RMAF 2016

Yes, why wouldn't the dealer get the room dimensions in advance and bring the appropriate gear? Like trying to put five pounds  of sausage into a one pound bag. Totally showcases the brands in a negative light. I see it way too often!

RB, I live in Denver and have only attended RMAF 2014 previously. I loved the show in 2014 although I was a total newb, still am, but I really liked to explore and discover all the new products. This year, year 2, I also found that I wasn’t as wowed. I don’t know if that is because I have been spending too much time on Audiogon reading about products and scouring Audio magazines.

My quest this year was to find some speakers for my system. I had previously found Constellation for my amp and my preamp and PS Audio for my DAC and Power supply.

I did my research in advance and was excited to listen to Magico, Nola ( a no show) and Raidho. I was fairly set to buy the D1.1 based on what I had read and hearing the D1 in 2014 with Constellation. I was disappointed to learn that Raidho only brought their D4.1 speakers ($110K). While they sounded great, even though they were in a small room, I wasn’t looking to spend that much money. I then listened to Magico S1’s. I personally found them to thin in the bottom. I then went onto to the Magico S3’s. I really thought they were the 1’s based on what I had read. Synergistic did the presentation and they were focused on showing all of their aids. I believe the speakers were too big for the room and they sounded muddy down low. Like I said, Raidho sound good even though they were in too small of a room???

I did fall in love with a new manufacturer to me, Voxativ. So much so that I bought his show setup and loaded it into my car Sunday. I am even getting rid of my Constellation amp/preamp since his speakers are best served with tubes. While the show wasn’t as exciting with new products I did enjoy discovering some new things to me. I had a nice conversation with Andrew Jones of Elac and Chris Watkins (last name?). They have developed an amazing little integrated amp for $700 that blew me away. Paired with their $1,500 speakers I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I commended them on bringing high quality sound to the masses. I trust we will continue to see amazing value from this company.

Another company that I am researching was Fern & Roby. The owner, Christopher is a super cool guy (used to live in Boulder) and lives in Virginia. He is making some great sounding and looking turntables among other things. I plan to acquire one of his next month once my bank account recovers from the other items ;).

Overall, I agree the show didn’t have the same excitement as 2014. Maybe it is the economy, the election or we are just coming down from a overly ambitious period of development in the industry. Regardless, I have never been happier with the sound of my system than I am today. I will return next year and set proper expectations.

Finally, I enjoyed being able to speak to all the designers/founders of these companies. Holger from Voxativ, Paul from PS Audio, Christopher from Fern & Roby, Andrew from Elac and so on. I like buying from people and supporting small businesses. Anyway, back to my nice wine and the music.....apologies for the long post, slightly drunk..

I really enjoyed the show. I was covering it for American Made Audio http://americanmadeaudio.com - coverage coming soon, select pictures up on the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/215312778861022/ 

I was only looking for American-made gear, spent two full days, and still didn't see everything. I was impressed at the number of really good sounding rooms. Maybe it was better in prior years, but the show was a real winner for me. 

I was blown away with the sound quality of the Parasound /kef room . Those kef blades were insane . Also the Martin Logan room was dialed in really nice due to the fact that the speakers have arc software built in . I enjoyed the technics room as well with all that vintage . Came away with a new turntable form pro-ject .