Not that anyone asked, but you know what else I really liked?
Brodmann speakers. Fronted by Electrocompaniet, these speakers -- especially the little Festival speakers -- were crazy-good. It may be hard to see in the pics, but there are these two side panels, precisely mounted to the sides of the cabinet, that act like a passive bass driver. Bizarre. And really wonderful sounding. Natural and organic.
Serious Stereo 2a3 amps. These are some expensive monos that throw out something like a whopping point-8wpc, but, still have the capacity for terrific voltage swings. They look really nice, with a gorgeous "baked" finish, and just have this incredible utilitarian look and feel to them ... for whatever reason, it's these amps that my mind keeps returning to. Wish I had some speakers that they could drive!
Sjöfn Hifi. Say that ... er ... one ... time fast? I have no idea how to pronounce it, actually, which makes for several hilarious|pathetic stories about me trying to tell some friends about this room. Apparently, it was like watching me have a stroke. Gah. Anyway. These speakers were dynamite and I couldn't believe the retail price. Set right up against a room-treatment, I immediately wondered how they'd sound tucked into a cabinet. Yeah, thinking about ripping out those old Totem speakers I have on the HT setup and swapping in a pair of these bad boys. Not that that has any relevance to any of you, but whatever. In short, loved these little dudes.
Bryston BDP-1. Saw this in several rooms at the show and it really got me to wondering. Ted_B is a fan, and he's really (really!) picky, so the unit kept catching my eye. Not as cheap as my 13" MacBook Pro server, but it would let me skip the entire USB-to-S/PDIF translation and plug directly into an AES port on a "real" DAC. I'm guessing a lot of manufacturers were thinking the same thing, which is why they were scattered throughout the show. And given how much the Memory Player and Aurender systems are asking, it looks more and more like a dealio.
Orion 4. I've always been more impressed with the lineage and specs of the Orion loudspeaker than with it's actual sound -- until this show, when I got to hear it fronted by some seriously quality electronics from Pass Labs. Not cheap, but stunningly capable -- and still under $20k, which is nearly impossible to find on a speaker that does 20Hz. Like I said, best I've heard from any Orion, anywhere -- and the Wood Artistry frame is very swank.
Pet Riggle's Woody tonearm. This thing's a work of art. $1600 gets you while-the-record-plays VTA & Azimuth. Looks fantastic -- very "clockwork" in the best possible way.
Jeff Rowland & Thiel. Not knocking Thiel, but every time I've heard them (prior to this show), I've never been impressed. RMAF changed my mind. And the very shiny Jeff Rowland gear was terrifically impressive, even if it was the hardest thing to photograph at the show. The Aeris DAC is not cheap, but after my visits, I'm keen to learn more about it.
I still have a few more rooms to write up. Hopefully I'll get to them sooner rather than later. Thanks for checking in!