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Report from Rocky Mountain AudioFest

First day at fest...Heard some pretty good sound...speakers from PSB (new Symphony line), Tyler Audio, Acoustic Zen (new Crescendo is really good), Wilson Benesch were most memorable. Also appreciated chatting with reps from Audio Research, Acoustic Zen, PSB...and members of audio press (Jonathan Scull). BUT, overall, sound is WAY too loud for anyone who cares about his hearing or evaluating sound. And, there was a surprising amount of truly bad sound. Also, it seems like the only music being demo'd was percussion tracks and cuts by any number of women with an acoustic guitar. At the end of the day, my ears hurt and I had a headache and reaffirmed my feeling that the ONLY way to evaluate equipment is in my home...Maybe my impressions will be more favorable after a cocktail and some aspirin. Cheers to all!
77jovian
tvad
9,467 posts
 
At the end of the day, my ears hurt and I had a headache...
77jovian (Threads)

I've attended three audio shows, and that's precisely how I've felt upon leaving.
jax2
3,031 posts
 
This is the first show I've been to since the late 80's. Now I remember why I stopped going after only two. Still, I've enjoyed the social aspect of it. Great to finally meet Albert Porter. It's astounding how bad some of the most exotic and expensive gear in existence can be made to sound through the intervention of a hotel room. Albert told me the building is not grounded and the AC is fluctuating around 109 volts to make matters worse. There have been some standouts for me though. The Ayre/Vanderstein system would be in my top 5. Quicksilver is finally manufacturing the 300B amps I've been loving for years - the midrange is magic. I was really impressed with the Innersound / Sanders room - amazing imaging way beyond the edges of the speakers. I wasn't as wowed by the big guys who require a second mortgage to join the club...some were impressive, but none really grabbed me by the balls and made my short hairs stand on end as I might expect from something of that caliber. I'm very impressed with the Bel Canto Ref1000's paired with Pioneer speakers here. They aren't perfect, but they do a whole lot right. That's all for now...I'm on overload and need to take a break.

Marco
jrw40
61 posts
 
i thought the best sounding rooms were the mbl, and the wilson audio powerd with bat. a little disappointed in some of the little hotel rooms, thought it made for terrible auditioning. sonus faber i thought got short changed in particular, because ive heard those elipsa speakers sound great at the dealer.i did go in particuler to hear the simaudio evolution gear. when i got to the room they were playing some other gear (i didnt catch the brand) through the new thiel floor standing speakers. i wasnt blown away. not thinking much of the thiel, i returned an hour later to hear the simaudio gear playing through the same speakers,WOW! im sold . so all in all i had a great time , may even go back tommorow.
chazzbo
1,006 posts
 
Would likem to hear more about the Pioneer.Anbd was the Diamond B&W to bright for others as Gawdbless mentioned?
Cheers
Chazz
yipean
42 posts
 
I agree with Jrw40 about the Mbl speaker room, and Audio Unlimited's room with Wilson speakers with BAT electronics. I'd also add the Kharma room with MBL electronics, and the Apogee Acoustics room. For bang for the buck, the Apogee room was the hands down winner.

To Gawdbless, if you thought the Apogee room was lacking bass, make sure you ask them to play one of his demo tracks (I think it's the second track of three) which shows just how much bass those Duetta Sigs can put out. I was truly impressed.
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