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RMAF 2016!!

Posted by the analog kid (A) on October 9, 2016 at 07:53:26

RMAF 2016 was incredible. LOTS of new offerings, and - despite the inevitable challenges of adapting to constrained conference spaces - some really great sound (as well as some NOT so....). Spent the entire day Saturday onsite, visiting over 3 dozen rooms, and perception-checking my impressions from Friday (all of which held true). So, squarely in the "for what it's worth" category, here are my impressions. I'm focusing only on the displays I LIKED - as I'm not going to lavish hate on the many rooms that had bad sound (and there were many - including some "big names"): (1) in the ASTONISHINGLY GREAT SOUND category, the Nordost/BAT/Audio Physik room. They did a "gradations of power cords" demo, in which they moved from stock (crap) cord through their entry level all the way up to the Valhalla 2 - all of these JUST POWERING THE TRANSPORT. Everything else was held constant - including the same 30-second excerpt of music. The differences were NOT subtle - of the, "Hmmm, MAYBE there's a SLIGHT change in tonal balance...." NO. The differences were HUGE. Saw the same demo several times - NOT a placebo effect. And the Audio Physik Virgo 25's were simply superlative. Incredible definition of space with instrument separation; all instruments tonally accurate; powerful bass and extended highs and gorgeous midrange - the entire package. Of course, the system had $50K worth of CABLING alone, so no surprise. The whole system tied for my "Best in Show." (2) Harbeth/VAC room. Sporting the big 'beths, the sound was fantastic. Had a delightful conversation with Kevin Hayes, who was gracious, funny, and passionate about his gear. (3) The new Sonus Fabers sounded delicate and delicious, driven by Hegel gear. (4) Winner of the "most surprising disjuncture between size and sound" award was far and away the Joseph Audio Profiles, driven by Rowland. All I can say is WOW - these little babies filled the room with incredible sound and dynamic punch - including tight, rich bass. One of those "where are the REAL speakers!?" experiences. (5) Award for "most impressive new product" goes to Ono Audio Paka's. These little baffle-less babies sounded GREAT - especially on jazz and acoustic. And props to the 20-something designers, for whom this was their debut show. Good luck guys - and SO happy to see the "younger generation" striving for exceptional sound. But, overall winner for BEST IN SHOW sound goes to (6) SANDERS AUDIO. Their 'stats were simply ASTONISHING. I will never, ever, EVER forget the pipe organ demo piece they played - the bass note rattled the hotel walls and windows. I have NEVER heard such power and dynamic grunt come from a pair of stats, and their musicality was unparalleled. Even more shocking was the disclosure - in chatting with their designer and their rep - that the "front end" was a 16-bit direct digital stream (??)! I can't even wrap my head around that. Can't imagine what they would sound like with a "proper" front end upstream. Went back multiple times, to A/B their sound against the "big boys" - including the $115K Raidho array - and they pretty much beat everything else that was there. Yeah, they're $15-17K, but you're going to get sound in return that is world-class. No wonder Robert Greene declared the same thing, months ago.

NOTE: Given that AA limits photo posting to one per message, I will post my other show photos in series.

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The Cable Cooker

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