Raidho Acoustics TD2.2 speakers; Moon Evolution 700i V2 amplifier, 780D v2 DAC/streamer, 610LP phonostage; VPI HW-40 Signature turntable, Van Den Hul The Black Crimson cartridge, Nordost Valhalla II cables
In the Gaylord Hotel’s North Tower, where room after room, regardless of its size or layout, seemed conducive to good sound, Raidho Acoustics was making a major impression with the world premiere Raidho TD2.2 2.5-way loudspeakers ($46,000/pair in black).
RMAF 2019: Enter Stage Left
Where am I? I thought I was heading to Denver to cover the 16th edition of the three-day Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, but it looks as though I boarded the wrong plane and ended up in Las Vegas.
RMAF’s Bold Move Pays Off
After talking with a number of exhibitors and attendees, I’d have to call the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest’s daring move to a new and very different venue—a controversial if also inevitable move—a success. Everyone I spoke to was happy with attendance, and the sound in the hotel rooms was generally excellent.
Troy Audio Hellena MKII, Thrax Audio Electronics, Schroeder Turntable
The Hellena MK II uses a 604-8E alnico coaxial driver, made by Great Plains Audio, that owes its design to the original Altec 604-E. Its woofer, Great Plains Audio’s handmade Model 515-C low-frequency loudspeaker, incorporates a massive alnico V magnetic assembly. There's also an alnico horn supertweeter.
Vandersteen Kēnto Carbon loudspeaker and M5-HPA amplifiers, VTL TP-6.5 Series II phono stage and TL-6.5 Series II Signature preamplifier, Aurender A30, AMG Viella turntable with Lyra Atlas cartridge, AudioQuest Niagara 7000 power conditioner and cabling
Another speaker debut and another winner. Introducing the Vandersteen Kēnto Carbon ($37,500/pair), which, together with Vandersteen M5-HPA amplifiers ($15,800/pair), VTL electronics, and more sounded open and alive on top on a Mercury Living LP of Dorati’s rendition of Stravinsky’s The Firebird.
WBT’s New Plating Process
Ray Kimber of Kimber Kable was in “You gotta” mode. After he told me that WBT, the 34-year-old German company that supplies connectors and cable terminations to hundreds of manufacturers worldwide, had a new, environmentally friendly facing process that made for better sound, I arranged to meet with WBT founder and CEO Wolfgang Thoerner on Sunday morning to discuss their new "WBT-PlasmaProtect" PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) plasma process.
Wilson’s Big New Baby
It’s no surprise that the Wilson Audio rooms were buzzing. Both Sheryl Lee Wilson and her late husband Dave’s successor, son Daryl, were on hand to unveil, in passive display, the new Chronosonic XVX loudspeaker ($329,000/pair, seen to Daryl’s right).
YG Acoustics Sonja 2.3 speakers; Nordost QPoint, QSource and cables; VTL Siegfried Series II amplifiers, TP-6.5 Series II phonostage and TL-7.5 Series II preamplifier; dCS Rossini player and clock; VPI direct drive turntable; Lyra Etna Cartridge
That the first big room I visited sounded as good as it did, which was far from the best I’ve heard those components sound, was due to the expertise of setup wizard Stirling Trayle. A lot of room treatment was brought in at first, but after Trayle did his thing, most of it was stashed in a hallway. The system, from Nordost, VTL, and YG Acoustics, was headlined by VTL’s Siegfried Series II monoblocks ($75,000/pair), TP-6.5 Series II phonostage ($12,500), and TL-7.5 Series III linestage preamplifier ($30,000); a special edition of YG Acoustics Sonja 2.3 loudspeakers wired with Nordost ($112,800/pair); and enough Nordost Odin 2 cabling and power products to keep several silver and copper mines operating for weeks.