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Every engineer has known for years that, while beryllium has excellent physical qualities for use as a speaker radiator—light weight, rigidity, and a remarkable degree of internal damping—it is not usable as such because it cannot be stamped out like most other materials. It will not stretch, and any attempt to shape it simply causes it to split.

As the sixth annual Rocky Mountain Audio Fest draws to a close at the Denver Marriott Tech Center, what is now the largest annual audio show in the USA could boast an attendance of 3700, 200 more than last year. Prominent among attendees from 49 states and overseas was a notable increase in the number of under-40 attendees. No doubt they were drawn by the rise of audiophile computer-audio playback, the resurgence of vinyl, and the large exhibit hall populated by the Head-Fi headphone community. The younger attendees included an influx of students, who responded to RMAF’s concentrated outreach to local colleges.

The sixth annual Rocky Mountain Audio Fest had already closed when I finally had the time to stop by Reference Recordings’ booth to check out their latest mouth-watering HRx high-resolution master WAV file DVD-Rs. There I encountered Demian Martin, who, together with Ray Burnham, has produced the Auraliti (pronounced Aurality) disc player ($800).

There was full program of seminars and workshops at RMAF, as well as my own <A HREF="http://blog.stereophile.com/rmaf2009/squeezing_the_music/">"Squeezing the Music Till the Bits Squeak</A>," the session featuring <A HREF="http://blog.stereophile.com/rmaf2009/hp_speaks/">Harry Pearson</A>, and Michael Fremer on "<A HREF="http://blog.stereophile.com/rmaf2009/turntable_set-up_done_right/">Turn… Setup</A>," I moderated a panel session, "How to Get the Most Out of Computer-Based Audio," on Saturday afternoon. The A-List panel&#151;(from left to right) Gus Skinas (SACD Center), John Stronczer (Bel Canto Design), J. Gordon Rankin (Wavelength Audio), Charlie Hansen (Ayre Acoustics), record producer Joe Harley, and Chris Connaker (www.computeraudiophile.com)&#151;discussed the best way to use a computer as a legimate source component in a high-end audio system. All concerned felt this was the way forward for the high-end audio industry, particularly with the increasing availability of hi-rez downloads, and it was a shame that the session was limited to an hour.

I listened to <a href="http://www.myspace.com/ducktailss">Ducktails</a&gt;’ <i>Landscapes</i> once&#151<i>once!</i>&#151and was disappointed by its apparent simplicity. I set it aside while many other albums came into my life and piled atop its strange, hot pink cover art.

Bob O'Neill sold advertising for <I>Stereophile</I> in the early 1980s and also contributed record reviews to the magazine. He became a firm friend of J. Gordon Holt's and gave a moving eulogy honoring Gordon's memory at RMAF.

When I last met Charles Holt in 1991, he was a teenager. But I had no problem recognizing him at RMAF&#151;he looks just like his Dad. And, as you can see in Jason Serinus' photograph, in which Charles is flanked by his girlfriend Melissa and me, Charles is wearing the infamous "<A HREF="http://blog.stereophile.com/stephenmejias/the_finger_button/">finger button</A>," which was Gordon's favorite image of himself.