Last weekend, I visited Devon Turnbull's HiFi Pursuit Listening Room Dream No. 3 at the Cooper Hewitt, which opened on December 12, 2025.
Despite being a snowy day, Andrew Carnegie's library was SRO!
Devon DJ'd, alternating between two Denon direct drive motor units in OJAS custom plinths. These were equipped with 12" Groovemaster and Ortofon tonearms and fitted with either SPU or DL103 cartridges feeding the custom Steve Berger phono preamp with Intact Audio Nickel AVC. Unfortunately, the amps with Thomas Mayer's ELROG thoriated filament power triodes were not connected. Instead, OJAS class D amps were driving the multi-way horn speaker system using TAD and Fostex drivers.
Aside from LPs, he also played open reel tapes via this Studer deck.
Due to time constraints and crowd size, we weren't able to do much shop talk. But Devon did mention the possibility of demoing tube amplification designed by jc morrison at a later date. Hopefully, I can visit again when those are in situ before exhibit ends on July 19, 2026.
This is a must-see and hear for anyone curious as to why there are people like me who enjoy music reproduction via cutting edge technology from the first half of the 20th century.😉
Hi Joe!
ReplyDeleteIt would be great to be able to be nearby to hear and see that room, unfortunately I'm too far away.
I'd love to see more photos and videos of the place, but it seems like nobody thinks much about the people who aren't going to be there.
Just as I would like to see more information about the Devon Salon, I would like to know more about the 2025 ETF, but I can't find anything online.
I don't know if it has much to do with the tube sound we can get at home; I see that the place is acoustically treated, but it's still very interesting to see how Devon works, and especially you, Joe! You're a genius and you motivate a lot of people in this hobby, in which we learn a lot, besides listening to a lot of music.
thanx a lot!
Thanks for the kind words! Pictures and videos are the best I could do for people who can't go to these rare events.😊
DeletePhotos and impressions from ETF 2025 can be found here:
Deletehttps://forums.melaudia.net/showthread.php?tid=13754
Thanks for the ETF link!
DeleteI think I remember Devon mentioning to Steve Guttenberg that he'd had some trouble getting the phono preamp stage of his tube amp setup up on schedule. Bummer. Still sounds amazing, though, doesn't it? Ah. Me. ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing! 😊
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