Fyssion? That rhymes with "fishin'," right? Every year I pop in the Fyssion room and every year I start thinking of fishin' before I even sit down, because these Fine Southern Gentlemen remind me of how good the bass fishing must be in their home state of North Carolina. I always cause a little friction 'cause I try to get them to have a room sheet with info about the gear they are playing and they always say, "Why should I do that?" I grin and explain that, "No words from you gets no words from me." They all laugh.
I like the word tenacious. I consider myself tenacious. I admire tenacity. But I have to ask, what is Tenacious Sound? It is an audio dealer in Syracuse, New York, that is about to "tenaciously" open a new store in Nashville, TN. Tenacious had two rooms at the 2017 Capital Audio fest. The first was upscale and featured John Bevier demonstrating the hottest speaker of the moment, one I think sounds fast and lucid in a sometimes-thrilling way, the TAD ME-1K ($14,290/pair).
That is me you see hanging out the car window like an old hound dogears flappin' in the slipstreama big smile on my face. I am happy in the wind 'cause I am heading down to Rockville, Maryland to Capital Audio fest (starting today, November 3, and running though Sunday November 5) where I will see at least 60 fine audio rooms and I'll chatter on a panel about "The Virtues of Vintage" with old pals, Art Dudley, Joe Roberts, and Blackie Pagano. I'll be cruising the Rockville Hilton Hotel halls meeting new people and visiting the rooms of some old and (hopefully) some new friends. Tickets for entry are only $20 a day or $30 for the whole weekend.
Every day in my bunker, I use one of a few high-quality headphone amplifiers to double as a line-level preamplifier-controller and operate as the quality-assurance reference for my ongoing audio experiments. I must choose this component carefully, because it determines the upper limit of my system's ability to reveal any subtle differences among components under review.
Sunday afternoons at audio shows are when the good sound is just kicking in. The rooms' components have recovered from the trauma of travel and are starting to purr. Unfortunately, that's when the toys go back in the boxes. That is also when this humble reporter looks like he's been dragged behind a car.
And this Sunday, just when I thought I was done being dragged, I get this mad call from an out-of-breath Jason Victor Serinus, saying, "Herb! Get your ass up to room 1125 (the Parasound-Tekton room). The sound is amazing, and you must listen to this speaker. Hurry up!"
Vana Ltd. had two rooms at RMAF. Both rooms had stereo systems set-up, but the first room I entered was filled by a hoard of standing, chattering people of all sexes. It looked like they were making big business deals so I decided to not eavesdrop or interrupt. However, the sound of music coming from the Vana room next door was inviting. I slipped in and was greeted warmly by Nancy Weiner and Audio Physic's Manfred Diestertich.
Last year, Vaughn Loudspeakers' flagship Plasma Signature towers ($20,000/pair), featuring eight midrange drivers in a bipolar configuration (four front and four rear), a 12" powered subwoofer, and their signature plasma tweeter, were my BIG best-in-show discovery
Each year, in honor and remembrance of her late husband and RMAF founder, Al Stiefel, Marjorie Baumert donates one exhibit room to support "a new manufacturer with an innovative product, or one who simply needs a little help"