Best and Worst of RMAF.

Pez · « **on:** 18 Oct 2011, 01:22 am »

Oh god, am I really going to do this? I guess something in me loves controversy especially amongst friends. I swear, most of the time Tyson and I hung out we were arguing about pretty much everything, even when we agreed.

But I do want to show what I think of as the highlights and low points of the show.

So here it is....

Lets start at the bottom and work our way up.
worst overall
VTL/TAD

Worst in show goes to VTL/TAD room. This is mainly for the way they treated us. If you haven't read about it please go to the day one coverage here

Beyond the fact that they actually managed to bury the needle on the prick-o-meter, the overall sound was mushy and just not even close to what the TAD only room was like. Nor what the TAD/Bel Canto rooms from previous years were like. You'd think super VTL giant new amps matched with, what I personally think of as the apex of audio design, the TAD floorstanders and you have an instant formula for distilled awesomeness right? WRONG!!!! I wouldn't normally go out on a limb and diagnose the problem as the front end or the speakers, but because of my constantly positive impression of these speakers in every other occasion but this one the blame clearly lies with the VTL equipment. I will say it wasn't the worst sounding room, far from it, but on an absolute scale this system should have been way better than it was.

Worst sound quality

Musical surround , aesthetix, clearaudio

I didn't elaborate at the time because I couldn't get out of the room fast enough, but let me go into some detail of which these speakers were lacking. They were shrill, they had them playing way too loud in an untreated room. Also, No you may not listen to your own music, we're listening to poorly recorded jazz on vinyl thank you very much!

Ok one more worst of.

runner up worst sound.

Look you can probably tell from the pictures that this room sucked. For one the speakers were pushed up completely against the wall. I try not to judge solely based on placement. Some of the other rooms that did this managed to sound ok, but none of them sounded great. This room was the poster child as to why you shouldn't do this. It was bad. Really metallic sounding highs and bloated mids no image or soundstage to speak of. Yuck yuck yuck.

Alright now on to the best. I thought about this quite a bit and there is logic behind why I picked this particular 'room' as the best.

JH Audio JH13s

No we are not the best of.

The JH audio JH13s. Because they fact they are headphones they obviously don't have that whole body visceral bass slam, nor can they image anywhere outside of your head, but when I listen to music I've owned for decades they make me feel like I did when I heard the music the first time. I mean that. Even on my iPhone's compressed MP3 nonsense I use to listen in the car stereo normally sounded simply better than any system I heard at the show regardless of price. Not everything mind you, but more than enough to get my attention. The detail and inner detail on these is astounding. Completely shocking.

Now with all of that said they are $1000. A lot to pay for any one component. BUT that $1000 gets you a performance that is well beyond anything I heard at this show. There are 2 components in my history of going to RMAF that I have actually heard and decided that I would some day own. First one was the Bolder Cable SB touch and PS. And now this. I don't really care for IEMs, but these ones have forced me to reassess that preference. They will be mine... Oh yes, they will be mine!

Runner up Best in show

TAD

Funny that TADs name is associated with both best and worst of (again I blame the other gear), but the truth is the TAD only room was damn near miraculous in every category. I have never heard consumer grade speakers with such visceral dynamics that make you actually feel it in your chest so powerfully. And to top it off Andrew, the lead designer, is one of the nicest human beings I have ever met period let alone among the vendors. Kudos on all fronts.

Surprise best of
Estelon Diamond XA

These were in very close competition with the TADs. They most certainly sounded sweeter and more emotional. The TADs probably win the dynamics category, but at this level it's almost a coin toss. I loved this room and the vendor (who's name escapes me) was very friendly and knowledgeable. I absolutely love RMAF for this reason. I have never heard of these, yet they bested the beasts at the show like Dynaudio, YG, and even the Focals (Tyson's harshly worded objection in 5,4,3,2...)

Any way there it is. The only thing I wanted to mention is that all the AC vendors knocked it out of the park this year. Maybe not immediately as was the case for Purity and AVA/Salk, but they all had systems that were phenomenal. And based on the controversy Tyson and I stirred last year I hope you all take me at my word on that.

Bill Baker · « **Reply #1 on:** 18 Oct 2011, 01:34 am »

Quote

Maybe not immediately as was the case for Purity and AVA/Salk, but they all had systems that were phenomenal.

Okay, no argument there. Is was not till Sunday when we finally got everything dialed in. We went from no synergy to decent sound and finally great sound on Sunday. Unfortunately, nobody heard the best sound they system produced when we untapped the KR Kronsilla amps.

Thank you to all AC members that stopped in to say hi. And to these guys for their great coverage. It takes a lot o work and dedication to do as much as thy did in three days.

jtwrace · « **Reply #2 on:** 18 Oct 2011, 01:36 am »

Quote from: Bill Baker on 18 Oct 2011, 01:34 am

Unfortunately, nobody heard the best sound they system produced when we untapped the KR Kronsilla amps.

What amp did it replace?

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #3 on:** 18 Oct 2011, 01:54 am »

These VTL monoblocks are real ugly amps, its looks like a winter oil heater.
Not a good idea hide the tubes, which can be very hot closed inside this alu box.
How the custumer will replace a tube in this amp, I could only guess, since there is no tube sockets holes visible at naked eye.

ratso · « **Reply #4 on:** 18 Oct 2011, 03:54 am »

i love those focal utopias. reeee-diculously overpriced. but to my ears they always sound great, even the smaller (still reeee-diculously overpriced) utopias.

Pez · « **Reply #5 on:** 18 Oct 2011, 03:59 am »

Ya, they were good this year, but not every other year.

Also regarding the name, if they were truly utopian wouldn't we all get a pair for free? I mean if anything they should be called the Ebinezers.

Thank you thank you.

Tyson · « **Reply #6 on:** 18 Oct 2011, 04:45 am »

Aright, best and worst? Oh man, I could get in trouble here. OK, I'll keep it short on the worst, and long on the best.

Worst Room

VTL/TAD

Bad sound and dickish people running the room. Baaaaaaad combo. But, on the upside, this only happened in 1 room the entire show (for us), so it was unfortunate that it happened, but was certainly not the rule. Most vendors rocked.

Second Worst Room

Nordost

Cable demos, all day long, every day! And getting ignored if you ask to play your own music! And harsh, thin, bright sound to boot!

Best Rooms, absolute quality

There are 3 rooms that all were just phenomenal this year, each with a bit of different flavor. These are actually in no particular order, since I thought they were all great.

Focal Grand Utopias

These go first because I have literally hated these speakers for years, and years, and years. The turnaround they exhibited this year was tantamount to Mike Tyson writing great poetry.

Estelon Diamond

These go second, because I've never even HEARD of these guys before. And also, I generally hate ceramic drivers, and hate diamond drivers even more. But these sounded amazing.

TAD/TAD

Gotta respect it when the designer knows his speakers are so badass that he builds equipment to match their level of quality. Amazing dynamics, perfectly crystal clear, coherence better than anything else at the show. Did I mention dynamics? And coherence?

Largest Improvement from Last Year

Lots of contenders here because so many people really stepped it up this year. Odyssey? No, because they were too consistently good every other year. Focal? Yeah, they definitely kicked it up a ton of notches. But they already got a spot in the Best Of category. The winner is....

YG Acoustics

Because they sounded very good in 2 rooms, and absolutely great in 2 more. Plus they were actually bad sounding last year. That's a major turnaround!

Consistently Great (Tie, plus a runner up)MA Recordings

I never leave this room without spending money. The music he records is so interesting, the sound he achieves is so involving, and the atmosphere of the room is so laid back and cool, that the credit card comes out every time.

Fritz Speakers

If my non-audiophile friends were to ask me what speaker they should buy, I would tell them Fritz speakers.

Runner Up - Daedalus Audio

How badass are you when your 2nd best speaker is among the very best of the show, and not in one, but 2 rooms? Add to that furniture grade wood work (solid wood, NOT veneer), and you have an audio superstar.

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #7 on:** 18 Oct 2011, 05:44 am »

Best and Worst of RMAF 2011...

BEST......

Once again....meeting all the AC members at RMAF...great to see you all....had a fun time..

The micro brews in The Lift at the Marriott...very tasty....

And the French Onion soup was very good.....
.....................but they need more items on their menu....

Thank you once again to Marjorie Baumert and the Colorado Audio Society for all the work putting the show together....

WORST....

Elevator breakdown's in the Tower....two shut down for awhile on Saturday...left only one going...not good for vendors or guests.

TONEPUB · « **Reply #8 on:** 18 Oct 2011, 06:03 am »

Pez,

While I agree that I've heard the Ovators sound a lot better than they did in the Naim room at RMAF, you can't tell "this room sucks by the way it looks" because if you knew anything about Naim, they design and voice their speakers to be placed close to the rear wall.

The average UK listening room is about 12 x 15 (if that), so they typically don't have room to move speakers 4-6 feet out in the room, and design accordingly.

Glad you liked the Estelon diamonds. I reviewed the XA's last year and was equally impressed. The new diamond model is even better and I thought the white finish was gorgeous. Alfred Vassilkova, though new to producing his own speakers (they premiered at RMAF last year), has been designing crossovers and enclosures for over 25 years for a number of other very prominent companies. Great guy.

I also agree with you on the TAD only room as well.

It's really nice to see that a fair amount of people drew the same conclusion on what I felt were my favorite rooms too. Makes you think you aren't going crazy!

Vapor Audio · « **Reply #9 on:** 18 Oct 2011, 07:45 am »

Here's my Best of Show - the Zellaton and BMC room. It was so incredibly clean, like they had their own power grid separate from the rest of the hotel. On piano, you could hear the distance between keys ... incredibly precise and pinpoint imaging when called for, and a large deep center image. Tonally they were spot on and very neutral. Yes, they were a bit light on bass but that's easy to fix. And all that from one of the small rooms that was completely untreated.

Vapor Audio · « **Reply #10 on:** 18 Oct 2011, 07:57 am »

Here's a shot of the guts of the BMC monoblock amp, and incredibly engineered piece. I can't wait to get one for review! Talking with Carlos of BMC, he's one of the most impressive people in the industry I've ever spoken with. It seems as though BMC has taken a fresh look at every aspect of not only amplifier design, but the manufacturing process, and how to best work with dealers and delivery to customers.

Vapor Audio · « **Reply #11 on:** 18 Oct 2011, 08:26 am »

And I have to give a huge thanks to Chris Hoff of Balanced Power Technologies and Steve Nugent of Emperical Audio for allowing me the rare opportunity to compare my speakers side by side with the YG Acoustics Kipod II. Their room was clean and resolving, and proved to be a perfect environment for my Cirrus to shine. The treatments from Brian Pape of GIK also played a role is how well everything imaged. Those guys together sure know how to setup a room!

For myself it was incredibly inspiring to know (not believe, but know) that my designs can stand toe to toe with something costing 10x as much, and in ways exceed the far more expensive speaker.

The generosity those guys showed me to allow use of their room earns them my Best People of Show.

fsimms · « **Reply #12 on:** 18 Oct 2011, 11:42 am »

The best sound at the show was at my own condo here in Houston.

The second best sound was the Zellaton room.

Thanks to TurboFC3S for catching me in the hallway and getting me to see them. I think we were the only ones to go down the remote hallway to see them.

Bob

mhconley · « **Reply #13 on:** 18 Oct 2011, 03:01 pm »

Interesting...

I did not make it to this year's RMAF but I did note the Estelon room as one of the best from 2010. Those speakers sound really sweet - midrange and extension, in both directions without bass bloom or shrillness, to die for. Unfortunately they are waaay outta my price range.

Also - I have recommended Fritz's speakers to more than one friend. (I own a pair.)

Thanks for your coverage Pez.

Martin

Vapor Audio · « **Reply #14 on:** 18 Oct 2011, 03:26 pm »

Quote from: fsimms on 18 Oct 2011, 11:42 am

The best sound at the show was at my own condo here in Houston.

The second best sound was the Zellaton room.

Thanks to TurboFC3S for catching me in the hallway and getting me to see them. I think we were the only ones to go down the remote hallway to see them.

Bob

Glad you agree Bob, that Zellaton/BMC setup was really something ... and their room was empty! I haven't seen anybody else here or any other forums mention them. Too bad I didn't hear them until late Sunday, or I would have encouraged more people to give them a listen.

dminches · « **Reply #15 on:** 18 Oct 2011, 03:48 pm »

Quote from: Pez on 18 Oct 2011, 01:22 am

Oh god, am I really going to do this? I guess something in me loves controversy especially amongst friends. I swear, most of the time Tyson and I hung out we were arguing about pretty much everything, even when we agreed. But I do want to show what I think of as the highlights and low points of the show.

So here it is....

Lets start at the bottom and work our way up.
worst overall

Worst sound quality

Musical surround , aesthetix, clearaudio

I didn't elaborate at the time because I couldn't get out of the room fast enough, but let me go into some detail of which these speakers were lacking. They were shrill, they had them playing way too loud in an untreated room. Also, No you may not listen to your own music, we're listening to poorly recorded jazz on vinyl thank you very much!

Aren't those Vandersteen 7As? Those sounded amazing in both rooms that they were displayed (in my opinion, of course).

dminches · « **Reply #16 on:** 18 Oct 2011, 03:51 pm »

Quote from: Tyson on 18 Oct 2011, 04:45 am

Fritz Speakers

If my non-audiophile friends were to ask me what speaker they should buy, I would tell them Fritz speakers.

Runner Up - Daedalus Audio

How badass are you when your 2nd best speaker is among the very best of the show, and not in one, but 2 rooms? Add to that furniture grade wood work (solid wood, NOT veneer), and you have an audio superstar.

FWIW, the common thread there is Modwright electronics. Dan's stuff should get high accolades.

saisunil · « **Reply #17 on:** 18 Oct 2011, 03:52 pm »

Thanks guys - very nicely done!

rbbert · « **Reply #18 on:** 18 Oct 2011, 04:48 pm »

Quote from: dminches on 18 Oct 2011, 03:48 pm

Aren't those Vandersteen 7As? Those sounded amazing in both rooms that they were displayed (in my opinion, of course).

As I posted earlier, they sounded much better in the ARC room, although the downstairs room pictured above sounded its best on Sunday for sure.

Spirit · « **Reply #19 on:** 18 Oct 2011, 05:09 pm »

I hate the words "Best" and "Worst".
My Favourite room was definitely the Coincident room. Israel Blume's total system was incredible to these ageing ears.
The other favourite room was the Sanders Electrostatics system. Wow!! Like wearing a pair of best giant headphones in the world.
Biggest disappointment:
The room that I was visiting at 5:30 late Saturday afternoon - I won't mention names. The exhibitor lit up a joint and started to pass it around - maybe that is cool to some - definitely not cool to me. He should be excused from next year's event