[capwkidd]

I only heard the cheaper song towers, maybe I will get a chance to hear the bigger ones. What is the special on the Super Fly's? Did they sell the demo Omen's for less than $1k? Also, I think a good budget combo would be the Peachtree Musicbox and the Omens..... just my opinion

I was able to hit most of the rooms I wanted to get to before leaving the show later today.  I enjoyed sledding some time in the Salk room. Everyone was nice and eager to talk and answer questions.  I was really looking forward to hearing the SongTowers, which better than I had expected, running off a very nice AVA 30 watt tube amp.  I also really enjoyed the Emerald Physics room.  It was some of the best sound of what I heard at the show.

Finally, I really enjoyed the Zu Soul Superfly and the Omen.  Enjoyed seeing Ron Williams, who I met last year at a Zu Party I hosted.  I planned on buying the Omens before the show figuring I had 60 days to to try them out.  I spent a lot of time with them in the Peachtree room and they too were better than I expected.  So much so that I bought the black show demo.  When I found out about the offer, I was also considering the Soul Superfly, which I enjoyed as well.  Anyone who wants a nice budget system, get a Peachtree Nova and a pair of Omens.

Some of the best music I heard was a mono version Ben Webster with the Miyajima mono cart on the OMA Anatase turntable in the Rogue room.  I forget the speakers that were in the room.

I almost forgot.  The Selah Monitors I heard were excellent.  I am not sure which model or the electronics but they just disappeared in the room and that was left was the music.

[TheChairGuy]

Alright, I suck - I didn't take a single shot of anything (and the new iPhone camera isn't that shabby for a built-in one ).  But, I have a few comments:

First, I've been audiophool disorder for about 35 years now.  When I fully admitted my disorder a few years ago (and rediscovering the joys of vinyl...while digital began to improve immensely), my symptoms abated.  So, while I was blown away by the show...I was more blown away meeting folks I've dialoged with here at AudioCircle for almost a decade for some.

Dinner with Tyson, Pez and woodsyi (along with a non-Audio Circle buddy of mine of over 34 years that flew in from SoCal that joined us) was a hoot.  Drinking at 5000 feet is quite an experience my dendrites won't forget - ouch

If any of you are there today (Sunday) and want to hear a thought-provoking talk, my RPI-educated EE and National Sales Manager for Audio Precision test instruments and bud of 34 years from SoCal is speaking. 

His topic is 'Lies, Damn Lies, & Specifications' is really thought-provoking.  Jon Novick, my bud, did the presentation for me on Saturday morning as a run-thru....it's quite thought-provoking as to what all these specs mean (and don't mean).  Non-EE's: It was sufficiently dumbed down so that non-Techies, such as myself, could carry the basic theme home.

Sunday, October 17, 2010
Aspen Amphitheater
12:30 p.m.
60 min

So many fine people met, or seen again, there from AudioCircle.  Unfortunately, quite a few were met at at pre-dinner cocktails Friday nite.  Being a lightweight and drinking at 5000 feet make for hazy recollections, sadly, so while I'm not sure I could tag a face to the nickname, it was nonetheless wonderful meeting so many of you there

As I was at the Tech Center for a day and a quarter, I didn't get to meet everyone I planned to.  Two conspicuous absentee misses for me was Mike Galusha, and Paul 'Occam' Kaplan, (and Scott F. if he was there and I didn't know it) both known for many years here, will have to be remedied in future years

Oops, I missed TONEPUB/Jeff Dorgay, too, and was planning to meet him

Perhaps later I'll share some thoughts on some of the rooms that made an impression on me.

John

[mbakes]

I only heard the cheaper song towers, maybe I will get a chance to hear the bigger ones. What is the special on the Super Fly's? Did they sell the demo Omen's for less than $1k? Also, I think a good budget combo would be the Peachtree Musicbox and the Omens..... just my opinion

The SongTowers I heard had the ribbon tweeter, not sure if anything else was an upgrade other than the veneer.  I thought the Zu speakers had some of the vest sound staging of the show, certainly at there price level.  I've given up trying to explain in any great detail how something sounds.  I'm just not real good at it.  Many of the rooms I visited, the music just seemed dead, without emotion,  the rooms I liked were the ones that got my toes tapping.  The Zu rooms were just a couple that had that effect.

Get the JH 13.  I bought mine more than a year ago and it may be the best audio purchase I have made.

[twitch54]

Drinking at 5000 feet is quite an experience my dendrites won't forget - ouch

John, that's a piece of cake, try it @ 10,000 plus (Leadville, Co for example), two beers @ lunch and I had trouble walking !!

Sounds like it was a good show again this year, sorry I missed it, did you run into Wayner ?

[bpape]

Rick's (Selah) monitors certainly did sound very nice and extremely coherent.  I was very impressed with the reproduction of piano which is notorious for being difficult to do right.

Haven't had much of a chance to wander around this year. We've had a full room pretty much all weekend. 

Made a change last night.  Anybody that's still here in Denver, make sure to stop by.  The Soundscapes are sounding better than ever.  We're in the Iris room.  Stop by and say hi.

Bryan

[woodsyi]

It's been great show so far.  I have't hit all the rooms yet.  I have been trying to make it a point to visit all the rooms with AC connections.  I will catch GR Research and Salk room today.  I am here until the end today. 

Meeting guys for the first time in person has been the greatest experience so far.  Rooming with Big Red Machine has been a hoot too.  Great dinner at Shanahans with Tyson, Pez and TCG.  A bottle of CDP to start and a Brunello to finish with a Wagyu steak was fabulous.  Second night at an Italian restaurant with Ted b, BRM, TomS among others was good too. 

Some of the most impressive rooms that sticks in my mind are Vandy 7, TAD Ref 1 as well as the monitor at another room.  TAD kicks butt.  Soundsmith's Strain Gauge once again impressed despite bad room arrangement.  Daedalus Ulysses were everywhere.  The one with First Sound preamp and Berning OTL had the most cohesion.  Ulysses with the Bow mated to Modwright amps and Wayne1's SB touch/EE DAC was impressive as well.  Joseph Audio Pearl2 and Wilson Sophia were good too.  The unsuspecting winner IMMO is the Purity Audio room with Rethm speakers augmented by RAAL dipole ribbons.  Bill's Silver Statement preamp is quite the real deal.  I didn't come intending to buy anything but I may have to get this one.  And I already have a MBL and an Aesthetix preamp.   

[TheChairGuy]

Sounds like it was a good show again this year, sorry I missed it, did you run into Wayner ?

He wasn't with Frank van Alstine this year ( I asked); so, unless he went solo without telling me, I don't think he was there 

John

[capwkidd]

Funny dealer quote... "The retail is x, the show special is y, and since you live near by, just drive a truck over and I'll give you a really good price", talking about a pair of speakers I liked

[Scott F.]

Two conspicuous absentee misses for me was Mike Galusha, and Paul 'Occam' Kaplan, (and Scott F. if he was there and I didn't know it) both known for many years here, will have to be remedied in future years

Hiya John,

I wish I could have attended this year but work got in the way...which in today's climate, is a very good thing.

Get this, believe it or not, after attending with me last year, my wife was wanting to attend again and was disappointed we weren't going. I guess that means we're going for sure next year  Since there was a large St Louis contingent plus a number of people we know from traveling around our fine country, she felt right at home. It also helps that we regularly hang out with Bryan (bpape) and his lovely wife Sue. Although the girls didn't spend a lot of time in any of the rooms, they spent plenty of time Downtown shopping and hitting the spas.

I know Mike is wandering around somewhere there. I don't which day is his but he mentioned the other day that he was working the Check In Desk for about four hours for CAS (Co audio Society). Not sure if Paul is roaming the halls, I haven't talked to him in a few weeks.

Anyway, wish we were there this year. 

Pez, Tyson, Laura and everybody else who are posting pics and reports, MUCHO THANKS for taking some of your show time to keep all of us that can't attend up to date almost in the real time 

[jtwrace]

Funny dealer quote... "The retail is x, the show special is y, and since you live near by, just drive a truck over and I'll give you a really good price", talking about a pair of speakers I liked

...and the speaker is?

[capwkidd]

I thought I would leave that part out... but he is in San Diego... I actually forget the company name right now....

...and the speaker is?

[capwkidd]

Any chance someone could post pics of Pez, Tyson and Laura? I have been taking allot of pictures myself, and will post later in the week (fingers crossed). Also, is Laura the one with the broken camera?

[jtwrace]

Any chance someone could post pics of Pez, Tyson and Laura? I have been taking allot of pictures myself, and will post later in the week (fingers crossed). Also, is Laura the one with the broken camera?

Post #32 in THIS thread will answer some of your questions.   

[bunky]

could someone please take pictures of the Purity Audio room ?  thanks....WCW III

[Pez]

How awesome is RMAF this year? I'll tell you. I just woke up (9 am) at home because of probably one of te most amazing listening sessions I have ever had went until 3 am. I wake up to my phone ringing and a fellow ACer asking 'where are you???'

I will post some impressions from last night as well as more pics at some point today because it... was.... awesome!!!! (thumbs up smiley guy)

[Hugh]

If you guys are still around today, stop by Room 542.

So far, the responses we have received have been tremendous.

[Nuance]

Pez,

You are really making me wish I had stayed!

It was a real pleasure meeting all of the AC members, especially, Pez, Tyson, kshep, Stew, Big Red Machine, Jim, Mary, Laura, etc.  I had a real blast and heard some of the "world's best." 

I am in complete agreement with Pez that the Daedalus room sounded leagues better with the Modwright gear on Saturday.  I poked my head into the Daedalus room Friday evening and walked right out; but Saturday was a completely different experience.  The sound was so much more coherent and musical; a big thumbs up to Daedalus and also Dan Modwright.  Dan's electronics are gorgeous to listen to AND look at; a win win for me.  His new LS100 preamp is on my short list and is almost as nice as the LS 36.5, in my opinion. 

Sorry folks, no pictures, but some of my favorites were:

Vandersteen Model 7's: These speakers sounded better on Friday than Saturday, perhaps because they were spinning vinyl and their choice of musical tracks were much more appealing to me.  The front end consisted of almost all Audio Research gear, one of my favorite tube component manufacturers.  The 7's have a midrange so gorgeous that hardly any other speaker could keep up IMO.  The voices were clear and energetic, and just floated in time and space.  The same can be said of the Dynaudio C4's and Salk SoundScape's, but the Vandies slightly edged them out.  In case you already didn't know, I am a huge fan of a well implimented ribbon tweeter, and this speaker was one of few that didn't leave me wanting for more in the HF department.  I don't know how Richard does it, but his dome tweeter(s) was among the best tweets I heard at the show.  And the bass...wow!  Let's just say those dual opposed 12-inch active woofers (in each speaker) won't ever leave you wanting!   

Dynaduio C4's: This is one of three speakers that I could consider my be all, end all speaker.  I do feel the midrange was more musical and engaging on the Vandersteen's, but the C4's were more consistent with the various listening positions I chose in the room, with a great overall tone.  Off-axis FR stayed linear, which is a pinnacle part of designing a speaker properly, IMO.  I found nothing offending with the C4's, and was very engaged by their ability to image and throw a very wide, deep soundstage.  This is a speaker I'll never be able to afford but will dream about regularly.

Salk SoundScape's: For me, these speakers provided the best sound stage depth of any speaker at the show.  To be fair the speakers did resided in one of the largest and properly treated rooms, so that probably helped.  Nonetheless, the SoundScape's hung with the big boys, costing a quarter of the latter's asking prices.  They threw a nice, wide sound stage and imaged like a son-of-a-gun.  The midrange was spectacular; uncolored, extracting every detail possible.  Those dual passive radiators also helped achieve some great bass depth without the usual overhang or port noise found in most bass reflex designs (I assume that is why Salk chose this design instead).  Finally, the build quality was unmatched by any other vendor.  If price was of insignificance to me I'd take the Dyn's or Vandies over these speakers, but considering the SoundScape's $14,000 price tag I thought they represented one of the best values at the show, if not the best.

Daedalus (see above, but in short: great speaker, with a build quality that rivaled the Salk's.  Paired with the right electronics these speakers will have you grinning from ear to ear).

Acoustic Zen Crescendo: In my opinion these speakers are a steal!  The easily filled the room with a wall of sound, providing tight, punchy bass and wonderful imaging.  The midrange was clear and well defined, and the ribbon tweeter sounded oh so smooth and sweet.  I would really love to audition these speakers in a larger listening area.

Evolution Acoustics MMMiniTwo: The fit and finish on these speakers rivaled some of the best, and the down-firing active subwoofer (one in each speaker) was a nice treat.  Considering the room size the MiniTwo's threw a nice soundstage, with very commendable depth.  Imaging was precise and the mids were detailed and musical.  The top end walked the line of being too hot, but this is forgivable considering the sparse room treatments.  All in all I really liked this speaker, albeit a steep asking price of $27,000/pair. 

More to come later; football starts soon! 

[vinyl_guy]

More pics later today including the Purity room. It's a great show. There is a pic with me in it earlier in this thread. Right now I'm enjoying breakfast with my 13 month old grandson.

Laura

[eclein]

Anybody get a chance to sit with the Zu Omens and have any thoughts??

[Nuance]

Anybody get a chance to sit with the Zu Omens and have any thoughts??

I don't remember which speakers Zu had on display (the Omens?), but they were pleasant sounding.  We listened to a lot of gear at a pretty quick pace, but I do recall liking what Zu had to offer.