RMAF Report please (when available)

Tubeburner · « **Reply #20 on:** 22 Oct 2006, 02:10 pm »

Has anyone heard the Flying Mole mono amps? I received an email from a friend at the show and said he was blown away from the sound in this room. GMA speakers he said, but did not remember which ones. Thanks in advance!

mca · « **Reply #21 on:** 22 Oct 2006, 03:22 pm »

Does AV123 have the Strata Mini speakers at the show? Would love to hear comments from anyone that heard them if they are there.

All the pictures and comments so far are great. I'm jealous that I'm not there

gary · « **Reply #22 on:** 22 Oct 2006, 03:25 pm »

Quote from: Tubeburner on 22 Oct 2006, 02:10 pm

Has anyone heard the Flying Mole mono amps? I received an email from a friend at the show and said he was blown away from the sound in this room. GMA speakers he said, but did not remember which ones. Thanks in advance!

They had the big alien looking GMA's, and everything sounded very good. When I was there the room was packed (which is usually a pretty good indicator) so I didn't get into a good position to hear them, but I'd say the amps are definitely worth consideration.

Gary

Tubeburner · « **Reply #23 on:** 22 Oct 2006, 04:06 pm »

The GMA speakers have always amazed me with the quality of their sound. The flying mole amps are digital, correct? I love my tubes and was wondering if digital will catch up or ever surpass my love of tube amps. Glad to see progress, tho I wish I was at the RMAF show this year. Enjoy!

pbash · « **Reply #24 on:** 22 Oct 2006, 04:34 pm »

My favorites were:

Suite 1130: Azzolina Audio's Gran Sfera Horns were incredible. Close your eyes and they completely disappear.

Suite 1125: Again, the Gran Sfera Horns were incredible, this time teamed with Hagerman electronics.

Suite 535: Kharma Midi Exquisite MKII speakers.

Suite 510: Amber Wave Audio's visually and sonically impressive monoblocks, teamed with Intuitive Design Summit speakers.

I could have happily sat in any of the above rooms for the entire day.

warnerwh · « **Reply #25 on:** 22 Oct 2006, 07:34 pm »

Thank you guys for the pictures and reports. It's much appreciated.

PeteG · « **Reply #26 on:** 22 Oct 2006, 09:16 pm »

Last day of pictures. RMAF Pictures

Pete

Rocket_Ronny · « **Reply #27 on:** 23 Oct 2006, 12:38 am »

Hey Gary:

Thanks for your report, and everyone else as well.

Your mentioned the Dodd Audio room.

Do you remember what speakers they were hooked up to?

What was it about the speakers you did not like, and what did the other speakers you heard do better?

Thanks,

Rocket_Ronny

kendrid · « **Reply #28 on:** 23 Oct 2006, 01:05 am »

Quote from: mca on 22 Oct 2006, 03:22 pm

Does AV123 have the Strata Mini speakers at the show? Would love to hear comments from anyone that heard them if they are there.

All the pictures and comments so far are great. I'm jealous that I'm not there

They were there.
There are some impressions in this: http://www.av123forum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=16190 thread.

How did they sound? They sure look beautiful.

PeteG · « **Reply #29 on:** 23 Oct 2006, 01:45 am »

Quote from: tvad4 on 23 Oct 2006, 01:17 am

Captions accompanying the RMAF photos would be very helpful to identify what we're viewing. FWIW...

I’ll try to type in some captions, as much as I can remember. If I could input some info into my camera even a room number it would’ve helped me.

Pete

Big Red Machine · « **Reply #30 on:** 23 Oct 2006, 02:12 am »

I posted a boat load of photos here:

http://av123forum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=16190

zybar · « **Reply #31 on:** 23 Oct 2006, 04:18 am »

Quote from: Tubeburner on 22 Oct 2006, 02:10 pm

Has anyone heard the Flying Mole mono amps? I received an email from a friend at the show and said he was blown away from the sound in this room. GMA speakers he said, but did not remember which ones. Thanks in advance!

Blown away? Not quite.

This was a good sounding room and the it was a synergistic speaker/amp match. We played some Natalie Merchant and Dire Straits. Both were engaging and enjoyable. We also heard "Fever" sung by Peggy Lee that really made me want to go out and get some Peggy Lee.

Thanks to Roy for a fun time in his room.

George

yo2tup · « **Reply #32 on:** 23 Oct 2006, 04:47 am »

Quote from: zybar on 23 Oct 2006, 04:18 am

Quote from: Tubeburner on 22 Oct 2006, 02:10 pm
Has anyone heard the Flying Mole mono amps? I received an email from a friend at the show and said he was blown away from the sound in this room. GMA speakers he said, but did not remember which ones. Thanks in advance!

Blown away? Not quite.

This was a good sounding room and the it was a synergistic speaker/amp match. We played some Natalie Merchant and Dire Straits. Both were engaging and enjoyable. We also heard "Fever" sung by Peggy Lee that really made me want to go out and get some Peggy Lee.

Thanks to Roy for a fun time in his room.

George

did you get a chance to listen to the mini's at the av123 room? its been hyped for a long time now, and i'm wondering if it lives up to it.

zybar · « **Reply #33 on:** 23 Oct 2006, 05:09 am »

OK, Chris (aka Lonewolfny42) and I are again stuck late at night at Denver International Airport. Seems like a perfect time to post a few comments on some of the rooms we heard at the show. In no particular order:

Enovation Acoustics/DartZeel - State of the Art midrange and highs with tons of texture, detail, and nuance. Bass was challenging at times and wasn't at the same level as mid's and high's, but I could hear the potential there. One of my top five rooms.

GR Reaearch/Dodd Audio - good setup with the new speakers and new Dodd amp/preamp/power conditioner. Sound was well balanced and didn't have any major weaknesses.

AV123 - as always, the AV123 team is a fun bunch. Speakers were their new Strata Mini driven by some prototype digital amps. The system rocked pretty well and the speakers are made very well.

MBL - best dynamics of any system at the show. These speakers really rocked!! They did lose a lot of their magic when not driven to high spl's.

RAW - Al did a great job on finishing all the speakers and they are priced very competitively. Lots of choices at different price points should appeal to a wide group. Everything was powered by the newly designed Dodd amp/preamp/power conditioner.

Odyessy - Klaus did his usual excellent job providing a value packed system that was engaging and emotional.

Intuitive Design/Amber Wave Audio - find some pics of the Amber Wave Audio tube amps. They were huge and super cool to look at. This combo produced a dynamic and big sound that still was able to provide lots of detail and texture. One of the better rooms at the show.

Butler Audio/Escalante - Chris says that they nailed it this time!

GTT Audio (Kharma) - very expensive, but one of the best sounding mega buck rooms. Played some Count Basie that was outstanding and made it sound like he was in the room!

Moscode/Placette - got to meet George Kaye and let him know that I love his amp and that I am keeping it! This room produced some very nice music and I wanted to hear song after song.

Zu - Got to meet Adam and he was very cool. Got to spin some cd's after hrs and put the Definitions through their paces. Good dynamics and the finishes are SWEET!

Red Dragon/Daedalus - they made some changes over the weekend and the system was really starting to gel by Sunday afternoon.

Omega/Art Audio - got to hear the new Max Hemp speakers and they got better and better as the weekend went on. These were definitely full range and did a great job playing some classic rock (Zappa, Pink Floyd, etc...). Also, the finish was a special silver metallic that really stood out.

Modwright - seemed like each room I went into had a Modwright preamp (for good reason). I didn't get much time in his main room with Acoustic Zen speakers since it was busy all the time. The Bella Extreme amps looked very nice as well.

Bolder Cable - what can I say about Wayne that hasn't already been said? The new MLS RM 30's were beautiful and the new cd waveguide definitely made a nice difference. Everything was powered by the Response Audio 3205 Bella Extreme and this was a good combination. The ribbons really liked the tubes. On Sunday a special Jack Bybee power conditioner and power cord were added into the mix and it took the system up a few notches.

ACI - Mike did a killer job with the Saphire XL's!! These speakers basically ran full range and were a joy to listen to. When you factor in the finish, quality, and price they are a steal. GIK treatments were also found here helping make things better.

Salk/AVA - had some troubles on Friday, but improved a great deal over the weekend - consistently crowded on Saturday. Fit and finish were outstanding as always. Tough for me to say more as I love these speakers and know what they are capable of outside of show conditions.

Ayre/Vandersteen - new Ayre amps + Vandy Quatrros = some nice toe tapping sound. I especially enjoyed Natalie Merchant's beautiful voice.

There is lots more, but I need to take a break...stay tuned for me comments and hopefully pics.

George and Chris

Brad · « **Reply #34 on:** 23 Oct 2006, 05:19 am »

It was great to meet all of the AC guys
thanks to Lonewolf/Chris, who made sure all of us met each other.

I have a bunch of pics I'll post when I get back to Houston tomorrow.
Wayne's modded SB2's were very impressive. I liked the GIK panels in his room too.
The overall sound in the Hagerman room was terrific - I loved those horns with the (I think) Lowther drivers.
The MaxHemps had a wonderful tone on guitar music.

It definitely took a lot of work to get good sound in the hotel rooms.

I enjoyed Wally's seminar on speaker setup and Fremer's on turntable setup.

Cheers,

Brad in Houston

gary · « **Reply #35 on:** 23 Oct 2006, 07:07 am »

Quote from: Rocket_Ronny on 23 Oct 2006, 12:38 am

Hey Gary:

Thanks for your report, and everyone else as well.

Your mentioned the Dodd Audio room.

Do you remember what speakers they were hooked up to?

What was it about the speakers you did not like, and what did the other speakers you heard do better?

Thanks,

Rocket_Ronny

They were GR Research speakers. Not bad, but not for me. My speakers are open baffle with no real crossover, and these speakers had drivers in an array (complicated crossovers) with boxes. Two things that I just can't tolerate anymore... I'd love to get the chance to hear that gear mated with my Bastanis speakers. Or the Zu Definitions.

Also, someone asked about the Azzolina room I think, this was my second favorite behind MBL (which is strange, as I usually can't stand the ungodly priced gear and firehouse sized cable... but MBL proved me wrong this time). I have a couple pictures that I'll post as soon as I get home as it was a very visually striking system. And the first lowthers I've heard that didn't make me feel like the vocalist was standing in front of me screaming in my face.

Gary

brj · « **Reply #36 on:** 23 Oct 2006, 07:40 am »

Thanks for the comments, everyone! Much appreciated by those unable to attend in person...

Quote from: zybar

Moscode/Placette - got to meet George Kaye and let him know that I love his amp and that I am keeping it!

I think that needs a follow-up comparison review in a separate thread, George!

95bcwh · « **Reply #37 on:** 23 Oct 2006, 07:52 am »

Who are these people?

These pair cost $75k!!

Thiel CS3.7, in production by end 2007.

Bolder + VMPS combo!!

IDS speakers

AVA+Salk combo

Gran Sfera Horn speakers

Marten Design $250k speakers, any buyers? aa

Flex speakers powered by Red Rock Renaissance Amp

Reference Mods with Von Schweikert VR4 speakers

The big Macintosh room, everything from source to speakers are Mac Mac Mac!! Sound real good..

Usher speakers

Wilson speakers.. a disappointment for the price

Greeting from JM-Lab..

One of the highlight of the show - Evolution speakers, $38k/pr. Stunning looking, but cross-over design can be improved, the bass can't keep up with the treble.

Big Red Machine · « **Reply #38 on:** 23 Oct 2006, 12:14 pm »

Quote from: kendrid on 23 Oct 2006, 01:05 am

Quote from: mca on 22 Oct 2006, 03:22 pm
Does AV123 have the Strata Mini speakers at the show? Would love to hear comments from anyone that heard them if they are there.

All the pictures and comments so far are great. I'm jealous that I'm not there

They were there.
There are some impressions in this: http://www.av123forum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=16190 thread.

How did they sound? They sure look beautiful.

And they were good!!

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #39 on:** 23 Oct 2006, 02:06 pm »

Just got in......after a long night of traveling.......thanks again Sean and George for the ride to the airport......

I'll post comments later tonite.....but I had a great time....

And there was a fine turnout of AC members, at least 25+.....(an early happy hour photo)

Thanks Pete for the photo's......was nice meeting everyone....

Chris