Rmaf 2014

Transrotor/Soulution/Focal

Listening to Ramsey Lewis from "The In Crowd" on this big statement system was a Great way for me to end day 1. The Soulution gear sometimes seems a bit dry to me, but maybe I'm just used to listening to colorations that these electronics avoid. The big daddy Focals as always sounded fantastic. There were certain harmonics on the piano that sounded as real as it gets and there is such a deep foundation underpinning everything it's easy to suspend disbelief.

VAC/Focal

I thought I was done for the day, but was drawn by some really beguiling sound to yet another room featuring yet another set of the big Focal Grande Utopia EM's. Listening to these beasts with the VAC Statement front end restored some of the warmth I'd missed with the solid state Soulutions. How amazing to hear these great speakers with completely different world class front ends. If I had the $500k or so for these setups I'd personally opt for this one. Gotta love all that glass!

MiTT said:

I thought I was done for the day, but was drawn by some really beguiling sound to yet another room featuring yet another set of the big Focal Grande Utopia EM's. Listening to these beasts with the VAC Statement front end restored some of the warmth I'd missed with the solid state Soulutions. How amazing to hear these great speakers with completely different world class front ends. If I had the $500k or so for these setups I'd personally opt for this one. Gotta love all that glass!

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I so want to hear those Grandes.

Any 800 Diamonds or SF strads there?

Joey_V said:

I so want to hear those Grandes.

Any 800 Diamonds or SF strads there?

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There could be Joey, but I walked less than a third of the show today. I'll look tomorrow and if so I'll post my impressions and pictures. I've heard both in the past, but far too long ago to give any contextual impression based on what I've listened to today.

Thanks for posting. Don't forget to add pics to each post !!

MiTT said:

This room featured the all new full top of the line Esoteric Grandioso family of P1 Transport, dual mono D-1 DACs, G-01 Clock, C1 pre-amp and M-1 monoblocks driving the Cabasse Baltic speakers. No pricing posted anywhere, but I'm certain it's one of those "if you have to ask - you can't afford it" type systems. It did sound outstanding though.

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Freakin' unreal digital source there... yikes.

Just found this by PS Audio. Not many hits for the effort involved in making it. For those who missed Munich 2014 (which is bigger than RMAF according to the video).

Love the Cypher stuff.

amey01 said:

Thanks for posting. Don't forget to add pics to each post !!

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They're coming Adam, slowly but surely In addition to everything I've taken the time to describe, I have a bunch of random shots I'll incorporate later as well. Lot's of good stuff as I have the time to upload it all in the evenings...

Border Patrol/Volti Audio

Smooth tubes and horns doing the Elgar Cello Concerto justice. This was a really smooth sounding system and a great way for me to start day 2 of the show. I'd heard these horns at a few of the past shows, but not to as great an effect as this. Talking to the owner Greg Roberts was a lot of fun, he's only been building these units for 3 years, having serviced and upgrading Klipsh Legacy series for years prior to that. Later they did Boz Scags quite well too.

Merrill Williams/Zesto Audio/TAD

The buoyant sounds of Count Basie on vinyl (Kansas City Suite), lured me into this room. I'd heard the Zesto phono stage before, but not their pre-amp or new to me Power Amp. The music coming off the Merrill Williams turntable with what looked to be a Tri Planar arm was absolutely void of any surface noise and very dynamic. The TAD speakers really sounded wonderful driven by the 60 watt Zesto amp.

Dynaudio

This system is about as simple as it gets. Connect the Dynaudio transmitter to your computer and it sends a 24/96 signal (capable of doing DSD as well), signal directly to the Xeo 6 floor standing speakers ($4300.00), where all of the DSP and digital amplification is done, directly driving the speakers. I'd seen them before, but had given them a close listen. If you want ultimate simplicity with really great sound these could easily fit the bill. The smaller Xeo 4 runs $2400.

T+A/Dynaudio

A more conventional approach had some more typical Dynaudio speakers being driven by a rack full of new T+A electronics. The industrial design of these electronics was really striking, reminding me in a way of McIntosh with the large green meters, but fresh and updated as if it was done by the same folks that do Apple iOS. Very clean sounding on some older Sade.

Emerald Physics/Wyred 4 Sound

I've followed Emerald Physics for a few years, always finding the sound good, but the aesthetics less so. They've continued to evolve on both counts and these new EP-2.7 versions are the best yet in my opinion. Driven here by a Wyred 4 Sound front end the sound was very lively and dynamic.

Tim,

Thanks so much for your coverage! It's wonderful just as always.

A small correction on your PS Audio room info. The speakers are the Infinity Beta, not the IRS.

Triode/Acoustic Zen

I've always liked the size and precision of the small Japanese Triode electronics. These TRX-M845 amps are a radical departure. They're absolutely massive, especially given their conservative 8 watts of SET output. Plenty sufficient to drive the Acoustic Zen speakers, this room had me very attentive to the operatic material running through the system for quite some time.

Benchmark

Benchmark had typically shown with Studio Electric speakers. This year it turns out that they acquired Studio Electric and are now branding the speakers under their own moniker as the SMS1. The fit and finish has improved, likely due to a larger manufacturing influence, and they sounded better than ever. These speakers have always been high on my favorites list and selling at $2650.00 they strike me as an incredible bargain.

The fact that they were playing great music and pouring 12 yr old Dalmore didn't sway my opinion, but it didn't hurt either.

Existence

These single driver units were being driven by a small 20 watt Triode amps and sounded fantastic. Coming from Finland and selling for $6700.00 and are available in multiple veneers and finishes. They were quite intoxicating.

Ayre

Never one to dissapoint, last year Ayre outfitted their room as a record store, this year they transformed the room into a small Jazz Club. Absolutely Awesome, and the sound didn't suck either - quite the contrary. MXR amps with the KXR-20 pre amp, fed by the QBR DAC and a Mac Air. Speakers were a one off manufactured by Vivid specifically for the show. Without question the most fun room of the show and a great way to remove the pompous presentation and just enjoy some awesome music.

Joseph Audio

Joseph Audio was showing two different systems in two different rooms, one featuring the Pulsars with all Parasound electronics, the other with all VTL electronics driving the floor standing Perspectives. I'd always been a big fan of the Pulsars, but this year I preferred the Perspectives. The Pulsars go in the $7500 range I believe, while the Perspectives run $13K.

Spatial/Red Dragon Audio

These open baffle speakers really caught me by surprise. Playing Steven Still "treetop Flyer", they were dynamic as all hell and, well, Spatial. They sell for $4000.00 for the pair.