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faberryman
Founder and Site Administrator
Joined: April 2009
Posts: 2945
Location: Nashville, TN
 
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Post subject: RMAF 2009 Coverage
I have just finished Day 2 at the Rocky Mountain Audiofest. I am going back tomorrow as well. I have lots of photos to share and will get them posted as soon as I can. For others who are attending, be sure to post your photos and comments here. Thanks.
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oneobgyn
Joined: April 2009
Posts: 2045
Location: Danville, CA
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Post subject: Re: RMAF 2009 Coverage
So what's the buzz from RMAF?
I've seen many of the pix from other sites and I must admit there were vendors there that I have never heard of.
From these photos I also saw mainly entry level and/or midfi gear and only a handful of high end gear.
Which room sounded best?
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faberryman
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Location: Nashville, TN
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Post subject: Re: RMAF 2009 Coverage
There was so much audio gear and so many people, it was unbelievable. Lots of manufacturers I had never heard of but who were showing beautifully made components. I saw no mid-fi gear other than the occasional inexpensive CD player being used as a transport. I'm not sure that I know what "entry-level" means, but there were components in many different price ranges, including those which were uber-expensive.
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oneobgyn
Joined: April 2009
Posts: 2045
Location: Danville, CA
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Post subject: Re: RMAF 2009 Coverage
And so which was the best sounding room?
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faberryman
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Location: Nashville, TN
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Post subject: Re: RMAF 2009 Coverage
I think it is impossible to say which was the best sounding room. Give the small, generally untreated, rooms and the constant flow of attendees, it was not a venue to do any serious listening. My general impression was that the vast majority of the speakers were too bright. I think this may have been a result, in large part, of the lack of side wall absorption panels to reduce first reflections, but I attribute it in no small measure to certain speaker manufacturers catering to audiophiles who confuse a tipped-up treble with better detail. Nevertheless, if pressed, I would say the speakers which most appealed to me were the Analysis Plus Omega quasi-ribbon/ribbon speakers ($22,000/pair). These are the big brother to Carl's (cjfrbw) Analysis Audio Epsilons. They were powered by Ayon Audio's MK1000 monoblocks ($3900/pair) controlled by a Sonus Veritas Genoa ($7995) line stage. Source was the ubiqutous PS Perfectwave transport and DAC ($2995 each).
analysisaudio1.JPG [ 73.56 KiB | Viewed 260 times ]
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analysisaudio3.JPG [ 85.35 KiB | Viewed 260 times ]
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oneobgyn
Joined: April 2009
Posts: 2045
Location: Danville, CA
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Post subject: Re: RMAF 2009 Coverage
Having heard Carl's Analysis Epsilon speakers many times and knowing how good they sound I bet the larger ones must have sounded fantastic
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RBFC
Joined: April 2009
Posts: 259
Location: Albuquerque, NM
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Post subject: Re: RMAF 2009 Coverage
Shades of the old Apogee speakers (visually, at least).
Lee
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oneobgyn
Joined: April 2009
Posts: 2045
Location: Danville, CA
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Post subject: Re: RMAF 2009 Coverage
IMO they sound better than the old Apogees.
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JimS
Joined: September 2009
Posts: 5
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Post subject: Re: RMAF 2009 Coverage
It is hard to pick out which room was the best, there were many which sounded great... some not so much.
This was the first time I heard the big YG Acoustics Anat Reference IIs and I was pretty damn impressed by them.
I also REALLY enjoyed the Merlin VSM/Joule-electra system featuring the Destiny monos, andthe Marianne Memorial preamp. This was magical IMO.
A few other memorable systems include:
Joseph Audio Pearls driven by Bel Canto gear
Just about all the systems featuring Atma-Sphere stuff, especially the Classic Audio T-1.3 giagantic horn loaded speakers driven by a pair of M-60 MKIIIs. I'm not a fan of horns but this system was pretty special to my ears.
So many more but I can't remember right now... but those stuck out to me.
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faberryman
Founder and Site Administrator
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Location: Nashville, TN
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Post subject: Re: RMAF 2009 Coverage
I heard the YG Acoustic Anats on Friday and was unimpressed. They must have been setup incorrectly as they did not image well, including a lack of center image regardless of where I sat. Hopefully they got that corrected for Saturday and Sunday.
The interesting thing about the Classic Audio T-1.3 is that they use field coil magnets (electromagnets) which require a separate DC power source. Ralph Karsten explained to me that when a driver moves within a normal magnet the magnetic field behind it collapses, which leads to distortion. Field coil magnets eliminate that problem since the magnetic field remains constant as the driver moves. Who knew?
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Ben Ober
Joined: October 2009
Posts: 29
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Post subject: Re: RMAF 2009 Coverage
Sorry to say but I have heard the YG on Sat and was very disappointed as well. Maybe Sun was a better day. Loved the Classic Audio though…
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JoeG
Joined: July 2009
Posts: 24
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Post subject: Re: RMAF 2009 Coverage
I thought the Ypsilon/Bergmann/Tidal room had a very nice synergy going on. Friday I thought the Bergmann TT was severely lacking in the bass department, but by Sunday, things really began to gel nicely.
The Nola (Alon) speakers playing back Tape Project tapes on the United Audio deck sounded very nice as well (disclaimer: I'm TP biased)
From a purely soul stirring/visceral impact perspective, Ray Kimber's Iso-Mic demo was really something. Sunday morning, early, Ray was playing back all kinds of things, including Bach's Choral work "Come Sweet Death" and the "Trio Elegy" of Rachmaninoff, along with some large scale orchestral work, performed outside, by a marching band, of all things! All the while I was in the sweet spot, looking at a pair of JBL Everest speakers, flanked by a quad of Mark Levinson amps, thinking: "I'm not hearing that cupped hands, in-your-face effect of horns". I mentioned it to Ray in between cuts, and he said "That's because they're not playing. You are listening to the Sony speakers next to them, powered by the Pass Labs amps."A modest looking, four driver, floor stander from Sony that created some of the biggest dynamics, intimacy, and sense of scale I have every heard from any loudspeaker. They are a special project from Japan, currently not imported to the US. Ray had the Sony designer with him and he explained that they grow their own maple trees for the creation of the front baffle, the rest of the speaker from Norway Birch (Baltic Birch, I assume). The drivers are sourced from Scan-Speak to their precise specifications and have a retail of around $20,000.00. This one bears watching...
I spent time in the Veloce audio room on two occasions (Veloce amps, line stage, phono stage, VYGER Baltic M TT, Esoteric CD player, Gemme Katana loudspeakers) The Veloce electronics are all battery powered units, designed toward the goal of not limiting dynamics on battery. I would be interested in getting others take on that room..
It was cool to meet Frank Berryman in person, at the HP talk on Friday night.
I thought the overall turn-out from both attendees and exhibitors was down over years past.
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oneobgyn
Joined: April 2009
Posts: 2045
Location: Danville, CA
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Post subject: Re: RMAF 2009 Coverage
Thanks Joe. That's the type of review I like. It seems Kimber's Isomike always gets great reviews
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faberryman
Founder and Site Administrator
Joined: April 2009
Posts: 2945
Location: Nashville, TN
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Post subject: Re: RMAF 2009 Coverage
Before I start posting more photos, I want to make a few observations and suggestions. The first suggestion is to me. I need a higher resolution camera and a decent flash. I had either too little light or the flash reflected off the faceplate of the component in many photos obscuring detail. And now for others:
1. In selecting a venue for next year's show, the organizers should pay particular attention to the carpet. The Marriott had really ugly carpet as you will see. How is high-end gear going to look cool in that environment?
2. For many of the exhibitors, this was their fifth appearance. By now they should know exactly how the rooms are configured and also should know the number and types of bass traps and absorption/diffusion panels they will need for the best sound. There is no excuse for an exhibitor resorting to hanging a bedspread on the wooden headboards permanently attached to the wall and hoping for the best.
3. Each exhibitor should bring a rack and set up his equipment properly. Using the floor or a hotel folding table to support equipment is simply unprofessional. Dressing the cables instead of just leaving them jumbled up would make for a better presentation. Ideally each room should be shared by a rack company, an acoustic treatment company, a power conditioning company, a cable company, an equipment company and a speaker company.
4. Rent some plants and put them behind your setup. The hotel offers this service. It's cheap and it will make the room look good and serve as absorption/diffusion for back wall reflections.
5. Have a sheet listing all the equipment you have in the room with model numbers and prices. That's useful information for attendees when they get back home and their memory begins to cloud. There were over a hundred rooms of equipment from countless exhibitors. Nobody will be able to keep straight what they saw and heard for long.
All this may sound petty, but it is important, particularly in today's economy. Many of the exhibitors don't sell through dealers, or if they do, their exposure is spotty. They need to take advantage of the opportunity to put their best foot forward for hundreds and hundreds of potential customers who otherwise would never have a clue they exist and are unlikely to have another opportunity to see and hear their gear. It just make sense. Remember, you only have one chance to make a good first impression.
And now, on to the photos.
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faberryman
Founder and Site Administrator
Joined: April 2009
Posts: 2945
Location: Nashville, TN
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