On the road to Denver . . .

Mike Dzurko · « **on:** 19 Oct 2006, 12:54 am »

Flying out tomorrow for RMAF. I look forward to seeing many of you and listening to some good music together. I likely will not be keeping up with posting here or email. See you in Denver!

Groch · « **Reply #1 on:** 23 Oct 2006, 02:37 pm »

Mike, it was nice to see you at the show. I had not been to an RMAF before and was astonished by the size and complexity of the whole thing. Literally hundreds of exhibits and a great atmosphere.

Another thing that surprised me was how few of the demonstrations sounded good, I think only a third or so even sounded acceptable. Certainly the smaller rooms and lack of acoustic treatment in most of them contributed to the problem. Many vendors brought gear that would only really sound right in much larger spaces...but I still get the feeling that some of the products rely more on technical flash than real sonic benefits. Almost all of the gear was gorgeous...but not much of it sounded that good. The choice of demo materials and volume levels that were generally too high also contributed to the problem.

As an XL owner I am a bit prejudiced, but I thought that the ACI room sounded as good as anything I heard all day. The XL/Sub set up was perfectly match to the room size, and you had some simple acoustic treatments that solved any room issues.

The guy I toured the show with is a long time industry veteran who is not (yet

and ACI owner, and his evaluation of the demos was the same, he thought in terms of musicality and coherence the ACI XL/Sub demo was equal to the best he heard. Obviously they do not compare in terms of dynamics or "slam" to the huge size and cost no object systems. Anyway, we were impressed and hope you made quite a few new friends for ACI at the show.

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #2 on:** 23 Oct 2006, 02:49 pm »

Hello Mike....It was nice to meet you at the show....

It was my first time hearing your Sapphire XL speakers....they sounded very good !! For such a simple setup....they really made music !!!

Chris

Mike Dzurko · « **Reply #3 on:** 23 Oct 2006, 08:05 pm »

Quote from: Groch on 23 Oct 2006, 02:37 pm

Mike, it was nice to see you at the show. I had not been to an RMAF before and was astonished by the size and complexity of the whole thing. Literally hundreds of exhibits and a great atmosphere.

Another thing that surprised me was how few of the demonstrations sounded good, I think only a third or so even sounded acceptable. Certainly the smaller rooms and lack of acoustic treatment in most of them contributed to the problem. Many vendors brought gear that would only really sound right in much larger spaces...but I still get the feeling that some of the products rely more on technical flash than real sonic benefits. Almost all of the gear was gorgeous...but not much of it sounded that good. The choice of demo materials and volume levels that were generally too high also contributed to the problem.

As an XL owner I am a bit prejudiced, but I thought that the ACI room sounded as good as anything I heard all day. The XL/Sub set up was perfectly match to the room size, and you had some simple acoustic treatments that solved any room issues.

The guy I toured the show with is a long time industry veteran who is not (yet and ACI owner, and his evaluation of the demos was the same, he thought in terms of musicality and coherence the ACI XL/Sub demo was equal to the best he heard. Obviously they do not compare in terms of dynamics or "slam" to the huge size and cost no object systems. Anyway, we were impressed and hope you made quite a few new friends for ACI at the show.

I appreciate you taking the time to share your impressions. You've done a wonderful job of summing up the kind of responses we heard from many, many attendees over the three days. If I'm not mistaken you were in on Sunday, just shortly before I had to hit the road?

Mike Dzurko · « **Reply #4 on:** 23 Oct 2006, 09:26 pm »

Quote from: lonewolfny42 on 23 Oct 2006, 02:49 pm

Hello Mike....It was nice to meet you at the show....
It was my first time hearing your Sapphire XL speakers....they sounded very good !! For such a simple setup....they really made music !!!

Chris

Chris:

Thanks Chris, good to meet you too! And thanks for the CD, we played parts of it off and on all weekend . . .

Groch · « **Reply #5 on:** 23 Oct 2006, 11:12 pm »

Quote from: Mike Dzurko on 23 Oct 2006, 08:05 pm

I appreciate you taking the time to share your impressions. You've done a wonderful job of summing up the kind of responses we heard from many, many attendees over the three days. If I'm not mistaken you were in on Sunday, just shortly before I had to hit the road?

Yes that was me and my friend Barry.

Another speaker system I auditioned at the show, part of the 1/3rd I liked, were the Black Swan towers from Gershman Acoustics.

Truly outstanding design and workmanship. A sweet musical sound and powerful bass. The dome tweeter midrange are in a cabinet separate from the sub. Very nice at $38,000 the pair.

Here is a link to a Stereophile article: http://blog.stereophile.com/he2006/060606gershman/. Looking closely at the tweeter midbass driver complement made me pause for a moment.

It struck me that you offer something using very similar drivers that you can match with subs and some first rate custom stands for a little bit less than $38,000.

I guess the point is that I have nothing at all against those that can spend $38,000 on loudspeakers, but I left the show feeling very very good about my decision to own Sapphire XLs.

George

Glenn K · « **Reply #6 on:** 24 Oct 2006, 02:13 pm »

Hey Mike,

Myself and Bryan would like to thank you for letting GIK come in and treat the room at the show. As a studio person I can honesty say that if someone is looking for a speaker that will give you the same sound that the mixing or mastering engineer heard on a recording, then the ACI speakers should be there number 1 choice! Your product ROCKS!
BTW I am really looking forward to getting those speakers set up (yep folks I bought the whole system on Sunday from Mike

) in my room.

Glenn

Mike Dzurko · « **Reply #7 on:** 24 Oct 2006, 02:27 pm »

Quote from: Groch on 23 Oct 2006, 11:12 pm

Quote from: Mike Dzurko on 23 Oct 2006, 08:05 pm

I appreciate you taking the time to share your impressions. You've done a wonderful job of summing up the kind of responses we heard from many, many attendees over the three days. If I'm not mistaken you were in on Sunday, just shortly before I had to hit the road?

Yes that was me and my friend Barry.

Another speaker system I auditioned at the show, part of the 1/3rd I liked, were the Black Swan towers from Gershman Acoustics.

Truly outstanding design and workmanship. A sweet musical sound and powerful bass. The dome tweeter midrange are in a cabinet separate from the sub. Very nice at $38,000 the pair.

Here is a link to a Stereophile article: http://blog.stereophile.com/he2006/060606gershman/. Looking closely at the tweeter midbass driver complement made me pause for a moment.

It struck me that you offer something using very similar drivers that you can match with subs and some first rate custom stands for a little bit less than $38,000.

I guess the point is that I have nothing at all against those that can spend $38,000 on loudspeakers, but I left the show feeling very very good about my decision to own Sapphire XLs.

George

George:

Gershman obviously picked great drivers for that system. They probably picked them for the sames reasons we did. And yes, you should feel GREAT about your decision to own Sapphire XLs

bpape · « **Reply #8 on:** 24 Oct 2006, 02:41 pm »

I think Chris hit the nail on the head. That system made music and made you want to just sit and listen to the music, not just the equipment. Sometimes we get all hung up in this hobby about the equipment and forget what it's all about - enjoying the music.

Bryan

budyog · « **Reply #9 on:** 24 Oct 2006, 08:42 pm »

I just want to say what a nice feeling it is when a company like ACI get such praises about their products from an event like RMAF.

Being an proud and very happy owner of ACI speakers, it is a reassuring feeling and a money saver for me, not that I would not have liked to have been at the show to meet wonderful Mike in person and a lot of other AC rs and AC companies, but I can just sit back and continue enjoying what others, including me already know and what a lot of new ACI purchasers will soon be finding out. Just how wonderful and what a good value ACI speakers are and what a great company they are to deal with.

I am sure the ACI team will be plenty busy when all the orders come flying in. I can buy a lot of music or some other upgrades to my system with the savings from not being able to attend and I guess I don't have to think about next year either. It looks like there is nothing better than what I have unless I want to jump up many, many thousands of $$$ to beat what I allready have and then again, maybe not!

I am glad I don't have to be in the waiting line for new ACI speakers!

Thanks to the attendees and their comments. Maybe someday.

DeadFish · « **Reply #10 on:** 25 Oct 2006, 05:29 am »

Good meeting you and your wife, Mike, and listening to your system!
Really, the Saphire XL's sounded every bit what I had hoped the Jaguars might sound like, years ago when I lusted after them.
I think Glenn going to be really happy with that pair and I would have thought that there was something seriously wrong with him if he hadn't snatched them.

Hope you weren't too burnt getting 'back to the grind' back home.

Best Regards,
Bill

Mike Dzurko · « **Reply #11 on:** 25 Oct 2006, 10:18 pm »

Bill:

Good meeting you too! No question, Glenn fell in love with the XLs big time. It always feels super when experienced audiophiles like you and the rest of the gang, and folks like Glenn who really know live sound love your design

Mike Dzurko · « **Reply #12 on:** 25 Oct 2006, 11:52 pm »

Good pictures of the ACI room can be found here, haven't had time to download our own yet:)

http://www.audioxsell.com/community/events/2/83/Rocky-Mountain-Audio-Fest-2006/Audio-Concepts.htm

TONEPUB · « **Reply #13 on:** 26 Oct 2006, 04:11 am »

Hi Mike:

Was a good time to be your next door neighbor at the RMAF! Sounds
like it all went well. I just got home and will announce the contest
winners tomorrow!

Thanks again for all your help and to Glenn at GIK. Can't wait to get those
boxes home and dial my room in further!

modwright · « **Reply #14 on:** 26 Oct 2006, 04:22 am »

I too enjoyed meeting you and your wife, Mike. I was very impressed by your speakers and the sound of your room. I had certainly always heard good things about your products, but this is the first time that I was able to experience them.

To be honest, every time I walked by your room, I was drawn in by the sound of good music....i.e. sound that made me want to sit down, listen and enjoy.

Congrat's on a great show and again it was a pleasure meeting you.

Dan

Mike Dzurko · « **Reply #15 on:** 26 Oct 2006, 11:38 pm »

Quote from: TONEPUB on 26 Oct 2006, 04:11 am

Hi Mike:

Was a good time to be your next door neighbor at the RMAF! Sounds
like it all went well. I just got home and will announce the contest
winners tomorrow!

Thanks again for all your help and to Glenn at GIK. Can't wait to get those
boxes home and dial my room in further!

Jeff:

The pleasure was ours. Thanks for all you help including arranging for the very nice Predator amp, and stashing the GIK room treatments until I could show up late Thursday. It was great of you and Jean to take Mary out to diner after I hit the road Sunday. Glad I could help you and Glenn link up . . . both great guys!

Mike Dzurko · « **Reply #16 on:** 26 Oct 2006, 11:41 pm »

Quote from: modwright on 26 Oct 2006, 04:22 am

I too enjoyed meeting you and your wife, Mike. I was very impressed by your speakers and the sound of your room. I had certainly always heard good things about your products, but this is the first time that I was able to experience them.

To be honest, every time I walked by your room, I was drawn in by the sound of good music....i.e. sound that made me want to sit down, listen and enjoy.

Congrat's on a great show and again it was a pleasure meeting you.

Dan

Thanks Dan! Drawn in by the music, that's our goal. In the time we got to meet I felt that we had very similar goals with our products and companies. You've built a well deserved great reputation. It would be fun to put our systems together for a show sometime . . .

Glenn K · « **Reply #17 on:** 2 Nov 2006, 01:26 pm »

Mike I got the speakers in yesterday. I still have a few set up things I need to go through, but all I can say is detail, detail and more detail I am hearing in every CD I have put on. aa It is a real pleasure to finally have a system that sounds as clear (may I say more clear) then what it sounds like in my control room of my recording studio. I think your new tag line for your product should be "Hear the music the way the pros do". I think these speakers have hooked my girlfriend in the 2 channel world!!! God help our check book now!!!

Glenn

Mike Dzurko · « **Reply #18 on:** 2 Nov 2006, 11:46 pm »

Quote from: Glenn K on 2 Nov 2006, 01:26 pm

Mike I got the speakers in yesterday. I still have a few set up things I need to go through, but all I can say is detail, detail and more detail I am hearing in every CD I have put on. aa It is a real pleasure to finally have a system that sounds as clear (may I say more clear) then what it sounds like in my control room of my recording studio. I think your new tag line for your product should be "Hear the music the way the pros do". I think these speakers have hooked my girlfriend in the 2 channel world!!! God help our check book now!!!

Glenn

Glenn:

Your fun is just beginning . . . I like the slogan! I'm always happy when one of our systems goes to a good home

When we do our next listening room, you'll be in charge of the room treatments . . .

Ross @ ACI · « **Reply #19 on:** 11 Nov 2006, 07:44 pm »

Here's a good pic 6moons.com put up of the Sapphire Xls and Force XL in Denver, just scroll down a bit:

http://www.6moons.com/industryfeatures/3x06/denver/denver_4.html