2010 RMAF Analog Reports + Meet and Greet

Hi Dev,

I'm just beginning to recover from the sleep deprivation we call the Audiofest.

I think it's more appropriate that others chime in on this topic, but my take is exactly what I expected to occur - no clear winner, and how could there really be? This wasn't a shootout after all, and we used two different phono stages in order to accommodate the Soundsmith Sussuro cartridge that Frank brought to the party.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the day was the (scheduled for export only) Artemis Labs phono stage. One could hear all of that great Intact Audio iron in this LCR phono stage. Note that I'm not an Artemis dealer, and also that I'm a big fan of the iron that Dave Slagle winds.

Due to other responsibilites, Frank wasn't able to bring this phono stage to the room before starting time, and everyone worked up a healthy sweat in a room heated by Atma-sphere OTL's, while we worked out the equipment placement in order to eliminate hum from this iron rich phono stage.

It was a matter of shuffling equipment around to keep the Artemis away from the power supply of the Atma-sphere MP-1 preamp - not a trivial task with thick power cords and inconvenient outlet locations.

While working through this, Wally Malewicz gave us a short talk on cartridge quality control. He's been studying sample to sample variance on SRA in various cartridge brands - yet one more reason why I argued against using "identical" cartridges in a session like this. It might lead to conclusions based on false assumptions of cartridge samples being identical.

So, the end result? Quite a bit of beer and Tequilla flowed thanks to Dave Slagle of Intact Audio, new and old friends met, and two very fine tonearms strutted their stuff.

I am honored that I was able to provide the platform for this session. I need to reiterate (especially since I sell both of these arms), that we could easily have included quite a few other arms in this session ... IF we had 6 or 8 hours for this. More than two arms in a three hour session is an unrealistic goal, and I think that the attendees would agree.

We're talking about perhaps doing a phono stage comparison next year.

Lessons learned for next year - nothing shows up on Saturday night that hasn't been fully vetted by Friday night. Time is short, and we need to be ready for show time.

Cheers,
Thom @ Galibier

...that the Thales was damaged from the beginning ...

That's High End today.
I like that, when something just works the way it should, that's not the right product today for the serious Audiophile

...could not hear any important differences between Talea and Schroeder ....

Was the Talea defect, too?

Tbg

It's a shame the Thales was damaged. I was looking forward to listening to it a little longer, and hoping to hear what Jeff said about it while using it in NY, but going into Jeff's room Saturday afternoon, it was off the table.

Any other good analog sounds that stood out for you at the show?

I tried a couple of times to listen to the Bermann table but no luck.

Pcosta, I'm happy that there will be a less expensive and hopefully more robust Thales arm. I have a Bergman Sindre tt and love it. I introduced the designer to StillPoints Ultima SS isolation feet and will soon be trying them on mine.

I was struck by Steve Dobbin's new turntable using the Reed arm. I wonder what a Thales would have added.

This was my first RMAF as an audio enthusiast and as an exhibitor. I had a blast and want to thank every one I met there for helping me to have so much fun. Although I didn't have a chance to see much of the show, many exciting things happened there for me and more opportunities have developed quickly since. Yeah, I had a great time. To say that it was also educational would be a gross understatement.

I think I met up with most everyone, but I regret not being able to attend the meet and great. Dre and I hooked up early on, but I apologize directly to Larry for not being able to look you up. Someday we'll meet up.