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 This year's
Rocky Mountain Audio Fest (RMAF) held in the
Mile High City of Denver, Colorado, proved
another standout show. Once again, Denver's
Marriott Tech Center was the venue for the
fourth straight year. Attending my third
straight (missing only the first) RMAF has
shown a steady increase in attendance making
navigation a bit tougher each year especially
when you have to rely on only a couple of
elevators to reach rooms located on the upper
floors.
Sandwiched
between the Home Entertainment Show (HE), held
each spring, and Consumer Electronics Show
(CES), held each winter, the RMAF - strictly
from a manufacturer/dealer/distributor
standpoint - appears to make the most
economical and geographical sense . Both the
HE and CES, compared to the Denver RMAF, are
more expensive to host costing many times the
asking price depending on specific rooms
and/or size. In addition, the HE shows are
normally held in large US cities like NY, Los
Angeles or San Francisco, where there's only
one price: Premium. It is this reason alone I
admire and enjoy the RMAF. Another reason why
you see so many of the smaller manufacturers
and dealers at RMAF is, primarily because they
can afford it.
_____________________
Alan Stiefel of
Red Rock Audio (photo above), who is also
the responsible person behind the RMAF, deserves
plenty credit for having the sheer guts and
foresight to put something of this magnitude
together on such a small budget. To witness
Stiefel along with his dozen or so volunteers
from the Colorado Audio Society working
tirelessly from sun-up to sun-down was
admirable to say the least.
_____________________
 Most impressive
for me however was the singleness of purpose
the RMAF brings to this sacred hobby of ours.
Nearly all the rooms showcased two-channel
stereo rigs. Listening to the many show
attendees talk about the rooms they visited
that I could not - it was refreshing to know
the vast majority were two-channel setups
also. Try listening to the chatter at an CES
event and see what you'll hear especially now
with the show officially moved to the Venetian
Hotel.
Low Yield...
High Gain?
Mark Schifter,
the man behind both Audio Alchemy and Perpetual
Technology, who now heads AV123, should
officially change his name to David. This, the
same David who slew Goliath. In a world where
the dollar continues to fluctuate and thus
justify why the price of high end products
continues soar, there is an alternative
universe called Mark Schifter's AV123 (www.av123.com).
AV123's new flagship loudspeaker in the
LS9 ($6,000), and standing nearly 8 foot tall, looked almost identical to the
$80k Nearfield Acoustic Pipedreams, except
they're $74k cheaper. These
gargantuan transducers were running with some
serious electronics that featured the Red Rock
Renaissance mono amps ($40k), along with their
new prototype preamp (no price). Digital was
by way of the increasingly popular and
omnipresent Abbingdon Music Research CD-77
($8,500). Despite their paltry asking price,
the LS9s didn't hesitate nor skip a musical beat
keeping up with their lofty roommates.
 Once
again, if you can't shell up $6k for the
larger LS9s don't fret because the LS6s are
available for only $4,500! And once again they
were paired with some pretty lofty electronics
that featured the beautifully crafted Dodd
Audio 300 watt mono amps (using KT-88s) and
the Dodd Audio battery powered preamp.
Personally I could not believe how big these
amps were and all the attention they garnered
(I mean you got to admit they're not average
looking in the least). At $50k the Dodd amps
did actually resemble a work of art worth their
asking price - without even hearing them. But once
the music started I couldn't get over how
musical this system sounded with the LS6s at
the helm. If you're thinking, as I was, to
keep the LS6 affordable Schifter had some
serious compromises to make? The real
reasons are productions costs are very low.
Schifter explained to me his manufacturing
plant as somewhere in Brazil (don't quote me).
Most importantly, once
the music started I was hard fought to find
anything that wasn't highly unimpressive
considering I too own a major line source and
am intimately aware of their capabilities.
Both models seem to have all the goods.
Simply put, it's a killer product at a ridiculous price.
I fully understand that until you hear either the LS6
or the LS9, for yourself, you most likely
won't believe a word.
_____________________
Speaking of
affordable....
 PS
Audio's Paul McGowan showed a prototype of his
new Lambda II transport. Scheduled for release
in spring of 2008 this sleek and sexy design
boasts some very interesting features, namely;
I2S (proprietary system which separates the
clock and data) along with the SPDIF (coax)
and AES/EBU (XLR) digital outputs. Inside the
drive will extract bit perfect data directly
off the disc without adding a clock, and place
it into an internal Digital Lens II. Once
inside the Lens, it has about a 1 second
memory buffer that is long enough to eliminate
jitter. The stored data is then output with a
separate extremely low jitter clock. (The
Digital Lens II is also coming out as a
separate product, next year for those of you
who don't plan on getting rid of your beloved
transport). Estimated retail $1195.
_____________________
No moss grows
under the feet of Blue Circle's Gilbert Yuen.
Showing off his newest creation in the
omni-directional Penny loudspeakers ($4,700 to
$6,500 depending on finish) that produced a
remarkable open and airy sound to them
reminiscent to the famous Ohm Acoustics Walsh
5s from back in the day. Measuring only 37" in
height, 10" in width and 16" deep, they can be
placed in places ordinary loudspeakers simply
would not work due, in a large part, to their
omni-directional radiation pattern,. "This,
says Yuen, gives them great appeal in places
and spaces where you don't want to see
loudspeakers in the middle of the room." The
sound of the room was non-fatiguing yet very
detailed, relaxing and musical. Typical Blue
Circle sound.
Blue Circle
electronics were used throughout also featured
the BC501oB DAC ($7,395), BC202 hybrid stereo
amplifier ($6,495) and the BC3000MK GZpz
linestage preamplifier ($9,495). Transport
used was the Alesis Masterlink 9600. Computer
laptop music also served up the music via Blue
Circle's "Thingee" USB to SPDIF converter
($169).
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