2010 RMAF Analog Reports + Meet and Greet

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.

Syntax,
No, the Talea wasn't defective; the confusion comes from the fact that Frank and I were using different cartridges and phono stages. The attendees were expecting a straight comparison that didn't occur; and the room was really packed, which indeed created difficulties for some listeners (sorry, Lewm!).
Joel

Talea, Not to worry. You make a beautiful and well-engineered product that I would be proud to own.

BTW, Intactaudio, the step ups made it to New England with no problems.

AND, TSA didn't take my vinyl. I attribute this success to a good,long soak with an approved audiophile enzyme cleaner. ;-)

The evening events and general info:

The Friday evening Meet & Greet: The Meet & Greet on Friday night was excellent. It was great to meet so many music listeners/audiophiles in one concentrated location. Putting faces and names to monikers was an enlightening event. The conversations were civil and engaging. It was especially great to get to know more new faces at this event. There is no doubt that the Meet & Greet has become one of the highlights of the show the past three years.

The Saturday evening tonearm listening session in the Galibier room: This event was another highlight of the evening for me. Again, the fun part was the interactions among the group in terms of conversation before, during, and after the listening session. I had already known about and lobbied for this to be a fun event and just a listening session. There was not supposed to be a serious tonearm comparison but merely a chance to listen to two very well designed tonearms on a newly designed turntable. The evening results could be summed up by me in the following way. Having dealt with both cartridges personally, I heard the resulting performance of the cartridges themselves. Both arms were able to display the general character of the cartridges very well. This, to me, gets down to one of the more important reasons of having a tonearm to begin with. I know this gives me a unique perspective having dealt with both cartridges personally but I feel it necessary to share this bit of insight. There were differences in presentation but again, I would attribute the differences to the cartridges being used. There were some noticeable setup preferences for both combinations which were also perceptible. Overall, I enjoyed the performance of both arms. Whether I preferred one setup vs. the other was for the most part dependent on the particular LP being played. Special Thanks to Thom Mackris for traditionally hosting an enjoyable evening listening session over the years.

Overall, I enjoyed both evening activities greatly due to the interaction with all of the individuals and personalities present. For that I thank all who could attend the events.

One more comment of note would be the Thales arm that Jeff Catalono brought along for the show. I think it should be known that during disassembly of the arm for transport, a piece was misplaced so the arm could not be assembled for RMAF. Obviously Jeff may have made an attempt to get the arm functional but later decided that with the misplaced part, it was not to be. The arm itself did not break. My understanding is that the arm merely missing a part that was required during reassembly.

Dre