RMAF 2018 Best of Show

With another RMAF in the books, the last one at the Marriott Tech Center, the show goes out with a bang. Next year, the show is moving to a much bigger facility and much closer to the airport. The rooms this year were exceptionally good sounding (much better than the small ones at Axpona). Although traffic wasn’t as heavy as in past years, the rooms stole the show.

Without further ado, here are my best of show:

MBL 101e Mk2 with MBL Noble Electronics.

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I have never been to a show where I considered it a perfect, 10/10 room, until now. I returned to this room four separate times and could not find fault in anything. Bass was 10/10, top end was 10/10, imaging was 12/10, musicality was 10/10, etc. What did I learn from this room? The new WireWorld Electra (all copper) cables are a much better matching in my opinion than the all silver cables they’ve used in the past and I need to step up my game! Up until now, I felt the MBL’s in my room had surpassed any of the times I heard the 101’s at the show. Not any more. I have some work to do! As I said, this to me, was perfection.

Magico M3’s with MSB Select II

A first for this pairing at a show and boy, was it a good one. The musicality in this room was a hot as the room was itself. Those Class A amps from MSB sure do throw off some heat! That aside, this room oozed musicality and natural sound. There was nothing aggressive or forward at all. This was a system you could listen to all day (with a little more AC!). An awesome pairing I hope we see a lot more of. This is the pairing in my store and I know it’s a good one!

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Verity Audio Monsalvat with Verity Audio Electronics

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What’s not to like (other than perhaps the price)? This system was an all out assault on reproducing music. It was engaging, never fatiguing, perfectly balanced. This was one of those systems that you will remember for a very long time - and definitely one that forms a reference in ones mind.

Gryphon Panthon with Gryphon Antilleon Evo and new Gryphon Zena Preamp

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Three times I went into this room, they were playing R2R. These were Master tapes from a Russian company I believe. The system produced a rich, liquid sound which seemed to extend far beyond the outside of the speakers. It was three dimensional and had such attack and dynamics. This was a complete Gryphon system that would could pack up, take home and live happily ever after.

Avantgarde Uno Fino XD

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I have long wanted a horn speaker that would work in a smaller room (like 10 x 11). Avantgarde has answered my wishes with the Uno Fino XD. Not requiring a long throw (maybe 4 feet), these speakers with their new porting system sounded excellent and the drivers blended seamlessly. The Phasemation 300b tube amps rounded out the complete picture of what these amazing speakers are capable of.

Alsyvox with Audio Concepts Electronics

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Where’s the subs I asked? There are no subs the designer responded. For those looking for the perfect electrostatic speaker, this is it. This speaker had no flaws - at all. Relatively efficient, dynamic, completely disappearing and at a level far beyond what I heard with Maggie 30.7’s. Sadly, the price is also far beyond the Maggie 30.7’s at about $87,000/pair.

Harbeth 40.2 with Vinnie Rossi LIO electronics

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This was one of those rooms you could sit and listen all day and never get fatigued. Vinnie had them dialed in and his new DHT Preamp sounded terrific. You also won’t meet a friendlier bunch than these guys!

DynAudio Confidence 20’s

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These new standmounts from DynAudio played HUGE! Musically engaging and refreshing to see a soft dome tweeter once again. The fit and finish was superb. Rumored to be pricing around $12-15K depending on finish.


Honorable Mention:

VAC with Von Schweikert speakers — This room sounded great, but was hard for me to properly assess. It was always packed! I guess that’s a good sign. The new VAC integrated certainly makes a statement.

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Sonus Faber Aida 2.0 with Audio Research - I went to this room three times and they were always playing crummy music. Like, really bad music. Again, I love this pairing, so very hard to assess the three times I was there. I heard from others who caught the room when it was playing good music, that it sounded great.

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The new little Sonus Faber Speakers (I forget the name).

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Tidal speakers with Bracasti electronics (or Tidal electronics in the other room).

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These sounded awesome with or without the sub!

Wow! Thank you Mike.

Thanks Mike. I am sure any of these systems would make most of us very happy.

Mike,

Thank you for your comments. It is said "a picture is worth 10,000 words" but when it comes to audio, just pictures leaves a lot to be desired.

What I noticed about your top few picks is the huge size of the rooms. That is one thing that has turned me off about shows. That and the prices. Equipment and systems not designed for mere mortals. Still, those rooms show what can be done and set a benchmark for others to strive for.

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Originally Posted by Dizzie

Mike,

Thank you for your comments. It is said "a picture is worth 10,000 words" but when it comes to audio, just pictures leaves a lot to be desired.

What I noticed about your top few picks is the huge size of the rooms. That is one thing that has turned me off about shows. That and the prices. Equipment and systems not designed for mere mortals. Still, those rooms show what can be done and set a benchmark for others to strive for.

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I don’t consider my top two picks, the MBL room or most certainly the MSB/Magico room large. Quite the contrary. I also mentioned the Avantgarde Uno Fino XD designed for very small rooms and priced excellently.


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Wonderful coverage and thoughtful comments Mike, many thanks for the effort it must take to cover so much ground in the allotted time.

Enjoyed all the pictures and your final reviews. Helped all of us be a part of the experience. Might have to visit the new resort location next year...

Mike, many thanks for your great reports. The new little Sonus Faber speaker is the new Electa Amator III. Pity music in the ARC/Aida II room was crummy when you went. Safe travels back.

Great reporting Mike and it was a great pleasure meeting you and the other AS members. My only inclusion to your list would be the Aaudio Imports room with the Wilson Benesch speakers and Ypsilon electronics. I had to ask for them to play a different selection of music and it was worth it. Looking forward to the Florida Audio Expo.

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Originally Posted by nc42acc

Great reporting Mike and it was a great pleasure meeting you and the other AS members. My only inclusion to your list would be the Aaudio Imports room with the Wilson Benesch speakers and Ypsilon electronics. I had to ask for them to play a different selection of music and it was worth it. Looking forward to the Florida Audio Expo.

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Thanks and great meeting with you as well Marty.

Very nice summary Mike. Balanced approach from reasonably priced systems to the ultra expensive.

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Originally Posted by Mike

I don’t consider my top two picks, the MBL room or most certainly the MSB/Magico room large. Quite the contrary. I also mentioned the Avantgarde Uno Fino XD designed for very small rooms and priced excellently.
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Mike, thanks for the report, great job. What is the list price for the Uno Fino XD?

Thanks Mike. It's great to have a summary of what sounded right. Many are the standards you would expect. I guess those people know how to make it right.

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Originally Posted by puroagave

Mike, thanks for the report, great job. What is the list price for the Uno Fino XD?

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$24,800


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Great coverage Mike! Thanks for sharing.

Thanks Mike...the photos & summary commentary has let the rest of us share a little of the "magic"...
Heartening to see that your best sounding rooms covered almost all speaker variations...
Floor & stand mounts box speakers...horns...dipole ribbons & the 360 MBL's...

Thanks Mike!

Did you get to listen to the Wilson demo? I've not seen listening coverage of their room.

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Originally Posted by Jim Smith

Thanks Mike!

Did you get to listen to the Wilson demo? I've not seen listening coverage of their room.

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There was no Wilson room, but there was someone with Wilson Tune Tots. That’s it. I didn’t see any other Wilson’s.


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Ah! That's why. I had seen Wilson listed on RMAF's website exhibitor list.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/...-capped-awards


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so a cool $675k for that Verity speaker? LOL.

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Originally Posted by Mike

There was no Wilson room, but there was someone with Wilson Tune Tots. That’s it. I didn’t see any other Wilson’s. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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Interesting! For some reason, I thought that they were designed to work on shelves or desktops only.

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Originally Posted by Jim Smith

Interesting! For some reason, I thought that they were designed to work on shelves or desktops only.

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My understanding too...

Please tell me they sound dramatically better on or in a bookcase or desk.

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Originally Posted by Jim Smith

Interesting! For some reason, I thought that they were designed to work on shelves or desktops only.

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Maybe Bill Peugh will see this & give us the answer.

"And last but not least, my first exposure to the Wilson TuneTots (MSRP $9800). Very, very impressive sound. These would be killer for a nearfield setup - at a price!"

https://www.computeraudiophile.com/ca/audio-shows/rmaf-2018-show-report-r744/

https://www.stereophile.com/content/...arting-day-mqa

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Originally Posted by Jim Smith

Maybe Bill Peugh will see this & give us the answer.

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Jim, you would appreciate the situation. The available desktop was very solid. However there was a soffit above the desktop that as you might expect, made a mess of everything. Worse, the listening position facing the desktop was awful. So there were two options: try a stand or go static.

Matt Alterman (Crescendo Fine Audio) had some 24 inch Dynaudio stands filled with sand. I chose to try those with the IsoBase placed on top of the stand. Not an ideal choice, or so we thought. The room had numerous positioning limitations. Norm Steinke offered an Artnovion palette of treatments. Judicious placement made them just what we needed to make the room work.

So what of TuneTot on a stand? That placement would certainly (and did) eliminate the boundary effect. But by tuning the slot to approximately 1/3 open and careful positioning we were quite pleased with the results. Bass rolled off smoothly and was extended enough that many asked where the sub was. The dynamic capability was also such that the speaker could easy play above a full room. I was quite pleasantly surprised by the performance we were able to obtain. Industry friends whose assessments I've come to trust over many years were unanimous in their enthusiasm. Every person who had heard Tune Tot in dealer showrooms (and voiced an opinion) said it greatly outperformed what they had heard previously.

Based on what I heard in Denver, 24" worked in conjunction with tuning the slot. I would not try a stand taller than 28" for fear of getting the woofer too near the midpoint between floor and ceiling. I would also like to use a dedicated stand that coupled rather than isolated. I suspect that you might see such a stand from Wilson to address these parameters in the future.

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/rmaf-2018/

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Originally Posted by metaphacts

Jim, you would appreciate the situation. The available desktop was very solid. However there was a soffit above the desktop that as you might expect, made a mess of everything. Worse, the listening position facing the desktop was awful. So there were two options: try a stand or go static.

Matt Alterman (Crescendo Fine Audio) had some 24 inch Dynaudio stands filled with sand. I chose to try those with the IsoBase placed on top of the stand. Not an ideal choice, or so we thought. The room had numerous positioning limitations. Norm Steinke offered an Artnovion palette of treatments. Judicious placement made them just what we needed to make the room work.

So what of TuneTot on a stand? That placement would certainly (and did) eliminate the boundary effect. But by tuning the slot to approximately 1/3 open and careful positioning we were quite pleased with the results. Bass rolled off smoothly and was extended enough that many asked where the sub was. The dynamic capability was also such that the speaker could easy play above a full room. I was quite pleasantly surprised by the performance we were able to obtain. Industry friends who's assessments I've come to trust over many years were unanimous in their enthusiasm. Every person who had heard Tune Tot in dealer showrooms (and voiced an opinion) said it greatly outperformed what they had heard previously.

Based on what I heard in Denver, 24" worked in conjunction with tuning the slot. I would not try a stand taller than 28" for fear of getting the woofer too near the midpoint between floor and ceiling. I would also like to use a dedicated stand that coupled rather than isolated. I suspect that you might see such a stand from Wilson to address these parameters in the future.

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Cool! Should significantly enlarge the market for them.


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http://enjoythemusic.com/RMAF_2018/weaver/

It is interesting how we all hear things differently. While I agree with many of the picks, I (along with 2 others that were attending the show with me) thought the Von Schweikert Audio ULTRA 9 was one of the most unimpressive big budget component rooms. I went there 3 times and each time the sound seemed to be trapped in the speakers. I felt the same about the Rockport room with the Constellation electronics.
Anshul

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Originally Posted by Mike

http://enjoythemusic.com/RMAF_2018/weaver/

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Originally Posted by apdoc2004

It is interesting how we all hear things differently. While I agree with many of the picks, I (along with 2 others that were attending the show with me) thought the Von Schweikert Audio ULTRA 9 was one of the most unimpressive big budget component rooms. I went there 3 times and each time the sound seemed to be trapped in the speakers. I felt the same about the Rockport room with the Constellation electronics.
Anshul

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Not surprising at all , its not like trying to prove it was Oswald all along :)

The editor (Greg Weaver) Personal speakers are VSA’s , he was or may still be associated with Positive Feedback , PF was a strong supporter of Albert V in the early days, when the boom was not in the Box , not surprising to see VSA getting a good plug , deservedly or not ...





Regards

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Originally Posted by apdoc2004

It is interesting how we all hear things differently. While I agree with many of the picks, I (along with 2 others that were attending the show with me) thought the Von Schweikert Audio ULTRA 9 was one of the most unimpressive big budget component rooms. I went there 3 times and each time the sound seemed to be trapped in the speakers. I felt the same about the Rockport room with the Constellation electronics.
Anshul

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Lets see your list and write up.


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I will give you my list. I don't have time for a write up.
Some of my favorite rooms were (in no particular order):
- Alsyvox Botticelli planar speakers.
- Magico M3 with MSB.
- MBL
- Gryphon
- Verity Monsalvat
- Spatial Lumina.
- Sanders 10E electrostatics.
- Borresen Acoustics
- Sonus Faber Electa amator.
- Joseph audio Perspectives.
- NOLA room

I might be missing a couple more but these are the ones that readily come to mind.
Anshul

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Originally Posted by Mike

Lets see your list and write up.


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