RMAF 2012

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RMAF 2012
Sensorium AVR
Stephen Mejias  |  Oct 17, 2012  | 
As Jason Victor Serinus mentioned, there was a party going on in the Music Hall room; and, while this meant that you really couldn’t evaluate the sound of the system, it also meant that you were bound to actually have fun.

Hmm: Evaluate sound or have fun, evaluate sound or have fun?

Oh, darn. I guess I’ll have fun.

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RMAF 2012
Alissa Vassilkova of Estelon
Stephen Mejias  |  Oct 17, 2012  | 
In the Music Hall room, I also met Alissa Vassilkova, whose father, Alfred, is the founder and lead designer of Estonia’s Estelon loudspeaker company.
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RMAF 2012
Big Sound in Pikes Peak
Stephen Mejias  |  Oct 17, 2012  | 
In the big Pikes Peak room, I heard a big, full-bodied sound that gave a gentle sparkle to electric guitars and rich texture to voices.

The system:

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RMAF 2012
Induction Dynamics goes big (and small)
Stephen Mejias  |  Oct 16, 2012  | 
Induction Dynamics matched their beautiful S1.8T loudspeaker with a host of McIntosh gear (MT10 turntable, MX150 control center, and MC207 power amplifier), all strung together with Kimber Kable.
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RMAF 2012
Lawrence Audio and Jeff Rowland
Stephen Mejias  |  Oct 16, 2012  | 
Based in Taiwan, Lawrence Audio Co. (“Inspired by Musical Masters”) manufactures limited-edition and custom-made loudspeakers modeled after stringed instruments. Lawrence Liao, founder and chief designer, is also an interior decorator, music lover, and musician: He plays saxophone, violin, and piano.

Lawrence’s line includes the two-way, standmounted Mandolin; the slightly larger Violin; and the 3.5-way, floorstanding Cello ($18,000/pair), which was playing when I walked into the room.

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RMAF 2012
Xact Audio: Daaaamn right!
Stephen Mejias  |  Oct 16, 2012  | 
You know the slinky hi-hat, the funky wah, the groovy bass line; the slow-building horns, the deep voice, the suggestive lyrics: Who’s the black private dick / That’s a sex machine to all the chicks? / (Shaft!) / Damn right…

There was a party going on in the Xact Audio room.

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RMAF 2012
Being and Dreaming with MBL
Stephen Mejias  |  Oct 16, 2012  | 
I’m not at all embarrassed or ashamed to admit that there have been times when I was so distracted by a system’s appearance that I couldn’t properly appreciate its performance. Similarly, there have been times when I was so overwhelmed by a system’s price, that I couldn’t even hear its music.

But, here, in the MBL suite, just as in the Wilson/VTL suite, the sound of music was so compelling that I was easily able to ignore those aspects that are beyond my appreciation and reach.

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RMAF 2012
Sweet Streams from Salk and Van Alstine
Stephen Mejias  |  Oct 16, 2012  | 
Salk’s beautifully finished SoundScape 8 uses the same RAAL ribbon tweeter, Accuton midrange unit, and 12” side-firing passive radiators as the company’s larger SoundScape 10 and 12 floorstanders, but where those designs use single 10” and 12” woofers, respectively, the SoundScape 8 employs two 8” drivers. While the base price for the SoundScape 8 is $8000/pair, custom-finished models such as those seen here, which had a marble-like appearance, can cost up to $12,000/pair.
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RMAF 2012
Blackbird Audio/Gallery & Colleen Cardas Imports: "Yulunga!"
Stephen Mejias  |  Oct 16, 2012  | 
Do you know that creepy, moody Dead Can Dance track—the one with the shaker that comes flying from the left-channel speaker with crazy presence and realism? It’s called “Yulunga,” right?
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RMAF 2012
Sound and Beauty from Profundo
Stephen Mejias  |  Oct 16, 2012  | 
Sharing the Blackbird Audio room with Colleen Cardas Imports was Bob Clarke’s Profundo, out of Round Rock, Texas. Bob Clarke seems to have an eye for beauty as well as an ear for sound:
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RMAF 2012
Zesto, WyWires, and TAD take the whine out of Rickie Lee Jones
Stephen Mejias  |  Oct 16, 2012  | 
I loved the pure, clean sound and sense of touch and bloom that came with Ben Webster’s tenor sax on “Stars Fell on Alabama” from Billie Holiday’s great Songs for Distingué Lovers. And, in “A Foggy Day,” Lady Day’s voice was as rich and true as can be.

Later, I noted fine snap and brassy pluck to the sound of acoustic guitars during “Chuck E.’s in Love,” the opening track to Rickie Lee Jones’ self-titled debut, an album that people often love or hate.

One female listener was surprised by the sound:

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RMAF 2012
Ayre Treatment
Stephen Mejias  |  Oct 16, 2012  | 
Here’s a picture of Ayre’s Michael Wiedmaier pretending to enjoy a martini. I also have a picture of someone pretending to take a hit from an oversized bong; a picture of someone else looking mesmerized by a lava lamp; a picture of someone dancing on a shag rug; a picture of someone else putting out an imaginary cigarette in a real-life ashtray; and a few other funny pictures, too.

I have no pictures of Ayre’s new AX-5 integrated amplifier, no comments on the sound quality of the system, no recollection of even listening to music while in the amazing Ayre room. I do recall very pleasant conversations with readers, exhibitors, and attendees. At any hi-fi show, there are rooms that are all about the gear; rooms that are merely about the technology; rooms that are stuffy or solemn; rooms that are even empty and quiet.

And then there are rooms like this one.

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RMAF 2012
Ayre's AX-5 integrated amplifier: cool, cool, cool
Stephen Mejias  |  Oct 16, 2012  | 
Ah-ha! I found a picture of the gear in the fantastic Ayre room.
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RMAF 2012
Audio Alternative relieves headaches fast
Stephen Mejias  |  Oct 16, 2012  | 
I walked into the Audio Alternative room with a nagging headache and walked out cured. I credit the system: Vandersteen Model 7 loudspeakers with M7 crossovers ($50,000/pair) driven by Audio Research’s Reference 250 monoblock and new two-chassis Reference 10 preamp ($30,000); AMG Viella 12 turntable fitted with a Lyra Atlas phono cartridge; and AudioQuest cables.

The song, believe it or not, was “Here Comes the Sun.”

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RMAF 2012
Paragon Sight and Sound
Stephen Mejias  |  Oct 16, 2012  | 
Ann Arbor, Michigan’s Paragon Sight & Sound put together another high-performance, cost-no-object system: Wilson Audio MAXX Series 3 loudspeakers ($69,500/pair); Doshi Audio (“Audio Products for Music Lovers”) Alaap v3.0 NAB tape preamp ($10,995), Alaap v3.0 line stage ($14,995), Alaap v2.1 phono stage ($10,995), and Jhor 160 monoblock power amplifier ($28,995/pair); SME 20/3 turntable ($15,500 with SME’s Series V tonearm) and Koetsu Urushi Vermillion cartridge ($5850); and Transparent Audio cables. The gear was supported by Harmonic Resolutions Systems racks. I didn’t listen to any digital while I was in the room, but digital was being handled by a Wadia S7i CD player and a Playback Designs MPD-5 Reference DAC.
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