[nicksgem10s]

Those Hawthornes look awesome. Did Hawthorne give out a price on those?

I am pretty sure they are $14,000 a pair.

[Nuance]

Sorry about your Brewers Nuance
-STL 12 in 12

They are not the team they were last year; it's going to be a rough season.

Thanks for all the info folks! 

[Bob in St. Louis]

I thought they were like $8000? I stand corrected.   

[JLM]

Just got home from my Sunday visit and here's my 2 cent prizes (as a speaker guy):

Best of show: Hawthorne, but 6 feet tall & $14k, they did everything else right (according to Daryl several new designs/smaller even non OB are in the works, and yes he has a place nearby to the Fest for auditions)

Only a mother could love: Bogdan's $38k speakers that only a railroad engineer would want in his living room (but he and Klaus were very down to earth and all the Bogdan stuff sounded good)

Most detailed: Vapor Audio Circus (wow, maybe too much of a good thing)

Thumbs up: Eastern Electric for the free polo shirts

Thumbs down: David Michael Audio (local dealership) for a no show

[roscoeiii]

Thumbs down: David Michael Audio (local dealership) for a no show

David Michael was there on Saturday with some Harbeths. 3rd floor, IIRC. I think that it was the HL-5s. I know that they weren't happy with the sound that they were getting from the room (a bit bright without the bass that they normally hear from the Harbeths that they chose to bring). But even with those room limitations, I enjoyed the sound of the set-up they had. Second time I left AKFest thinking "Boy those Harbeths have a lot going for them..."

[emac]

When I spoke w/ Darrel yesterday, he said that the Raniers (which is what I think they are called) were $14K.  However, this is the top of the line and an effort to see how far things could be taken.  He mentioned that in the future there is going to be some customizability (e.g. number of drivers), and there would be other versions that are also named after mountains. 

[krikor]

I thought they were like $8000?

I heard 14K as well.

[roscoeiii]

I thought they were like $8000?

Maybe Bob wanted, really wanted to hear $8k.

Not that I'd complain if it turns out to be 8,000.

[vortrex]

Most detailed: Vapor Audio Cirrus (wow, maybe too much of a good thing)

any more comments on these?

[JLM]

any more comments on these?

Ryan had some big/bad boys there too (10 inch woofer with big RAAL crossed over at 1,000 Hz, 92 dB/w/m, rated to take 500 wpc, another curved cabinet but in white). 

He also had a pair of subs: (2) 8 inch woofers + (2) 8 inch passive radiators that reportedly he put together just for this show.  Also reportedly all the speakers he was showing were assembled just before the show.

[JLM]

Too bad Fritz didn't make it (poor health).  Another friend of mine (and Daryl Hawthorne) is going through tough physical/personal challenged.

We missed both of you.   

[roscoeiii]

Ryan had some big/bad boys there too (10 inch woofer with big RAAL crossed over at 1,000 Hz, 92 dB/w/m, rated to take 500 wpc, another curved cabinet but in white). 

Tweeter wasn't a RAAL, it was a Beyma (in a waveguide arrangement). Speaker name is the Arcus (IIRC).

[roscoeiii]

Fritz was certainly missed this year. A real highlight (both the speakers and the person) of my last trip to AKFest.

Too bad Fritz didn't make it (poor health).  Another friend of mine (and Daryl Hawthorne) is going through tough physical/personal challenged.

We missed both of you.   

[nicksgem10s]

What a great show this year!  Thanks for the detailed coverage krikor.

There were snow flurries hitting my windshield Saturday morning as I found a parking spot.  Crazy start to a very fun day!

I had a great time meeting a few new people stlrman -Todd and his wife Tara (congratulations on the great cable prize!)  Don Keele of Audio Artistry, Jerry of Hawthorne Audio

How did I manage not to meet roscoeiii or TomS?  I also unfortunately did not connect with JLM or emac.  I feel bad I didn't meet more people.

It was also nice to catchup with many familiar folks Maxcast -Rich, bigredmachine -Pete, krikor -Craig, ASi TEK -Doug,  Jim Salk, Darrel and Diane Hawthorne, Rick Craig

People I really missed this show were Chadh, Fritz,  and my good buddy Pardales -Michael.

I will post my thoughts in a couple of different posts as I have been known to get a little long-winded.

Here I will cover the member rooms that stood out for me.  There are some really creative DIY audio types at this show and this year did not disappoint.

AK member cdfac:   DIY F5 amplifier with DIY preamp and DIY three way floorstanding speakers.  I believe Chris was the name of the builder of this gear.  He did a great job building his F5 as he left the top off for the curious guests.  Several people were asking him how to build their own DIY F5 amp while I was visiting his room.  He was playing some Muddy Waters on his DIY speakers and it sounded great.  Really nice work here.

AK members Kegger/Jim/Squidward:   these AK members put together a cool system on Saturday that sounded great.  It consisted of a DIY tube amp/preamp, Audio Note two way speakers, and AMR cd player.  This room sounded great and the AK guys hosting this room know how to have a good time.  I wish I could tell you more or prove it with a photo but I was without a camera this year.  I managed some mediocre iPhone pictures in some other rooms that I will share.  I overheard one guest in this room mention to a photographer that red eye correction won't help with his eyes.  I was laughing my butt off.  These AK guys are cool and very friendly.

[JLM]

Tweeter wasn't a RAAL, it was a Beyma (in a waveguide arrangement). Speaker name is the Arcus (IIRC).

Sorry.   

I appreciated that the Eastern Electric/Vapor room handed out an exact listing of the gear.

Yes, hats off to the AK gang for their hospitality and our Big Red for pulling it off.

[fritzspeakers]

Hi Everybody-  Fritz here...  Thanks for the kind words.  I've always looked forward to coming back to my former home town in Michigan and showing my loudspeakers at the AK Fest.

Unfortunately, I had to cancel doing this years show due to some family health matters here in California.

I am fine myself and I'm sorry I wasn't able to attend this year and see all my friends that I've met since my first fest back in 2007.  I missed all you AC, AK & SMAC folks, I hope to come back in the fall & see some of you at a local SMAC meeting or two.

Thanks, Fritz Heiler
FRITZSPEAKERS.COM

[whell]

Thanks for posting the great pics.  This is the 3rd time I've hosted a listening room at the AK Fest, and I think that this was my favorite show so far.  Not as big in scope as past shows, but much more laid back.  The down side of hosting a room is that you don't get out much.  So, if you stopped in, thanks!  So many folks that stopped in seemed very friendly while also passionate about audio.  The AK folks are part of a great crowd, and I was also please to meet a number of great folks from AC as well.  Already looking forward to next year!!

[SlushPuppy]

I'll try to catch up to you guys later today.   

Gotta find those gourds.   

McIntosh seems to only know one way to make better speaker (add drivers).   

That Selah array is the first array I've seen that makes acoustic sense to me (simulating a point source).

When I was in the Navy my rate was half meteorology and half underwater acoustics/sound propagation. I agree, those speakers just make sense.

[krikor]

What a great show this year!  Thanks for the detailed coverage krikor.

Great to bump into you again, Nick.  Would have liked to bounce around the rooms with you, but I was in and out relatively quick on Saturday.  We'll have to get together sometime before next year's show 

[krikor]

Hi Everybody-  Fritz here...  Thanks for the kind words.  I've always looked forward to coming back to my former home town in Michigan and showing my loudspeakers at the AK Fest.

Unfortunately, I had to cancel doing this years show due to some family health matters here in California.

I am fine myself and I'm sorry I wasn't able to attend this year and see all my friends that I've met since my first fest back in 2007.  I missed all you AC, AK & SMAC folks, I hope to come back in the fall & see some of you at a local SMAC meeting or two.

Thanks, Fritz Heiler
FRITZSPEAKERS.COM

Though you weren't there, your MTMs sounded great in Roadrider100's room.  Hope you can make it next year.