Report from Rocky Mountain AudioFest

Bombaywalla, Just to clarify the Redpoint in Dan Wright’s room was a Model SC = "Spoiled Child" not a Model A.

Did anyone here happen to listen to my prototypes in the BPT room - 9014? You'd remember if you did, the only red speakers at the whole show :-) If so, I'd love feedback ... good or bad. I only heard good from people I talked to, maybe everyone was just being nice.

I have already posted on another thread my impressions of the Acapella speakers so will not bore you with a repetition. I would like to mention one particular room that I felt was exceptional in that it finally seemed to capture the promise of a full range, cross-overless, single driver speaker. Joe Cohen of Prana, Oyaide, Acrolink fame (Lotus) was showing a number of Feastrex (probably mispelled) single driver speakers. One in particular (the 9") was damaged on the way to the show but the builder was present and able to repair it. The cabinet (a proto-type arrived late and the speakers were up and running late Friday and did not initially sound like anything special. By Saturday they were making lovely music. I have heard and ocassionally loved Lowthers but never thought that they were truly full range. The Feastrex 9" drivers in what appeared to be a ported enclosure were absolutely lovely. They had some of the best, most impactful, tightest controlled bass that I have ever heard if somewhat limited in absolute extension. Joe played a Japanese drum record which I would usually dismiss as boring. In this instance, the sound was rivetting. Although the Wilson watt Puppies have never been my personal cup of tea, they have always with the right amp been an excellent speaker to produce drums and other percussive instruments with very steep waveforms. The Weastren beat the Wilson in this area by a handy margin. They were equally good throughout the midrange and most of the treble (a place that single drivers seem to normally have a problem). Again, struck instruments such as triangles were excellent. Female voices and piano were also lovely. The speakers were being driven by Lamm ML2.1 amps, an Abbington CD player (seen in many other rooms and always sounding good), Joe's Prana gabling and various tweaks fromAcoustic Revive. By the way, these speakers employed field coil drivers, i.e. rather than permanent magnets, the magnet was hooked to a power source and the flux stength was adjustable. The bad news is that these drivers are handbuilt in relatively small quantities from expensive materials and retail at $35k per pair which includes the enclosure. For me this was one of the best sounds at the show.

>> 10-17-07: Audiobugged
>> Bombaywalla, Just to clarify the Redpoint in Dan
>> Wright’s room was a Model SC = "Spoiled Child" not a
>> Model A.

thanks for the correction Audiobugged.

Hello Turbofc3s,

I heard The Red Speakers in room 9014 and liked them quite a bit. They were very dynamic and open-sounding, and I didn't hear anything that sounded "wrong" and spoiled the illusion. I wanted to stay longer in your room, but had very limited time away from mine. What is their projected price range? And... what is their official name?

Other speakers I liked included (in no particular order) Sonic Weld, Tonian Labs, Tyler Acoustics, Cogent, Selah, Classic Audio Reproductions, GR Research, Acoustic Horn, MBL, Gershman Acoustics, Daedalus, and Emerald Physics (disclaimer - I'm now a dealer for the latter). I'm probably forgetting some, and there were many rooms that I didn't get to. I was on the same floor as Jim Salk and Bastani, for instance, and didn't get to their rooms. Arrrrgh!

Duke
dealer/manufacturer