Well finally I'm back from my road trip and have some time to catch up. After the show I visited my parents, with the hope of moving my step-father (a retired Marine aviator) home from the nursing home he's been in for a few weeks. That ended up not working out.
Anyway, I greatly appreciate all the encouragement and support from show attendees, especially including fellow industry members. My apologies for not getting around to other rooms - I was solo in the room, as my wife couldn't make it and Richard Gray was unable to attend and share the room with me at the last minute.
I'm not sure why DDS didn't show up and display horns in my room, but the last time I talked to Rusty he was sick so I suspect that played a part.
Seth, thank you VERY MUCH for bringing your amazing little amps to my room there towards the end! You helped nail down a sale for me - the buyer said that he'd now heard my speaker on three very different amps. I am VERY excited to be using the Virtue Audio One.2 integrated amp in my demo system - it punches way, way, above its weight class.
http://store.virtueaudio.com/product-p/vrtu-ia-vatwo.2-pbf-1.htmMichael, from Virtue's website it looks like you had a hand in developing the amp, and it's just amazing for either the size or the price. I have wanted to be able to recommend a really high-end affordable amplifier to go with my speakers, and now I can.
Jeffrey, thank you so much for allowing me to use your incredible breadboarded amp in my system. My room traffic was very high the whole time your amp was in play, topping out at fifteen people for a while there and probably averaging around ten or so. I don't think my room traffic has ever been that high even at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, and I certainly hope it helped you out as well.
http://www.hifiheroin.blogspot.com/For most of the show I had Uriah Daily's little "Lighter Note" light-dependent-resistor-based passive preamp hooked up first to the power amp section of my NAD, and later to Jeffrey's amp. I ended up placing an order for the kit, which is a screaming bargain at $170 not including the case.
http://www.buildanamp.com/Lighter-Note-Kit-ALL-YOU-NEED-Backordered-til-June-30th-LighterNote-KIT.htmMy show pair of Rhythm Prisms were delivered to their new owner a couple of hours after the show, and another order was placed by someone whose opening line to me was "I don't like horn speakers, but...". I consider that a very high compliment, as one of the primary challenges is to take advantage of the things a horn does well without the speaker sounding like a horn. I was apprehensive before the show because, while I try to be very critical of my own work in the design stage, there's always the possibilty that I'm hearing through rose-colored glasses and overlooking a significant coloration. Since neither the horn nor woofer I'm working with are ideal (such doesn't exist at this price point), I had to make several judgment calls in the course of "voicing" the speaker. Very gratifying to hear your encouraging remarks here and at the show.
From the LSAF2010 thread: "...some of the very best sound at the show. Human voices were so amazingly real, and the whole set up just had a really musical vibe if you will to the whole thing. Was happy to have been lucky enough to have experienced that room."
From the same thread: "Duke's speakers - he'll need to tell about this new model - were sweet and delicate and lithe on Simon and Garfunkle Live in Central Park and as dynamic, clean and hugely emotional on Hugh Masekela's Stimela as anytime I've heard that tune with the little Lighter Note preamp and, get this, powered by the amplifier in a small NAD integrated. Seriously, they played both these live recordings like they were made for them with generous sized imagery and space."
From a post on the Virtue Audio forum, referring to the Rhythm Prisms: "Those were the smoothest horn speakers I have ever heard."
From an e-mail I received from an electronics designer/manufacturer: "Fantastic sound. For me I have not heard speakers that were more 'relaxing'. Honestly they were so damn smooth."
So in that manufacturer's experience anyway, my 2.5 grand horn speaker is the most relaxing (or tied for the most relaxing). I'm kinda proud of that, as long-term fatigue-free listening is one of my top priorities, and it's not achieved in a horn speaker without a lot of attention being paid to the crossover design.
June 9, 2010 edit:
Here is a photo from my room at Lone Star, taken by and used courtesy of Albert Porter:
Thank you, Albert!
