RMAF 12-14th October Denver CO

zybar · « **Reply #40 on:** 15 Oct 2007, 05:13 am »

Quote from: AKSA on 8 Sep 2007, 12:03 pm

GET READY!! Upcoming RMAF 12-14 Oct Denver CO
Folks,

This sticky will inform all forum members of the upcoming major AudioFest in Denver mid-October, and let you know what Aspen will be doing alongside Ellis Audio - my amps, with David's speakers.

I will have a 100W/8R Soraya CB105 Power Amplifier there, along with my new Squeezebox Power Supply. I hope also to have a SBIII and laptop as music server with a suitable selection of audio for all to audition.

There will be brochures, beautiful 1801b speakers to listen to, and David, Hugh and Martin - who is a close friend and hails from Melbourne Australia also. Martin is a professional MC, originally a Londoner, and loves people, so you will have a variety of accents in suits to chat with!!

This will be my first AudioFest stateside and I hope that I can meet lots of my old and new customers, and make contact with others in the audio profession. I REALLY look forward to it, and will announce my plans here in coming days until departure in a month's time.

An exciting time for Aspen!

Cheers,

Hugh

I had the chance to talk Hugh, David, and Martin at the show and I must say it was quite a treat!!

All three gentlemen clearly are passionate and knowledgeable about audio and it really shows.

It is no coincidence that their room was one of the nicest at the show...it simply produced a very musical sound that one could listen to for hours on end. In the land of megabuck systems, this one showed that it doesn't take lots of money to create a very satisfying system.

I hope to see Hugh and Martin on my next trip to Oz and look forward to hearing Hugh's new speakers.

Cheers,

George

SuperMart · « **Reply #41 on:** 15 Oct 2007, 03:02 pm »

Aw shucks, George,

It was more than a pleasure to meet you, see David for the first time, meet Lonewolfy, Doug, Vern (who is a bear of a man, bigger than me, with a grin about a mile wide!!), Ed West (thanks Ed for your tireless support and sincere friendship), Frank Van Alstine, Wayne of Bolder - identities of great warmth Marty and I can never forget. Thanks a million for your praise, it means a lot to me and David.

This has been the experience of a lifetime, sincerely, sounds a bit overstated, but it is definitively the truth.

I'm deeply, outrageously impressed with this great country, I find the people open, trusting and sincere, and I curse my bad luck I was not born a citizen. Oz ain't bad, y'all, but US of A is where the opportunities and pace of life appear to be.

I am holed up in a hotel room at present, about to breakfast with Marty, go downtown, visit The Market for some Euro coffee, then hire a car and attempt to do myself in driving on the wrong side of the road to Aspen - which I HAVE to see for reasons which doubtless are obvious...........

Last evening I dined with Hugh Morrow, a Californian living in Denver in Cherry Wood. Hugh and his wife (I remarked on his wonderful name when I saw him in the corridor outside my room and we fell into a very long conversation, it was incredible). Hugh has a beautiful home, picked me up from the hotel in a hotrodded 911 Targa with oversized engine sporting 7000 rpm and axle tramp like a litre monster sports motor cycle, and we had a sensational meal and then listened to an AR tube based high end system to die for. It was absolutely extraordinary, and I am resolved to build a more powerful Soraya to compete... thanks so much Hugh!

I leave in three days for Paul (Occam) in the nasty Apple, as he affectionately describes it. It will be wonderful, I'm very sure. The Audiofest was a phenomenal success I believe, I really loved it, everyone was so friendly, and the contacts and friends I've made will be a revelation in years to come. I hope to come next year with Sri, my wife, and I would commend anyone into high end to attend in the future as this is a very, very successful exhibition. I have been incredibly impressed and grateful for my contact with Wayne of Bolder Cables, Frank of AVA (on return to Oz I am buying one of his ultra DACs which I believe is phenomenal in performance and value terms), and numerous other people of great note; a dinner with Ed West from Washington State, a talented engineer; Lyn Olson, who designed the Ariel speaker and Amity 300B power amp and worked for Tek for many years, John Attwood, a SE amp and transformer designer I have admired for years, and the one an only, Nelson Pass, who was absolutely charming - and who shares a love of great literature.

More later, this has been a revelation to me and there's more to come......... aa

Cheers,

Hugh

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #42 on:** 15 Oct 2007, 08:45 pm »

Hello Hugh....and Martin,

Two of the best dressed guys at RMAF....

It was a real pleasure meeting you both....and enjoying the sounds of the new Soraya amp...its a winner !!!! Was a nice match with the Ellis speakers....I enjoyed it. I wish you much success....and enjoy your visit to the U.S. !!!!

Chris

AKSA · « **Reply #43 on:** 16 Oct 2007, 01:19 am »

Thanks a million, Chris, see you in a couple days in the Nasty Apple!!

Cheers,

Hugh

Hegemony · « **Reply #44 on:** 16 Oct 2007, 02:04 am »

Alright Hugh and Marty.....

I am officially extremely jealous

. I can't help but think you guys are having the time of your lives while I am slaving at work

Can't wait to hear some stories and impressions of RMAF, sounds like a bunch of fun!

Safe travelling for the rest of the journey...

It is ok i am keeping cafe matteo in business while you are away, they have however commented on the reduced revenue!

Russ

Freddy57 · « **Reply #45 on:** 16 Oct 2007, 04:36 am »

I had the great pleasure of attending RMAF Hugh and Martin tremendous fun. The new amplifier, all i can say is big and clear sound, enchanting. Great job guys!! Vern

SuperMart · « **Reply #46 on:** 16 Oct 2007, 04:53 am »

Hi Russ and Chris,

Hugh and I must be the only guys still left at RMAF!! Hugh is sleeping as I write this and I must say that his snoring is quite clearly the best bass I have heard in any of the rooms. We started today by visiting many of the rooms that we missed the last three days but disappointingly they were all closed - very easy to get from floor to floor though.

Chris - now that you have left it's possible to get a beer at the bar before the date on my watch changes. Thanks a million for your generous gift of those three test NY Audio rave CD's - especially the one which sounds like rare birds are being slaughtered. You are an ambassador for all that is great about AC- giving, drinking and leaning. By way of explanation - we wore our black suits because Hugh and I are also attending an undertakers convention in Miami this week - sorry if we looked like the CIA because we are actually members of the UAA. Our accountant is jubilant at the size of our tax loss this year so I can guarantee you that we will be back in '08 - in our Bermuda shorts this time. A special thanks to all the folks that came into our room and looked at the back of David's speakers - I can assure you all that a back panel is included with every cabinet - it prevents the crossover from falling out.

Missing you already.Don't go changing.
Marty and Hughie "Motor Mouth" Dean.

kyrill · « **Reply #47 on:** 16 Oct 2007, 11:21 am »

very very nice guys
you had such a great time

yeah i wish i could have been there too
certainly next year

I await your very specific detailed reports

Carlman · « **Reply #48 on:** 16 Oct 2007, 01:27 pm »

What a great pleasure it was to meet Hugh and Marty! I've spoken to Hugh in emails/PM's for almost 5 years so it was long overdue. I was hoping to get to Oz by now but Denver's closer so, I'll take it!

Thanks for the intellectual chats, Hugh. I found your room very 'comfortable'. It was the sort of room you could just sit back and enjoy the music for hours. Your new amp is EXCELLENT.

I enjoyed swapping digital transports and getting David Ellis' opinion on things as well... His speakers were a treat to hear.

I had a few photos from the event... Enjoy...

Take care and hope it's not so long till I see you all again,

Carl

Felipe · « **Reply #49 on:** 16 Oct 2007, 01:41 pm »

Guys,

For those that did NOT attend the show...wouldn't it be nice that those who DID, post some pictures ?

Come on, lets put some faces on those names !! Both humans and electronics aa

Filipe

twitch54 · « **Reply #50 on:** 16 Oct 2007, 02:51 pm »

Quote from: Felipe on 16 Oct 2007, 01:41 pm

Guys,

For those that did NOT attend the show...wouldn't it be nice that those who DID, post some pictures ?

Come on, lets put some faces on those names !! Both humans and electronics aa

Filipe

Come on over to the "MartinLoganOwners.com" , we have lots of great photo coverage of the event !!

mgalusha · « **Reply #51 on:** 16 Oct 2007, 09:23 pm »

Just wanted to say what a pleasure it was to finally meet Hugh and Martin. I'm very glad you could make it out for the show and I really liked the sound provided by the combination of the new amp and speakers. Very nice.

Mike

EdwardWest · « **Reply #52 on:** 16 Oct 2007, 10:53 pm »

Quote from: SuperMart on 15 Oct 2007, 03:02 pm

Aw shucks, George,

It was more than a pleasure to meet you, see David for the first time, meet Lonewolfy, Doug, Vern (who is a bear of a man, bigger than me, with a grin about a mile wide!!), Ed West (thanks Ed for your tireless support and sincere friendship), Frank Van Alstine, Wayne of Bolder - identities of great warmth Marty and I can never forget. Thanks a million for your praise, it means a lot to me and David.

This has been the experience of a lifetime, sincerely, sounds a bit overstated, but it is definitively the truth.

[snip]

Hugh,

It was a distinct pleasure to spend time with you, and help you out the little bit that I did. This show has been a true highlight for me, as I spent quality time with numerous luminaries of the audio community. (Hugh included, of course!)

Your Soraya amplifier is simultaneously powerful, refined and musical - a wonderful accomplishment. It would seem that you have combined the best that SS and Valves have to offer.

I hope the rest of your trip goes as well as the RMAF

Your Friend,
Edward

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #53 on:** 17 Oct 2007, 05:39 am »

SuperMart....

Quote

Chris - now that you have left it's possible to get a beer at the bar before the date on my watch changes. Thanks a million for your generous gift of those three test NY Audio rave CD's - especially the one which sounds like rare birds are being slaughtered. You are an ambassador for all that is great about AC- giving, drinking and leaning. By way of explanation - we wore our black suits because Hugh and I are also attending an undertakers convention in Miami this week - sorry if we looked like the CIA because we are actually members of the UAA. Our accountant is jubilant at the size of our tax loss this year so I can guarantee you that we will be back in '08 - in our Bermuda shorts this time. A special thanks to all the folks that came into our room and looked at the back of David's speakers - I can assure you all that a back panel is included with every cabinet - it prevents the crossover from falling out.

Missing you already.Don't go changing.
Marty and Hughie "Motor Mouth" Dean.

Funny stuff Marty.......thanks...

Chris

avahifi · « **Reply #54 on:** 17 Oct 2007, 04:23 pm »

I just wanted to say thank you for using our Ultra DAC in your room for the RMAF.

Combined with your outstanding Aspen amplifier and Dave Ellis's very astonishing 1801 speakers, the room was one of very few that had the "magic" sound I insist upon but rarely hear.

I was pleased to hear that the Ultra DAC did well driving the Aspen amp directly with a passive volume control. We had not tried that before, had computed that it should work well, but were happy to hear it actually did well in person.

My great pleasure to meet you in person. This will motivate me to plan a trip to Australia, part of the earth I have missed so far.

Best regards,

Frank Van Alstine

AKSA · « **Reply #55 on:** 17 Oct 2007, 10:02 pm »

Hi Frank,

Thank you for your kind post!! We like you too, Baby!!

Your kindness giving us both an Ultra-DAC (which I liked SO much I have ordered, folks!!) and a CD player with a digital out. Frank, this was seminal kindness, of the type we have experienced on these shores. It was very nice of you and I thank you publicly for it!!

I was extremely taken with your amp and Jim's speaks. It is extremely difficult to do a tube front end and SS output stage; you have done it, I gave up on it I will admit, and yours sounded better than any of my past attempts and I believe was in the top sounds at RMAF!!

If my astonishment at seeing America is anything like yours upon seeing Australia, then you definitely should make the trip. Come see me, I will treat you like audio royalty, Sire!!

Good health, Frank, and thanks again,

Hugh

kyrill · « **Reply #56 on:** 18 Oct 2007, 09:16 pm »

Quote from: Carlman on 16 Oct 2007, 01:27 pm

What a great pleasure it was to meet Hugh and Marty! .............
I had a few photos from the event... Enjoy...

Take care and hope it's not so long till I see you all again,

Carl

Hi Carl

your links asks for members only?

AKSA · « **Reply #57 on:** 21 Oct 2007, 05:36 am »

Ed, Mike,

Thanks so much your post, it was an absolute pleasure to meet you both and discuss everything in general and nothing in particular!! I loved my time in Denver, ate and talked far too much, and met people whom I'd known only by reputation or email. For a country guy from Southern Australia it was one of life's great occasions, and I thank you, and others, who made it all possible.

I'm in New York, eating out around Brooklyn with Occam to an early grave. To my astonishment I've found food here is actually cheaper than Australia. Who would have believed?? Incredible..... And walking down the street is a fascination for me as I study the motor vehicles, so many of which I've never seen before. And I love the noises in this town, it's bedlam, and very idiosyncratic. Paul tells me it should be snowing around this time, but the weather has been very humid and quite warm, around 75F. And the air is clean; there is a 500 acre park at the end of his street, just amazing!

Quite a few guys took pictures, very nice photos, too. I'm very sorry I did not, have no camera at present, actually about to buy one both for me and Alessandra, my daugher. Can those who took piccies please put some directly into this forum or the gallery? I'm a bit sheepish about photos myself (I'm not as slim as I was at 21!!) but to put a face to the identities is a real pleasure for all of us.

I'm sorry I've not posted here much these last few days. I have been a little distracted!!

Groan, I have so much work to do on return home!!

Cheers,

Hugh

Brad · « **Reply #58 on:** 21 Oct 2007, 02:12 pm »

Hugh,

Glad to hear you're having a great time here in the ole U.S. of A.
Maybe you'll be inspired to come back to a future RMAF

Enjoy - the work will still be there when you get back.

AKSA · « **Reply #59 on:** 22 Oct 2007, 04:20 am »

Thanks Brad,

Limited time - will get in touch with you when back, much to tell you.

Cheers,

Hugh