Publishers Desk
Check in, upcoming and changes
Two weeks past RMAF and I’m feeling a bit let down. It’s a long time till my next fix, you see, and I’m just starting to feel the withdrawal symptoms. Oh well. Guess there’s always […]
Month: October 2011
RMAF
RMAF 2011: MSB, Silverline
Silverline SR17 stand-mounted loudspeakers ($7500/pair). The two air purifiers — er, amplifiers — between the speakers are the $17.5k MSB Platinum Mono 202 Class A monoblocks. $4k Platinum Data CD IV CD transport (add $995 […]
RMAF 2011
RMAF 2011: Estelon, Bricasti, Zesto, Concert Fidelity
I was immediately star struck. Look at those beautiful shapes! Gorgeous, flowing, white! Then I looked into the high-mounted Accutons and saw … what are those? Eyes? Are these speakers? Or … Schmoos? Har? Okay, […]
RMAF
RMAF 2011: Evolution, darTZeel, Playback, Wave Kinetics, Durand
The first thing that struck me as odd when I walked into the Bluelight Audio room was the setup. Here at last are the darling $2.5k Evolution Acoustics MMMicroOne speakers sitting on their stands, and […]
RMAF
RMAF 2011: German Physiks, Abis, Memory Player
The $15k German Physiks Unlimited Mk II was the center point in this room. Showcasing a carbon-fiber driver, the specs are pretty standard for this price point: 88dB, 40hms, 32Hz-24kHz frequency response. What’s not is […]
RMAF
RMAF 2011: Ypsilon, Lansche, Bergmann
The AAudio room featuring Ypsilon and Lansche was one of my top 5 rooms at the show. The new $45k Lansche No. 5.1 headlined this particular show, sporting their glowing plasma tweeters that generally make […]
RMAF
RMAF 2011: Lowther, Pass, Avid, Bryston
In addition to the very imposing Lowther speakers on display in the the Lowther America room, there was a lot of very interesting Pass Labs gear. And, apparently, a new amp from First Watt: the […]
RMAF
RMAF 2011: Revel, Jones
Here I found $23k Revel Salon 2 loudspeakers driven by new $24k PA-M300 Series 2 Monoblock Amplifier from Jones Audio. This is their first commercial release of a product that’s been in development for the […]
RMAF
RMAF 2011: Thiel, Jeff Rowland
The big $12k Thiel 3.7s, standing there, looking very … ah … masculine. Fronting them was a $13k Model 625 stereo amplifier. Sitting on top of the amp is the $9800 Aeris DAC. This was […]
RMAF
RMAF 2011: Eficion, Exemplar, Stillpoints, LSA
$15k Exemplar Audio XP-1, a fully balanced dual-mono outboard PSU preamplifier, fed into an $11k LSA Statement Integrated amplifier, used as a power amp. The $6500 Exemplar XPH-1 phono stage handled the analog duties.The turntable […]
RMAF
RMAF 2011: Zu, Spatial, Kronzilla
Zu Definition. This speaker is almost iconic and a huge upgrade from their world-class Druid debut. And with all those subwoofers hanging off the back, I (for one) was utterly and immediately enthralled by notion […]
RMAF
RMAF 2011: Pete Riggle’s Woody
Pete Riggle’s new $1600 Woody tonearm. This arm has VTF, Azimuth, anti-skate — and all these adjustments can be done while the record is actually playing! No hex wrenches necessary, just thumbscrews. Shown at RMAF […]
RMAF
RMAF 2011: Living Sounds Audio
Last year, the LSA Statement 1 was one of my favorite products at RMAF. I think they got edged this year in the mini-stand-mount category by the Sjöfn speakers, but only because the Scandinavian monitors […]
RMAF
RMAF 2011: Joseph, Bel Canto, Cardas, VPI, Aurender
Once again! The Joseph Audio room was a bit of a reprise, at least to me, of the room put together for the Capital Audio Fest this past summer. Another sighting of the elusive $12k […]
RMAF
RMAF 2011: Marten, EAR, Townsend
Magic shoes! I remember being impressed last year with the E.A.R./Marten/Townsend room — this year was no different, though the gear was mostly new. Starting with the triangular-profiled $6500 Marten FormFloor loudspeaker, which I thought […]
RMAF
RMAF 2011: Eggleston, Stahl-Tek, Pass Labs and some pretty flowers
Just because. It was actually kind of refreshing to walk into an audio demo room and have the first thing that hit me, visually, was something other than chrome, glass, or polished wood. Well, for […]
RMAF
RMAF 2011: YG, Veloce
I’ve seen Veloce at Axpona and somewhere else and each time have been impressed with the look, feel, and the sound — with all their associated gear. At Axpona, the $18k Veloce LS-1 linestage fronted […]
RMAF
RMAF 2011: Vandersteen, ARC
I got lucky. When I finally managed to swing by the Vandersteen/ARC room, it was nearly empty. Which means yours truly got some serious quality time in the sweet spot. The $50k Vandersteen Model 7 […]
RMAF
RMAF 2011: Sonicweld
The Sonicweld room was a bit of a hoot. The $125k Pulserod system was totally over the top, but still, the sound quality in this room that featured room correction from DEQX was surprising. The […]
RMAF
RMAF 2011: Simaudio, Sonus Faber
Simaudio VP Costa Koulisakis with his hand on an all-silver $8,000 Simaudio Moon Evolution 650d DAC/Transport. This is the unit that Stereophile’s Michael Fremer found to be a world-beater in the November 2011 issue. Heady […]