2008 RMAF Show Coverage From AudioCircle Members

Bill Baker · « **Reply #40 on:** 13 Oct 2008, 03:21 pm »

I am surprised that there was no AC member pictures this year during the show. Anyone out there have pictures they will be posting?

arthurs · « **Reply #41 on:** 13 Oct 2008, 03:23 pm »

Quote from: Response Audio on 13 Oct 2008, 03:21 pm

I am surprised that there was no AC member pictures this year during the show. Anyone out there have pictures they will be posting?

I only took mental pictures Bill, and those got erased with Friday's drinking....

fsimms · « **Reply #42 on:** 13 Oct 2008, 03:36 pm »

I enjoyed the SP Tech Mini's and the Joseph Audio Pearls. The Pearls had a too narrow sweet spot though.

I also liked the Scaena speakers but they didn't play any music that I was familiar with to make a good comparison.

I was also suprised at how the big Focal speakers sounded on the mezzanine. They sounded better that when I heard large Focals before. It must have been the amps.

The Salks sounded better than last year but they were still limited by the small room.

Bob

drphoto · « **Reply #43 on:** 13 Oct 2008, 03:56 pm »

Rodrigo y Gabriella were @ Coachella last year and they played Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" with the entire audience singing the lyrics. One of the stand out moments of the festival.

Tmantn · « **Reply #44 on:** 13 Oct 2008, 03:59 pm »

I thought the show came off really well. I found several new bright spots.

GR Research, i.e. Danny Richie, designs were the class act. The X-Static with the Servo subs were awesome for the price point. Even better was the collaboration with Tyler Acoustics new Decade D1, which was my favorite room at the show. Ty and Danny hit a home run with that speaker.

And of course both the LS-6 with Channel Islands and the LS-9 with the "Big Dodd Monsters" are always good.

To me the LS-6 is still the speaker to beat. For most people, in the majority of most rooms, I believe this is "THE" choice most people should choose. The drivers are so clean and the imaging is as good as you will hear, this speaker just sounds right.

I personally like not being crowded while at the show, it allows you to demo the music.

Travis Manuel

I took some pics but they didn't turn out that well, not really good enough to post.

Big Red Machine · « **Reply #45 on:** 13 Oct 2008, 04:14 pm »

LS6es lasted one week at my house and were sent back. I'm surprised to see your enthusiasm for them.

Is the Decade a speaker?

Scottdazzle · « **Reply #46 on:** 13 Oct 2008, 04:16 pm »

This was the first high end show I've ever attended and it more than lived up to my expectations. Sorry I missed AliG and Zybar, but there were quite a few ACers there. I'm sure they will chime in soon: Mr. Humble, Richidoo, Bigfish.... A big shout out to Lonewolf for "organizing" bar and restaurant time.

One great speaker that deserves its hype is the Reference 3A Grand Veena. IMHO the best sound for the buck at the show. Two great bangs for the buck were the SP Minis and the VMPS SDE. Those $60k Japanese speakers were godawful - I wouldn't buy them at any prce.

I plan to go again next year if we still have an economy then.

AliG · « **Reply #47 on:** 13 Oct 2008, 04:18 pm »

Quote from: Big Red Machine on 13 Oct 2008, 04:14 pm

LS6es lasted one week at my house and were sent back. I'm surprised to see your enthusiasm for them.

Is the Decade a speaker?

Different people have different ears aa aa

A friend of mine just bought a $15k Von Schweikert speakers after listening to it at the show, they're powered by Audiospace preamp/amp. To my ear, that was one of the most unlistenable room (too much high frequency brittleness, and no bass). But my friend thought these speakers were God-sent

Who am I to tell him that his ears are worse then mine??

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #48 on:** 13 Oct 2008, 04:24 pm »

Quote from: Response Audio on 13 Oct 2008, 03:21 pm

I am surprised that there was no AC member pictures this year during the show. Anyone out there have pictures they will be posting?

Hello Bill...

Sorry we couldn't chat a bit....I was at the front desk checking in when Joe handed me the phone...things got a little "screwed up"...

Friday was just a crazy day....

I had asked Captain Humble to take a few photo's ...but we never got around to it...time just flew by....
But I did see many other photographer's "snapping" photos. I sure more will surface.

ssmith · « **Reply #49 on:** 13 Oct 2008, 04:34 pm »

Hi Scotthobby,

I have attended many audio shows in my lifetime and I would have to agree the Reference 3a Grand Veenas are amazing loudspeakers for the price.What I find amazing about them Is in the UK they retail for $16000.00 pounds and here in Canada they only 8000.00 to 9200.00 a pair.Even better value here and there so unrecognized.

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #50 on:** 13 Oct 2008, 04:38 pm »

Quote from: AliG on 13 Oct 2008, 04:18 pm

Different people have different ears aa aa

Having heard many speakers....Barry is correct. There is no "perfect" speaker for everyone....if there was....we'd all own the same one..

Bill Baker · « **Reply #51 on:** 13 Oct 2008, 04:41 pm »

Quote

Sorry we couldn't chat a bit....I was at the front desk checking in when Joe handed me the phone...things got a little "screwed up"...

No problem Chris. It was a pleasure to speak with you if only to say 'hi' for a few seconds.

I'm sure there will be further coverage surfacing over the next few days. It just seems that in previous years, there was more day-to-day coverage.

Zero · « **Reply #52 on:** 13 Oct 2008, 04:44 pm »

Trying not to judge anything at a show like this can be tough. One has to always bear in mind how difficult it would be to uproot your entire system, ship it to a hotel, and basically have one day (or less) to get adequate enough sound out of it to hopefully satisfy hundreds of wanderers... never-mind the noise

That said, I had a good time - and wish I had more time to stop by and see everything.

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #53 on:** 13 Oct 2008, 04:49 pm »

Quote from: Response Audio on 13 Oct 2008, 04:41 pm

Quote
Sorry we couldn't chat a bit....I was at the front desk checking in when Joe handed me the phone...things got a little "screwed up"...

No problem Chris. It was a pleasure to speak with you if only to say 'hi' for a few seconds.

I'm sure there will be further coverage surfacing over the next few days. It just seems that in previous years, there was more day-to-day coverage.

Thanks Bill....same here...

There were a number of NY Ravers there...and we do have a large variety of "tastes"...so I think when they get a chance some will post what they heard...liked or disliked.

arthurs · « **Reply #54 on:** 13 Oct 2008, 04:55 pm »

Quote from: lonewolfny42 on 13 Oct 2008, 04:38 pm

Quote from: AliG on 13 Oct 2008, 04:18 pm

Different people have different ears aa aa

Having heard many speakers....Barry is correct. There is no "perfect" speaker for everyone....if there was....we'd all own the same one..

Couldn't agree more...I'm never surprised when someone's tastes are different from my own....

DaveC113 · « **Reply #55 on:** 13 Oct 2008, 04:56 pm »

Oh yeah... if you need cabling, DH Labs offered distributor pricing at the show (1/2 of retail). Since they didn't have the cable I needed, their rep extended the offer to this week as well. His email is greg [AT] silversonic [DOT] com. I have a new D-75 digital cable on the way...

TomS · « **Reply #56 on:** 13 Oct 2008, 04:57 pm »

Quote from: ssmith on 13 Oct 2008, 04:34 pm

Hi Scotthobby,

I have attended many audio shows in my lifetime and I would have to agree the Reference 3a Grand Veenas are amazing loudspeakers for the price.What I find amazing about them Is in the UK they retail for $16000.00 pounds and here in Canada they only 8000.00 to 9200.00 a pair.Even better value here and there so unrecognized.

I have to second or third the Reference 3a's. FrankS convinced me to go hear them right before I left and I'm glad I did. As a long time Merlin owner, these are a real shot directly at their game. They had great bass, and a very natural, not in your face midrange, with sweet extended highs. Setup was with Quicksilver pre and mono 70's. I could listen to these all day very happily.

KJ · « **Reply #57 on:** 13 Oct 2008, 04:59 pm »

Quote

Off to the airport to kick the RMAF refugee out... and then I have to go back to work. Ugh!

Someone's gotta be the caboose on the train!

This was my first appearance at RMAF, but I enjoyed it more than my past tours of CES. It was great to meet some faces and associate the AC names.

I think exhibitors did a great job making the most of their rooms. Hopefully, those that were window shopping took that into account. If anything, it's a great way to narrow down one's demo list and pinpoint what products to follow up on.

Thanks to Captain Humble for making dinner arrangements Saturday night!

stereocilia · « **Reply #58 on:** 13 Oct 2008, 06:39 pm »

I really enjoyed RMAF, this is the first time I've ever gone. Of course, It was really great to meet everybody from AC. I was amazed at the magnitude of the whole thing, and sensory overload (as somebody mentioned) does really set in. My wife hit her limit on Sunday and went shopping.

I should have snapped pictures. I guess I'm too introverted (or something), but it feels weird for some reason I can't put my finger on to take photos. I also felt weird asking for exhibitors to play non-audiophile approved recordings; I think it may be that musical taste is very personal and nobody wants to be the one to piss off a room full of jazz fans, or for that matter an exhibitor, by playing their favorite Clem Snide tune. So, there was a lot of Norah Jones, Kind of Blue, breathy female vocalist and piano songs. I did hear some moe and Vampire Weekend, so there were exceptions.

I didn't listen to every system, but my favorite sound at the show among those I heard was in the Eventus Audio room: Lysithea speakers, Audio Analogue electronics, and Transparent cable. Everything sounded effortless, natural, and extremely involving--way more than I can afford, but I can dream.

I was also extremely impressed by SP Technology, the speed, immediacy, and live quality of the sound was very striking. The SP Tech fans are really on to something. I felt like I had just left a concert after visiting that room. 1100 Watts of Spectron amplification had something to do with that too, I'm sure.

The Ridge Street/Ultra-Fi room sounded amazing, among the best in my opinion. The only problem is the amps ran out of juice during louder passages, which is too bad because the music really drew me in.

I thought the era and Peachtree room was one of the most fun. Just about everybody who came in asked where the sub was located, and I was not the only one who was shocked to learn it was all coming from the little D5 (I think that was the model), and the price was shockingly low, $1100/pair if I remember correctly.

The av123 x-statics are crazy good for crazy cheap, $799/pair. I could be wrong, but it seemed to me that the hotel room put the listener a little closer than ideal for these speakers, but I thought the sound was quite good even without considering the price.

I was so impressed with the ACI sapphire XL driven by Korato electronics that I bought a pair. This will give me (and my wife) more flexibility in speaker position. This way, I won't have to have a ten foot minimum distance to achieve stellar sound. I would be remiss not to mention the GIK room treatments; I know if I were an equipment manufacturer I would absolutely want to share a room with GIK. Thanks for everything, Bryan (bpape).

Anyway, I'm completely leaving out massive amounts of remarkable stuff, but these are the things that stick out in my mind right now.

joc3721 · « **Reply #59 on:** 13 Oct 2008, 08:12 pm »

I am partial to Blue Circle gear, and I really liked their room. A new preamp (DAC and phono stage to follow) that runs completely on charged capacitors. Totally off the grid, no battery needed, almost infinite charge/recharge cycles. Very impressive technology with real sonic benefits. Gilbert is working on an amp, but it's likely far in the future as cost and short play time are constraints. They also had their new speaker, which is a modified Ohm Walsh omni, very promising.
I thought the most impressive sound at the show was the Scaena at the Hyatt, left me speechless.
Also good was the new top of the line Vienna Acoustics speaker and the German Ascendo.
Hated the horn systems at the show, but I have'nt found a horn I like yet. Some of the waveguide based speakers were OK, but not totally my thing.
Show seemed less crowded. Overall, lots of fun.