MiTT's 2011 RMAF Show Report

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MiTT

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It's here!

I'll be posting similar to last year, more or less real time from my iPad as I formulate my thoughts going from room to room. Then in the evenings I'll upload photo's that I'd snapped through the day.

Looks like it's going to be a great show - huge turnout at the front desk to get badges right at 11:30. It's a beautiful, sunny 80 degree Indian Summer day in Denver I've already dropped some bucks on new software, now off to the rooms!
 

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Acapella & Einstein

Acapella and Einstein are showing together again as they gave for the past few years. John Rutter's " Requiem" sounded very impressive - as it should coming through $83K speakers!
 

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Venture and BMC

The next room featured the Venture Grand Ultimate speakers and the new to me BMC electronics. The BMC amps look great and sound very smooth driving the Venture's. Stevie Ray Vaughn was very present in the sweet spot. $90K for the speakers and $15K for the amps with similar pricing for the preamp and cd player, although they we playing off of an iPad interfaced music server when I was in the room.
 

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Empirical Audio, Mach 2 and YGA

The YGA Kipod II's were being driven by Parasound amp's in this room. The basis of the system though is the Mach 2 music server based on a high end Apple mini platform, run through the Emperical Audio Solid Bronze Overdrive Ultra DAC - very literally milled out of a block of solid bronze.
 

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Analysis Audio

The Analysis Audio Omega speakers were paired with Arion Audio HS-500 mono block class D amps and a slew of Sonus Veritas electronics including the Genoa line stage and Venice phonostage. They were playing Brubeck's "Time Out" on a VPI Classic III with a Soundsmith Sussurro cartridge. The sound was great, although a little dry for my taste. Still though, I sat through the whole cut quite happily.
 

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Tri-Planar

Some new Tri-Planar tonearms to drool over. The Stahl-Tek CD transport And companion DAC reminded me of Boulder electronics as far as their aesthetic, but nowhere near the same level fit and finish. Matched with some Atmosphere amps and Classic Audio Design speakers though the music sounded very good indeed
 

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Esoteric

The new 1 box Esoteric K-01 sounded great with Jack Johnson and Cheryl Crow when I was in the room. If I were in the market for a $23,500 disc player this one would tempt me!
 

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Devialet

Wow, it sure is a pretty piece of audio jewelry! Paired here with a pair of mid line Focal speakers playing Shirley Horn it sounded pretty darn good. For a one box solution to virtually all your audio needs (hooked up to a streaming source computer) , the D-Premier could be the real deal. Very clean, detailed and dynamic. While $16K for a piece of gear sounds a little steep, this would be all you need with a set of speakers and you're done.
 

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Ayon Audio & Lumen White

Tubes, tubes, tubes and more tubes. Combined with these Lumen White speakers the Ayon gear is a match made in heaven. WOW this system sounds good! Quite possibly my favorite sound of the show so far playing some awesome Ray Brown!
 

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Oracle

The always beautiful Oracle gear was spinning French Canadian artist Anne Bisson, who was in the room and I was fortunate to meet her and get an autographed copy of her CD "Blue Mind". Some of the best Industrial Design ever playing a beautiful vocalist. The speakers were Induction Dynamics and all cables were Kimber.
 

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emm labs, Sony and the IsoMike recordings

emm labs was once again paired with Pass amps and Sony speakers demonstrating the multiple channel isoMike recordings. This was a very fun room as always. If you haven't heard any of the isoMike recordings they present as HUGE a sound field as I've ever heard. Imagine standing in the middle of a marching band on a football field and you'll get the idea - that's exactly what this recording was.
 

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Sanders

Nothing new here really, just the same amazing sound that Mr. Roger Sanders always seems to get out his speakers. If there is one thing that the Sanders do amazingly well it's dynamics. Always impressive and always fun. The 13.5K asking price for the 10C speakers includes one of the Sanders 500W stereo amps.
 

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YG Acoustics and Tenor Audio

The YG Acoustic Anat Reference continues to impress me from one year to the next. Paired here with the hybrid Tenor mono blocks they were playing Chris Issacs when I first came into the room, then some really cool Sweedish jazz by the Esbjorn Svennsen Trio. Incredible deep soundstage, strong dynamics, very engaging. A very high dollar system, but it sounded like it would be well worth it if you could afford the price of admission. Another of my favorite rooms thus far.
 

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YG Acoustics and Devialet

In the next room the small YG Carmel's were matched the Devialet integrated I mentioned above, again with very impressive results. The Carmel's sound much bigger than their apparent size.
 

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Eggleston Works and Stahl-Tek

The small Eggleston Works Fontaine speakers were driven by a Pass amp being fed by another of the Stahl-Tek Vekian DAC's. Music was a Diana Krall track I'd never heard before of her doing the Beatles "All My Love". Nice!
 

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D'Agastino & Wilson

The amazing looking Dan D'Agastino mono block amps were driving a pair of Wilson Sasha's in this room. These amp's are very much reminiscent of some of the Electron Luv gear in it's overall look - very sort of art deco with the large cyclops like meters on the front and the predominant show of copper in the chassis. I think they are simply stunning! It wouldn't matter if they sounded like poop though, which they definitely didn't driving the Sasha's. I spent a good bit of time here listening to everything under the sun. I would love to hear a pair of these in my room driving my CLS's.
 

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Audio Note

I just don't get Audio Note. To my ears their less expensive gear always sounds better than their high end stuff. Here you have an all Audio Note system comprised of the An- E Signature speakers ($66.5K), the Kegon amps ($109K), the M9 phono stage ($135K), the CDT- Five transport ($49.5K) with Fifth Element DAC ($140K). Sure it sounded good, but it should have made me soil myself for this kind of dough. I liked it, but shouldn't I have been head over heels?

Edit: I just added the above up- that is a HALF MILLION DOLLAR SYSTEM!!! More if you factor in cables and stands. WOW (scratching head).
 

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Concert Fidelity & Kaiser Acoustics

This system isn't cheap either, but when they were playing Duke Ellington on the modified vintage Denon turntable with a Shelter cartridge I was immediately engaged. I'd heard the Kaiser Kawero! speakers at previous shows, but they sounded better to me this time than ever before. The Concert Fidelity electronics I'm sure contributed. There's $84K worth of their electronics here, plus another $66K for the speakers.
 

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DeHavilland

Nothing of overriding interest here, good sound and good music. I was mostly intrigued by the Ampex 350 RTR deck and the wonderfully named "Woody" tonearms.
 

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