sleepysurf
Well-known member
Here's a few pics and my thoughts after Day 2 RMAF. BTW, LOTS more pics at this URL... http://www.audioxsell.com/community/events/7/RMAF-2007.htm
I visited +/- 40 rooms the past two days, and seeing/hearing everything from good, bad, to ugly! Overall, I was most impressed with the MBL room, featuring their flagship Radialstrahler 101, which delivered superb holographic imaging and detail no matter WHERE you are standing or seated. Equally impressive (with MUCH better WAF, IMHO), were their 111E hybrid (pic below), and compact 121 stand-based models from their Noble line. The 111E gets my vote for best balance of looks and sound. All their speakers were driven by mammoth MBL amps, pre-amps, and their transport/DAC.
I re-visited the Emerald Physics room, powered today by small Bel Canto mono amps, with an iMac source feeding a Modwright LS 36.5 tube linestage. Again, at that <$3500 TOTAL price (which includes the Behringer DSP and Art Audio SLA1 and SLA2 amps), this is the most musical "budget" setup I've ever heard. See pic below.
I've also included a picture of the Fry Street Quartet, who has been featured throughout the weekend, in both full concert and impromptu chamber performances. Ray Kimber has recorded them using his IsoMike technique, and provided surround sound demos of those recordings using a massive array of Sound Lab electrostatics with a bevy of Pass X350.5 amps.
I also stopped by the Power Modules/Belles room, where I finally met David Belles for the first time. You may recall my saga with his 350A Reference amp driving, now my Summits. He just unveiled his MB-200 Watt monoblock amps, with new zero-distortion circuitry culminating in a high current (65 amps) MOSFET output. He was also demo'ing his new LA-01 SS line-stage, featuring a separate chassis power supply. He was using mid-sized Usher speakers (on stands), and despite some room bass anomalies, the imaging was tight, and vocals superb. I can't say I'm ready to trade up to the new monoblocks, but I suspect the MB-200's would have no trouble driving the Summits!
I also had the pleasure of meeting Roger Sanders, demo'ing his Sanders Sound System amps, designed specifically for electrostatic speakers. He was driving a pair of Innersound Eros speakers, from his former company, which unfortunately went defunct after he left. I must admit, the Innersound Eros sounded absolutely spectacular with his new amps. He spoke well of ML, and offers a NO RISK home trial of his amps! That's an offer I just might have to take him up on!
There were still a handful of setups still on my to-do list, but my wife and I have an early flight Sun, so I doubt I'll get to them. I'll leave it to Tim and/or Gordon to add more thoughts and pictures from this great show.
I encourage all audiophiles (ML owners, or not) to try and attend this show. IMHO, it's far better than CES/T.H.E. and Denver is a GREAT town and venue. I look forward to attending again in a couple years.
I visited +/- 40 rooms the past two days, and seeing/hearing everything from good, bad, to ugly! Overall, I was most impressed with the MBL room, featuring their flagship Radialstrahler 101, which delivered superb holographic imaging and detail no matter WHERE you are standing or seated. Equally impressive (with MUCH better WAF, IMHO), were their 111E hybrid (pic below), and compact 121 stand-based models from their Noble line. The 111E gets my vote for best balance of looks and sound. All their speakers were driven by mammoth MBL amps, pre-amps, and their transport/DAC.
I re-visited the Emerald Physics room, powered today by small Bel Canto mono amps, with an iMac source feeding a Modwright LS 36.5 tube linestage. Again, at that <$3500 TOTAL price (which includes the Behringer DSP and Art Audio SLA1 and SLA2 amps), this is the most musical "budget" setup I've ever heard. See pic below.
I've also included a picture of the Fry Street Quartet, who has been featured throughout the weekend, in both full concert and impromptu chamber performances. Ray Kimber has recorded them using his IsoMike technique, and provided surround sound demos of those recordings using a massive array of Sound Lab electrostatics with a bevy of Pass X350.5 amps.
I also stopped by the Power Modules/Belles room, where I finally met David Belles for the first time. You may recall my saga with his 350A Reference amp driving, now my Summits. He just unveiled his MB-200 Watt monoblock amps, with new zero-distortion circuitry culminating in a high current (65 amps) MOSFET output. He was also demo'ing his new LA-01 SS line-stage, featuring a separate chassis power supply. He was using mid-sized Usher speakers (on stands), and despite some room bass anomalies, the imaging was tight, and vocals superb. I can't say I'm ready to trade up to the new monoblocks, but I suspect the MB-200's would have no trouble driving the Summits!
I also had the pleasure of meeting Roger Sanders, demo'ing his Sanders Sound System amps, designed specifically for electrostatic speakers. He was driving a pair of Innersound Eros speakers, from his former company, which unfortunately went defunct after he left. I must admit, the Innersound Eros sounded absolutely spectacular with his new amps. He spoke well of ML, and offers a NO RISK home trial of his amps! That's an offer I just might have to take him up on!
There were still a handful of setups still on my to-do list, but my wife and I have an early flight Sun, so I doubt I'll get to them. I'll leave it to Tim and/or Gordon to add more thoughts and pictures from this great show.
I encourage all audiophiles (ML owners, or not) to try and attend this show. IMHO, it's far better than CES/T.H.E. and Denver is a GREAT town and venue. I look forward to attending again in a couple years.
