Since my interest was in picking up a new pair of Songtowers, I can't comment on the Exoticas. I met Jim and Mary on Thursday to pick up my Songtowers that I had ordered earlier, and arranged to have them delivered to RMAF. No shipping and guaranteed safe delivery! I was able to hook them up on Thursday evening, and was immediately impressed by both the finish and sound. I had sent Jim a armcover to try and match the red tint. The Songtowers at the show were the same tint, done with the same batch. They look great!
This was my first RMAF, since I've not had a home system in years! I got a 3 day pass to soak it in. While I didn't make it to every room on Friday and Saturday, I did see some amazing stuff.
After listening to a lot of different systems in a lot of different rooms, I went back to the Salk room and asked Jim to hook up the Songtowers. I wanted to listen to them and see how they sounded compared to what I had heard over the two days. Yes, I heard some speakers that were better, but I was surprised at how many did not impress me the way the Songtowers did, which is what I told Jim.
When you consider the price of the Songtowers against what were probably higher priced speakers in other rooms, I'm very happy with my selection. I didn't keep track of the price of the speakers in other rooms, but would they use a speaker that is "only" $2,000 to demonstrate their equipment. I listened to a pair of $9,000 speakers that were nothing more than a "pretty face". The $95,000 Focal system with equally high priced ancillary equipment was a room that I could have spent a lot more time in.
When I go back next year, I plan on taking advantage of a lot of the vendors having show "specials". Some had discounts on orders, while a turntable manufacturer was willing to discount one of his tables that he had at the show. I was in another room when someone purchased a $1,200 DAC for $850 that they were using for the show. New and full warranty.
Since I have other equipment to add to my system, I avoided asking Jim which model I should get next!
Patrick
