[ratso]

it's monday afternoon and i am sitting in my hotel in beautiful denver colorado. we decided to turn the show into a week long vacation for the family. so i decided to share a few of my thoughts about the show.

i have never been to an audio show before. mainly i came to hear the megabux systems i have only read about before. i was also curious as to how much better a $50,000 speaker could be than a $5,000 speaker. and i also came to hear (*gulp* for the first time) the speaker i am having made right now, the HT2-TL.

the show started at 9am on sunday, and i was literally the first in line (the registration people were laughing at me for getting there so early). most vendors hadn't even gotten fully setup yet at 9, but one had from the music coming out of one of the main floor rooms. i walked in to the soundscapes and they sounded great - crystal clear, non-fatiguing and nice tight bass. but i also had nothing to compare them to.

[ratso]

so i started out with my list of rooms to visit - 88 in all, which i figured out was approx. 4 minutes a room! as i soon discovered, some rooms i only spent a few seconds in - literally walking in a glancing around. other rooms i found to my suprise were locked tight and i never heard them. so i wound up with extra time at the end of the day, which became a very good thing as i will soon share. highlight/lowlights/thoughts (my opinion only!):

1. some of the speakers i had heard so much about failed to impress. wilson sasha's, magico Q's, vivid giyas, YG anats. all of these either sounded "good"or "really good"  but none sounded great to me. and certain magazines are already falling all over themselves gushing about some of these RMAF rooms. maybe it's just me.
2. some of the speakers i had heard so much about sounded great. vandersteen, bamberg, harbeth, acapellas come to mind.

[ratso]

3. nothing is as cool as the 833 tubes in the win audio amps (and only $75,00 a pair). pix are no good here, you have to see them to understand how huge they are.
4. i got my first listen to the HT2-TL's on the second floor. my first thoughts - good. not great. (somewhat dissapointing - uh oh.). i am bombarding my ears to speakers in rapid fire succession. got to meet mr. van alsteen and jim's wife mary here - both amazingly nice.
5. i want a consonance music server - only $1500 i believe. and a DSP antimode (the new stereo one coming in november - only $450).
6. mindblowing discovery of the show - holographic speakers - 360 degrees speakers starting at $1800 and sounding better then the german physiks. no website yet, but coming soon according to virtue audio.
7. did any of the "oh my god those cost as much as my house" gear actually blow my mind? change my life? sadly, yes - one did.

[ratso]

the big focal grand utopia's were on a different playing field than anything else. and when they switched to the new and smaller viva utopia, i could hardly tell the difference. and only $12,000 same almost as the soundscape! except it's only for one 
8. i was suprised that most rooms were doing digital rather than analog. lots of servers and laptops running.
9. the coolest and most impressive room overall was the j-corder reel to reel room. nice people too.

[ratso]

so i got done with all my rooms and had still an hour and a half left. so back down to the second floor to actually LISTEN to my salks. i sat down in the sweet spot, but wait, someone sits down next to me smiling and extending a handshake. oh, hi jim. for the next hour, jim spun songs for me and patiently answered all my questions. i felt a little awkward at first, feeling i was monopolizing his time or taking him away from his business here, but he made me literally feel right at home. it's okay if the guy building your speakers is an asshole, just like it's okay if the guy making your chicken sandwich is a jerk. but it's always nice to find out that someone you are giving money to is one of the nicest guys on earth and jim is definitely that.

[Big Red Machine]

And they sound like what now?

[ratso]

and the HT2-TL's? about halfway through the first song, i started tapping my foot. by the end i was grinning like an idiot. the next hour or so was pure bliss. please understand, my usual reaction to anything audio related is closer to my first one - mild disappointment. i am an audio pessimist and do NOT gush over speakers. but the more i listened to the salks, the more i want to hear. i think i made a good choice, and can't wait to get them in my house. as i told jim, if you look hard enough online, you usually find some people that don't like a product but i have yet to find anyone say anything bad about your speakers. jim laughed and said "that's because we pay them all off".

 

[Mudslide]

but i have yet to find anyone say anything bad about your speakers. jim laughed and said "that's because we pay them all off".
 

Hey, where's my check?!   

[fsimms]

i am an audio pessimist and do NOT gush over speakers. but the more i listened to the salks, the more i want to hear. i think i made a good choice, and can't wait to get them in my house.

If you think they sound good at a show then wait until you get them home! 

Bob

[Nuance]

If you think they sound good at a show then wait until you get them home! 

Bob

Dito!  That was a great tale of events, ratso; thanks for sharing it with us.

So now I must ask, which speakers did you purchase, and what veneer?  Forgive me if you've already mentioned it in a previous thread.  I've been doing too much reading lately...

[ratso]

the HT2-TL's were my final choice, thanx to a lot of input from acircle guys 

as for the veneer, as soon as they are done all will be revealed... stay tuned.

(why spoil the fun?)