Teresonic Toots its Single-Driver Ingenium
I don't know if it's a case of careful component and/or cable matchingWilson Audio, after all, favors VTL electronics and Transparent Cabling, and Spectral always dems with its own, MIT-manufactured cablingor just better engineering, but my experience of Teresonic single-driver loudspeakers has shifted dramatically for the better over the years.
The 2012 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest:That's a Wrap
With a fanfare at 4pm, Sunday October 14, in the Denver Tech Center Marriott's Atrium, the Denver Broncos Half-Time Band, courtesy of Kimber Kable's Ray Kimber, brought the Show to a close. According to Show organizer Marjorie Baumert, "We had about 150 more exhibitors (according to the badges), about 3600 attendee days (approximately 100 more than last year). We had 1295 attendees pre-register and that was an all-time record (last year was 1100). . .
The Buzz in the Emotiva Room
I wish I could tell you how the music sounded in the main Emotiva room. Alas, there were so many people talking about the sound of Emotiva's XSP-1 Differential Reference preamp ($899), ERC-2 Differential Reference CD player/ digital transport ($449), XPA-1 Differential Reference monoblock power amplifier ($999), XRT-6.2 Xref Tower speakers ($699/pair), and due-by-Christmastime XDA-2 fully balanced Differential DAC ($399) that I was unable to take a serious listen. Definitely good for Emotiva, if not necessarily for you the reader.
The Magnificent 7
Michael Lavorgna, editor of our sister site AudioStream.com, moderated a computer audio seminar on RMAF’s first day. Participants, from left to right: David Chesky (HDtracks.com), Andreas Koch (Playback Designs), Gordon Rankin (Wavelength Audio), Rob Robinson (Channel D Software), Mark Waldrep (AIX Records), Steve Silberman (AudioQuest), and Michael Lavorgna.
The Peachtree Way
I walked into the big Peachtree Audio room to find listening chairs scattered about in every direction, seemingly without purpose. Indeed, some listeners stood while some listeners sat and even others danced.
This was different . . .
The Return of Well-Tempered
John DeVore was using the Well-Tempered Versalex turntable and arm ($4400), a redesign of Bill Firebaugh's classic design.
The Sound Organisation
The natty Barnaby Fry, Philip O’Hanlon’s rival in the bow tie department, was getting good sound from a handmade-in-the-UK system, consisting of Rega’s RP6 Limited Edition Union Jack Version turntable, shown complete with cartridge and electronic speed control ($2095), Apollo-R CD player ($1095), DAC ($995), and Brio-R integrated amp ($895). Chord cabling held the system together (and a whole lot more), and fed signal from the electronics to MC’s twenty.21 ($2600$2800/pair, depending upon finish), a stand mount monitor from the same Professional Monitoring Company that is said to help standardize the BBC’s studio sound.
The Wilson Alexia and its Elite Companions
Beyond all doubt, the most heralded debut at a show filled with more product debuts than could fit in our show preview was the unveiling of the Wilson Audio Alexia loudspeaker ($48,500/pair). Introduced at back-to-back press conferences, the speaker and its elite companions made a stunning impression.
If there's one thing that Dave Wilson (pictured above) knows besides crossover design and time domain alignment, it's the sound of live, unamplified music performed in spaces that do it full justice...
The Wonderful World of M•A Recordings
Todd Garfinkle of MA Recordings was so busy cueing up music for visitors on the three headphone amps in his room that he barely had time to talk. I’m a huge MA Recordings fan, finding their choice of music from all genresthere’s even a recording of music composed and performed by Stereophile Contributing Editor/Web Monkey Jon Iverson. Alternesiaand their sound quality on both CD and high-resolution discs unique and compelling. In the photo, Todd is listening to his latest CD, Résonance, on which Nina Ben David plays music from baroque to contemporary on viola da gamba.
Thiel’s New CS2.7
Thiel’s long-awaited trickle-down speaker from 2008’s ground-breaking CS3.7, the CS2.7 ($9900/pair), made its North American debut in one of the Denver Audio Designs rooms. It combines the coaxial HF/MF unit that the late Jim Thiel developed for the ‘3.7 with a proprietary 8” woofer, reinforced with a passive radiator to give claimed bass extension to below 35Hz. Frequency response is specified as 35Hz20kHz ±2.5dB, and crossover filters, of course, are all first-order. (No impedance spec was given; Thiel speakers have always been current-hungry.) The CS2.7s were demmed with Aragon Iridium 400W monoblocks ($7998/pair), an Aragon Sound Stage digital preamp ($4499), an Arcam CD37 SACD/CD player ($2299), an Arcam FMJ D33 D/A processor, and Straight Wire Expressivo interconnects and speaker cables, and Straight Wire Blue Thunder AC cords. The sound of Ryan Adams’ “Dirty Rain” had extended lows, grain-free highs, and superbly stable, well-defined stereo imaging.