CAF 2022 Highlights: Linear Tube Audio | Credo

As timing would have it, I got to hear two different pair of Credo speakers in one of two rooms hosted by Linear Tube Audio.

The taller of the two are the Credo EV 1202 Ref. ($16,995/pair), distributed in the USA by Audioshield Distribution, are in Barn for closer inspection, while the smaller are the Credo EV 900 Ref. ($13,995/pair). To my ears, the smaller Credos were better suited for this relatively small room, locking in and sounding big, but not too big, filling the room with sweet, sweet music which is something I’ve come to expect from a room hosted by Linear Tube Audio (example) and based on my review of the LTA Z40+ Integrated Amplifier where I paired it with the Credo EV 1202 Ref., something I expected from a Credo/LTA combo.

The Meitner MA3 Integrated D/A Converter ($10,500), which is also in Barn for review, sat over the LTA MicroZOTL Preamplifier (Level 2 $5750). Cable from van den Hul was used throughout.

A pair of LTA Reference+ amplifiers ($6800/ea.) did the driving with their EL-34 based 90+ Watts of output power per channel when run as monoblocks.

Back to the big vs. smaller speaker thing, this is a very good example of why coming to any clear cut conclusions about gear at a hifi show, or in any unfamiliar environment, is a fool’s errand as I could have easily come to any number of incorrect conclusions about the gear in this room.

Anecdote: A friend in the hifi business who owns a retail store in NYC once told me that people shopping for speakers will sit and listen to a completely unfamiliar system and declare, “Great sounding speakers!” while the next shopper who’s looking for an amplifier will listen to the exact same system and declare, “Great sounding amp!”

Moral of the Story: Misattribution is the mind of the rash beholder.