2008 RMAF – – – all things analog.

RMAF....Meet & Greet
.
.
Rest your Ears, Put faces to the Audiogon screen names you have come to know and love and get a chance to meet some new friends, and enjoy a drink or two or three.

We will be providing Free Name Tags and a Sharpie, you just have to pay for your drinks and be able to write legibly.

We have organized a Happy Hour at Garcia’s Mexican Restaurant on both Friday and Saturday evenings from 6 – 7:30 PM (just after the RMAF show closes each night). Garcia’s is kindly offering us a Happy Hour with Two for One Drinks (..limit of 20 drinks per person).

Garcia’s is located directly across the street from the front entrance & parking lot and of the Marriott Tech Center (where the convention is being held).

Looking forward to seeing you all !

Cello (Larry Howkins) & Vetterone (Steve Dobbins)

The Meet and Greet sound good.

Hopefully I'm able to stop by Saturday. If not, I'll definitely be in Thom's room later that evening.

Dre

No remote on my Triplanar chez Galibier either, Doug, but know that Ralph's electronics will also be in our suite (1130) this year.

* Galibier Gavia (Stelvio Platter) / Triplanar / XV-1s
* Atma-sphere MP-3 preamp
* Atma-sphere MP-60 amps
* Classic Audio T-3 speakers

I'll have Yip's MintLP protractor on display for those of you who are curious about it.

We're planning something a bit different from the stodgy old type of room, as my buddy Al Helo (Lee Island Audio) and I will be co-exhibiting. Our number 1 goal is to have fun, because if we can't have any, we don't know how we can expect anyone else to do so.

Sure, we run the risk of offending some with music that is other than pristinely recorded and typical of shows, but you know what? If I hear Patricia Barber one more time I'll ...

The theme will be that of a radio station. We'll be blocking time on Saturday for different types of music, so you can plan on bringing your tunes in at the appropriate hour (e.g. Saturday morning bluegrass, aftenoon Baroque, etc.). As soon as we hash out the schedule, I'll publish it on the website.

As you can guess from above, there will **NOT** be an audiophile hour. The last time I checked, audiophile is not a genre of music.

Cheers,
Thom @ Galibier

Loudness of the demonstrations
One thing that seems to get over-looked while making comparisons at events like RMAF, or smaller shows like VSAC is the decibel level of the demonstrations. For that matter, it often fails to get mention during equipment reviews in the major audio mags. Yet it is important.

How can you discern the difference between equipment when one demo is heard at less than 70 db but the next one is heard at 78db? Does this make for a fair comparison? I'm leaning toward the negative. No. You have to compare the equipment under similar conditions, including loudness levels.

I request the following for attendees and participants....and the press. If you have an spl meter, bring it and use it. When reporting back about the event, if you do, include the listening levels heard within your comparisons between rooms. It would be useful commentary.

tia

-Steve

Agreed, Steve, and furthermore, the best gear is at a disadvantage as the "look at me" exhibits across and down the hall from most rooms blast at mega-levels which can't help but leak into your exhibit room.

It's unfortunate that for the most part, systems with low noise floors don't get to strut their stuff at shows because of this. Subtlety, to a large extent is lost.

It's one reason they'll have to pry the end suite I've been occupying since the first year of the show from my cold, dead hands. In addition to being one of the largest rooms at the show (apart from the 5 ballrooms, that is), we can position the listening seats far from the door. This coupled with having only one neighbor, means there's minimal (but still some) sonic polution from other rooms.

The worst of it as you'd guess is that the rooms with the worst systems are the worst offenders in the loudness department. A system has to be pretty mediocre to sound bad in the hallway walking by, and you can tell in a heartbeat the rooms you absolutely don't want to set foot in. In this sense (and only this sense), they're doing you a favor.

Cheers,
Thom @ Galibier