RMAF 2016 Show Report
Wyred 4 Sound, PureAudioProject, And Spread Spectrum Technologies
Rocky Mountain International Audio Fest & CanJam 2016
RMAF 2016 Show Report By Kemper Holt

  I walked in to hear Elvis crooning "Fever", and he sounded like he was back in the building. The first thing I noticed were the towering open baffle speakers, PureAudioProject Stellar 12s, ($25,000 per pair), and how natural OB speakers make bass sound. The Stellar 12s also have a dipole midrange, which unlike some other OB designs that hand over the mids to a compression driver around 900 Hz, lends a continuity from the low bass up through the lower treble that fleshes out voices and places them deep in the soundstage. All custom Morel drivers, simple crossover accomplished with the help of Mundorf, and a curving backbone frame all contribute to the excellent sound. Wyred 4 Sound's E. J. Sarmento has been very busy and debuted three new W4S products, one of which was used to bi-amp the Stellar 12s, the SX-1000R mono amps rated at 1000 watts @ 8 Ohms ($1499 each) and four were used here. W4S revamped the ICE based SX-1000R with a smoother sounding input board, a FET buffer allowing XLR and RCA inputs, plus upgraded the hardware with WBT Nextgen posts and Kimber Kable wiring.

Also new from W4S is their Music Server, Roon-ready, ($TBD) ready later this year, and PS-1 Modular Power Supply, ($499 base), which with additional modules can replace up to 4 wall wart supplies each having different voltages. Completing the main system was a Spread Spectrum Technonogies Thoebe II preamp including DAC & phonostage ($5350), a W4S Reclocker ($199), and W4S cables. They played Stevie Ray Vaughn playing "Tin Pan Alley" and Stevie's rapid fire guitar licks came through with emotion, the drum kit pressurized the room easily, his voice was clear and sad, and the soundstage was wide and deep, and there were plenty of dynamic contrasts.

Ze'ev Schlik, CEO of PAP, took the time to rearrange his four speaker Trio 10 line up so I could photograph them all in one shot. All 4 use the same Morel woofers, and you choose the upper drivers depending on your preference or budget. The Timeless 10 ($2800 per pair) uses a dome tweeter, the next up uses a Beyma 150 AMT driver ($3,800 per pair), a Mundorf AMT is next ($4700 per pair), and a nearly full range Voxativ driver version is ($5600 per pair).

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