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It was a "blast" meeting Tyson, Pez and all the AC'rs in person (HAL, SoCalJWS, Big Red Machine, jtwrace, Scottdazzle, Jonathan J, etc, etc, etc...) at RMAF.
What a fun but exhausting time!
Tyson, I really liked your acknowledgement of your wife an daughters. My wife and two lovely daughters have made my life very special for over 40 years. They are what really matters.Good job guys, as always. Thanks.Dave
That was me. Any way we did not make a lot of exceptions for 2nd listens. We would have LOVED to do that, but time was very much limited and every room we visit twice leaves one room we don't visit at all. As a matter of fact we only did a 2nd visit for AC vendors! You guys help make this site great and we want to make sure you all get priority over the rest in the industry.
Attendance was up, not down. Anyone that tries to convince you otherwise is involved in a CONSPIRACY to cook the books and mislead the American people.Wow, that sounded exactly as stupid as I thought it would....
but true.
Pez and Tyson,Stellar work fellas! I still think about RMAF 2012. I am not ready for it to fall into distant memories. If I may, I'd like to resurrect your thread, even if for a short time by sharing my experience at the show. For you guys thinking you don't need to attend a RMAF because of how well these two guys cover the show is a mistake. Their coverage is spot on; this is true. Until they interview the manufacturers and post live coverage you are only getting half of the show. Cripes, I'd go every year just to chat with Dave Elledge. He is the nicest dude in the world. On top of that, putting faces to the AudioCircle names is truly the part that is most exciting. This year I met Pete (BigRedMachine) who kindly ushered me from the Salk room into the Fritz room. His blue amplifiers are gnarly! Pete, I never thanked you for the friendly gesture. Thank you!!The SoundScape 8 is truly a wonderful speaker. They chameleons if you were to ask me. They have the ability to morph into well integrated 2-ways that throw a solid image and offer gobs of emotion. Then, they transform into large floor-standing speakers with what seems like limitless headroom without ever a hint of strain. I wish I had more time to listen to these. I brought my girlfriend this year so she could learn what the heck I am always obsessing about. I was nervous she would get disinterested in music tastes so I kept the sojourns short. I found myself back in the Salk room two more times that day to hear the SS8 again. Both times Jim's new 2-ways were playing. These guys weren't doing it for me on this day but it was a long day. I was always in the back row of the audience while listening. There was 4 to 8 people listening at all times so I couldn't even get close. I've heard Jim's speakers on a half dozen occasions and they always, without a doubt, perform above their price point. The GR Research room is my favorite room to attend at RMAF. Some may not like the feel of the room the way it is setup but I love it. To me, it feels like a man cave done by a man. Not much of WAF in here. Danny's speakers were FUN to listen to. They reminded me ESLs (I know) because they added zero "flavor" or color to the music. I guess we would call them 'neutral'. That was impressive to me but not as impressive as <drum roll>, because these can play drums like no other, the bass. The second song played while I was in the room was a drum track. Oh boy, they were so much fun to listen to. I had this feeling that every time a kick pedal was hit I was back in my '94 Honda Accord with the 15" subwoofer playing. Talk about chest pounding. Danny has a winner with this guy. If 'neutral' is what you like these are pretty amazing. They are different than the SoundScape 8s. One would have to hear them both to determine which they prefer. My most memorable stop at the show was the Vapor Sound rooms. I put one of the rooms as first on my list to visit. At this point in the day, I hadn't lost the test CD my girlfriend and I had made. We had the chance to play our CD while sitting front and center. My girlfriend's song choice was Chad Lawson's "Ballade in C Minor". I spoke up after 30 seconds into the song to ask her if she was OK. She hadn't said a word. Not like her. I wasn't expecting her to sit and listen. That's all it took folks, 30 seconds into RMAF 2012 until she said, "I get it". The gentlemen running the room was super nice to us. I wish I remembered his name. Thank you for accommodating us. We then got to play a violin piece by Emily Palen called "Glass". I find the reproduction of Cirrus Black remarkable. Not perfect, but if I recall, there was a subwoofer being used in the room that didn't help in my opinion. Exiting the room she commented about how she didn't know speakers could do that.It was at our stop in the other Vapor Sound room where I shedded my first RMAF tear, ever! As we were listening, my girlfriend commented, "...they sound so far away." That, I explained to her, after I wiped the side of my cheek, is "SOUNDSTAGE" sweetie. :Pretty awesome, huh?: This is the point where she asked how my speakers could be made more eye-friendly to move into her place. I could only equate the feeling I had to what parents must feel like when their babies are potty trained. I was so proud! Thank you Joule Black. We spent a lot of the show stopping at the uber-expensive rooms because I wanted to show her pretty speakers. She loved the Rockport Technology speakers the most for their looks. Go figure! They kind of look like mine (so I thought). She didn't agree. Until next time guys, it was amazing!!
Gosh, I'm verklempt and dont know what to say.... except "Thank you!"... I just love what we do and I guess it shows.Again: THANK YOU!Dave
