Rmaf 2013

Who's going? We have five of us from our local audio meets going, sb6 (Steve) and myself included. I suggest getting your hotel reservations now, as the hotel we're staying at was getting full. It would be nice to meet some more MLO members and see my friends again.

I'm in as always Steve. Wouldn't miss it!

I will look into plane tickets/hotel/car rental soon. Let me see if this is doable financially. I recently sold my house and moved and that ate up a ton of my disposable income (had to get another car too in May...ugh).

Erik

I don't know why, but tickets to Denver are between $500-$600. Sheesh! I might be better off going to a local audio show (Capitol Audio Fest for instance). This trip may set me back nearly $1000 and that's a lot for just a two day adventure. I guess I will have to rely on Tim to update us once again with his awesome commentary and pictures.

Erik, sorry you can't make it, but luckily, with Tim's coverage and all the other websites' coverages, you'll still get to see a lot of the gear! For the first time, I'm going to make it over to the Hyatt, as they will have some extreme setups over there. One of them will be the Wilson XLFs with two Thor's hammers powered by VTL Siegfrieds!

What happened to the RMAF reviews?

Make sure we get a good show report!

Bernard said:

What happened to the RMAF reviews?

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Why Bernard, they are waiting for you to get off your arse, go to the event and write one!:ROFL:

User211 said:

Why Bernard, they are waiting for you to get off your arse, go to the event and write one!:ROFL:

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But Justin, I'm not as good a pornographer as you!

Turnout at the show was about the lowest I've ever seen. There were some spectacular systems, though. I'm seriously considering the Kuzma Stabi M turntable with the Kuzma 4 Point arm. It is one very impressive device and I had to be careful to not drool over it. Pictures do not do it justice, it is massive and very impressive. Why does it have to cost so much? I am trying to come to grips with buying it rather than the new motorcycle I was about to get. A Dr. Feickert turntable was also playing with the new Axiom tonearm and was also very cool and more reasonably priced. That tonearm is a work of art, with incredible machining.

My vote for most incredible sound of the show was the Wilson XLF, Wilson Thor (2),dcs Vivaldi stack, VTL Siegfried (2) combo, which reproduced a recording of a full orchestra to an amazingly realistic degree. Lansche also had some speakers(8.2 I think) that were incredible and get my vote for 2nd best of show.

Sorry guys. I had to cut my show visit to just Friday and Saturday as I was on a plane to NYC on Sunday. I did take a bunch of photo's that I'll post here as soon as I get a chance, but I just didn't have time for my typical real time posts. I agree with Steve that attendance seemed to be down, but for me that actually worked out well as I rarely had to fight crowds - other than the damn line the first day to get my badge. I spent the bulk of my time over in the Can Jam area truth be told, and I'll have an exciting new bit of equipment to talk about next Tuesday as a result.

I also agree with Steve on the best sound at the show. The Wilson XLF setup was possibly the most realistic sounding system I've ever laid ears on, a truly great demonstration.

More to come as soon as I have some time, with plenty of pictures for you Bernard!

MiTT said:

More to come as soon as I have some time, with plenty of pictures for you Bernard!

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Thanks Tim! Looking forward to them.

I was with Steve at RMAF 2013. Agree, the big Wilsons + subs with VTL amps playing hi-def digital masters was an awesome experience.

My primary goal for attending RMAF was to scope out replacement speakers for my Summits. I hope to migrate to new speakers in the next year or so and have started to hunt down what I'm reading and hearing would suit my needs and budget. Of the list of speakers at RMAF ranging from $16k - $30k/pair, the ones that most drew me in were the TAD Evolution Ones. After owning ribbon speakers and 2 pairs of Martin Logans over the past 10+ years, I think I now realize one of the primary requirements from a speaker for me - driver integration/cohesiveness. After hearing dozens of speakers, it became readily apparent how many speakers don't do this well. The TADs do this in spades with their coaxial designed tweeter/mid. I spent a significant amount of time in both rooms with the TADs and probably would have been content to stay there all day had there not been many rooms with electronics remaining to see/hear. While incredibly unassuming, they were the most musical to me in my budget (assuming purchasing used). My next favorite in my budget was probably the Rockport Aviors, but I found them to be a bit dark, mellow and lacked the utmost in dynamics. TAD and Wilson pics included for your viewing pleasure. View attachment 16615

I know this runs counter to popular opinion... but Wilson's sure look funny. Robotic and disjointed. Just my (sorry, negative) opinion

InterMechanico said:

I know this runs counter to popular opinion... but Wilson's sure look funny. Robotic and disjointed. Just my (sorry, negative) opinion

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I agree with you. I think they look like really ugly rubbish bins. They sound okay though.

InterMechanico said:

I know this runs counter to popular opinion... but Wilson's sure look funny. Robotic and disjointed. Just my (sorry, negative) opinion

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I also agree, the smaller ones as Adam suggest look like old fashion trash cans from an amusement park.............but they do sound good !

amey01 said:

I agree with you. I think they look like really ugly rubbish bins. They sound okay though.

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They do sound OK with the right amps - read amps I like with them I suppose Once tried my 211s on some System 6 but it wasn't a good match.

Yet to hear anything above Sasha/Sophia though... even at Munich.

The smaller ones look OK, it is only the big ones that look... well... a bit shite (and that's being kind LOL).