RMAF 2009 Show Report (Rocky Mountain Audio Fest)

  And what would a headphone event be without Headroom.

 

Ray Samuels Emmeline has their teeny tiny digital volume control unit called The Shadow ($395). The company will soon offer a new battery MM/MC stage priced around $700. i can stress how amazingly small this lil' unit is! Look at the male RCA jacks on the left and that may help you realize how tiny this big-sounding unit truly is.

 

Audio Limits had their loudspeaker line. Big, bold and very impressive.

 

Playing my soon to be released percussion and drum album THTST was the Wilson Sasha speakers with Ayre electronics and Amarra computer music player. It sounded incredible; especially due to the fact i am only releasing the 320kbs mp3 version here at the show. The 24-bit/96kHz will be available soon on HDtracks. Learn more about this new high resolution album by clicking here. Longstanding and highly respected recording engineer Peter McGrath and i discussed at length about different recording techniques. He also played some commerical and privately recorded music using two different techniques and while we all preferred the non-released version as it sounded more real, sometimes commercial mainstream recordings demand a different approach to appease the masses i guess. Sad, but true. This is not Peter's fault at all, it is simply how mainstream release record labels prefer their 'sound'.

 

Weiss Engineering's new INT202 ($1300) has a pair of FireWire inputs and outputs to RCA or XLR stereo. It handles up to 24-bit/192kHz and will be available November.

 

Wall to wall r

 

A small system with sound larger than you'd expect is Gallo Acoustics with their Strada monitors and TR3 ($999 and $984 each respectively). Front end is by Resolution Audio.

 

The Bel Canto DAC 3.1 ($3000) was powered by the VBS1 ($1500), though the unit will ship with a standard LNS1 power supply. The de-jitter circuitry filter and dynamic range of about 127dB after some of the advantages. A glass fiber digital input insures isolation of the interface from the external USB interface.

 

MYemia (Experience Music Intact Audio) specializes in design and engineering in field coils, horns, and circuits. Have known these guys for well over ten years and they truly are very creative and talented guys.

 

Click here for Saturday's coverage.