[lonewolfny42]

Thanks Mark....

[bpape]

I was just wondering, if I have a bunch of extra vacuum tubes to unload, is there a venue at AKFest where I can do so? I'll be there with my AC shirt on.

Stop by the David Michael Audio room if you have at7's and au7's.  Might take some off your hands.

Bryan

[pardales]

Thanks, I'll consider bringing them. They are a variety of tubes that go into the Eastern Electric Minimax Pre. About 30-40 altogether. Most are in their boxes but some are loose. I believe some of them are quite good but I don't know much about identifying and valuing tubes.

[JohnR]

I don't know much about identifying and valuing tubes.

Right. No offence but that sounds like something you should never say when selling tubes. I would suggest eBay - seriously (with as much information as you can find out included in the listing).

[pardales]

Thanks, JohnR. I understand what your saying. Fortunately for me I have friends that do know a lot about tubes.

[nicksgem10s]

I never did get my AC shirt  but I will have AC & my AC username on my badge.

Hope to see everyone this weekend.  I plan on going Saturday & Sunday.

Looks like there is a lot to checkout this year and a way nicer hotel.  Should be a great time.

-Nick

[JLM]

I attended AKFest Saturday and can't believe no one has posted their impressions.

Nice place.  The hotel is 5 stories with full atrium in the middle with the suites surrounding it.  AKFest used roughly every other room on half of the 3rd and 4th floors.  The suites themselves open from balconies off the atrium into their "living rooms" where all the setups were.  Ceilings/floors were typical precast concrete.  Spls were low, you could hardly hear anything from outside the rooms.  Attendance was good and everyone got a copy of the April 2008 Stereophile mag.  I’d say that the only real compliant was that the living rooms were small (about 12 ft x 15 ft).

Sorry I didn’t make it to Big Red’s for the evening.  And I only ran across Chadh, and pardales from AC (but I don’t know faces).  I did see bpape in the crowd.  Touched base with a couple of others I knew, but that was about it.  Got a chance to chat with Frank Van Alstine and Jim Salk as well as Darrel and Diane Hawthorne (thanks for the cookies Diane).  It’s always super cool to talk to “da man”.

I’ll let others get into equipment specifics, as I’m old enough to have firmly established opinions, right or wrong.  IMO shows are to meet people and get only “impressions” of equipment (nothing definitive).  And the crowds were “thick” enough that if a room didn’t really interest me, I left to make room for others.  Only a couple of rooms were set up for PC audio and only a few had turntables.  That surprised me a bit.  Maybe that’s a local phenomenon. 

In general, the rooms lent themselves to a roughly 80 Hz resonance.  Only the transmission lines and open baffles seemed immune to the resulting “one-note” bass.  Perhaps that’s why so many vendors brought bass whimpy speakers.  Lots of speakers, including expensive ones, used (too) many little drivers (again IMO).  Frankly my favorite rooms were Gini Systems (with LS3/5a clone and matching transmission line bass, about $1300 total well suited for the smaller room); Lauritsen Akustics ($6800 Fried transmission line speakers, I’ve owned Frieds since the 70’s); and Hawthorne Audio ($3800 Sterling Silver Iris coax drivers with Auggies in open baffles, both are 15 inchers and highly efficient).

[krikor]

Much nicer hotel, though the actual rooms are a bit smaller due to the suite arrangements.  They are also dark with all the windows in the back room, making it tough to get good pictures.  I've got a ton of pictures from Day 1 at photobucket:

http://s279.photobucket.com/albums/kk141/krikor111/2008%20AKFest/

It seemed to be quite crowded, so I'm hoping to go back to several rooms today (like the Hawthorne room which was way too busy to listen in while I was there).  It is great to see that many people taking an interest.

The Salk/Van Alstine rooms were fantastic once again, especially Jim's new speakers with the open-baffle midrange.


I'd also agree with JLM that the Gini LS3/5a clones were excellent for such a small and relatively affordable setup.  Madisound had their BK-16 kits playing again this year which always impress me as well.

I got to put a face to a couple of ACers ... Big Red Machine, Pardeles and Yooper.  Great to meet you guys in the Salk/Alstine room. I wish I could have made it over to Pete's last night to continue the fun.  If anyone is at the Festival today (Sunday), I'll be there this afternoon.  My AC name is on my badge and I'll be snapping photos with a Canon SLR.

[chadh]

It's true.  The AVA/Salk rooms were both great: the new offerings from both vendors sounded spectacular.  But as it turned out, I was pretty impressed with a lot of the offerings this year.  Maybe I'm just a pushover. 

The big Usher dancer speakers sounded good.  The Manley people were there with the same system as last year, which I still thought sounded great.  They were running a shrimp pre-amp, snapper monoblocks, and System Audio speakers: http://www.system-audio.com/_en-GB/products/floor%20standing%20speakers/SA%20ranger/SA%20ranger.  Doug Jesse at ASi had a sub-$4k, all-digital system, including modified silverline floorstanders that sounded really nice too.  The teeny weeny omni-directional speakers, the FJ Oms, were interesting, but I couldn't work out whether they sounded really great or not-quite-right.  The little Neat two-way floorstander was certainly worth hearing though: I witnessed a pretty credible performance on some serious orchestral work.  And I really enjoyed the super-relaxed presentation of the Hawthorn open baffle speakers.

I'm kicking myself now for not catching the Gini room (even after JLM told me to check it out).  But at least I missed it for a good cause.  I was holed up for quite a while in the room belonging to Classic Audio Reproductions.  They were spinning some vinyl, with the sounds coming through an Atma-Sphere pre-amp, huge Atma-Sphere OTL monoblocks, and the biggest speakers I've ever seen.  They were massive horns, a 3-way design known as the "T-1 Project".  One moment the sound was the most delicate and gentle I have ever heard.  The next moment it felt like a drummer was kicking me in the pit of my stomach rather than kicking his bass drum.  It was pretty amazing how physical the experience was, and at the same time how easy it was to be completely entranced by the music.  If only I had a spare $20k, and a much bigger house, I'd buy those speakers.

Anyway, the whole day was a lot of fun.  It it was great to meet up with so many AC folk: JLM and Nicksgems, as well as all of the others who showed up at Pete's.

Chad 

[nicksgem10s]

This is long so I am warning you...

I spent most of the weekend at AK Fest.  I helped setup the ASi Teknologies room and spent a lot of time in there.

The hotel was a huge upgrade from the previous 2 years.  It was a really nice venue for an audio show.

I was able to have my stepbrother Justin come up to the show.  He is more of a music lover than an audiophile though he has a nice system he has never been deeply involved in the equipment.  He is always amazed at the speakers and electronics I have at my house (coming and going too often).  He really enjoyed the chance to hear a lot of different equipment he never would have had the chance to listen to.  He is a big fan of tube electronics.  I have to admit I know where he is coming from.  There is something about tubes done right that is very appealing.  Justin had a lot of fun which was awesome to see.

I am sorry I didn't get an AC tshirt before the event.  I did have the chance to see several familiar faces and a few new ones

Bigredmachine, Pardales, Chadh, Jim Salk, S_cervin, Yooper, Bpape, and others.

It was fun hanging out and chatting with all of you.  I was tired yesterday so I didn't get to make it over to Pete's.  I know how great of a host he is as I was just over at the end of March (or beg of April).  Pete has an awesome 2 channel and incredible theater room.

David Michael Audio had a cool setup but was so crowded on Saturday I was not entirely sure what electronics they were running with the monster sized Harbeth speakers.  The sound was big, bold, and crisp, even in the back row next to the door where I ended up.  David and Paul always have a cool system and was a popular room by the looks and sounds of things.  I should have gone back when I could have sat in the sweet spot.

Jolida showed with MBL speakers.  I don't get rooms like this.  I don't know how many people would pair Jolida gear with a pair of MBL speakers that cost as much as many new cars.  I only stayed for a few minutes to check out the sound.  It was a large enveloping soundfield but not my cup of tea.  I don't understand systems with price discrepancies like that.  The gentleman running the room was really nice and I know others enjoyed it from some comments.

Venus HiFi is a really cool room IMO.  Brian had a Manley Stingray integrated driving some FJ speakers and used a CEC belt driven cd player.  He had some great music playing both times I visited.  The sound was very relaxed and open.  My brother really liked the sound in their room.

Manley showed their Snapper monoblocks with the Shrimp preamp and System Audio floorstanders and a Bel Canto cd player.  How many rooms used Bel Canto cd players?  It was amazing how many were using the same source.  I was kind of shocked.  Back on topic.  Albert from Manley is always really cool and plays some serious variety.  He played tracks from an African rock band and it sounded incredible.  I really like the sound of the Manley gear.  The systems audio speakers were impressive also.  The Manley stuff has definitely caught my eye.  It has the nice tone of tube amps but still has punch and is very authoritative.  Kind of the best of both worlds.  One of my favorite rooms at the show.

Superior Sight & Sound had Dali speakers and all Bel Canto amp/preamp/cd player.  Steve was very friendly and the sound was very detailed and balanced.  I was only there for a song or two.

Hawthorne Audio was packed on Saturday and I couldn't even get in their room the couple of times I tried.  I was able to listen this morning and was impressed with the effortless sound I heard.  Someone was playing a Trey Anistasio recording and it sounded really cool.  It was a very relaxed and open sound that OB speakers tend to possess.  The people were really friendly.  I should have listened to some other music I was more familiar with so I could have formed more of an opinion.

Madisound/Fritzspeakers was also very busy on Saturday.  I had a chance to go this morning and was able to listen to several songs on the BK-16 kit driven by an Altitude 3500 integrated using an ASi Teknologies modified Oppo 983 universal player as a source.  When I sat down I was unfamiliar with the speakers and amplifier.  I know how good the ASi Oppo sounds as I have heard it on several systems.  I was pretty much mesmerized by the sound of the system.  It was extremely live sounding and the tone was amazing.  I didn't hear very deep bass but the bass I heard was of good quality.  The overall sound of the system was excellent.  I almost laughed when I was done listening and found out that the speakers are sold as a complete kit for $750.  That is by far the best speaker I heard at the show that was priced so low.  Unfortunately I never made it back to that room to hear the Fritzspeakers.  There were several Fritzspeakers models and I also got to meet their creator who was really friendly and knowledgeable. 

Salk/AVA was one of the rooms I was most interested in hearing.  I am beyond familar with the HT3 speakers and are one of my favorite speakers regardless of cost.  The HT3 were setup in one room with Frank/AVA new differential system.  This room was packed and for good reason.  It sounded great.  I do not think it was a very good room to have the HT3 in but they did the best they could given the show conditions.  Don't let my words lead you to believe that the HT3 speakers didn't sound good, they did.  I just know how much better they sound in a larger room. 

Salk/AVA room 2 with Jim's new OB speakers and AVA SS differential system.  This was what I was most interested in hearing.  It was packed on Saturday so I had to go back this morning.  Jim and Pete (Bigredmachine) played a bunch of stuff I was familiar with and I was thrilled with the sound.  To me it was the best overall sound at the show.  The midrange and high frequencies were too die for.  The bass was solid and well defined.  It sounded amazing with an open sound that filled the room.  Jim Salk, Jeff Bagby, and Frank VanAlstine should be very happy with the end results of their labor.  Jim is going to be busy building those once he releases the particulars regarding cost and availability as well as options.  They are fantastic speakers.  They are on my list of speakers to consider.  Okay they are the only speaker on that list currently for full disclosure.  Jim is the real deal and so are his speakers.  If I could only get an in home demo...........

Ridge Street/Ultra Fi

I had also been very curious about the RSA Sason speakers.  It was absolutely busy on Saturday.  Got to hear the setup this morning and it was really impressive.  The sound of the Ultra Fi 12 watt amp with the Sason speakers was quite impressive.  I never found out how much the Ultra gear was but it sure looked expensive.  This system had some of the best dynamics at low volume levels.  The soundstage was very impressive.  I liked the Sasons a great deal.  If you are looking for a huge monitor with world class sound these are the ones.  Great people and great sound.

ASi Teknologies (disclaimer I own ASi gear and helped them a little in their room) Doug Jesse showed a complete system called ASi Digital System One which consisted of the following:  ASi modified Panasonic XR57 receiver, ASi modified Oppo 980, ASi modified Silverline Audio Prelude speakers, and ASi custom silver speakers cables and power cords.  The entire system sells for $3995 (delivered).  This system is fully digital from the source to the digital receiver connected via DH Labs next generation HDMI cable. The sound in this room was big, bold, detailed, and punchy.  It was very impressive.  IMHO it was the best value at the show.  There was a wall of sound much larger than the slim and attractive Silverline Prelude speakers.  It was fun to spend a lot of time in this room listening to a huge variety of music.  A lot of people brought their cds in and played all varieties of music.  Many people commented about the price to performance ratio.  There were not many systems at the show in this price range and many had single components in their systems that cost more than this entire system including components and associated cables.  It was sounding really sweet for a budget price tag which is not an easy combination to find in audio.  I have purchased the ASi modified Silverline Audio Preludes.

I went into a bunch of other rooms but this was what I came up with when going over them tonight.

It was great to visit with Chadh.  We hit a couple of rooms together and got to talk and listen to some Clapton.  It is very cool to put a face to a name.  Hope we get to hang out in between AK fests.

It was also great to see Yooper and his wife.  They are super cool people and I would like to see you guys again before next year.

Bigredmachine is just too cool.  Pete was fresh off the plane ride from China when I first saw him.  He must have had 2 hours of sleep and was running on another timezone.  He was still in great spirits and cracking me up.  It is always cool to hang out with Pete.  I will keep an eye out for future events over at your place.

I was thrilled to meet Pardales as we have emailed many times over the last couple years and the strange thing is we are only a couple of cities away from each other.  He has great taste in equipment and originally clued me into the Trends USB unit as well as the Altmann digital stuff that I really enjoyed while I owned it.  We should hang out this summer.

I have rambled on long enough. 

It was fun getting to meet some new faces and to see many audio friends.

-Nick

[bpape]

It was great to finally meet some of you guys as well as a lot of AK people and Detroit locals.  Our room (shared with David Michael Audio) was running an Exemplar tube CD (Shanling based) and Belles amps and preamp for those who got lost in the crowds.  The room was really busy all weekend.    The rooms were certainly challenging to work with but overall, it was workable.  The Belles/Harbeth combination worked well together.  On Sunday, David brought in the littlest Harbeth monitors.  Quite a treat when driven by the Belles 75W Class A monos.  Even with the challenging room, they just absolutely disappeared and had phenomenal bottom end for a sealed cabinet with a 4" driver.

Of all the wandering around I got to do, I'll have to say that I was most impressed by Jim's OB speakers driven by Franks differential system.  Very bold and dynamic, tonally and harmonically correct but lucious, effortless and non-fatiguing to listen to.  Didn't get to spend as much time here as I'd have liked to but the combintation is certainly something I'd investigate further as something that very well suited my taste.

Bryan

[pardales]

Great write-up everyone. Hard to follow up on your thoroughness, Nick. Honestly though, it was a pleasure to meet so many AC members and to meet and spend time with Jim and Frank. I probably spent more time in the Salk/VanAlstine rooms than others. Jim's new OB speakers and Frank's SS differential system got my best in show.

Honorable mentions there were though. I did enjoy the David Michael Audio room with the big and little Harbeths. The room that had the huge Quad speakers sounded excellent as well. The little FJ speakers in the Venus hi-fi room were very interesting. I always enjoy talking to the down to earth guys from Madisound and I really love the Loki speaker kit. Manley gear was making nice music in a few different rooms.

It is a real treat to have AKFest so close to where I live and it was a great honor meeting so many people interested in Audio. I'll comment more as the thread develops.

[yooper]

Kristi and I had a blast!  This years AKFEST was the first of any audio fest I've attended so I really didn't know what to expect.  We were only able to attend on Saturday, and didn't arrive until noon.  I wish we would have shown up earlier to allow more time listening and chatting with new and old friends.

Saturday was very busy, and with the small rooms it would sometimes become rather challenging to get into a room, and a bigger challenge trying to grace my buns with the sweet spot.  So, I didn't get to hear nearly as many systems as I had hoped, but I did make it a point to hang out in the rooms which had equipment I was very curious about.

It was a lot of fun listening to equipment I had not heard before and make comparisons.  It's interesting to see and hear what the various vendors have created, and fascinating to hear what some people like and dislike.  We certainly have various listening preferences.   

Most of all, it was really nice meeting and talking with some AC folk I have not meet before, and getting the chance to talk with AC folk I had the pleasure of meeting at Pete's last month.  There is a fantastic group of people here at AC.      

I look forward to the next get together, or a one on one listening/BS session with any locals willing. 

I did take some pics for those who couldn't attend, and will post them in a day or two.

Mark

[Big Red Machine]

I think I overheard Grumpy's wife say attendance was double this year over last.

[jamesgarvin]

I'll add my two cents, or maybe three. First, as others have commented, the rooms were small. In virtually every room with floor standing speakers that had any pretense of being full range, the bass overpowered the room. The hotel itself was very nice. The only other show I have been to is the Stereophile show in New York. This show had fewer exhibitors, which allowed me to spend time enough in each room to listen to 2-3 tunes. At the Stereophile show, with many more exhibitors and only 1/2 more days to listen, you are presented with a dilemna - visit fewer rooms, spending more time in each, or visit more rooms, spending less time in each. The other aspect of this show that I liked is being able to listen to regular people's systems, which is nice, because their systems, I thought, rivaled that of the more expensive systems.

I did not take notes. Until I am paid to do this, I'll leave that for the nerdier among us. Just joking. Component designations are per my memory, with some web research. So please, do not be picky. My thoughts:

Day One:
(1) David Michael Audio - Harbeth 40.1, fed by Belles electronics. I'll be the first to admit my prejudice against wide speakers, no doubt fueled by my owning Yamaha NS-75s for more years than I care to admit. I heard no boxiness, but I thought these suffered from the room. The were set up facing the doors, which ran against the trend of facing the front of the speakers paralleling the door into the room. I thought the mids a little indistinct, and too much bloom, which I would attribute entirely to the room. The Belles amps and pre-amp looked impressive.

(2) Marantz/Snell - Marantz brought along those nifty new amplifiers that Michael Fremer just reviewed in Stereophile. And they are gorgeous. If you think Marantz means old glorious tubes, or cheap plasticky mass market Japanese (or both), these will eliminate those thoughts. Beautiful is the only word to describe them. In the first room, they were operating as monoblocs, with a Marantz SACD player ($2,000.00 I was told) driving Snell B7s, which, I overheard, retailed for, I think, $10k. The C7 version sells for a little over $6K, but does not use the custom drivers of the B7, but is otherwise identical. This was one of those large speakers that sound a little heavy in the mid-bass. They apparently have a rear firing tweeter, which were turned off because of their close proximity to the front wall. I thought that female vocals were a little too chesty, but again, the room certainly caused this.

The second Marantz/Snell room featured a smaller Marantz amp with another Marantz S.A.C.D. player, but this time the speakers were monitors, and looked to be either LCR7s or LCR7xl. The sound was snappy, had much more sparkle than the previous room, and were much more resolving, I suppose, because the dreaded mid-bass emphasis was gone. It was at this point that it became obvious that monitors would be a better choice.

(3) Audio Two - a dealer from Canada brough NEAT speakers, I think the Motive II, and Exposure electronics. Because of their smaller size, he was able to bring the speakers into the room. I thought the sound was a little heavy in the mid-bass, but the sound was very pleasing. Maybe a little retiscent on top. The Exposure electronics belie their price. Very nice looking. Definately an above average room.

(4) McIntosh - Um. How do I put this? Electronics were gorgeous. Two $11k monoblocs, tubes everywhere. Speakers? $17k a pair, I do not recall which model, something with an L and a 17. Sound? Not good, to my ears, and those of others I heard talking. First, too big for the room. They were basically in your lap. Second, music was consistently loud, hard, and noisy, not good for really assessing the speakers. Tonally, I thought the speakers were harsh, cardwoody, and not worth $17K.

(5) IDS Speakers - The IDS 25 speakers appear to be a line array system. This one was all in white. I did not see a price, but the web site lists them at about $18k. I had never heard a speaker of this type. I thought vocals had great presence, and they were very revealing without being etched or grainy. I did not hear a great deal of low bass, which I suspect was because of the recordings used to demontrate them when I was there. Color me impressed, though not white impressed. The web site shows natural wood veneers, so I guess I'd say that I was natural wood impressed. One of the better speakers I heard at the show. As I recall, they were demonstrated with McIntosh tube gear, though I do not recall if it was the solid state stuff or the tube stuff.

(6) Jolida - showed an integrated amp, c.d. player, over MBL speakers. I may be wrong, but I think the integrated was the 202A, and the c.d. player was the JD100A, which apparently retails for $900.00. I think the speaker was the MBL121. In any event, it retailed for $18k. I heard the MBL demonstration a few years ago at the Stereophile show, with some big floorstanders. Too bright and loud for my tastes, but that may have had something to do with the insane volumes. As per the course, the music here was mostly female vocals. I liked the sound a lot. Sane volumes. Clear, transparent, without a hint of etch or grain. The highs were very liquid and smooth. Cymbals did not sound like wood hitting tin. The speakers were pulled a few feet into the room. In addition, the nice gentleman walked directly in front of the speakers, and they kept delivering the goods. The Jolida stuff is another of those brands that delivers good quality, fit n' finish, and appearance for not a lot of jack. I've read some comments relative to Jolida partnering with such an expensive speaker. I understand the critism. On the other hand, a manufacturer of electronics that shoot higher than their weight class probably wants a speaker that will reveal problems to listeners. I heard none.

(7) Venus hi fi - I believe this is where I heard the Manley Stingray driving FJ Speakers. I was not familiar with FJ speakers, and I think they deserve more of a following. I can't get their website working. They had a front mounted tweeter, and mid unit firing diretly upwards. The speakers looked to be about three feet tall. I did not measure, so that is a guestimate. Another system that was very well balanced - no bloated bass, very revealing on female vocals, cymbals had the perfrect sheen without being brassy. I thought there were just a hint polite on top, but that is certainly better than the alternative. They do not look like they could fill a large room, but would be perfect for a small to medium size room, particularly where more bass than a monitor can provide. Easily top half for me.

( Salk Room #1 - The HT3s were in residence, but were silent when I was there. Rather, the slender towers (the "V" series, I believe) was playing. Van Alstine equipment drove 'em, and what looked to be a non-descript Denon C.D. player was the source. First, both set of speakers looked beautiful. I am not sure if it was the room (probably), the music/disc (rock music - likely), or the Denon (possibly), but I found the sound too upfront and forward, like when you walk into a party and everyone is shouting at the same level. It does not hurt your ears, but it is not pleasant, just the same. Like everything else here, take it with a grain of salt.

(9) Salk Room #2 - Again with Van Alstine equipment, the speakers were the new, dare I say prototypes, open baffle speakers. These were moved into the room a little more, but I still think they, like the Snells, needed room to breathe. I thought them a little heavy in the upper bass, which, to my ears, caused them to sound a little thick. I do not recall the source. I wish the room was better. I think it would have allowed the speakers to strut their stuff. They looked gorgeous.

(10) Tyler Acoustics/Art Audio #1 - Partnered with Art Audio. I believe that the Carissa amp was in residence here, as it was in the second room, which I'll get to. First. These amps are beautiful, with a capital B. This 16 watt amp was powering Woodmeres. Taylor informed me that the volumes they were using, which was quite comfortable, were at the upper reaches of the amps. He was using a Krell Ipod as a source. I am not up on the ipod craze, but Taylor told me that the tunes were not downloaded at the highest resolution, which may have been why I thought the sound a little like early c.d. - a little bright and tinny. I think that these components deserved a better source. The speakers were beautiful, and did not generate the dreaded one note bass, even though they were placed against the front wall. Pretty good sound that I thought could be better.

(11) Tyler Acoustics/Art Audio #2 - I believe we have the same amp from Art Audio, with a Gill Audio Alana pre-amp. Speakers were PD15s. This was my wife's favorite from day one. Probably mine too. This shows that when you get everything right, price is less a factor. These efficient speakers retail for about 1/3 of those in room 1, but pair them to a low powered amp, running through a good pre-amp, with a good source (the name of which I cannot recall), and you have sonic heaven. Very neutral, controlled bass, sweet highs, a silky midrange. Everything working here. Plus, the only room that my commented on the appearance. The components are beautiful, with the surgical steel, in a blue lighted clear stand. Yummy. I also talked with Joe Fratus for a little bit, and he is a perfect gentleman. Knows when to talk, and when not to talk. And very open to questions.

[jamesgarvin]

Part II Day II-
(12) Pure Audio - My best sound at the show. They were showing Quad, I believe ESL-2905, powered by Quad electronics, and Shanling c.d. player. This room had it all for me. I had never heard Quads before, but the bass was better than I thought it would be. The bass was perfectly balanced with rest of the spectrum, and the system did everything well, even considering that they really needed to be pulled out into the room more. This was, to me, the best sounding room in spite of the room limitations. The other attribute of these speakers is that they communicate the scale of live music, I suppose, because they generate sound from a larger area. After hearing these and various Manepans, I think I am solidly in that camp which believes that cone speakers take a back seat. With the bass these deliver, I am sold. Now, I need to find $11k.

(13) NOS Valves - small production, I take it, tube amplifiers. These were, I thought, nice looking amplifiers, though I caught no prices. Speakers were some type of horn speaker (the whole thing, it appeared), of which I am unfamiliar. I thought the sounds were pleasing, though not terribly dynamic, which probably had something to do with the source, mid 70's rock vinyl.

(14) Audio Space #1 - Beautiful, beautiful tube amplifiers driving, I believe, Usher Tiny Dancers. They told me that the Tiny Dancers need five hundred hours to break in the tweeters, and indeed, they did sound a little recessed there, though why, I will not speculate. They did have the best bass of any of the monitors at the show.

(15) Audio Space #2 - same amplifiers, as I recall, but I believe this was the room in which, I know I'll screw this up, an L5/3A was wedded to a bass cabinet from Gini. Easily, top third of the rooms. I thought them a tad bright/splashy on cymbals, but not terribly so, with a neutral midrange, and articulate, if not subterraneon bass. Like the FJ speakers, I think these would have trouble in a big room, but a small or medium sized room would be perfect. I recall them being about $1k for the monitors and bass units. This is the proverbial steal.

(16) Prime One/Usher - I think we again had Audio Space amplifiers, but here they drove the big Ushers which retailed for $8k a pair. These babies were way, way too big for the room, and even at sane volume levels, they overpowered the room, which, I think, caused problems into the midrange, by making them less transparent. I listened to two tunes, one strictly of female vocal, which I thought to sound too chesty and heavy, and the other an airier recording, with a full band. I thought the latter sounded better, because there was more high frequency information, but female vocals still sounded a little muddy, I suspect because of the bass issues.

(17) Jaton - this is apparently a new company from the Far East. They were showing a pair of stand mounted speakers that retailed for $1,700.00 a pair, with some of their amplification. They had a pair of Usher 6371s (I think), I believe for comparison purposes, but never actually compared them when I was there. I think the purpose was to demonstrate the superior bass of their monitors, which look like the perfect woman - wide shoulders, narrow waist, wide hips. They looked very well made. Good news: Lots and lots of bass that belies their relatively modest size. Bad news: shouty treble, extending a little into the midrange. When they played a traditional Chinese (I believe) song, the room emptied. My wife thought it was because of the music they played. I am not so sure. I think it was the sound - and the high volume. The electronics look like a good value, but I could not get past the fact that they looked like Fisher electronics from the eighties. I think they were looking for dealers. We'll see.

(18) Hawthorne Audio - Uknown to me. My wife loved the look of this room the best. Apparently, Mr. Hawthorne and his wife (I assume that is who they were) brought their living room with them, even down to the audio budha - a sitting bald man (you've seen them) with sunglasses and headphones. I want one. When we got there, they were, apparently at the request of other listeners, playing some Santana. When those folks left, he seemed relieved that he could play music at, what he thought, was a more sensible level. I dunno. Seemed fine to me. He next played a couple of tunes for us - one a country/roots selection of a male vocal, the other a more new agey conglomeration of sound. The one word - pleasant. These are open baffle speakers, we have what appear to be two about 15 inch drivers, one on top of the other, in a cabinet about three feet by three feet. I am not sure they were the most dyamic of speakers (the music played did not lean in that direction), but they are the speaker to turn to after a hard day of work, when you come home, grab some tea, and put on your slippers, and the dog hops into your lap. I suspect these babies perectly address that market looking for that sound. While I can see someone not loving this version of the event, I cannot see anyone disliking it, either.

(19) Manley - Snapper monoblocs, Shrimp Pre-amp, with Bel Canto c.d. player. Speakers have been previous discussed. I was unaware of them. They look like munchkin versions of the big Dynaudios. First, I recently am the proud owner of a Music Reference RM-200, which I am not about to give up. But, I must admit, to really liking the look of the Manley gear. The Snappers are bigger than I thought, and, really, you must admit that is important to us. Plus, the Manley logo glows - so cool. Plus, and I do not know his name, but the enthusiasm of the representative was nice. A couple were in the room, playing the Michael Franks disc he brought. After a couple of tunes, Manley Man (had to write that) told him that Franks sounded like Mose Allison, and when the man replied, somewhat sheepishly, that he did not know who Allison was, Manley Man (there I go again) told him to sit down (literally), and proceeded to play an Allison disc. This disc was not anything close to being reference quality, and you are not going to sell any gear with hit, but it was about the music. Had I not recently purchased the MR, I think I would have bought some Snappers today. The speakers were the perfect speaker for this show - towers that are not too big that they produce so much bass that everything else is lost. They were light, snappy, a seductive midrange, and just enough bass to lay a foundation, but not too much to pollute the rest of the range. Plus, they were small enough that they could be pulled into the room a little. My top four.

(20) Superior Sight and Sound #1 - I tried to visit the room, but it was locked. Seems there was a private demonstration. Now, allow me to digress. I've paid my money. I've driven 41/2 hours each way, got lost a little bit on the way there because I left my mapquest printout at the office, and a hotel employee who answers the phone cannot get me there from a major highway running ten minutes from the hotel. I understand that sometimes there are very important people who need a little nurturing and ego massaging. But can't they do that after the show officially closes? Could I come back? Sure. But there is so much to see, and I like to take things in order, that coming back, after having been to numerous rooms, is not as easy as it sounds.

(21) Superior Sight and Sound #2 - Here it was Dali speakers, powered by Bel Canto amps and Bel Canto c.d. player. I liked this room. The Dalis sound very nice, and look great. I think they were the 600 or 800, I'm too tired to look it up, The type of speaker that did everything good, not great, but nothing bad. I did not find them lean at all, or tilted up in the treble. Female vocals sound good, clear, a hit of opaqueness, but nothing that interfered with the music. Top half.

(21) Audio Note - all Audio Note electronics, and speakers. This was my wife's favorite on the second day. Two ways placed in the corners. Another of those that, with the exception of low bass, did everything right. Probably the best, to my ears, at female vocals. They played a selection from a female singer, I believer her name was Cicily Adams or Kennedy, or something or other, that my wife loved, which is why, I think, this was her favorite room. If any of you know who I am talking about, please let me know, so that I can knock out some gifts without the name Celine Dion appearing on the wrapper.

(22) Whiplash Audio - I am unfamiliar with them. They had three speakers, and I listened to the monitors. Sounded a little lean to me. They looked DIY, and, maybe, a little rough around the edges.

(23) Ridge Street/Ultra Hi fi - By this time my wife has needling me about leaving to get the kids from my parents, and so my time in this room was limited. What I heard, I liked. Sason monitors, which looked like they were made to very high standards, driven by low powered Ultra Fi amplifiers, which were as big as all get out. This was also the only room with extensive treatment. Whatever it was, these speakers were airy, light, and lithe. I wish I could have heard more. I did not get prices, but these babies look, well, expensive.

[jamesgarvin]

I must also comment on the live music. Laith al-Saadi. I was happy to see so many in attendance. And, yet, disappointed more were not there. Maybe 50-60 people. People, its about the music. After an acoustic set comprised of Led Zed, Beatles, and some other lighter fare, he brought out the electric guitar after intermission. After playing a Pat Metheny tune, John Scofield's A Go Go, we heard some blues, some Elvis, Johnny Cash, more Charles, Hendrix, and, finally an extended Black Magic Woman jam, that left me smilin' from cheek to cheek. And I do not go gaga for Santana. I really hope they get him back. That was fun.

I want to thank everyone who put this thing on. It was a blast. I'll be back next year, the good Lord willin', and the creek don't rise.

[grumpy]

Really glad everyone enjoyed the show and new venue. You folks are always welcome at the fest.

Attendance was up considerably but I'm too tired to bother figuring it out right now.

By the way I was  shocked to see so few there to see Laith as well but then i figured screw it more music and better seats for me.

As with any show ours was not without problems. We are always looking for feedback so please feel free to let us know the good and bad. Thank you

Grumpy

[bluemike]

Anyone else check out the Ridge Street/Ultra fi room

Was Larry Moore showcasing a new SET amp at the fest ?

[richidoo]

jamesgarvin, thanks for the synopsis. I own Manleyman Snappers and Quad 2905, they are a great combo.  I hope to come to AKFest next year.
Cheers
Rich