Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2009

[Craig]

Great show review Rich. I certainly missed out this year but I appreciate you guys taking the time to post your impressions and photos. Almost the next best thing to being there.

An Audio show like this is an excellent chance to see how gorgeous some of this gear is and how wonderful it can sound. However, many things can go wrong with a setup so if a room doesn't sound good at a show it doesn't mean the equipment isn't capable! How many years have we spent tweaking our own stuff?

Any chance the Most Beautiful Speakers where the Baby Grand Reference by Nola? http://www.nolaspeakers.com/reviews/StereoMojo.com/2009-01-BabyGrand/index.html

 

[Rich]

Great show review Rich. I certainly missed out this year but I appreciate you guys taking the time to post your impressions and photos. Almost the next best thing to being there.

Thanks, Craig. We missed you.

An Audio show like this is an excellent chance to see how gorgeous some of this gear is and how wonderful it can sound. However, many things can go wrong with a setup so if a room doesn't sound good at a show it doesn't mean the equipment isn't capable! How many years have we spent tweaking our own stuff?

So true. You really can't make any definitive statements when auditioning under show conditions.

Any chance the Most Beautiful Speakers where the Baby Grand Reference by Nola?

Nope, it wasn't them. Although those are beautiful speakers.

 

[Rich]

Thanks for the great report. I really enjoyed reading it.

I heard a Jheen Lodwick XRCD at my ML dealer (who also sells them), and much as I like the recording quality and her voice, I did not buy it as I did not like her diction. I notice this general trend with Asian singers, Jacintha excepted.

Thanks, Bernard. I have to agree that her diction is a little stilted on a lot of the songs, which lessens my enjoyment of it. But on that particular song, I was blown away with the sound of her voice.

 

[User211]

Rich - I am with you re-class D amps. The first good ones I heard were a few years back with the Chapter Audio designs. But the Cabbase B&O module class D amps driving the Cabasse La Sphere were obviously great at Silverstone too. Some class Ds definately still sound pretty bad, though, if you ask me. Choose carefully!

Also Antonny Galos weird designs that look as though they won't work well but in fact do - with you all the way. Heard some about a decade ago with a Jadis JA80 and Jadis CD player and I still haven't forgotten it. Seriously sumptuous sonics - at least with the source material being played at the time. Jadis make some of the smoothest, most natural sounding amps in the business, I think.

Nice report. Whilst a picture may say a thousand words, prose counts too, which is not to undermine either Tim's or my own efforts, I guess.

Glad you had a good time. And I am pretty glad you slagged off YG - they surely have one of the most repugnant advertising campaigns I have seen in a good long time. Best speaker in the world my arse. No such thing - just a set of engineering compromises, like all loudspeakers.

Though some pigs are more equal than others...

 

[Gordon Gray]

YG Anat Ref Pro Speaker

Hi ML Amigos,

I will provide my insights this weekend.

However, one of Rich's observations is 180 degrees from my reaction.

As most of you hopefully know but I will again state for the record, I have the utmost respect for my friend and ML colleague.

Having said that, I found the Anat in the first floor room , where they were using HI def audio for demo material and FM Acoustics electronics / cabling, along with some Aural Symphonics wire, compelling and musical. I also found them to be quite attractive within the context of industrial art. Along with the Focal Grande Utopia, this speaker spoke to me like few others in my listening experience.

What this indicates to me and reinforces one of the basic premises of hi end audio, is the importance of a personal audition before making a purchase decision.

Regarding Justin's comments (assuming he has not heard the speaker), they are baseless and ignorant.

GG

 

[slowGEEZR]

Hi ML Amigos,

I will provide my insights this weekend.

However, one of Rich's observations is 180 degrees from my reaction.

As most of you hopefully know but I will again state for the record, I have the utmost respect for my friend and ML colleague.

Having said that, I found the Anat in the first floor room , where they were using HI def audio for demo material and FM Acoustics electronics / cabling, along with some Aural Symphonics wire, compelling and musical. I also found them to be quite attractive within the context of industrial art. Along with the Focal Grande Utopia, this speaker spoke to me like few others in my listening experience.

What this indicates to me and reinforces one of the basic premises of hi end audio, is the importance of a personal audition before making a purchase decision.

Regarding Justin's comments (assuming he has not heard the speaker), they are baseless and ignorant.

GG

I agree. This has been stated over and over again. There are no substitutes for your own ears.

When it comes to the Anats, I just don't like them. To me, they sound metallic, not accurate. I actually winced a couple of times! I suppose if I listened to them long enough I might come to a realization like one of stereophile's writers, that what I perceive as shrill is, in fact, more like reality than what other speakers sound like. But, I doubt it. Neither the Focals, nor the mbl 111F's nor the German Physics sound at all shrill or metallic, but they also don't sound anything like the Anats, to my ears. The Focals present an almost greater than life reproduction that is awe inspiring, and I agree they are incredible, while the mbl's and the GP's have an incredible purity of sound that I find irresistible. This just drives home the fact that it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks sounds good, it only matters what you think sounds good.

 

[User211]

Regarding Justin's comments (assuming he has not heard the speaker), they are baseless and ignorant.GG

I have been in the presence of them, Gordon, and posted show pics. However, I resent your statement. My complaint lies not with their sonics, but in the arrogant, pretentious attitude of the company's advertsing campaign. The fact that some people don't like them simply re-inforces the truth - that their advertising claims are simply pathetic.

Sorry - that's just the way I feel about them.

 

[eknuds01]

Great posts and pictures fellas!

Tim, Rich, Steve, et al:

Great write ups. The pictures, as always, are very nice to look at. It seems like everyone had a blast.

Looks like the same issues/praises that were voiced this year were very similar to the ones brought up last time.

Lots of gear; it's almost overwhelming.

Many ofthe rooms are untreated which can greatly impact the experience. It's always sortof baffled me that these guys bring in $200k of equipment, but won't spend some bucks on a few treatments for the weekend...but I'd imagine this has probably always been the case at these shows. Having said that I am not a room treatment expert and maybe, for just one show, it's not worth it to drop $5k on panels for a 2-3 day event (?). Of course, if they have materials at home/store, maybe this is less of an issue.

No ML. This doesn't bother me all that much. But what an awesome opportunity to showcase any of the Spire/CLX/Summit against the uber expense systems or other electrostats. Granted this isn't an apples to apples comparison, but it would be fun!

The show represents an extreme bargain and, at least for the last 2-3 years, has been very well organized.

 

[Gordon Gray]

Justin,

My apologies if my comments upset you.

By your post, I wasn't aware you had heard the product.

The fact that there is no unanimity on this or other audio product means nothing to me. As we all know, the magic is in the synergy of everything that impacts the final sound one hears.

And I know what I heard.

I, for one, find Wilson Audio's ad showing some concert hall in Europe where, apparently, David Wilson had some sort of sonic epiphany, tasteless and without merit. Of course, it's a good reason to update all of his products again and make more money.

Advertising is all about getting people interested in your product and oftentimes has little to do with some universal truth or the merits of the product(s) thereof. Look at how much females in provocative poses are used to sell product.

You obviously don't like YG and took this opportunity to slam the product.

That's fine.

I respectfully disagree.

Best,

Gordon

 

[David Matz]

Interesting range of opinions on the YG. Remember what Thomas Jefferson said about "tastes"? Chocolate or vanilla? Medium rare or well done? Peas or broccoli? Who really cares what is "better"? This is a hobby after all.

I heard the Kipods in the same room and with the same equipment as the CLX. They are quite good for a box speaker, IMO. I imagine that the kipod and anat are more similar than different, coming from the same designer's mind. I wonder how much the room, the ancillary equipment, the material, or even the mood of the listeners' interacting with the material played a part in the preferences/ comments.

As for ML, why risk spending money on a show and putting great speakers in poor rooms when they have a bunch of evangelists on this site? Most companies would kill to have a site with hundreds of members who have a nightly personal relationship with their products.

 

[RichTeer]

Most companies would kill to have a site with hundreds of members who have a nightly personal relationship with their products.

I think I need to get out more. For about half a second, that last sentence bought about some very inappropriate images in my twisted mind!

 

[Gordon Gray]

Hi David,

As with most things, the devil is in the details.

I think we can all agree that the room, the hardware, and the music played has a significant influence on one's perception of a product.

Since there's a wide range of opinions on this speaker, I'm curious as to particulars of the YG system that Justin heard. Room, electronics, etc. Hopefully, Justin will provide those details.

Regarding the Kipod, I also listened to them in the same first floor room as the Ref. Similar sonics but, as you would expect, smaller in overall presentation with less body / impact in the lower bass region.

What I find to be an interesting concept is the modular design of the product and the easy upgrade path it provides.

GG

 

[twich54]

Ahhhhh another RMAF in the books......... Gents, it was (as always) good to be in your company !

Gordon..... thanks for Shirley's well wishes, she is feeling much better ! It was good to have met you...finally !

Andrew - pleasure to have met you as well, hope you got the info you wanted relative your DAC purchase

Wayne - Glad you were able to make it out this year, hope you came away with some good ideas for powering your CLS's and thanks for letting me stand behind you when I entered the one room and made the 'boobie' comment !

Steve - Hope your enjoying your vinyl purchases ! ...we both should have bought a pair of ACI Sapphires last year !!

Rich - Thanks for your informative, concise and to the point write up, glad you, Cindy and your daughter could (again) enjoy Colorado !

Tim - As always my Colorado friend, you've been the glue that has brought us together on this outing, wish we could have spent more time together (hell I still owe you a Mexican dinner @ that little joint up rte 285) but you know I'll be back to my favorite state soon enough !

FWIW, my favorite room was easily the Hansen room on the Mezzanine level, I loved the black finish, combined with the sheer elegance of the Accuphase electronics along with the transRotor analog set-up.

Bobby P (Merlin) did his usual excellent job of showcasing his speakers and Joules electronics.

The Harbeth room was another nice surprise as well.

Attached are a few of my pics to ponder.

 

[slowGEEZR]

From Rich's post..."Steve earlier mentioned the piano piece we heard on the German Physics Borderland Mk IV speakers driven by Ypsilon components. It was a high quality recording of a pianist hammering on a Bosendorfer Piano (and I do mean hammering!). The pianist was striking the keys with incredible ferocity, and I have to admit I have never heard a more realistic-sounding piano note being reproduced by a speaker. That piano was right in the room with us, or so it seemed. It was just real! This was probably the best demo experience of the entire show. Steve and I were both floored.

These speakers, like the similarly-designed MBL's, sound as good off-axis as they do dead-on center. They are good looking, but a little odd. Very modern-looking. But the sound was incredible. You would have to demo them side-by-side with the MBL's to have a clue which you liked better.

The sound was just amazing in its realism. I was impressed enough that I am seriously considering getting a pair of these. Not that I need any more speakers, but these were just that impressive. I imagine Steve is thinking similar thoughts. They were that good." End of Rich's comments.

The amazing thing to me is that these speakers are about four levels down from their top of the line speaker! I agree 100% with Rich on this speaker. I'm going to find a way to audition the entire line. The amps were VA class A monoblocs. Here are a couple of pics...

 

[longhorn]

Did anyone hear the near Vandy 7s? I don't see a pic of them. How was there sound?

 

[slowGEEZR]

From Tim's post..."Unfortuantely when we went into the Merlin/Joule Electra room the hotel was hit with a power outage and we didn't get a chance to listen to their setup. Last year the Merlin room running the same Joule Electra OTL's was one of my favorites of the entire show. Anyone actually get to hear them this year?"

I did and they sounded very good. Cardas cables and Joule Electra pre and tube amps. They were playing the latest Mark Knopfler CD when I listened to them.

 

[Bernard]

Attached are a few of my pics to ponder.

Dave, I recognize you, larger than life in the foreground, but who are the other characters?

 

[Gordon Gray]

Did anyone hear the near Vandy 7s? I don't see a pic of them. How was there sound?

I did.

Will post this weekend.

GG

 

[slowGEEZR]

Did anyone hear the near Vandy 7s? I don't see a pic of them. How was there sound?

Yes, I did. I liked them, but wasn't bowled over by them. I remember thinking that I had just heard speakers that sounded as good and cost much less. However, remember that when going from room to room to room it is easy to dismiss something as ordinary, when in fact, it could have been extraordinary. Note that it would take a long serious listen to really discern superiority of one system to a closely matched one. On the other hand, a few systems knocked me out with their sound on even a short listen. Those I really tried to listen to longer.

 

[slowGEEZR]

...and now for something completely different...

...Woo headphone amps. A bunch of 'em. Beautifully made and incredible sound quality. The electrostatic amp with the Stax phones were my favorites.