2009 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest

This year’s Rocky Mountain Audio Fest was the most enjoyable and worthwhile US audio show I have attended for a very long time.  The Marriott  Denver Tech Center where the show was held provided well appointed rooms with  good acoustics. They had plenty of power points and no restrictions on what we could plug in and where.  We also had complete freedom of choice of what furniture we had removed from the room; where we placed what we kept in and we could move this around ourselves without any restrictions. Nor were there any onerous security deposits.  The hotel staff were courteous and quick to respond to our requests.  It was easy to find your way around the show as you did not have to cross a large gaming floor to get from one section of the show to the other.   The large lobby meant that almost every time you crossed it you bumped into someone useful and this facilitated networking.  Networking was further facilitated by the hotel restaurant’s excellent selection of beers.

CAS Pictures
http://jstachowski.smugmug.com/Electronics/RMAF-2009/9881603_KR8CW#672915057_f3×7N

6moons.com
http://6moons.com/industryfeatures/rmaf09/1.html

Audiogon.com
http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/events.pl?&&ManuList&&&&&&&RMF09

AVGuide.com
http://www.avguide.com/blog/steven-stones-best-rmaf-2009

cnet News
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13645_3-10371765-47.html?tag=mncol;posts

DAGAGO.com
http://www.dagogo.com/View-Event.asp?hEvent=8

Enjoythemusic.com
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/rmaf_2009/

Head-fi.org
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f45/canjam-rmaf-denver-co-october-2-3-4-a-448398

Home Entertainment
http://www.hedmag.com/Rocky_Mountain_Audio_Fest_2009

Positive Feedback Online
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue45/rmaf09.htm

SoundStage!network
http://www.soundstagenetwork.com/avtour2009/rmaf_dly03.html

Spintricity
http://spintricity.com/58/contents/Vol1-10

Stereomojo
http://www.stereomojo.com/Rocky%20Mountain%20Audio%20Fest%202009%20Show%20Report%20/RockyMountainAudioFest2009ShowReport.htm

Stereophile
http://blog.stereophile.com/rmaf2009/

The Audio Beat
http://www.theaudiobeat.com/show.htm

the Stereo Times
http://www.stereotimes.com/RMAF09.shtml

Ultra High-End Audio and Home Theater Forum
http://www.ultrahighendforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=209&t=923

No audio show would be complete without its left-field grandmaster, and the prize for being the most ‘out there’ must go to the On A Higher Note room. Whether it was the Synergistic Research Galileo cable system with active shielding, the Acoustic Art room treatments, the magnetic direct drive/magnetic bearing Brinkman Oasis turntable, the Luxman amps or the Vivid Giya G1 loudspeakers, the result is an experience you’ll never forget.

The seminars are always packed and exciting at the RMAF, but this year there was something special… The first ever keynote speech at the event, by none other than Harry Pearson. The most golden of golden ears left Sea Cliff to deliver two special presentations on audio, past, present and future. He felt that – just as audiophiles had to develop a language to make common identifiable problems like distortion and coherence – now we need to make a language to identify new problems such as noise pollution, because we’ve eliminated many of the problems that beset early products. He also discussed high-definition multichannel and computer audio, and how they are the future for the audiophile. Fascinating stuff!

There were three rooms that more than made the grade for best sound. The YG Acoustics room is the weirdest, because it is at once the best and the worst sound, depending on the volume level. Those giant Anat Reference speakers are more than capable of making the room shake apart during those loud moments when the volume’s turned up, but when calmer, the sound of both the Anat and the Kiphod are astonishing.

Another great sound is coming from Nola. Three times. The Baby Grand Reference, the Micro Grand Reference and the impressive at any price but it’s only $1,500 Boxer standmounted speaker all sound great… especially as they are driven by reel-to-reels from United Home Audio and a flea-power Jolida amp.

There was also a sublime sound from a system comprising a Rega turntable, Ayre digital electronics (including the new QB-9 DAC), VTL amplifiers and Avalon Indras, all fed with Cardas Clear cable.

While the Nordic Tone speakers from Electrocompaniet are just getting better and better.

The big Hansen Emperor driven by Accuphase electronics and a Transrotor turntable also sounded magnificent, albeit for an Emperor’s Ransom. At the other extreme, so did the Peachtree Audio system, running off a Apple TV into a pair of Zu Essence.

We could go on. The ARC/Vandersteen room, the Esoteric/TEAC Reference system, the mind-changing demonstrations of Nordost power cords and much, much more.

Stillpoints fascinating demo features yet another Artemis Labs SA1, Schröder Reference SQ-1 arm and Allearts MC1B cartridge into a prototype David Berning preamp and the new David Berning ZH-230 power amp (30W per channel OTL design), both sporting Stillpoints standoffs, all on a Stillpoints stand. Speakers are Sentient Acoustics F200A, designed voiced and produced with Stillpoints architecture from the ground up, including the crossover isolated by Stillpoints OEM feet. Firing across the room and set in the nearfield to keep the room out of the equation, there’s only one seat because there’s only one point where everything is in focus. But wow, what focus!

Fascinating sounds from highend-electronics, playing a system comprising Consensus Conspiracy speakers ($41,700), powered by Valvet A3.5 class A mono amps ($5,000 per pair) and Valvet Soulshine tube preamplifier ($5,300). Check it out!

LSA Group is showing the LSA1 Statement standmount loudspeakers ($2,599/pr), and its LSA Standard amplifier ($5,000), a hybrid integrated design with tube preamp and a solid-state phono stage and 150W per channel power amps. Sweet, dynamic and making big sounds from elegant and discrete loudspeakers. You can also start with a pair of $1,000 LSA1 monitors and upgrade the same cabinet to the ribbon-tweetered Statement. Cool!

Artemis Labs is proving to be an increasingly fascinating company. Perhaps best known for its excellent LA-1 linestage preamp and PH-2 phono stage, the company’s 18watt SP-1 power amp is every bit as exciting and now its SA-1 turntable keeps popping up all over, often accompanied by a Schröder tonearm. Now, the company has announced its making its own tonearm (looking not unlike a Schröder in its own right) and that features a green cartridge built with the guys from Soundsmith. This $2,850 moving iron design sounds exciting and fascinating in equal measure.

Vandersteen’s new Model Seven is a time and phase correct four-way loudspeaker, with a built-in 400w amp for its built in subwoofer. With extensive room compensation, constrained layer damped panels, a unique and patented carbon fiber/balsa sandwich mid-bass unit, the Model Seven is also modular, making it easy to upgrade. And it sound great, especially when driven by the top-spec Linn LP12 turntable and all the Audio Research Reference products you could ever wish for.

RM Associates’ tidy sounding $17,500 CH-11R exponential folded horn loudspeakers. The speakers are capable of playing some extremely smooth sounds from some very modest electronics. The 53” tall speaker sports a perfect curved horn and a 12” bass driver and 1.25” compression driver.

Not on demonstration yet, but the $5,995 Audio Research DSi200 integrated amplifier represents a bold new departure for the company is a solid-state 200 watt (400 watt into four ohms) design using a unique switching MOSFET output stage coupled with a passive preamplifier in one new slimline chassis. The first product in a soon-to-be-announced Definition range, and sports ARC’s new silver-handled livery.

And not a tube in sight!

With the largest collection of kit between any two pairs of speakers ever, Grant Fidelity is all about offering choice, and affordable choice at that. The only problem is, reaching over to change a record isn’t easy…

Highlights of the room are many, including some excellent value speakers, but this sweet 300B single-ended triode A-534B integrated amp looks like being a steal at just $2,500.

Nelson Pass’ latest project is the First Watt J2 power amplifier. This $4,000 stereo model is a 25 watt design, running entirely in Class A mode. The simple two-stage circuit sports JFET devices at the input and power stages, in a design known as a ‘mu follower’ among tube enthusiasts. And it’s tube lovers who are going to fall for the First Watt, it sounds wonderfully warm and rich.

There are times when you just gotta break some rules. Audio Alternative Ltd do just that by combining a Linn turntable and Naim electronics with Wilson Duette loudspeakers. That’s the sort of system you are never supposed to put together, but no one really knows why. Ya just don’t, OK? Except when you do, and play some Jimi Hendrix on the Linn. Even Jimi never knew he sounded this good!

In 1116, High Water Sound is playing some cool jazz with a system of a very European flavor.

The turntable is TW Acustic Black Knight ($40,000), with a 12” Graham Phantom (c$5,000) and a Dynavector XV-1t cartridge, into a Tron Syren Reference ($22,000) preamp and Tron Telestar power amp ($28,000) and a pair of ($18,000) Horning Euphrodite loudspeakers. The turntable, arm and speakers are a US first. Go see!

The show starts in half an hour, and already the lines are forming. It’s a beautiful day in Denver and it’s a great day to listen to high-end audio.

On to the rooms!

The sixth annual Rocky Mountain Audio Fest opens tomorrow. Hundreds of high-end audio exhibitors are putting the finishing touches on their rooms for tomorrow’s midday show start. Every brand from Abbingdon Music Research to ZYX are here. Starting Friday, there’s a whole weekend of the best sounds around, fascinating seminars, exciting discussion panels and a whole lot more. The buzz has already started at the Marriott Denver Tech Center, inside… and out.