RMAF 2016: Departures and Arrivals
The first day of the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest ended with two important events
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Jason Victor Serinus
RMAF 2016: Jason's Final Friday Sprint
It's hard to believe that such diminutive speakers can descend to 42Hz
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RMAF 2016: Ascending to Floor 5
Before me, the name Auralic. Inside the room, that company's new Polaris wireless streaming amplifier ($3800), paired with Ryan R630 loudspeakers ($5000/pair)
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RMAF 2016: More Marvels on the Marriott Mezzanine
Peachtree's David Solomon, operating an iPad while jacked up on enough caffeine to enable a mouse to fly to the moon on its own steam, seemed caught by surprise as non-industry showgoers appeared in his room during the time reportedly reserved for the press.
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RMAF 2016: Day 1 Liftoff
On Friday morning at 9am, the blogging team of (left to right) yours truly, John Atkinson, Herb Reichert, and Jana Dagdagan gathered for a strategy meeting
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Suffering and Celebration in Glorious SACD Sound
Not having listened to Tchaikovsky's Symphony No.6, aka the "Pathétique," in quite some time, I had forgotten how heart-tugging beautiful it is. While there are many recordings of the work, few can possibly sound as good and feel as right as the new hybrid SACD from Channel Classics with Iván Fischer conducting the Budapest Festival Orchestra. Due out October 7, when it will also be available for download in high-resolution format from nativedsd.com, the recording also enlists the fine Brno Czech Philharmonic Choir for its atmospheric pairing, Borodin's Polovtsian Dances.
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Rocky Mountain Audio Fest Starts Friday
The Rocky Mountain Audio Fest is set to begin this Friday, October 7, from noon to 7 pm, in the mostly remodeled Denver Marriott Tech Center. The three-day audio show, which ends on October 9 at 4pm, promises 128 exhibit rooms, 32 vendor displays, plus three more in the parking lot (including the fabled Sony Magic Bus), 332 exhibit companies, and, at 62 exhibits, the largest CanJam ever.
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Dynaudio Focus 200 XD powered loudspeaker
The second I encountered Dynaudio's Focus 200 XD powered loudspeaker at the High End 2015 show in Munich, Germany, it called to me. I wasn't so much drawn to its unique functionswhich I describe belowas by the fact that it could help fill the black hole left by the dismantling of my reference system for my move from big, badass Oakland, California to the small, magical town of Port Townsend, Washington.
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Steve Reich Celebrated at 80
One of America's most vital living composersNew Yorker Steve Reichturns 80 on October 3. In celebration, Deutsche Grammophon and ECM, two companies that greatly helped build Reich's reputation by recording his initially uncategorizable forays into minimalism, have reissued their seminal efforts. From DG comes the 3-LP set, Steve Reich: Drumming, a reissue of its 1974 vinyl box that included Drumming (197071), Six Pianos, and Music for Mallet Instrument, Voices and Organ (both from 1973). From ECM, in turn, comes a 3-CD set, Steve Reich: The ECM Recordings.
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Two Shows for Southern California in 2017!
You read that correctly. 2017 will see the advent of two, potentially competing high-end audio shows, located just 35 miles and several congested freeways apart in Southern California. The first, the new Los Angeles Audio Show (LAAS), will take place June 24 in the Sheraton Gateway LAX, and is produced "in collaboration with the Los Angeles & Orange County Audio Society" (LAOCAS). The second, a continuation of T.H.E. Show Newport that was founded by the late Richard Beers and formerly supported by LAOCAS, will be held September 2124 (September 21 reserved for press) in the Hilton Anaheim, near Disneyland.
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