RMAF 2012

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RMAF 2012
Epoz AktiMate Micro in supersexy red
Stephen Mejias  |  Oct 12, 2012  |  First Published: Oct 13, 2012  |  1 comments
I spotted this cute little guy on the mezzanine level of the Marriott Tech Center.
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RMAF 2012
Preparing for the Show
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Oct 12, 2012  |  First Published: Oct 13, 2012  |  0 comments
It’s Thursday afternoon, and all is aflutter in the show office in the Denver Marriott Tech Center. Everyone and their mother is arriving at once, and Show Manager Marjorie Baumert heads to the computer as she and her invaluable staff of volunteers move as fast as they can to meet the needs of multiple hundreds of exhibitors.
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RMAF 2012
Stereophile Strategizes
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Oct 12, 2012  |  First Published: Oct 13, 2012  |  4 comments
So what if the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest doesn’t officially open until noon Friday? The Stereophile crew—L–R, Jason Victor Serinus, Stephen Mejias, John Atkinson, and Art Dudley—have met for an 8AM strategy session in the Marriott’s Atrium dining area. Omelets devoured and territory divided up by floor, we can finally sit back for a moment, smile, and savor our two hours before the big 11AM pre-show press unveiling of the new Wilson Audio Alexia loudspeaker.
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RMAF 2012
The Wilson Alexia and its Elite Companions
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Oct 13, 2012  |  29 comments
Beyond all doubt, the most heralded debut at a show filled with more product debuts than could fit in our show preview was the unveiling of the Wilson Audio Alexia loudspeaker ($48,500/pair). Introduced at back-to-back press conferences, the speaker and its elite companions made a stunning impression.

If there's one thing that Dave Wilson (pictured above) knows besides crossover design and time domain alignment, it's the sound of live, unamplified music performed in spaces that do it full justice...

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RMAF 2012
Rocky Beginnings
Art Dudley  |  Oct 12, 2012  |  3 comments
Barring the unlikely resurrection of either the summertime Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago or this magazine’s own fondly remembered movable feasts of the 1990s, there is only one hi-fi event for which I would board an airplane: Welcome to Denver. And while this non-flyer is already considering renting a car and driving home Monday, I’m glad as hell to be here: I think this is going to be fun.
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RMAF 2012
The Magnificent 7
Art Dudley  |  Oct 12, 2012  |  1 comments
Michael Lavorgna, editor of our sister site AudioStream.com, moderated a computer audio seminar on RMAF’s first day. Participants, from left to right: David Chesky (HDtracks.com), Andreas Koch (Playback Designs), Gordon Rankin (Wavelength Audio), Rob Robinson (Channel D Software), Mark Waldrep (AIX Records), Steve Silberman (AudioQuest), and Michael Lavorgna.
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RMAF 2012
Save the Music
Stephen Mejias  |  Oct 12, 2012  |  0 comments
I noticed this sign hanging above the entrance to the Marriott Tech Center, home of the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest. “Save the Music”—a fine message, but sort of vague. What's it about? I wondered. Inside the hotel, near the elevators, I found a postcard with a picture of a pianist at a piano, both the musician and his instrument covered in what appeared to be thick black oil. (Oh no!) At the top of the postcard again were the words, “Save the Music.”

On the back of the postcard, I found a message from dCS, titled, “Saving the Music for 25 Years.” Audiophiles are familiar with dCS—we know who the company is and what it does—but this postcard seemed addressed to those who may be new to the hi-fi world:

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NewsRMAF 2012
RMAF: Everyone's Favorite Show Opens on Friday
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Oct 07, 2012  |  0 comments
There is no need for Denver's Rocky Mountain Audio Fest to toot its own horn. The three-day affair, which opens at noon on Friday, October 12 in the Denver Marriott Tech Center, promises no less than 431 exhibitors; 174 exhibitor rooms, including 24 large ones (same since 2009): 41 miscellaneous vendors; 35 CANJAM vendors; and an impressive number of show debuts.

The largest US high-end audio show open to the public is also, despite its size and occasionally snow-encrusted environs, the warmest and friendliest audiophile show in the country. For this we owe thanks to Marjorie Baumert, who continues to nurture and sustain the show following the death of her show co-founder and husband, Al Stiefel, at the start of 2009; the exceptional staff at the comfortable Marriott; a dedicated cadre of volunteers drawn from the Colorado Audio Society and Marjorie's extended circle of friends and family; and exhibitors who, welcoming the relative peace and quiet of the location, approach the show as if reuniting with old friends.

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RMAF 2012
What turntable?
Stephen Mejias  |  Oct 14, 2012  |  First Published: Dec 31, 1969  |  1 comments
First of all, I’d like to point out that, though I probably should have, I did not take this picture. This picture was taken by VPI’s young Mathew Weisfeld, who is way cooler than me.

Now, the turntable is VPI’s Traveler, which I review in our November issue. What turntable, you ask? That turntable there—the one behind the girl in the red glasses. (The red glasses, she told me, weren’t hers, but instead belonged to Music Hall’s Leland Leard. But that’s another story.)

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RMAF 2012
Highend-Electronics, Inc. Shines with Voxativ
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Oct 17, 2012  |  First Published: Dec 31, 1969  |  2 comments
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RMAF 2012
Denver Audio Designs defeats lame music
Stephen Mejias  |  Oct 17, 2012  |  First Published: Dec 31, 1969  |  7 comments
I walked into a highly compressed modern rock recording. Worse than that, the song itself was horrible, dreadful, unimaginative, bad. I mean, it really, really sucked.

I was tempted to blame it on the system:

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RMAF 2012
PranaFidelity: Non-Defensive Listening
Stephen Mejias  |  Oct 17, 2012  |  First Published: Dec 31, 1969  |  12 comments
I wanted to better understand what I was hearing in the PranaFidelity/Musical Concepts room, so I asked PranaFidelity’s Steven Norber to tell me about his design philosophy.

Norber said something very interesting:

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RMAF 2012
Dupuy Acoustique
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Oct 20, 2012  |  First Published: Dec 31, 1969  |  1 comments
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