over the past year, I couldn't help myself.
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