Tascam Reel-to-Reel

Tascam Reel-to-Reel

Music in the Symposium Acoustics room was spinning on a modified Tascam reel player. The Tascam stood tall and proud directly between the loudspeakers and atop a high Symposium Acoustics stand. I noted an interesting sonic perspective. I found myself looking up while I listened, not certain whether I was entranced by Frank Sinatra's smooth delivery or mesmerized by the spinning tape.

Symposium Acoustics Panorama 2.0

Symposium Acoustics Panorama 2.0

Most audiophiles probably associate New Jersey's Symposium Acoustics with vibration control and isolation devices. However, Symposium's Peter Bizlewicz explained that he's been working on loudspeaker designs for nearly 30 years. While vibration control became a business priority, Bizlewicz continued to toil with his loudspeakers. It's no wonder that vibration control plays such a large role in his speaker design. The massive and idiosyncratic Symposium Panorama 2.0 is a "5-way, quasi point-source speaker system which marries ribbon, planar dynamic, and cone speaker technology to vibration control techniques," Peter said in one quick breath.

FJ Mini

FJ Mini

As I was about to leave the Red Wine/Hudson Audio room, Tom Hills directed my attention to a small pair of attractive speakers. "These guys always seem to get forgotten," he said. The diminutive, German-made FJ Minis are available in handsome real-wood finishes, are rated at 87dB, and cost $1295/pair. I'll be looking forward to hearing them later on during the show.

WLM Diva

WLM Diva

In addition to building his SLA-powered electronics and making babies, Vinnie Rossi is now the new US distributor for WLM loudspeakers. How does he do it all? The front-ported Diva Monitor ($5000/pair) uses a paper-cone coaxial drive unit, has a handy tweeter control on its back panel, and is said to provide an impressive 95dB sensitivity.

Scheu-Analog Diamond

Scheu-Analog Diamond

I was pretty much stunned by the gorgeous Scheu Diamond ($2995 without tonearm). Standard finishes for this 'table are black, clear, blue (!), pink (!!), and gold glitter (!!!), but the one we see here, made special for the show, boasts an elegant wood finish. The Diamond uses an external motor with speed controls, and, as shown, sports a Schroeder Model 2 tonearm ($2450) and Allaerts Mk.2 cartridge ($5300). We listened to a couple of tracks off the excellent Fleet Foxes album, and I was impressed by the wide soundstage and overall smooth presentation.

Vinnie Rossi and Tom Hills

Vinnie Rossi and Tom Hills

Like me, Vinnie Rossi (left) has recently become heavily interested in vinyl. For the show, Vinnie teamed up with Tom Hills of Hudson Audio Imports, US distributor for Scheu-Analog turntables. You can't see it here in the picture, but a small and wonderful stack of vinyl LPs, including Leila's <i>Blood, Looms, and Blooms</i>, Iron and Wine's <i>Our Endless Numbered Days</i>, and the Buena Vista Social Club's recently released live album are waiting to be played.

Red Wine Audio

Red Wine Audio

At last year's CES, the crowds surrounding the Red Wine Audio room were so large and enthusiastic that I had very little opportunity to speak with Red Wine's owner, Vinnie Rossi. Here, at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, I decided to beat the crowds and make Red Wine Audio my first stop.

What a great system..

I received my issue of Stereophile this week and like the others it's a keeper. As I looked through the recommendations for equipment I have to say that I was astounded at some of the prices for equipment. At some point the law of diminishing returns has to kick in but I guess if it makes you happy to spend $100K for a turntable than go for it.

Better than components that cost twice as much!

Open letter to reviewers: When you use this phrase or one of its many variants (e.g., "The SuperMegaEconForce10G-X Speakers sounded better than some speakers that cost twice as much!") can you please identify what it is that costs twice as much but doesn't sound as good?

There are apparently hundreds of these items out there (I'd say about 1 item for every 2 reviews), and I'd like to know I'm not buying them. That is all.

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